Six Flags Great Adventure
vs
Universal Islands Of Adventure

On a typical day Universal Islands Of Adventure queues less: about 17 minutes a ride against 30 at Six Flags Great Adventure, a difference of roughly 13 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.

Six Flags Great Adventure and Universal Islands Of Adventure compared on their typical recorded queue times
Typically	Six Flags Great AdventureUnited States	Universal Islands Of AdventureUnited States
Average wait per ride	30 min	17 min (best of the two)
Rides with recorded waits	23 (best of the two)	18
Longest typical queue	THE FLASH™: Vertical Velocity52 min	Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure™58 min
Shortest typical queue	Buccaneer11 min	Storm Force Accelatron®5 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running	89% (best of the two)	85%

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 Great Adventure and Universal Islands Of Adventure compared on live queue times
Right now	Six Flags Great AdventureUnited States	Universal Islands Of AdventureUnited 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 Universal Islands Of Adventure queues less: about 17 minutes a ride against 30 at Six Flags Great Adventure, a difference of roughly 13 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 Great Adventure if…

You will accept a longer queue - 30 minutes a ride here against 17 at Universal Islands Of Adventure - for what Six Flags Great Adventure has that Universal Islands Of Adventure does not
You want more to do: 23 rides here have recorded wait data against 18 at Universal Islands Of Adventure
You would rather not find rides shut: Six Flags Great Adventure's rides run 89% of opening hours against 85% at Universal Islands Of Adventure
THE FLASH™: Vertical Velocity is on your list - it is Six Flags Great Adventure's longest typical queue at about 52 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Six Flags Great Adventure's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Universal Islands Of Adventure if…

You want shorter queues: Universal Islands Of Adventure averages 17 minutes a ride against 30 at Six Flags Great Adventure
Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure™ is on your list - it is Universal Islands Of Adventure's longest typical queue at about 58 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Universal Islands Of Adventure's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

04 · The parks

What each one is.

Six Flags Great Adventure

Six Flags Great Adventure sits in Jackson, New Jersey, and has long been one of Six Flags' flagship coaster parks. The line-up is exceptional: El Toro (one of the world's top-rated wooden coasters), Nitro, Jersey Devil Coaster, Superman: Ultimate Flight, Batman: The Ride, Skull Mountain, and Green Lantern stand-up. Kingda Ka was the park's signature ride until its closure; a Safari Off Road Adventure drive-through exhibit also operates on the property.

NJ and NYC school holidays, Fright Fest and US summer weekends drive huge crowds. Weekdays in May, September and October are dramatically calmer. Check live queue times for El Toro and Nitro on arrival - they build up fast - and use our crowd calendar to pick a midweek visit for shorter waits across the whole coaster line-up.

Six Flags Great Adventure live queue times

Universal Islands Of Adventure

Universal's Islands of Adventure is widely regarded as one of the best theme parks in the world. Its line-up blends record-breaking coasters with detailed themed lands: Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, VelociCoaster, The Incredible Hulk Coaster, Pteranodon Flyers, and the classic Jurassic Park River Adventure. The Wizarding World's Hogsmeade is the park's most iconic area.

Like its sister Studios park, Islands of Adventure stays busy year-round, with Hagrid's and VelociCoaster consistently posting the longest queues. Peak periods are US school holidays, Halloween Horror Nights and Christmas. Check live wait times immediately on arrival and head to Hagrid's first. Use our crowd calendar to pick the quietest possible date for your trip.

Universal Islands Of Adventure live queue times

05 · Questions

Six Flags Great Adventure or Universal Islands Of Adventure?

Which is better, Six Flags Great Adventure or Universal Islands Of Adventure?

If you are judging on queues, Universal Islands Of Adventure: it averages about 17 minutes a ride on a typical day against 30 at Six Flags Great Adventure, roughly 13 minutes back on every queue you join. Six Flags Great Adventure has 23 rides with recorded waits against 18 at Universal Islands Of Adventure. Six Flags Great Adventure also runs its rides more reliably - 89% of opening hours against 85%.

Which has shorter queues, Six Flags Great Adventure or Universal Islands Of Adventure?

Universal Islands Of Adventure, by about 13 minutes a ride. On a typical day Universal Islands Of Adventure averages 17 minutes against 30 at Six Flags Great Adventure. Queues still move hour by hour, and a midweek day outside school holidays beats the gap at either park. See Six Flags Great Adventure best time to visit and Universal Islands Of Adventure best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Six Flags Great Adventure and Universal Islands Of Adventure 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 Great Adventure and Universal Islands Of Adventure for the full ride lists.

Is Six Flags Great Adventure bigger than Universal Islands Of Adventure?

By rides we track waits for, Six Flags Great Adventure 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 - and on those Universal Islands Of Adventure 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 Great Adventure calendar Universal Islands Of Adventure calendar Compare other parks