Seaworld San Diego
vs
Six Flags Great America

On a typical day Seaworld San Diego queues less: about 13 minutes a ride against 24 at Six Flags Great America, a difference of roughly 11 minutes on every queue you join.

See both right now Compare other parks

01 · On a typical day

What you would normally queue.

Averages across recent weeks, so one broken ride or one wet Tuesday cannot decide it. This is the comparison to plan a trip on; the live figures below are the one to act on today.

Seaworld San Diego and Six Flags Great America compared on their typical recorded queue times
Typically	Seaworld San DiegoUnited States	Six Flags Great AmericaUnited States
Average wait per ride	13 min (best of the two)	24 min
Rides with recorded waits	14	23 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue	Arctic Rescue24 min	Wrath of Rakshasa48 min
Shortest typical queue	Sea Dragon Drop5 min	Rue Le Dodge6 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running	77% (best of the two)	75%

Averaged across every ride at each park with recorded waits. A ride that never opened is left out, so a park is not flattered by counting a shut ride as a queue of zero.

02 · Right now

Both parks, this minute.

Live queue times at both parks. These fill in as soon as the page loads, and keep updating while you are here.

Seaworld San Diego and Six Flags Great America compared on live queue times
Right now	Seaworld San DiegoUnited States	Six Flags Great AmericaUnited States
Average wait right now	-	-
Rides open	-	-
Opening hours today	-	-
Longest queue	-	-
Shortest queue	-	-

These keep refreshing while this page is open. A closed park posts no waits, so its rows read as dashes rather than zeroes.

Verdict, on a typical day On a typical day Seaworld San Diego queues less: about 13 minutes a ride against 24 at Six Flags Great America, a difference of roughly 11 minutes on every queue you join.

03 · Choosing

Which one is your day out.

Every line here is earned by one of the figures above - nothing is a generic sentence with a park name dropped into it.

Pick Seaworld San Diego if…

You want shorter queues: Seaworld San Diego averages 13 minutes a ride against 24 at Six Flags Great America
Arctic Rescue is on your list - it is Seaworld San Diego's longest typical queue at about 24 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Seaworld San Diego's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Six Flags Great America if…

You will accept a longer queue - 24 minutes a ride here against 13 at Seaworld San Diego - for what Six Flags Great America has that Seaworld San Diego does not
You want more to do: 23 rides here have recorded wait data against 14 at Seaworld San Diego
Wrath of Rakshasa is on your list - it is Six Flags Great America's longest typical queue at about 48 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Six Flags Great America's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

04 · The parks

What each one is.

Seaworld San Diego

SeaWorld San Diego sits on the shore of Mission Bay in San Diego, California. It's the original SeaWorld park, opened in 1964, and blends marine-animal exhibits with modern coasters: Emperor (a floorless dive coaster), Electric Eel (a triple-launch coaster), Manta (a launched family coaster), and the newer Arctic Rescue straddle coaster.

Southern California weather keeps SeaWorld San Diego open year-round, with peak crowds during US school holidays, Halloween Spooktacular and Christmas. Weekdays in January, September and October are dramatically calmer. Check live queue times for Emperor and Electric Eel on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a midweek day for shorter waits. The park pairs well with a full-day visit to nearby San Diego attractions.

Seaworld San Diego live queue times

Six Flags Great America

Six Flags Great America sits in Gurnee, Illinois, between Chicago and Milwaukee. The coaster line-up includes Maxx Force (with one of the world's fastest inversions), X Flight wing coaster, Goliath (a Rocky Mountain Construction wooden coaster), Raging Bull, American Eagle duelling wooden coaster, and Batman: The Ride. A Hurricane Harbor water park is included during summer.

Illinois and Wisconsin school holidays, Chicago-area weekend visits, and the popular Fright Fest event drive Six Flags Great America's busiest periods. Weekdays in May, June, September and October are dramatically quieter. Check live wait times for Maxx Force and Goliath on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a lower-crowd midweek date for shorter queues.

Six Flags Great America live queue times

05 · Questions

Seaworld San Diego or Six Flags Great America?

Which is better, Seaworld San Diego or Six Flags Great America?

If you are judging on queues, Seaworld San Diego: it averages about 13 minutes a ride on a typical day against 24 at Six Flags Great America, roughly 11 minutes back on every queue you join. Seaworld San Diego has 14 rides with recorded waits against 23 at Six Flags Great America. Seaworld San Diego also runs its rides more reliably - 77% of opening hours against 75%.

Which has shorter queues, Seaworld San Diego or Six Flags Great America?

Seaworld San Diego, by about 11 minutes a ride. On a typical day Seaworld San Diego averages 13 minutes against 24 at Six Flags Great America. Queues still move hour by hour, and a midweek day outside school holidays beats the gap at either park. See Seaworld San Diego best time to visit and Six Flags Great America best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Seaworld San Diego and Six Flags Great America in the same trip?

Yes - both parks are in United States, so a two-park trip is realistic over a long weekend. Split the days so you start at whichever opens earliest and drive to the other in the evening.

How many rides does each park have?

See the tables above for ride counts - or jump to Seaworld San Diego and Six Flags Great America for the full ride lists.

Is Seaworld San Diego bigger than Six Flags Great America?

By rides we track waits for, Six Flags Great America is the bigger day out: 23 rides against 14. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours - and on those Seaworld San Diego is the quicker park.

Then pick
the quiet day.

Both parks have a crowd calendar with six weeks of forecast and the best day left to go.

Seaworld San Diego calendar Six Flags Great America calendar Compare other parks