Canada's Wonderland- August 31st, 2016

Today was my 10th visit of the season to Canada's Wonderland. It was a beautiful but busy day. We managed to get on many rides even though the crowds were quite huge as it's the final week of daily operations. I hope you enjoy the photos below!

We arrived at the park around 9:30am. The Halloween Haunt display was set up in front of the Royal Fountains on International Street just as you enter the park. Halloween Haunt runs during evenings starting September 30th on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Check out www.canadaswonderland.com/haunt for more details about this year's Halloween Haunt.

After taking a spin on quite a few rides in Action Zone and waiting for White Water Canyon to open for the day, Scott and I decided to take a spin on Flying Eagles. Flying Eagles is a new for 2016, along with Skyhawk. It's a fun family ride as you can navigate your car side to side as you fly through the air.

While Scott and I were waiting for White Water Canyon to open, our Mom had the camera so, she decided to catch a couple of shots of the slight delay.

Here is a raft making it's way down the channel of White Water Canyon. About ten minutes after this photo was captured, we were able to finally board. It was a fun ride as usual but, the water falls near the end were down again.

The park was definitely busy today as many people were getting in their final rides before summer is officially over!

After riding many rides and getting a bite to eat I decided to capture more photos. Here is a view of Shockwave looking through The Bat's supports!

Here is a close-up shot of The Bat's train going through the cobra roll.

Here is a photo of me behind the glare of the TV screen after I had beaten my record of 28 flips with 32 flips on Skyhawk! :-)

Here is a new historical plaque for the Antique Carousel. The Antique Carousel definitely has traveled throughout the years!

Here is a relaxing shot of the Royal Fountains as viewed from the bridge in front of Wonder Mountain.

Here we are after spending a great day at the park! We left around 4pm. I hope you enjoyed looking at the photos from our visit today!

Canadian National Exhibition- August 24th, 2016

Today we made a trip to the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE/ The Ex). Travis had came along for the trip like he had last year. My Mom had also came along as she hadn't been in three years. It was a great day as the weather was nice and the CNE wasn't busy. Also, the rides were running great as usual as North American Midway has a great selection of rides that they bring every year. Below are photos of our day at The Ex.

We arrived at The Ex around 9:40am. They were still setting up many of the concessions for the day so, we did a small tour before the rides opened at 11am.

The Polar Express has been a staple at The Ex for many years. This year, North American Midway had spent $250,000 to refurbish it for this year. It really looks spectacular and rides nicely as usual.

Here is a photo of the iconic Giant Wheel which provides a spectacular view of the midway and surrounding area.

Here is a photo of the Sky Ride which has been popular since it opened at The Ex in 2012.

Here is a photo of the ever popular Haunted Mansion. I took an on-ride video of it so, check out the video further down.

Here's another staple at The Ex. It's the Crazy Mouse which has been appearing at The Ex for 10 years now. It is a Zamperla spinning coaster which is quite fun especially once it starts spinning!

Interestingly enough, there were two blue cars in this photo.

After going up the lift hill, riders navigate tight turns then go down a couple of hills before spinning like crazy in mouse shaped cars. 

Here is a photo of the Alpine Bobs. It is a fun ride as you go around and swing from side to side at highs speeds. But, it is a little rough from traveling.

Here is a sideways photo of Mach 3. It is a KMG Booster ride that flips riders about 120 feet into the air. I have not taken a ride on it yet since its introduction in 2012 as the ride capacity is quite low and the lines can become quite lengthy.

Here is a photo of some of the midway. It wasn't too busy of a day.

This photo was captured by my Mom as I rode The Fireball.

I am the one who is riding with my arms in the air (or facing towards the ground depending on how you look at it). ;-)

Here's a close up shot of me riding The Fireball. It is a fun ride that loops riders upside down. Here you can also see that it was nearly full.

Here is a photo of Scott, Travis, and I riding down Euro Slide which is a 40 foot slide. It is quite fun as you slide down getting some airtime along the way. We rode it multiple times throughout the day. I even created an on-ride video of it that is featured further down.

