Winterfest at Canada's Wonderland (Part 1) - November 22nd, 2019

Friday, November 22nd, 2019 marked the premiere of Winterfest at Canada's Wonderland!

My good friend Brandon met up with me to take in the sights and sounds of this all-new Christmastime event. The park was like a Canada's Wonderland we had never seen before! It was decked out with wonderful Christmas light displays, musical performances, and other holiday activities for visitors to enjoy! An event you do not want to miss is the Tree Lighting Ceremony at 5:30pm on International Street! It was truly spectacular!

In addition to the wonderful light displays and shows, the park also had some festive food options available only during Winterfest. Also, although not the main focus of Winterfest, they even had a few rides open for guests who were willing to brave the windchill (I was one of them).

Be sure to check out part one of photos I had captured of Winterfest in all its glory!

As we arrived at the parking lot parking lot, we were greeted by large nutcrackers there were set up in front of each toll booth in the parking lot.

From the parking lot toll lanes, you could see lights dangling down from where the waterfalls normally flow on Wonder Mountain.

Once 4:30pm rolled around, the parking lot opened. After finding a place to park, we ventured towards the front gates. It was a spectacular sight and a preview of what was yet to come.

Here is the view of International Street as we walked through the front gates.

Here is a close up of the Snowflake Lake (Royal Fountains) on International Street. The lights on all the trees and Wonder Mountain all looked great!

Here is one of the two 50 foot tall Christmas trees on International Street. They weren't quite fully lit up at this point as there was a tree lighting ceremony at 5:30pm.

Many of the shops found throughout the park were transformed to suit the Christmas theming of Winterfest. Pictured is The Mistletoe gift shop.

Here is a close-up view of Santa's Reindeer, which were parked on top of the front gate while Santa makes his stay at Canada's Wonderland for the next month.

Snoopy was making his way through when I captured this photo.

While many of the lamp posts featured shooting star lights, all of them had received oil lamp looking bulbs which looked really neat as they flickered just like the real thing! 

Here is Snoopy in his Santa outfit before the Tree Lighting Ceremony took place!

International Street was just dazzling with lights!

Everything within sight received a festive transformation.

Displays such a this one were sure to get visitors in to the Christmas spirit!

The Victoria Falls on Wonder Mountain were replaced with a dazzling display of lights.

Here are more lights and decorations found on International Street.

Once rope drop occurred at 5pm, Brandon and I took a spin on Klockwerks, one of the four larger flat rides open during Winterfest. It was a chilly experience! As you can see, International Festival was transformed into Tinsel Town for the duration of Winterfest.

These decorative snowmen sure appeared to be in the Christmas spirit!

After taking a frigid ride on the Wilde Knight Mares (another of the four large flat rides open), I captured some photos of Elf Village (Medieval Faire). Many lights were strung in the shrubs and trees.

The diving structure on Arthur's Baye even got in on the festivities with strings of lights cascading down towards the water. As I would later discover, these lights were programmed with the Cool Yule Christmas performance on the stage located nearby.

Here is the third 50 foot Christmas tree to be seen at Winterfest. It was placed on the stage in Elf Village, next to Arthur's Baye.

As 5:30pm was approaching, we made our way over to where the tree lighting ceremony takes place.

As we were walking along, we passed by the What the Dickens?! sideshow outside the Canterbury Theatre.

Here is the opening scene of the Tree Lighting Ceremony! Below is a video I had recorded of the event.

After a few minutes of singing and dancing, a large countdown took place and the trees and the plethora of lights on International Street came alive!

It was an amazing performance and one that you need to see in person!

Once the tree lighting ceremony concluded, guests started to venture out on to Snowflake Lake, the skating rink at Winterfest.

Here we have the Season of Lights, a section dedicated to the various holidays celebrated throughout the months of December and January.

In the back half of the Grande World Exposition of 1890 section that was open was the North Pole, home to Santa and many of his deer and elves.

At St. Nick's Pics, visitors of Winterfest could get their photos taken with Santa.

Artificial topiary reindeer were set up in the North Pole section.

Also on display were some animatronic reindeer housed at the Reindeer Round-Up display.

Some of the topiary deer appeared to be signing some Christmas carols.

While in the North Pole, you could pick up some festive treats.

The lights on International Street looked spectacular against the night sky!

The back half of Tinsel Town was shimmering bright with all the lights.

The path behind Wonder Mountain was home to a display of lights that moved to music.

It was quite interesting to watch the lights flicker to the music that was being played.

There were even small houses set up along the path which looked very festive!

Down near the exit of Vortex, guests could take a photo at this giant light-up Christmas present.

Tinsel Town looked quite beautiful with its tinsel and lights all strung overhead the pathways!

Be sure to continue onto Part 2 for more photos from the premiere night of Winterfest at Canada's Wonderland!