Canada's Wonderland - September 18th, 2021

On Saturday, September 18th I made my fifth visit of the season to Canada's Wonderland! It was a beautiful day as the temperature was a high of 24°C (75°F) with a slight breeze. The beautiful weather led to a busy day at the park, with many of the ride lines being quite long in the afternoon as Season Pass Holders are no longer required to make a reservation to the park during the daytime on weekends through the end of October. Also during my visit I noticed some Halloween decorations set up for Halloween Haunt which begins for the 2021 season on September 24th.

Despite the long lines, I managed to ride 11 different rides throughout the day! Overall my visit to Canada's Wonderland was another great one as I spent it with my brother Scott, our Mom, and our friend Travis for a bit in the morning! Be sure to look at the photos of my day below!

It didn't take too long to get into the park just before opening time on this mid-September Saturday morning.

Once inside the park, Scott, Travis, and I headed over to Yukon Striker.

On our way over to Yukon Striker I noticed the park had set up the Halloween Jack O' Lanterns over the pathway leading into the Grande World Exposition of 1890.

After getting a ride on Yukon Striker, we rode Sledge Hammer followed by Behemoth. All were running great today!

After riding Behemoth Scott and I did Sling Shot, the upcharge attraction. We hadn't done it since 2018, but it was just as thrilling as we had remembered! There's nothing like being shot up 300 feet into the air to then flip upside down a few times throughout the duration of the ride!

After our journey skywards, I captured this photo of Yukon Striker.

Here is Scott, Travis, and I before Travis headed out for the day.

The usual Halloween Haunt spider web decorations under Vortex's lift hill were all set up for Halloween Haunt. These bring back memories of the time when I was a Maze Usher for The Ruins and Blackout mazes inside Wonder Mountain for the 2018 and 2019 Halloween Haunt seasons. You had to be careful not to knock the decorations with the large yellow end of the line sign!

The park slowly began to get busier as the day rolled into the afternoon.

In Medieval Faire they had these cool arrangements set up on the lamp posts for Halloween Haunt.

On the edge of Medieval Faire near The Bat, the Funnel Cakes and Jester's Courtyard shops were decked out for Winterfest, an event which is returning for a second season later this year. Winterfest had debuted at the park in November 2019.

The Mighty Canadian Minebuster was providing classic thrills today. It rode quite well in the slightly cooler weather!

The flowers throughout the park were still looking quite vibrant for being mid-September!

After a fun day filled with thrills, it was time for us to head out! Thank you for looking at my photos of another day spent at Canada's Wonderland! :-)

Canada's Wonderland - August 12th, 2021

 Today marked my third visit of the season to Canada's Wonderland! The park was a bit busier than my last visit, but the waits for the rides were still quite minimal. 

The cleaning of the rides every so many cycles was more evident during my visit today which was nice to see. On another positive note, it looks like the Canada's Wonderland 40th Anniversary Store in Grande World Exposition of 1890 near Xtreme Skyflyer looks like it is almost ready to open! I look forward to seeing what merchandise they have in stock to celebrate the park's 40th anniversary! Also of interest, more attractions had reopened since our last visit including Wonder Mountain's Guardian, Speed City Raceway, and Slingshot. Having those attractions open again has helped spread more people around the park.

Be sure to check out the photos of this visit I made with my brother Scott and our Mom, below! :-)

The skies were quite overcast at the start of our day at the park.

After entering the park onto International Street Scott and I headed over to Yukon Striker, our first ride of the day.

Yukon Striker's trains zip along its twisted and loopy track!

Viking's Rage is celebrating 40 years of high-sea thrills this season!

Here's a 'flowery view' of Leviathan in Medieval Faire.

I hadn't rode Soaring Timbers since 2019, so I decided to ride it again today. While it provided a lot of swooping and diving, it just isn't as thrilling as it could be. The way it is operated is like that of a Eyerly Roll-O-Plane ride, just on a larger scale. There is nothing wrong with that, but knowing how it previously operated before arriving at Canada's Wonderland is still a bit of a let down even to this day, four years after it debuted at the park. Also it is in need of a fresh coat of paint as it looks quite faded on the boom now.

Sledge Hammer sat idle with no testing, unlike during our previous visit. Here's hoping it is able to operate with guests at least once this season!

The Immelmann inversion on Yukon Striker is quite photogenic, even from Action Zone!

It looks like the Canada's Wonderland 40th anniversary store will be opening soon! There was a lot of activity taking place inside during our visit.

Despite it being somewhat windy at times, Drop Tower was offering sky-high thrills all day long!

While we did not ride Thunder Run this visit, park guests were thundering through and into the depths of Wonder Mountain.

Here's a distanced view of the orange train navigating the turn around on Mighty Canadian Minebuster.

The figures atop the Antique Carousel's pavilion stood out against the wispy cloud-filled skies!

