Hersheypark
vs
Six Flags Darien Lake

On a typical day Hersheypark queues less: about 13 minutes a ride against 15 at Six Flags Darien Lake, a difference of roughly 2 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.

Hersheypark and Six Flags Darien Lake compared on their typical recorded queue times
Typically	HersheyparkUnited States	Six Flags Darien LakeUnited States
Average wait per ride	13 min (best of the two)	15 min
Rides with recorded waits	50 (best of the two)	8
Longest typical queue	Laff Trakk - Dark Coaster47 min	Predator24 min
Shortest typical queue	Jolly Rancher Remix - Featuring Halloween Overlay5 min	Boomerang5 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running	61%	70% (best of the two)

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.

Hersheypark and Six Flags Darien Lake compared on live queue times
Right now	HersheyparkUnited States	Six Flags Darien LakeUnited 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 Hersheypark queues less: about 13 minutes a ride against 15 at Six Flags Darien Lake, a difference of roughly 2 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 Hersheypark if…

You want shorter queues: Hersheypark averages 13 minutes a ride against 15 at Six Flags Darien Lake
You want more to do: 50 rides here have recorded wait data against 8 at Six Flags Darien Lake
Laff Trakk - Dark Coaster is on your list - it is Hersheypark's longest typical queue at about 47 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Hersheypark's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Six Flags Darien Lake if…

You will accept a longer queue - 15 minutes a ride here against 13 at Hersheypark - for what Six Flags Darien Lake has that Hersheypark does not
You would rather not find rides shut: Six Flags Darien Lake's rides run 70% of opening hours against 61% at Hersheypark
Predator is on your list - it is Six Flags Darien Lake's longest typical queue at about 24 minutes, so it is the one to do first
You want Six Flags Darien Lake's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

04 · The parks

What each one is.

Hersheypark

Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania was founded in 1906 as a leisure park for Milton Hershey's chocolate factory workers and has grown into one of the best coaster parks in the United States. It runs more than a dozen roller coasters: Skyrush and the racing wooden Lightning Racer, the launched Storm Runner and Fahrenheit, the classic Comet, the newer Candymonium and Wildcat's Revenge, and the Great Bear inverted coaster. The Boardwalk water park is included with admission.

The park is busiest on summer weekends and during Hersheypark in the Dark in October, and because it closes several rides early on some days, the schedule matters as much as the crowds. Check the live wait times before you go and use the crowd calendar to find a weekday when the big coasters run with short queues.

Hersheypark live queue times

Six Flags Darien Lake

Six Flags Darien Lake sits in Darien Center, New York, between Buffalo and Rochester. The coaster line-up includes Ride of Steel (a 208-foot hyper coaster from Intamin), Tantrum (a 98-foot Eurofighter), Motocoaster launched coaster, Predator wooden coaster, and the classic Viper stand-up. A Hurricane Harbor water park and a camping resort operate on the same property.

Western New York school holidays, US summer weekends and the Fright Fest event drive Darien Lake's peak crowds. Weekdays in May, September and early October stay dramatically quieter. Check live wait times for Ride of Steel and Tantrum on arrival, and use our crowd calendar to pick a midweek visit - many rides run near walk-on levels on quieter mornings.

Six Flags Darien Lake live queue times

05 · Questions

Hersheypark or Six Flags Darien Lake?

Which is better, Hersheypark or Six Flags Darien Lake?

If you are judging on queues, Hersheypark: it averages about 13 minutes a ride on a typical day against 15 at Six Flags Darien Lake, roughly 2 minutes back on every queue you join. Hersheypark has 50 rides with recorded waits against 8 at Six Flags Darien Lake. Six Flags Darien Lake also runs its rides more reliably - 70% of opening hours against 61%.

Which has shorter queues, Hersheypark or Six Flags Darien Lake?

Hersheypark, by about 2 minutes a ride. On a typical day Hersheypark averages 13 minutes against 15 at Six Flags Darien Lake. Queues still move hour by hour, and a midweek day outside school holidays beats the gap at either park. See Hersheypark best time to visit and Six Flags Darien Lake best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Hersheypark and Six Flags Darien Lake 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 Hersheypark and Six Flags Darien Lake for the full ride lists.

Is Hersheypark bigger than Six Flags Darien Lake?

By rides we track waits for, Hersheypark is the bigger day out: 50 rides against 8. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours - and on those Hersheypark 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.

Hersheypark calendar Six Flags Darien Lake calendar Compare other parks