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Park Queue TimesPQT

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
vs
Six Flags Great America

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and Six Flags Great America queue about the same on a typical day - 21 minutes against 22 minutes across 18 and 23 tracked rides. Pick on travel time or on which rides you actually want.

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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
TypicallySix Flags Discovery KingdomUnited StatesSix Flags Great AmericaUnited States
Average wait per ride 21 min (best of the two)22 min
Rides with recorded waits 1823 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue Medusa41 minMaxx Force38 min
Shortest typical queue Acme Fun Factory2 minRue Le Dodge8 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running84% (best of the two)71%

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 nowSix Flags Discovery KingdomUnited StatesSix 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 Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and Six Flags Great America queue about the same on a typical day - 21 minutes against 22 minutes across 18 and 23 tracked rides. Pick on travel time or on which rides you actually want.

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…

  • Queue length will not decide it: both parks average around 21 minutes a ride
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Six Flags Discovery Kingdom's rides run 84% of opening hours against 71% at Six Flags Great America
  • Medusa is on your list - it is Six Flags Discovery Kingdom's longest typical queue at about 41 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…

  • Queue length will not decide it: both parks average around 22 minutes a ride
  • You want more to do: 23 rides here have recorded wait data against 18 at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
  • Maxx Force is on your list - it is Six Flags Great America's longest typical queue at about 38 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?

On queues there is nothing in it: both average about 21 minutes a ride on a typical day. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom has 18 rides with recorded waits against 23 at Six Flags Great America. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom also runs its rides more reliably - 84% of opening hours against 71%. So pick on travel time, or on which park has the rides you actually want.

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

They are level. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom averages 21 minutes a ride on a typical day and Six Flags Great America averages 22 - close enough that the day you pick matters more than the 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: 23 rides against 18. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours.

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 calendarSix Flags Great America calendarCompare other parks