After a day of fun, excitement, and many rides it was time we headed home. Thanks for looking at photos from my third visit of the season to Canada's Wonderland! :-)

Canada's Wonderland - July 6th, 2021

 On July 6th I was finally able to visit Canada's Wonderland once again, 592 days after my last visit to the park on November 22nd, 2019! My brother Scott and our Mom had joined me on my visit to the park. July 6th was the second day for Season Pass Holders to visit the park before the general public was able to visit on July 7th.

Since my last visit to Canada's Wonderland, quite a few things have changed to meet the current COVID-19 safety protocols put in place by the provincial government. The safety protocols put in place at Canada's Wonderland include the requirement of all guests to book a reservation as the park is currently operating at 25% capacity, the wearing of face masks on all rides as well as waiting in line for the rides, reduced capacity on the rides, and physical distancing markers in the ride lines and on the paths throughout the park to keep guests safe during their visit.

While the weather was hot and humid during our visit, we had a really good day! Be sure to check out the photos from our visit to Canada's Wonderland below!

We arrived at the park shortly before 10:30am.

Here I am before heading through the front gate!

It was great to finally be back after the park was closed for so long! Canada's Wonderland is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

It was surreal to see this view of International Street once again. In some ways it felt like an eternity, while in other ways it felt like my last visit was just yesterday.

Throughout the park there was signage indicating where to walk in order to maintain physical distancing such as on the bridge heading into the Medieval Faire section.

Leviathan was operating with all three trains to keep the lines moving as every other row was blocked off to maintain physical distancing. Scott and I would take a ride on it later in the day. Scott and I rode Dragon Fyre, Spinovator, and Drop Tower during our first round through Medieval Faire.

For the 2021 season, the Fun Shoppe was renamed Jester's Courtyard to fit in better with the Medieval Faire section.

Up next was Vortex, which is celebrating 30 years in 2021! It was forceful as usual!

After catching rides on Timberwolf Falls and White Water Canyon, we grabbed some lunch at Roadside Chicken in Frontier Canada.

After lunch Scott and I decided to ride Yukon Striker.

On our way over to Yukon Striker I captured this interesting shot of one of Vortex's trains speeding along its track.

Here's Scott and I after riding Yukon Striker! Since it has been a while since our last rides on it, the first 90° drop got our stomachs!

After Yukon Striker I took a ride on Mighty Canadian Minebuster. During the time the park was closed, they took the time to re-track the drop after the turn around, which helped make the coaster more enjoyable!

Unfortunately Sledge Hammer was down, but its power was on. I am hoping to catch it the next time I visit as it is a great one-of-a-kind ride!

Also for the 2021 season, the peeling billboard on Backlot Stunt Coaster was removed. Now the trains just "crash" through a wall. Maybe they'll redo it one day.

From Backlot Stunt Coaster's queue you get some nice views of Behemoth.

The line for Backlot Stunt Coaster moved quickly despite every other row being blocked off. It would be nice if the park were to add some shade to the queue as the afternoon sun was quite hot. Overall, Backlot Stunt Coaster's launch was still forceful as usual. I even greyed-out a bit on the helix!

I just love the airtime hills of Behemoth!

For 2021, Swing of the Century was also operating at a reduced capacity, with what looked like more than half of its seats removed. It usually operates with 48 seats.

It looked kind of funny seeing a good portion of its seats removed.

What didn't make sense to me was how the ride operator was only allowing guests to sit on the inside seats of the ride. That greatly reduced the capacity of Swing of the Century even more.

International Street was looking beautiful as usual.

Wonder Mountain was also looking great. Although the shrubby trees near Victoria Falls have grown quite a bit since the last time I saw them.

Pictured is the what was new for 2020 Beagle Brigade Airfield ride in Planet Snoopy. With the park not being able to open in 2020, it is now the one of two new rides for 2021.

This Zamperla Flying Tigers ride replaced the Peanuts Putt Putt mini golf attraction which had been at the park since 1981.

Children seemed to be enjoying the rides in Planet Snoopy and Kidzville. Pictured is the smallest roller coaster at the park, Taxi Jam.

Silver Streak is celebrating 20 years this year.

Silver Streak is a Vekoma Family Suspended Coaster. While I didn't ride it during our visit, I have been on it in years past.

Over the years, the trees surrounding Silver Streak have grown making it quite difficult to see from the paths of Kidzville.

The wooden shingles on some of the buildings along International Street have been redone. It is always nice to see the park taking care of its infrastructure.

Just before getting in line for Leviathan, I captured a photo of Viking's Rage in full swing. This Huss Pirate ride has been operating at the park since May 23rd, 1981.

Riptide was operating earlier in the day. While I didn't get a ride on it this time, I did notice it had new seats.

After riding Leviathan, my Mom and I took a spin on the classic Antique Carousel. Afterwards, I took a thrilling ride on Behemoth.

After being at the park for nearly eight hours, we decided it was time to head home for the day shortly after 6pm. Here we are in front of the Royal Fountain and Floral flag on International Street!

Here's one last shot of the park's entrance as we were leaving. Thanks for a great visit, Canada's Wonderland! :-)