Canada's Wonderland - May 21st, 2019

Tuesday, May 21st marked my fourth visit of the 2019 season to Canada's Wonderland! During my 18 days since my last visit to the park, a few small changes regarding Yukon Striker had occurred, which is good to see. Also the weather has since greatly improved since my previous visit! During this visit, I managed to capture some historical comparison photos of the park's past that some may enjoy!

If you would like to see more historical photo comparisons of Canada's Wonderland, let me know and I'll see what I can do! Be sure to enjoy the photos below!

After entering the park just after the front gates opened for the day, I captured this photo. 

Not too much has changed on International Street since 1981, except for the addition of a fence around the Royal Fountain and the trees have grown over the past 38 years. Also note that the wonderful landscaping crew was setting up the floral Canadian Flag during my visit.

During Season Pass Sneak Preview Night, I had noticed that the international Showplace had a canopy once again. It went without one during the 2018 season due to an ice storm that hit southern Ontario in April of last year. 

Here I am standing outside my old work location at Canada's Wonderland while being a Maze Usher during Halloween Haunt last October. For those who don't know, this is the location of the Ruin and Blackout mazes which are located in the basement of Wonder Mountain.

Since my last visit to Canada's Wonderland (May 3rd), Yukon Striker's tunnel was painted brown in order to make it darker. It was quite bright when it was just plain concrete. I applaud this decision as a tunnel should be dark.

After catching a ride on Yukon Striker to kick off a start to a great day, I captured a few summer-like photos of Yukon Striker.

Since it was quite windy in the morning, the trains on Yukon Striker moved a tad slower. This allowed passengers to experience a great amount of hang time on Yukon Striker's inversions, which made the ride experience quite unique!

While the first drop on Yukon Striker is the main draw, the second drop after the mid-course brake run is quite thrilling as it features a pop of airtime before the train heads into the final helix.

Timberwolf Falls and White Water Canyon opened last Friday for the season. I took a ride (or two) on both today. White Water Canyon and Timberwolf Falls are celebrating 35 and 30 years of operation, respectively this season.

Here's a view of Vortex today with a view of Vortex from 1991. The nearby trees have certainly grown over the past 28 years! Also, Wonder Mountain's Guardian opened overhead in 2014, five years ago.

Here's a look at Klockwerks with a view of the former Bayern's Curve in 2000. While both Klockwerks and Bayern's Curve were both original attractions at Canada's Wonderland when the park opened in 1981, Klockwerks had operated across the "street" until the end of the 2000 season, in order to make room for Shockwave. Bayern's Curve was ultimately removed from the park in order to accommodate a relocated Klockwerks.

In the photo of Arthur's Baye in Medieval Faire from 1981, you can see quite a few similarities in the view of today as Viking's Rage, Wilde Knight Mares, and Wilde Beast still operate at the park. Also, a performance structure still exists in Arthur's Baye, although no longer a pirate ship. Today, Drop Tower and Leviathan dominate the skies in the section of the park.

The beautiful blossoms were coming out at Canada's Wonderland with the arrival of seasonal temperatures.

After another great day spent a Canada's Wonderland, it was time for my Mom and I to head home. Thanks for checking out my photos of our great day! :-)

Six Flags Darien Lake - May 10th and 11th, 2019

On May 10th and 11th, my Mom and I ventured down to Darien Lake, which recently re-joined the Six Flags family of parks. With Six Flags operating the park again, I was able to have my Membership pass processed there, which is much closer than any other Six Flags park. This was my second ever visit to Darien Lake, as my first was back in August 2017.

Despite the weather being unseasonably cooler for this time of the year, we managed to have a fun time at Six Flags Darien Lake! I was able to get on many rides and roller coasters during our two day visit, with many re-rides as well! While the new-for-2019 Six Flags SkyScreamer was not operational during our visit, it looked absolutely stunning and should be a great hit with park visitors when it opens on May 18th.

Throughout our visit, I noticed many improvements around the park that Six Flags has made including new signage, re-painted sign posts, re-tracking of the Predator wooden roller coaster, maintenance on the Blast Off, and replacement of the boards on the Shipwreck Falls water ride bridge.

While there were some issues with redeeming some of the discounts and perks on my Membership pass on Friday, most of these issues were resolved the following day. I expect the new POS system at the park to be up and running smoothly in the near future.

Overall, it was a great weekend to visit Six Flags Darien Lake as the crowds were significantly light, the staff were friendly and helpful, and most of the rides were operating! I look forward to seeing what Six Flags (as operators of the park once again) will do with the park in the future as what I've seen so far is really good! Be sure to check out the photos of our great time below! :-)

After a two and a half hour drive, we made it to Six Flags Darien Lake just before opening time.

After the rides opened at 10am, we made our way over to Membership services, eventually making our way over to the Tantrum shortly after.

If you look closely, you can see me navigating the tight turns and and inversions on the Tantrum!

The Tantrum is a compact roller coaster manufactured by Gerstlauer that opened at the park in 2018. It features a 98.4 foot tall vertical lift hill and 3 inversions within its 1,246.7 feet of track!

Here's a close-up view of the inclined loop on Tantrum.

The Tantrum occupies the former location of the Thunder Rapids log flume that operated at the park from 1981 through 2017.

The Silver Bullet is an Enterprise ride that provides a thrilling and forceful ride! It opened at the park in 1981 and was manufactured by Heintz Fahtz. 

The new-for-2019 Six Flags SkyScreamer was being worked on throughout our visit.

Here I am on the Boomerang while my Mom watched safely from the ground. ;-)

The Boomerang, manufactured by Vekoma opened at the park in 1998 and sends passengers head-over-heels a total of six times through its three inversions. During my previous visit to Darien Lake in August 2017, the Boomerang was closed. Luckily it was operating this time around. In my opinion, it provides a rather enjoyable experience when compared to some of the other Boomerang coasters I have been on. 

