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Park Queue TimesPQT

Busch Gardens Williamsburg
vs
Cedar Point

On a typical day Busch Gardens Williamsburg queues less: about 14 minutes a ride against 25 at Cedar Point, a difference of roughly 11 minutes on every queue you join.

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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.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Cedar Point compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyBusch Gardens WilliamsburgUnited StatesCedar PointUnited States
Average wait per ride 14 min (best of the two)25 min
Rides with recorded waits 1321 (best of the two)
Longest typical queue DarKoaster®36 minTop Thrill 263 min
Shortest typical queue All-New! Anaconda: Dead on Arrival5 minPower Tower Shot8 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running73% (best of the two)69%

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.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Cedar Point compared on live queue times
Right nowBusch Gardens WilliamsburgUnited StatesCedar PointUnited 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 Busch Gardens Williamsburg queues less: about 14 minutes a ride against 25 at Cedar Point, a difference of roughly 11 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 Busch Gardens Williamsburg if…

  • You want shorter queues: Busch Gardens Williamsburg averages 14 minutes a ride against 25 at Cedar Point
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Busch Gardens Williamsburg's rides run 73% of opening hours against 69% at Cedar Point
  • DarKoaster® is on your list - it is Busch Gardens Williamsburg's longest typical queue at about 36 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Busch Gardens Williamsburg's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Cedar Point if…

  • You will accept a longer queue - 25 minutes a ride here against 14 at Busch Gardens Williamsburg - for what Cedar Point has that Busch Gardens Williamsburg does not
  • You want more to do: 21 rides here have recorded wait data against 13 at Busch Gardens Williamsburg
  • Top Thrill 2 is on your list - it is Cedar Point's longest typical queue at about 63 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Cedar Point's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

04 · The parks

What each one is.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Busch Gardens Williamsburg is consistently rated one of the most beautiful theme parks in the world, winning "Most Beautiful Park" industry awards year after year. Set across European-themed villages in Virginia, it runs a top-tier coaster line-up: Alpengeist, Apollo's Chariot, Griffon (a dive coaster), Verbolten, InvadR, and the newer Pantheon - one of the world's fastest multi-launch coasters.

Virginia school holidays, the Howl-O-Scream Halloween event and the famous Christmas Town event drive Busch Gardens Williamsburg's biggest crowds. Weekdays in May, September and early October are dramatically quieter. Check live wait times for Pantheon and Alpengeist first thing on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a lower-crowd date - the park's wooded setting keeps temperatures pleasant.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg live queue times

Cedar Point

Cedar Point is a legendary coaster park on a Lake Erie peninsula in Sandusky, Ohio. Founded in 1870, it's one of the oldest operating amusement parks in North America and consistently rated as one of the world's best coaster parks. The line-up is staggering: Steel Vengeance, Millennium Force, Magnum XL-200, Maverick, Gatekeeper, Raptor, Top Thrill 2, and many more across the park's 364 acres.

Cedar Point's season runs May to early November, with US summer school holidays, HalloWeekends and weekend days driving the biggest crowds. Midweek days in May, September and early October are dramatically quieter. Check live wait times for Steel Vengeance and Maverick immediately on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a quieter date for marathon coaster days.

Cedar Point live queue times

05 · Questions

Busch Gardens Williamsburg or Cedar Point?

Which is better, Busch Gardens Williamsburg or Cedar Point?

If you are judging on queues, Busch Gardens Williamsburg: it averages about 14 minutes a ride on a typical day against 25 at Cedar Point, roughly 11 minutes back on every queue you join. Busch Gardens Williamsburg has 13 rides with recorded waits against 21 at Cedar Point. Busch Gardens Williamsburg also runs its rides more reliably - 73% of opening hours against 69%.

Which has shorter queues, Busch Gardens Williamsburg or Cedar Point?

Busch Gardens Williamsburg, by about 11 minutes a ride. On a typical day Busch Gardens Williamsburg averages 14 minutes against 25 at Cedar Point. Queues still move hour by hour, and a midweek day outside school holidays beats the gap at either park. See Busch Gardens Williamsburg best time to visit and Cedar Point best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Cedar Point 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 Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Cedar Point for the full ride lists.

Is Busch Gardens Williamsburg bigger than Cedar Point?

By rides we track waits for, Cedar Point is the bigger day out: 21 rides against 13. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours - and on those Busch Gardens Williamsburg 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.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg calendarCedar Point calendarCompare other parks