Canada's Wonderland- May 18th, 2016

Here are some photos from our third visit of the 2016 season to Canada's Wonderland! It was a great day to visit the park as it was nearly empty and we were able to ride everything we wanted to, sometimes more than once! We arrived at 9:30am and left at about 4:30pm. I hope you enjoy the following photos from our amazing day!

Like I've said a few times before, this is always the best view to begin your day at Canada's Wonderland!

Since the rides opened a little before 10am, we were able to get one ride on Thunder run and a ride on The Bat before making our way over to Leviathan. Here's a photo of Scott and I in the back seat with our hands up before the 306 foot drop. This photo was taken by our Mom.

Spinovator is a classic that has been operating at Canada's Wonderland since day one, which was Saturday, May 23rd, 1981. It's a very enjoyable Calypso ride manufactured by Mack Rides of Germany. The sign in this photo was created for the 2014 season.

Spinovator is a favourite of Scott and I's. We enjoy riding it together with our hands in the air as we quickly spin around on a slight tilt. On a historical note, Spinovator was originally known as Quixote's Kettles from 1981 to 1996. The cars were themed as buckets with rope like handles.

Here's another Canada's Wonderland classic! The Rage has also been operating since day one. The Rage is a swinging pirate ship ride manufactured by Huss of Germany. The Rage was originally known as Viking's Rage from 1981 to 1996.

As you can see here, the blossoms on these trees are in full bloom since our last visit on May 6th. They're quite beautiful as they line the Antique Carousel, which is also a Canada's Wonderland classic. On another historical note, Antique Carousel is a 1928 PTC Carousel that began its life at Palisades Park in New Jersey. It operated there from 1928 until the park's closure in 1971. It then was purchased by Canada's Wonderland's first owners, Taft Broadcasting and was placed in storage until the construction of the park in late 1979, early-mid 1980.

Here is a photo of one of the newly re-painted horses on Antique Carousel. I'm glad to see the maintenance team take care of this carousel every off season.

Here is a (sideways) photo of the creek nearby Wonder Mountain that leads to Arthur's Bay in Medieval Faire section of the park. My Mom had captured this shot.

Here is a photo of Thunder Run's train. Thunder Run is celebrating 30 years this year! It's a very fun powered coaster manufactured by Mack Rides of Germany. There's more history of Thunder Run to come! One thing I'd like to point out is that the park added the original Canada's Wonderland logo this year on front of Thunder Run's train, which was painted blue for the 2014 season.

Here is a view of The Bat's loop while the train was going forward. The Bat is a very fun boomerang coaster manufactured by Vekoma of the Netherlands. It opened in 1987 and its debuting commercial featured Joe Flaherty as Count Flaherty.

Here is a close-up view of Leviathan. Leviathan has a drop of 306 feet, which makes it the tallest coaster in Canada since 2012! Leviathan was manufactured by Bolliger and Mabillard (B&M) of Switzerland.

Here is a view of The Fly and Shockwave. These are two of the many rides that make up International Festival.

Here is a close-up view of The Fly. You can see the riders hanging on while they zip around the tight corners! 

Here is a photo of Thunder Run's train whizzing into the mountain! Thunder Run originally began it's life at Canada's Wonderland as Blauer Enzian, which sat roughly where The Fly is today. It operated there until the end of the 1985 season. It was relocated into Wonder Mountain as well as being lengthened to open as Thunder Run. So really, some parts of the track and the train are 35 years old.

Here is a photo of Vortex celebrating 25 years at Canada's Wonderland. In this photo you can see the newly re-painted track. The over-banked turn was repainted nearly two weeks ago, but it was today!

Here is a view of Vortex's first drop. The netting is in the way but, it's all for safety measures! You can also see Wonder Mountain's Guardian (opened 2014) above Vortex.

Here is a view of the all-new Skyhawk. In this photo it was broken down, but shortly after it re-opened. Earlier in the morning Scott and I were able to ride Skyhawk. Then, throughout the day, I had gotten three more rides on it. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to complete a full barrel roll but, I was able to get upside down many times. All I need to do now is push myself a little further to do a complete barrel roll. :-)

Here is one of Vortex's trains coming through the helix while it goes over the water.

Here is a different view of Wonder Mountain. The Victoria Falls High Divers will be returning for another season this weekend. On the right of this photo you can see Drop Tower just about to drop its riders.

Here is a photo of our Mom, Scott, and I. This photo was taken by Brian, one of the park's very kind park personnel. A shout out goes to Brian (the man with the top-like hat) for taking time out of his busy work schedule to take this photo for us just as we were leaving for the day.

Here is a shot of another beautiful tree blossoming from alongside the parking lot.

Here is a close-up of Leviathan's turn-around that is located outside the park, in the parking lot.

Here is a blurry shot of Behemoth from the parking lot on our way out.

Here is a shot of Behemoth while driving along Wonderland Drive. Scott was driving at the time, so I was able to capture this photo.

Here is Canada's Wonderland viewed from Rutherford Road on our return trip home. In the end, we had an amazing day, riding everything we wanted to more than once. The temperature was slightly cool at times but, the sun made it warm every so often. The park was pretty much empty except for a few busloads of school kids. I look forward to more less busy days at the park in the near future. Thanks for reading! :-)

Canada's Wonderland- May 6th, 2016

My mom and I had visited Canada's Wonderland for the second time for the season. My brother Scott didn't join us today as he had cut his wrist with a hand saw last Saturday and he needed to go visit a specialist. Anyways, we arrived at the park before 9:15am and the park was quite busy today mostly because it was Physics Day for senior elementary and high school students. Luckily it was a very nice and sunny day. So, let's get on with the photos!