Here I am on the Scrambler. This classic ride provides a fun experience for thrill-seekers of all ages!

While on the Ride of Steel, my Mom had captured this photo. I rode with my hands up throughout the whole duration of the ride! Of interest, it seems to be riding better than when I had visited nearly two years ago.

The Haymaker is a fun Paratrooper ride manufactured by Heintz Fahtz. It too has been at the park since 1981.

The Sleighride has unfortunately lost its beautiful look since my first visit to the park in August 2017. Apparently, a storm that had hit the area in April 2018 had destroyed much of its scenery and roof. Regardless of its current appearance, it still provides a good ride.

The Viper was built by Arrow-Huss and has been operating at the park since 1982. It features a series of five inversions. It still provides a great ride like it had during my visit two years ago!

Here I am on the interesting Moose on the Loose ride. Having opened in 2012, this ride features moose-shaped cars that ride along a track, passing through various scenes. It was manufactured by Metallbau and is only one of a few operating in North America.

The Hornet's Nest is a Larson Flying Scooter ride. Passengers are able to control their flight pattern by moving the paddle side to side. Since it was quite windy that day, I was able to get the car to go backwards at times!

Here is the classic loop on the Viper!

The Boomerang stands out with its aqua blue and white colour scheme!

Here's a close-up of the Boomerang's train diving out of the cobra roll inversion.

The classic car ride, Tin Lizzy's passes along side the Moto Coaster, Boomerang, and the nearby lake.

While on the Tin Lizzy's, you even pass under a covered bridge. My Mom and I rode it a few times during our two day visit.

Lasso is a classic Zierer manufactured Wave Swinger ride. It features a beautiful light package once the sun sets.

The Giant Wheel has dominated the skies at Six Flags Darien Lake since 1983 after operating at the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee. Manufactured by Vekoma, it stands 165 feet tall.

Here I am puttering along on the Tin Lizzy's, a gas powered car ride manufactured by Arrow Dynamics in 1981.

With about an hour left until the park closed for the day, my Mom and I decided to take a spin on the Grand Carousel.

Here I am taking one final ride of the day on the Viper.

With 5pm approaching, many of the rides began to close down as the park began to clear out.

Here's my Mom and I after a fun and thrilling day at Six Flags Darien Lake!

That's a wrap with day one at Six Flags Darien Lake! Continue on to day two for more photos and thrills!

Saturday started out as a bright and sunny day! Many school bands had arrived to perform that day, making the park somewhat busy at times. But that didn't stop us from having fun! 

After getting a few rides in on the Tantrum again once the park opened for the day, I then decided to take another ride on the legendary Viper. But I first made a pit stop over at the Mind Eraser.

The Mind Eraser, a Vekoma SLC was operational Saturday. I had rode it during my visit two years ago and recalled it being quite smooth. Surprisingly, it still provided a smooth ride!

After getting on the Mind Eraser, Viper, and the Hornet's Nest, it was time to take a spin on Rolling Thunder. This Larson Giant Loop ride sure sends you head over heels many times! The passenger with their arms up closer to the center is me!

The Viper is very photogenic!

Here's a full view of Rolling Thunder. It sports a light package that sure stands out at night!

The Six Flags SkyScreamer can be seen from almost anywhere in the park! It rises 240 feet above the ground!

The sun came out for a while, allowing a reflection of the Boomerang to appear in Fun Lake.

As mentioned earlier, the Predator was receiving some new sections of track. Here is a zoomed in view of some of the new track. They were finishing up the track work on Friday.

Here's the Lasso poking out from behind a building while in full swing.

The Ride of Steel is still the tallest roller coaster in New York state at a height of 208 feet, even 20 years after its debut. Thrill-seekers experience quite a bit of airtime on this hyper coaster. My rides on Ride of Steel on Saturday were not quite as cool as the rides I had on it Friday!

The fountain at Six Flags Darien Lake is quite beautiful and provides a place to relax for a while.

Some brave thrill-seekers (myself included) put their hands up to enhance the airtime experience on roller coasters such as the Ride of Steel.

The fountain near the Emporium allows for photographers to take some postcard quality photos.

While the Giant Wheel is an iconic piece at Six Flags Darien Lake, I find it interesting how there was a car missing from each quarter of the wheel. It appears that this is done only earlier in the season, judging by photos found online from previous seasons.

Visitors seemed to be enjoying their time at Six Flags Darien Lake during a warm and sunny afternoon.

The Haymaker sure was a popular ride that afternoon.

By the early afternoon, the Predator began cycling with test dummies aboard. 

Predator continued to cycle all afternoon but never did open. I'll catch it next time!

The seats on the Six Flags SkyScreamer kept on rising up and down the tower. Crews were preparing it for opening day on May 18th.

With the pleasant weather, the Grand Prix Speedway go karts attraction was open for those looking for a need for some speed.

The Silver Bullet and Haymaker were operating at the same time in this photo. Too bad the rides don't face each other. That would have been neat.

Many park goers were taking in the thrills of the Tantrum!

The cars on Tantrum sometimes come to a slow on the inclined loop, creating some hang time!

This large chair is a popular place to get your photo taken! Many times throughout our visit, there was always someone sitting in it whenever we passed by. We eventually caught a break, so my Mom hopped on up for a photo!

The blossoms on the apple trees were out, which allowed for a beautiful photo of the Giant Wheel.

Here is the Viper's train going through the loop!

As the clouds began to overtake the sky once again in the early evening, the lights on the boardwalk section of the park began to shine.

After a fun weekend spent at Six Flags Darien Lake, it was time to say goodbye for now! Thanks for checking out my photos of the fun weekend we had! :-)