All time
Shipwreck Rapids has the longest average wait at Seaworld San Diego, at 23 minutes, followed by Arctic Rescue (22 minutes) and Journey to Atlantis (22 minutes). 9 of the 14 rides have an average wait of 15 minutes or less.
| Ride | Overall average wait time, mins |
|---|---|
| Shipwreck Rapids | 23 |
| Arctic Rescue | 22 |
| Journey to Atlantis | 22 |
| Manta | 20 |
| Electric Eel | 16 |
| [Archived] Tidal Twister? | 16 |
| Tentacle Twirl | 14 |
| Bayside Skyride | 13 |
| [Archived] Riptide Rescue | 13 |
| Emperor | 12 |
| SkyTower | 11 |
| [Archived] Elmo's Flying Fish | 9 |
| [Archived] Abby's Sea Star Spin | 8 |
| Octarock | 8 |
| [Archived] Oscar's Rockin' Eel | 8 |
| Rescue Riders | 8 |
| [Archived] Aqua Scout - Temporarily Closed | 7 |
| Rescue Rafter | 7 |
| Sea Dragon Drop | 7 |
| Tidepool Twist | 7 |
Shipwreck Rapids sees the longest peak waits at Seaworld San Diego, with its daily maximum averaging 44 minutes, ahead of Arctic Rescue (42 minutes) and Journey to Atlantis (38 minutes).
| Ride | Average maximum wait time, mins |
|---|---|
| Shipwreck Rapids | 44 |
| Arctic Rescue | 42 |
| Journey to Atlantis | 38 |
| Manta | 37 |
| Electric Eel | 26 |
| Emperor | 24 |
| Bayside Skyride | 22 |
| Tentacle Twirl | 22 |
| [Archived] Tidal Twister? | 21 |
| [Archived] Riptide Rescue | 15 |
| SkyTower | 14 |
| Rescue Riders | 13 |
| [Archived] Elmo's Flying Fish | 11 |
| Tidepool Twist | 10 |
| [Archived] Abby's Sea Star Spin | 9 |
| Octarock | 9 |
| [Archived] Aqua Scout - Temporarily Closed | 8 |
| [Archived] Oscar's Rockin' Eel | 8 |
| Rescue Rafter | 8 |
| Sea Dragon Drop | 8 |
Seaworld San Diego is usually quietest in September, January, and February, when crowd levels average as low as 37%. The busiest month tends to be July, at around 81%.
| Month | Average crowd level, % |
|---|---|
| Jan | 39 |
| Feb | 42 |
| Mar | 54 |
| Apr | 54 |
| May | 47 |
| Jun | 69 |
| Jul | 81 |
| Aug | 56 |
| Sep | 37 |
| Oct | 45 |
| Nov | 46 |
| Dec | 49 |
Tuesday is typically the quietest day of the week at Seaworld San Diego, averaging 38% compared with 79% on Saturday. On average, weekdays are 33 percentage points quieter than weekends.
| Day | Average crowd level, % |
|---|---|
| Sun | 71 |
| Mon | 46 |
| Tue | 38 |
| Wed | 38 |
| Thu | 40 |
| Fri | 48 |
| Sat | 79 |
So far in 2026, crowd levels at Seaworld San Diego are similar to the same point in 2025 (53% compared with 55%). Of the full years on record, 2022 was the busiest, averaging 55%. 2021 is left out of these comparisons because COVID-19 closures and capacity limits affected crowd levels that year.
| Day | Crowd level, % |
|---|---|
| December 28, 2025 | 100 |
| December 30, 2025 | 99 |
| February 15, 2026 | 99 |
| July 26, 2025 | 99 |
| June 30, 2023 | 99 |
| July 04, 2025 | 99 |
| December 27, 2025 | 99 |
| December 29, 2025 | 99 |
| January 19, 2026 | 99 |
| August 16, 2025 | 99 |
| Day | Crowd level, % |
|---|---|
| September 25, 2023 | 3 |
| November 03, 2021 | 3 |
| December 10, 2021 | 3 |
| August 25, 2021 | 3 |
| October 15, 2021 | 4 |
| November 04, 2021 | 4 |
| September 20, 2023 | 4 |
| December 06, 2021 | 4 |
| September 13, 2023 | 4 |
| November 30, 2021 | 4 |