Upvote:2
The trip from Battery Park to Liberty Island is about 10 minutes.
The queue depends on the time of the day. Early access has less queue, the more you go toward midday the more the queue starts to grow. Anyway if you arrive one hour in advance you should be fine.
We had the 9 am ticket (on friday mid August) and the queue was less than 10 minutes.
There is no priority ticket, the only advantage that you have by booking online is that you follow another, shorter, line.
Upvote:3
On a fine summer weekend, the waiting time for the ferry to Liberty Island is no more than 30-45 minutes. For a weekday, it will be only less I assume. Have a good trip.
PS: I took the ferry on 4-July-2016 and I did not wait for more than 30 mins.