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Park Queue TimesPQT

Six Flags Great America
vs
Universal Studios Hollywood

Six Flags Great America and Universal Studios Hollywood queue about the same on a typical day - 22 minutes against 23 minutes across 23 and 34 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 Great America and Universal Studios Hollywood compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallySix Flags Great AmericaUnited StatesUniversal Studios HollywoodUnited States
Average wait per ride 22 min (best of the two)23 min
Rides with recorded waits 2334 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue Maxx Force38 minFast & Furious: Hollywood Drift96 min
Shortest typical queue Rue Le Dodge8 minTerror Tram featuring Art the Clown – Last Tram5 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running71% (best of the two)44%

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 America and Universal Studios Hollywood compared on live queue times
Right nowSix Flags Great 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.

Verdict, on a typical day Six Flags Great America and Universal Studios Hollywood queue about the same on a typical day - 22 minutes against 23 minutes across 23 and 34 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 Great America if…

  • Queue length will not decide it: both parks average around 22 minutes a ride
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Six Flags Great America's rides run 71% of opening hours against 44% at Universal Studios Hollywood
  • 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

Pick Universal Studios Hollywood if…

  • Queue length will not decide it: both parks average around 23 minutes a ride
  • You want more to do: 34 rides here have recorded wait data against 23 at Six Flags Great America
  • Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift is on your list - it is Universal Studios Hollywood's longest typical queue at about 96 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 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

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 Great America or Universal Studios Hollywood?

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

On queues there is nothing in it: both average about 22 minutes a ride on a typical day. Six Flags Great America has 23 rides with recorded waits against 34 at Universal Studios Hollywood. Six Flags Great America also runs its rides more reliably - 71% of opening hours against 44%. So pick on travel time, or on which park has the rides you actually want.

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

They are level. Six Flags Great America averages 22 minutes a ride on a typical day and Universal Studios Hollywood averages 23 - close enough that the day you pick matters more than the park. See Six Flags Great America best time to visit and Universal Studios Hollywood best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

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

Is Six Flags Great America bigger than Universal Studios Hollywood?

By rides we track waits for, Universal Studios Hollywood is the bigger day out: 34 rides against 23. 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 Great America calendarUniversal Studios Hollywood calendarCompare other parks