One thing I did notice while riding is that the yellow and blue strips were quite dirty which caused me not to go too far. Other than that, it is a fun slide!

Here is Scott, Travis, and I after taking our second ride on the Niagara Falls log flume. We didn't get wet on our first ride but, we sure got soaked on our second ride!

Here is another view of the midway at The Ex. There are quite a few rides there so, getting the ride wrist band is definitely worth it as that is what we have been doing annually.

Here is a photo of one of the three fun houses that made an appearance at The Ex this year. This one wasn't too fun as most of the components were broken.

Although I didn't ride it this year, Pharaoh's Fury is a pretty good swinging ship which has quite a bit of airtime in the end seats.

Here is a photo of The Blitzer's sign! It is a compact Galaxi coaster that is quite fun especially with the head choppers! The Blizter was introduced to the Ex in 2012 and has be a favourite ever since.

Here is a nice photo of the Gondola Wheel as viewed from the queue line while we were waiting for our second ride on the Gondola Wheel of the day.

My Mom had joined us at various times throughout the day to see us on some rides. It was her first visit in three years. Here is a photo of her from atop the Mardi Gras fun house.

Here is a shot of the midway from atop the Mardi Gras fun house.

Here is a photo I had captured of Banzai before I had ridden it. It is a relatively fun ride as you get flipped upside down multiple times with your feet dangling below.

Here is another view of the midway at The Ex. As the day wore on, it became slightly busier as people had left work in order to be there for the evening.

Here is another close up shot of the Crazy Mouse just before our second ride on it of the day.

Even though that drop may be small, it still is packed with some airtime! :-)

Here is a view of the Mega Drop from the Crazy Mouse queue line. Mega Drop may be a short drop tower but, it seems more intense than taller ones. :-)

Here are riders in mid-drop. Travis and I had rode Mega Drop earlier that day. Scott had passed it by as he claims it to be a little uncomfortable and jerky compared to Drop Tower at Canada's Wonderland.

Here is another view of the midway with the Zipper in operation.

Here is a view of the Scooter bumper cars. They are fun but, they don't have a whole of bumping power. 

Although I don't ride the Zipper due to many potential risks involved with the ride, I did capture a close-up photo of it while it was in motion.

Here is a cheap inferior version of the Polar Express, the Himalaya. This was a new ride on the midway this year at The Ex. It may have been quite full, but it wasn't as close to being popular as The Polar Express.

Here is a photo of the Scrambler just before Scott and I had taken a ride on it. It sure was running at full speed which caused it to be one of the most intense Scrambler rides I had ever been on.

Here is Quasar in motion. I usually give Quasar a ride but, for some reason I didn't this year. Oh well, it's not like I was missing much.

Here I am on Sky Tower during my fourth and final ride on it of the day! The Sky Tower rises riders nearly 100 feet in to the air while the tower spins at high speeds. It does look intimidating to some but, is actually a really fun ride as I had discovered last year during my visit to The Ex. :-)

Here is a photo of the Sky Tower that Scott had captured while I was on it.

Here is a photo of Swing Tower in full swing while I was riding it.

Here is another photo of the Alpine Bobs while it was loading passengers.

Here is a shot of Re-Mix the floor-less version of the Orbiter that can be found around fairs. I remember riding this a few years ago when it was first introduced to the Ex and found it extremely uncomfortable as it felt like your legs were going to be ripped off.

Here is a photo of the Niagara Falls log flume after a boat had splashed down.

Here is another shot of the midway with the Swing Tower in operation.

Here we all are after spending a fun day at The Ex! :-)

Here is an on-ride photo of the Crazy Mouse that I had purchased with Scott, Travis, and I enjoying our first coaster ride of the day! Below is are on-ride videos of the Euro Slide and the Haunted Mansion! I hope you enjoyed reading my adventures at The Ex! :-)