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Six Flags America
vs
Universal Studios Hollywood

Side-by-side queue times, ride counts and opening hours for Six Flags America and Universal Studios Hollywood, with a straight recommendation.

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.

Six Flags America and Universal Studios Hollywood compared on live queue times
Right nowSix Flags AmericaUnited StatesUniversal Studios HollywoodUnited 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.

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 Six Flags America if…

  • You want Six Flags America's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Universal Studios Hollywood if…

  • Mario Kart™: Bowser’s Challenge is on your list - it is Universal Studios Hollywood's longest typical queue at about 88 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Universal Studios Hollywood's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

04 · The parks

What each one is.

Six Flags America

Six Flags America sits in Bowie, Maryland, between Washington D.C. and Baltimore. The coaster line-up includes Superman: Ride of Steel (a 205-foot hyper coaster), Wild One wooden coaster, Joker's Jinx multi-launch coaster, Ragin' Cajun spinning coaster, and Batwing flying coaster. A Hurricane Harbor water park is included with admission during summer.

DC and Baltimore weekend visits, Maryland school holidays, and the Fright Fest event drive most of the park's busy days. Weekdays in May, September and October stay dramatically calmer, with queue times on most coasters dropping to 10 minutes or less. Check live wait times for Superman and Wild One on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a lower-crowd date for shorter waits across the coaster line-up.

Six Flags America live queue times

Universal Studios Hollywood

Universal Studios Hollywood sits in Universal City, California, combining a working film studio with a full theme park. The famous Studio Tour trams run through real backlots, while the park's themed rides include Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Jurassic World – The Ride, Revenge of the Mummy, Transformers, and the newer Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge in Super Nintendo World.

LA and Southern California visitor patterns keep Universal Hollywood busy much of the year, with US summer school holidays, Halloween Horror Nights and Christmas driving the peak. Mid-January and early September are the quietest periods. Check live queue times before committing to long waits, and use our crowd calendar to pick a weekday outside California school breaks for shorter lines.

Universal Studios Hollywood live queue times

05 · Questions

Six Flags America or Universal Studios Hollywood?

Which is better, Six Flags America or Universal Studios Hollywood?

Neither is better across the board - it depends whether you are optimising for shorter queues or for the rides you actually want. This page puts live queue times, ride counts and opening hours side by side so you can judge on your own priorities.

Which has shorter queues, Six Flags America or Universal Studios Hollywood?

Queues change hour by hour. The typical figures above are the fair answer for planning; the live table answers today. Mid-week visits outside school holidays give the shortest queues at either park. See Six Flags America best time to visit and Universal Studios Hollywood best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Six Flags America and Universal Studios Hollywood 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 Six Flags America and Universal Studios Hollywood for the full ride lists.

Is Six Flags America bigger than Universal Studios Hollywood?

Park size is less useful than how many rides you can actually get on in a day - that comes down to queue times and opening hours. The comparison above shows ride counts and wait times for both.

Then pick
the quiet day.

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

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