Six Flags Magic Mountain
vs
Universal Studios Hollywood

On a typical day Six Flags Magic Mountain queues less: about 13 minutes a ride against 36 at Universal Studios Hollywood, a difference of roughly 23 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 Magic Mountain and Universal Studios Hollywood compared on their typical recorded queue times
Typically	Six Flags Magic MountainUnited States	Universal Studios HollywoodUnited States
Average wait per ride	13 min (best of the two)	36 min
Rides with recorded waits	37 (best of the two)	15
Longest typical queue	Roaring Rapids41 min	Mario Kart™: Bowser’s Challenge88 min
Shortest typical queue	Taz’s Tazmanian Train Tours5 min	Bowser Jr. Challenge5 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running	94% (best of the two)	80%

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 Magic Mountain and Universal Studios Hollywood compared on live queue times
Right now	Six Flags Magic MountainUnited States	Universal 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 On a typical day Six Flags Magic Mountain queues less: about 13 minutes a ride against 36 at Universal Studios Hollywood, a difference of roughly 23 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 Magic Mountain if…

You want shorter queues: Six Flags Magic Mountain averages 13 minutes a ride against 36 at Universal Studios Hollywood
You want more to do: 37 rides here have recorded wait data against 15 at Universal Studios Hollywood
You would rather not find rides shut: Six Flags Magic Mountain's rides run 94% of opening hours against 80% at Universal Studios Hollywood
Roaring Rapids is on your list - it is Six Flags Magic Mountain's longest typical queue at about 41 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Six Flags Magic Mountain's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Universal Studios Hollywood if…

You will accept a longer queue - 36 minutes a ride here against 13 at Six Flags Magic Mountain - for what Universal Studios Hollywood has that Six Flags Magic Mountain does not
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 Magic Mountain

Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, holds the world record for most roller coasters at a single park - currently 20 distinct coasters. Highlights include X2 (a 4-D prototype), Twisted Colossus, Tatsu (a flying coaster), Full Throttle, Superman: Escape from Krypton, Goliath, and Wonder Woman Flight of Courage. The park's hilly footprint gives many rides dramatic terrain-following drops.

Magic Mountain's LA-area weekend visits, US school holidays, Fright Fest and Holiday in the Park events drive peak crowds. Weekdays outside school breaks can be dramatically quieter. Check live queue times for X2 and Twisted Colossus on arrival - they build up fastest - and use our crowd calendar to pick a lower-crowd midweek date if you want to ride all 20 coasters in a single day.

Six Flags Magic Mountain 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 Magic Mountain or Universal Studios Hollywood?

Which is better, Six Flags Magic Mountain or Universal Studios Hollywood?

If you are judging on queues, Six Flags Magic Mountain: it averages about 13 minutes a ride on a typical day against 36 at Universal Studios Hollywood, roughly 23 minutes back on every queue you join. Six Flags Magic Mountain has 37 rides with recorded waits against 15 at Universal Studios Hollywood. Six Flags Magic Mountain also runs its rides more reliably - 94% of opening hours against 80%.

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

Six Flags Magic Mountain, by about 23 minutes a ride. On a typical day Six Flags Magic Mountain averages 13 minutes against 36 at Universal Studios Hollywood. Queues still move hour by hour, and a midweek day outside school holidays beats the gap at either park. See Six Flags Magic Mountain best time to visit and Universal Studios Hollywood best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

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

Is Six Flags Magic Mountain bigger than Universal Studios Hollywood?

By rides we track waits for, Six Flags Magic Mountain is the bigger day out: 37 rides against 15. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours - and on those Six Flags Magic Mountain 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 Magic Mountain calendar Universal Studios Hollywood calendar Compare other parks