This is a beautiful view to begin any day at Canada's Wonderland!

From International Street, you can see Skyhawk, one of Canada's Wonderland's latest additions.

Here is a closer view of Skyhawk from International Street.

From the left side of Wonder Mountain you can see a glimpse of Vortex. This piece of track appears to be faded. In my later photos you will see Vortex with its new coat of paint on the rest of the track.

Here is a view of the all-new Skyhawk. If you look closely you can see visitors trying to flip. It's quite hard to do! I rode Skyhawk twice today and I just couldn't get the seat to do one barrel roll! But, I was very close as my feet were above my head both times!

Here is a closer view of Skyhawk operating.

After getting on many rides in Action Zone, I decided to take a ride on The Bat. While I was on The Bat, my mom was holding my camera so, she decided to take photos of the swampy land beneath the coaster.

Later in the day after getting on more rides in Medieval Faire and International Festival, we decided to venture back over to Action Zone. In this photo you can see Mighty Canadian Minebuster's orange train descending off the lift hill. I greatly enjoy Mighty Canadian Minebuster for its airtime filled hills due to its out-and-back design. It has now been operating for 35 years!

Here is a closeup view of Windseeker looking through Slingshot.

Here is a closeup view of Behemoth's first drop taken all the way near Coasters Diner in Action Zone. Behemoth is a very enjoyable coaster with tons of airtime! It's best to ride it with your hands all the way in the air!

In this photo I was trying to get an interesting view of Psyclone. I had taken this photo holding the camera towards the sky.

Here is another view of Psyclone from below. I had taken this interesting photo by laying the camera down on the ride's fence. 

Here is Orbiter at almost full tilt. Orbiter is the last Giant Enterprise ride operating in North America. It was manufactured by Huss of Germany and has been operating at the park since opening day back in May of 1981. It was originally known as Sol Loco from 1981-2001 when Action Zone was once known as the Grande World Exposition of 1890.

Here is Orbiter at full tilt. Riders go partially upside down as you can see in this photo. In the previous photo I mentioned Orbiter operating since 1981. Actually during 2006 ( the final year of Paramount Parks) Paramount decided to dismantle Orbiter and replace it with a future attraction. Luckily, all the Paramount Parks were bought by Cedar Fair (current owners) and saved Orbiter! It is still here to give riders a thrilling and fun ride! Last year one car was painted a royal blue and this year another car was painted royal blue. So, it's nice to see Orbiter getting some love and attention.

Here is a shot of Antique Carousel, Flight Deck, and Time Warp in Action Zone. You can tell how beautiful and warm of a day it was by just looking at this photo! 

After taking riding some more rides around the park, we decided to take a walk alongside Splashworks. Here you can see Windseeker and Slingshot dominating the blue sky!

This photo was also taken alongside Splashworks. You can see the cars on Drop Tower inching their way to the top.

Here is Vortex. This photo was taken from alongside Splashworks as well. A couple of years ago I wouldn't have been able to take this exact photo as SkyRider would have been standing in the way. I can't believe that it has been nearly two years since SkyRider last operated at the park! It was my favourite stand-up coaster! Luckily it has found a new home at Cavallino Matto park in Italy as Freestyle since last year.

In the previous photo and this photo you can see the nice new coat of red paint Vortex's track has received! If you're going to celebrate a coaster's 25th anniversary, you've got to make it look stunning! On a side note, Vortex has been operating as long as my parents have been married! :-)

Also, here is a view of Skyhawk from alongside Splashworks. Skyhawk is a very fun ride even though it is quite difficult to flip the seats! 

On our way past Splashworks and through White Water Canyon, I noticed the maintenance gate for Timber Wolf Falls was open. As an amusement park enthusiast, I decided to take a look.

Looking from the gate you can see the maintenance path that leads to Timberwolf Falls' station. Also you can see one of the four boats shrink wrapped for the winter. Soon that shrink wrap will be off as Timberwolf Falls, along with Whitewater Canyon and Splashworks will be opening for another season on Saturday, May 28th.

Here is another one of Timberwolf Falls' boats being stored for the off-season.

And here is another view of the gate while I was leaving after taking a peek of behind the scenes!

Here is a view of Wonder Mountain and Vortex from the path that leads to White Water Canyon. In a couple of weeks (or days!) you won't be able to see Wonder Mountain or Vortex from this view!

Can you guess what this is?

That's correct! It's the all-new Flying Eagles in Kidzville!

Here is another slightly blurry view of the all-new Flying Eagles. In order to accommodate Flying Eagles, A-Mazing Adventures was removed and Chopper Chase's (now known as Treetop Adventures as Kidzville received a Canadian theme) track had to be extended.

Here I am about to take a ride on Flying Eagles.

Here's another photo of me about to take a ride of Flying Eagles.

Here I am taking off! Flying Eagles is a very fun family ride that is manufactured by Larson International. I've been on another kind of this ride at Dorney Park last year during my first visit where it was known as Cedar Creek Flyers. I was able to get the car to swoop and dive quite nicely during my ride!

Here is a photo of the entrance gate just before we were about to leave the park.

Here is a photo of my mom and I in front of the Royal Fountains on International Street just before we left for the day shortly after 4:30pm. We had an amazing day as I was able to ride most of the rides I wanted to ride. My mom and I was even able to squeeze in a ride on Antique Carousel, which is her favourite and only ride she can handle! I hope to get back to the park in a couple of weeks. Maybe then Scott will be able to come along again. Having a twin as a riding companion is just amazing! It was kind of odd not riding with him today but, medical attention is (slightly) more important than a day at Canada's Wonderland.

I hope you enjoyed my trip report and come back in a couple of weeks for more!