Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
vs
Six Flags Great America

On a typical day Six Flags Discovery Kingdom queues less: about 15 minutes a ride against 33 at Six Flags Great America, a difference of roughly 18 minutes on every queue you join.

See both right now

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.

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and Six Flags Great America compared on their typical recorded queue times
Typically	Six Flags Discovery KingdomUnited States	Six Flags Great AmericaUnited States
Average wait per ride	15 min (best of the two)	33 min
Rides with recorded waits	17	21 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue	THE JOKER35 min	Raging Bull71 min
Shortest typical queue	Acme Fun Factory1 min	Rue Le Dodge8 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running	87% (best of the two)	78%

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.

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and Six Flags Great America compared on live queue times
Right now	Six Flags Discovery KingdomUnited 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 Six Flags Discovery Kingdom queues less: about 15 minutes a ride against 33 at Six Flags Great America, a difference of roughly 18 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 Six Flags Discovery Kingdom if…

You want shorter queues: Six Flags Discovery Kingdom averages 15 minutes a ride against 33 at Six Flags Great America
You would rather not find rides shut: Six Flags Discovery Kingdom's rides run 87% of opening hours against 78% at Six Flags Great America
THE JOKER is on your list - it is Six Flags Discovery Kingdom's longest typical queue at about 35 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Six Flags Discovery Kingdom's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Six Flags Great America if…

You will accept a longer queue - 33 minutes a ride here against 15 at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom - for what Six Flags Great America has that Six Flags Discovery Kingdom does not
You want more to do: 21 rides here have recorded wait data against 17 at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
Raging Bull is on your list - it is Six Flags Great America's longest typical queue at about 71 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.

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom sits in Vallejo, California, on San Francisco Bay's northern edge. The park combines a theme park with a marine-animal section, running coasters like Medusa (the West Coast's first floorless), Kong (an inverted coaster), Superman: Ultimate Flight, Joker 4-D Free Fly Coaster, and the newer DC Stunt Coaster. Dolphin, sea lion and bird shows run throughout the day.

Bay Area weekend visits, California school holidays, and the Fright Fest event drive Discovery Kingdom's peak crowds. Weekdays in April, September and October are dramatically quieter, with queue times on most rides staying short. Check live wait times for Medusa and Superman on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a midweek date for shorter waits. The bayside setting makes for pleasant walking even on quieter days.

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom 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

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom or Six Flags Great America?

Which is better, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom or Six Flags Great America?

If you are judging on queues, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom: it averages about 15 minutes a ride on a typical day against 33 at Six Flags Great America, roughly 18 minutes back on every queue you join. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom has 17 rides with recorded waits against 21 at Six Flags Great America. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom also runs its rides more reliably - 87% of opening hours against 78%.

Which has shorter queues, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom or Six Flags Great America?

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, by about 18 minutes a ride. On a typical day Six Flags Discovery Kingdom averages 15 minutes against 33 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 Six Flags Discovery Kingdom best time to visit and Six Flags Great America best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Six Flags Discovery Kingdom 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 Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and Six Flags Great America for the full ride lists.

Is Six Flags Discovery Kingdom bigger than Six Flags Great America?

By rides we track waits for, Six Flags Great America is the bigger day out: 21 rides against 17. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours - and on those Six Flags Discovery Kingdom 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.

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom calendar Six Flags Great America calendar