Canada's Wonderland - July 6th, 2021

 On July 6th I was finally able to visit Canada's Wonderland once again, 592 days after my last visit to the park on November 22nd, 2019! My brother Scott and our Mom had joined me on my visit to the park. July 6th was the second day for Season Pass Holders to visit the park before the general public was able to visit on July 7th.

Since my last visit to Canada's Wonderland, quite a few things have changed to meet the current COVID-19 safety protocols put in place by the provincial government. The safety protocols put in place at Canada's Wonderland include the requirement of all guests to book a reservation as the park is currently operating at 25% capacity, the wearing of face masks on all rides as well as waiting in line for the rides, reduced capacity on the rides, and physical distancing markers in the ride lines and on the paths throughout the park to keep guests safe during their visit.

While the weather was hot and humid during our visit, we had a really good day! Be sure to check out the photos from our visit to Canada's Wonderland below!

We arrived at the park shortly before 10:30am.

Here I am before heading through the front gate!

It was great to finally be back after the park was closed for so long! Canada's Wonderland is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

It was surreal to see this view of International Street once again. In some ways it felt like an eternity, while in other ways it felt like my last visit was just yesterday.

Throughout the park there was signage indicating where to walk in order to maintain physical distancing such as on the bridge heading into the Medieval Faire section.

Leviathan was operating with all three trains to keep the lines moving as every other row was blocked off to maintain physical distancing. Scott and I would take a ride on it later in the day. Scott and I rode Dragon Fyre, Spinovator, and Drop Tower during our first round through Medieval Faire.

For the 2021 season, the Fun Shoppe was renamed Jester's Courtyard to fit in better with the Medieval Faire section.

Up next was Vortex, which is celebrating 30 years in 2021! It was forceful as usual!

After catching rides on Timberwolf Falls and White Water Canyon, we grabbed some lunch at Roadside Chicken in Frontier Canada.

After lunch Scott and I decided to ride Yukon Striker.

On our way over to Yukon Striker I captured this interesting shot of one of Vortex's trains speeding along its track.

Here's Scott and I after riding Yukon Striker! Since it has been a while since our last rides on it, the first 90° drop got our stomachs!

After Yukon Striker I took a ride on Mighty Canadian Minebuster. During the time the park was closed, they took the time to re-track the drop after the turn around, which helped make the coaster more enjoyable!

Unfortunately Sledge Hammer was down, but its power was on. I am hoping to catch it the next time I visit as it is a great one-of-a-kind ride!

Also for the 2021 season, the peeling billboard on Backlot Stunt Coaster was removed. Now the trains just "crash" through a wall. Maybe they'll redo it one day.

From Backlot Stunt Coaster's queue you get some nice views of Behemoth.

The line for Backlot Stunt Coaster moved quickly despite every other row being blocked off. It would be nice if the park were to add some shade to the queue as the afternoon sun was quite hot. Overall, Backlot Stunt Coaster's launch was still forceful as usual. I even greyed-out a bit on the helix!

I just love the airtime hills of Behemoth!

For 2021, Swing of the Century was also operating at a reduced capacity, with what looked like more than half of its seats removed. It usually operates with 48 seats.

It looked kind of funny seeing a good portion of its seats removed.

What didn't make sense to me was how the ride operator was only allowing guests to sit on the inside seats of the ride. That greatly reduced the capacity of Swing of the Century even more.

International Street was looking beautiful as usual.

Wonder Mountain was also looking great. Although the shrubby trees near Victoria Falls have grown quite a bit since the last time I saw them.

Pictured is the what was new for 2020 Beagle Brigade Airfield ride in Planet Snoopy. With the park not being able to open in 2020, it is now the one of two new rides for 2021.

This Zamperla Flying Tigers ride replaced the Peanuts Putt Putt mini golf attraction which had been at the park since 1981.

Children seemed to be enjoying the rides in Planet Snoopy and Kidzville. Pictured is the smallest roller coaster at the park, Taxi Jam.

Silver Streak is celebrating 20 years this year.

Silver Streak is a Vekoma Family Suspended Coaster. While I didn't ride it during our visit, I have been on it in years past.

Over the years, the trees surrounding Silver Streak have grown making it quite difficult to see from the paths of Kidzville.

The wooden shingles on some of the buildings along International Street have been redone. It is always nice to see the park taking care of its infrastructure.

Just before getting in line for Leviathan, I captured a photo of Viking's Rage in full swing. This Huss Pirate ride has been operating at the park since May 23rd, 1981.

