Canada's Wonderland - May 24th, 2023

 Visit number two for the 2023 season to Canada's Wonderland is now in the books!

The day started off somewhat rainy but then became sunny and very windy! Despite the adverse weather, I was able to get on 19 rides during my visit! Be sure to enjoy the photos of my second visit of the 2023 season.

The making of the floral flag on International Street was happening today.

I started my day in Action Zone and Frontier Canada. The park wasn't busy, so I was able to get on many of the rides and roller coasters in these sections, including Yukon Striker.

Throughout the day, the park was testing Tundra Twister. It looks like it will be opening within a week!

Like I've said before from my last visit, Tundra Twister looks spectacular!

On my way over to International Festival and Medieval Faire, I captured this photo of the new skee ball machines that replaced the old Top Glow game in International Festival.

After riding Shockwave and Wilde Beast I got in line for Leviathan. I managed to get a front row seat which was very forceful, especially with the strong gusts of wind!

Shockwave was giving some thrilling rides today.

Tundra Twister is mostly hidden by Yukon Striker, but if you look closely, you can see it operating.

On my way to get photos of Snoopy's Racing Railway, the new-for-2023 roller coaster, I took a spin on Flying Eagles in Kidzville. Hard to believe this ride opened seven years ago!

The new-for-2023 Snoopy's Racing Railway family launched coaster is located in the back half of Planet Snoopy and is themed around Woodstock and his bad seed gang.

While children and adults accompanied by a child are the only ones able to ride Snoopy's Racing Railway, this coaster is a great addition to an underutilized area of the park.

Along various sections of the track, audio clips play as the train speeds by.

The 14-passenger train is launched out of the station at speeds up to 50 km/h (31.1 mph) and travels around the track twice.

The structures that surrounded the track include Lucy's Rootbeer Saloon and Franklin's Fireworks Factory. Snoopy's Racing Railway looks to be a hit with young families since its debut on May 18th!

In the early afternoon, two geese were wading the waters of Victoria Falls at Wonder Mountain.

Tundra Twister when in full operation stands approximately 150 feet tall!

Twisting upside down at that height is going to be quite a thrill!

Hopefully soon the test dummies will be replaced by real, living passengers!

In the afternoon, the skies cleared, allowing for some stunning shots, particularly those of Sledge Hammer, which is celebrating 20 years of operation this year!

It rode great today! I was very happy to see all six gondolas operating and to see the ride operators interacting with the passengers like they had last year!

The airtime on Behemoth is always fun!

Today I decided to ride Time Warp and Flight Deck. I feel some days both are decent and tolerable while other days both are awful. lol

While in line for Flight Deck, I managed to capture a close-up photo of the mannequin in the control tower above Flight Deck's station. Interestingly enough, he is still sporting apparel from the days when it was known as Top Gun (1995-2007)!

Tundra Twister's huge pendulum structure is quite eye-catching!

New this year are signs with a phone number to report line jumping. Hopefully this helps resolve the situation that has been occurring for years at the park! Of note, when in line for Leviathan in the morning, the Fast Lane attendant was able to remove a persistent line jumper from the queue!

Here is my Mom and I posing for a photo before heading home after a great day of fun at Canada's Wonderland! :-)

Below is a video of Tundra Twister testing during my visit!

Canada's Wonderland Opening Weekend - May 6th, 2023

What a beautiful day it was to make my first visit of the 2023 season to Canada's Wonderland!

On Saturday, May 6th my brother Scott, our Mom, and I headed over to Canada's Wonderland to take in the excitement of Opening Weekend! I managed to capture many photos of what is new for 2023 including the not yet completed Tundra Twister and Snoopy's Racing Railway as well as some changes made in the park since last year. The park wasn't quite as busy as I thought it would be, so I was able to get on 10 different rides throughout the day!

Be sure to enjoy the photos of our wonderful Saturday at Canada's Wonderland during opening weekend!

There was a bit of a crowd forming at the front gate before 9:30am on this beautiful Saturday during Opening Weekend!

It was great to see International Street after almost six months since my last visit to the park!

Here is a look at the 2023 park map. Tundra Twister (located next to Yukon Striker in Frontier Canada and Snoopy's Racing Railway (located in Planet Snoopy) are the two new rides for 2023!

Once the park opened for the day, Scott and I began our day in International Festival by taking some rides on Vortex, The Fly, and Shockwave. Here is a look at the newly installed fence to keep people out of the mulch beds along the path.

Drop Tower was operating throughout the day. It is in great need of a fresh coat of paint! Scott and I would ride it before heading home.

There are many beautiful blossoms around the park including those found in Medieval Faire.

Dragon Fyre had both of its trains receive new wheels, which made the riding experience much smoother than it had been in recent years! I love how the park take cares of this classic looping coaster!

Here's another view of the new fence in International Festival next to Shockwave.

Here is a distant view of the new-for-2023 Tundra Twister! It is quite massive!

Here are some test dummies on the new Tundra Twister.

Tundra Twister is the first-of-its-kind 'Avalanche' ride manufactured by Mondial Rides. It will send thrill-seekers upside down and around over 150 feet into the air! I sure cannot wait to ride it in late-May!

In the late-morning we made our way over to Grande World Exposition of 1890 to see what was new there. While Swing of the Century is not new, the trees surrounding the ride were removed during the off-season.

With the long-standing trees now removed, it allows visitors to see Swing of the Century from different angles, which were hard to view in the past due to the trees.

I may be in the minority, but I personally love how out in the open Swing of the Century is now. It really allows the beauty of the ride to be showcased from all angles!

The removal of the trees makes the area feel like-new again and the path behind the Swing of the Century more visible. Maybe the park will add a beautiful flowerbed to surround Swing of the Century in the upcoming months! That would be a great replacement for the trees.

During 2022, my Mom went through breast cancer treatment, so she was not able to make it out to the park. At the end of last summer, her treatment was over and her road to recovery began! Today was her first visit to Canada's Wonderland since 2021! Here she is on the Antique Carousel! :-)

This is another one of many photos I captured of Swing of the Century that you would not have been able to get prior to this year due to the trees that was surrounded the ride.

The 2023 season marks 20 years since Sledge Hammer debuted at the park. Unfortunately it was down, but was receiving some work on it. Hopefully it is up and running next time!

Yukon Striker was riding great as always!

Another improvement made during the off-season was the repainting of Vortex! It received a shiny coat of red and grey paint as its last re-paint had become quite faded.

Here is another view of the massive Tundra Twister under construction as seen from the Frontier Canada path.

Wow, just look how vibrant Vortex's new paint job is!

Later in the day I headed over to Planet Snoopy, where Snoopy's Racing Railway is nearing completion with testing now underway!

Snoopy's Racing Railway is a launched family coaster manufactured by ART Engineering and will feature a maximum speed of 50 km/h.

Snoopy's Racing Railway's train looks very nice!

In order to ride Snoopy's Racing Railway, you will need to be accompanied by a child. Snoopy's Racing Railway is expected to open later in May.

If you look closely, you can see Tundra Twister peaking out from behind Yukon Striker.

Not only does Vortex look great, it also rides great too!

I can't wait to be flipped over 150 feet into the air on Tundra Twister. It comes quite close to Yukon Striker!

Tundra Twister will accommodate 40 passengers per ride.

In Grande World Exposition of 1890, the Whack-a-mole game was replaced with a peach basket game. This renovation looks quite nice compared to a faded Whack-a-mole game.

After a day of many great rides and fun, it was time to head out for the day! Thank you for taking the time to check out some photos of our great day at Canada's Wonderland during opening weekend! :-)