Canada's Wonderland - July 25th, 2023

 Today was visit number five of the 2023 season at Canada's Wonderland!

It was nice being back at Canada's Wonderland after travelling to three amusement parks in the US Midwest two weeks ago. Some things had changed since my last visit on July 3rd. Some changes were for the better, while others were questionable. Despite some of the not so great changes, I still had a great day at Canada's Wonderland!

On the drive over to Canada's Wonderland there was some rain and lightning. Luckily it had passed by the time my Mom and I arrived at the park.

Once the rides opened at 10am, I headed to Action Zone to ride Behemoth, Psyclone (which I hadn't been on since Winterfest 2022), and Sledge Hammer.

Here is a photo of Yukon Striker. I didn't get a ride on it this visit.

The fountains in Grande Worlde Exposition of 1890 where looking quite nice with the nearby flowerbeds.

Another ride I didn't ride during this visit was the photogenic Swing of the Century.

To my surprise, Tundra Twister appears to now open one hour after the park does. It is a strange move for a new ride. What made it more strange was how the restraints were left open, there were no operators around, and the queue was not roped off.

A few people had walked up the queue to only realize that Tundra Twister was closed and gave no time as to when it would open.

It was kind of odd and something I hadn't seen happen at Canada's Wonderland before. By the way it looked, you almost would have thought the employees walked out and went home. lol
But shortly after 11am, Tundra Twister came to life. This was my 7th ride on Tundra Twister since its debut earlier this season. I guess the 11am opening is something to expect going forward for at least weekdays.

Later in the day I would ride Vortex. This is a view from the Frontier Canada path near Yukon Striker and White Water Canyon.

Since my last visit, the park had installed a water bottle filling station attachment at the washrooms near White Water Canyon. It was able to fill a water bottle in about three seconds! Hopefully more of these pop up around the park as it is something many guests have been asking for over the last several years.

As I had mentioned earlier, a change that was questionable for me was the new delayed opening times for White Water Canyon and Timberwolf Falls that were implemented sometime over the last two weeks.

Many regulars at Canada's Wonderland were use to White Water Canyon and Timberwolf Falls opening at 11am, one hour after the park opens as that is the way it has been for years. Now both attractions open at 12pm on weekdays and only at 11am on weekends.

At the Timberwolf Falls queue entrance there were two signs stating when the ride opens (12pm on weekdays and 11am on weekends).

I guess these new later openings are either due to a staffing issue or the park waiting to open these rides when there is more of a crowd. I could see these opening times being used in May and June, but not in July or August when it is typically hot outside by 11am and the park is quite busy. I guess we'll have to wait and see how long this lasts.

While getting in line for White Water Canyon, I noticed the waterfalls were back up and running! The last time I saw them running was in August 2022.

This was a really neat floral basket arrangement near Backlot Café.

Shockwave was still operating an insane ride cycle like it was a few weeks ago!

In the afternoon, I took a ride on Wilde Knight Mares, Leviathan, and Drop Tower. All three rides had short waits, which was surprising for a nice day in late July!

After riding Drop Tower, my Mom and I caught the Fall Out show in Medieval Faire.

Just like last year, this show consists of acrobatics, diving into Arthur's Baye, and a tightrope walker.

Even though he is tethered, tightrope walking is still a huge no for me. lol

After watching the Fall Out show, my Mom and I headed over to Grande World Exposition of 1890 for a ride on Antique Carousel. On our way over, I happened to notice that Time Warp now has all of its cars stop in the station to be loaded, unlike the conveyor system where the cars never stopped they had up until recently.
I do not know the reason for the change in the operations, but I had never seen it operate like this before. I know for certain it wasn't like that during my one ride of the year on Time Warp back in May and is more of a recent change.

After getting on quite a few rides today, it was time for my Mom and I to head home! Thanks for checking out my photos from my fifth visit of the 2023 season to Canada's Wonderland! :-)