Riptide was operating earlier in the day. While I didn't get a ride on it this time, I did notice it had new seats.

After riding Leviathan, my Mom and I took a spin on the classic Antique Carousel. Afterwards, I took a thrilling ride on Behemoth.

After being at the park for nearly eight hours, we decided it was time to head home for the day shortly after 6pm. Here we are in front of the Royal Fountain and Floral flag on International Street!

Here's one last shot of the park's entrance as we were leaving. Thanks for a great visit, Canada's Wonderland! :-)

Canada's Wonderland during the COVID-19 Pandemic- May 24th, 2021

On the evening of May 24th, I decided to take a drive over to the city of Vaughan, as it has been eight months since I had last seen Canada's Wonderland. As the park remains closed due to the current on-going COVID-19 pandemic, I thought it would be interesting to take more photos of North America's most visited seasonal amusement park sitting idle. While not much has changed since my last visit, the photos I captured of the park during my recent visit to the area are different compared to the ones I had captured last September as the sun was slowly setting throughout the evening, allowing for some nice exposure shots!

Be sure to enjoy the photos of a temporarily closed Canada's Wonderland during its 40th anniversary, below!

My brother Scott and I arrived in the area just before 7pm. Pictured is a view from the GO carpool lot just North-east of the park.

Ghoster Coaster's lift hill just peaks above the embankment along HWY 400 near Major Mackenzie Drive. 

Yukon Striker has been patiently waiting for visitors to board its trains since it last operated in October 2019.

It is still quite odd to see all the rides and roller coasters sitting quietly during what would normally be a busy evening filled with tons of excitement!

The Bat and the majestic Wonder Mountain stand out among the hazy skies.

Here's a closeup of Vortex atop Wonder Mountain. Hopefully it will be able to thrill park visitors during its 30th anniversary at the park this summer!

The evening sun makes Yukon Striker and Behemoth stand out!

Wilde Beast is one of the three wooden roller coasters at Canada's Wonderland. All three are celebrating 40 years this season, along with Canada's Wonderland. The view of Wilde Beast from Major Mackenzie Drive is one that many park visitors don't often see.

Leviathan is still standing quietly at 306 feet tall.

This rabbit was hopping around the perimeter of Canada's Wonderland, enjoying the beautiful evening.

Dragon Fyre is an Arrow Dynamics custom looping coaster that opened with the park on May 23rd, 1981. It has been thrilling riders for forty years and was the first roller coaster of its kind in Canada when it debuted featuring two loops and two corkscrew inversions! Dragon Fyre's two loops look squished from this front-view shot!

The station of Leviathan sits empty and quiet as it waits for the park to reopen.

Flight Deck's lift hill peeks out from behind Wonder Mountain as the evening sun shines on it.

Hopefully by July this sign says something along the lines of "Open by reservation only".

From along Rutherford Road near the 400 overpass you can get some nice views of the park's skyline featuring Yukon Striker, Behemoth, Windseeker, Leviathan, and Drop Tower.

I am one who would never get tired of such a view!

Kingswood Music Theatre peeks out above the nearby trees which have grown taller over the years.

The Canada's Wonderland sign along the 400 still has Winterfest lighting on it from late-2019!

It'll be a great day when carloads of people will be able to zip along Canada's Wonderland Drive for a day filled with thrills again.

The sun was slowly lowering in the sky, allowing Canada's Wonderland's taller rides to stand out against the pale blue sky.

Here's a silhouette view of Behemoth's horseshoe turn around.

It's funny how I can feel the amount of airtime looking at this photo of one of Behemoth's hills!

The sun was setting on Behemoth and Leviathan, the massive Bolliger and Mabillard manufactured monsters of the park! 

Here is the aesthetically pleasing twisted helix finale of Behemoth.

Flight Deck's sidewinder inversion is visible from the parking lot through a gap in the trees.

Here is Leviathan sans lift hill as it was out of the frame. Although the track you do see in this shot would make for a nice launch coaster layout.

From this angle Flight Deck and Drop Tower are aligned with each other.

Here's a fiery sunset shot of Yukon Striker's lift hill.

I spy three roller coasters in this photo...

To finish off an evening walk around the perimeter of Canada's Wonderland sitting idle, here's a wide-angle shot of Behemoth as seen from the south-end of  the parking lot.

I hope you greatly enjoyed looking at these photos of Canada's Wonderland during these unique times! Hopefully the next time I share new photos of the park it will be from inside the park with the rides in full operation. Here's hoping for a July opening for Canada's Wonderland's 40th anniversary! Until then, continue to stay safe! :-)