Canadian National Exhibition - August 21st, 2024

 Today (August 21st) my Mom and I went down to Toronto to take in the sights and sounds of this year's CNE. Thankfully the weather was cooler, which made our visit very enjoyable! It is fun to make the annual trip down, but do the Exhibitions grounds ever get so busy in the late-afternoon!

Overall it was a great day at the CNE! Enjoy the photos of our day! 🙂

Before the rides opened, we checked out the midway. This year, North American Midway Entertainment rethemed the Rock & Roll Video Fun House to the Rock & Roll Space Station. It looks very nice! Too bad the walk-through wheel doesn't work.

Here is the X-Drive, that was new last year. I would ride it twice throughout the day. It is still provides an insane ride!

The Mega Drop had also received a fresh coat of paint this year, saying goodbye to the purple and yellow colour scheme. I love it when midway companies such as NAME refresh their rides!

Here's a look at the Crazy Mouse before the rides opened for the day. All nine cars were in use all day!

The first ride I took for the day was on the Sky Ride.

You can get a great view of the midway from the Sky Ride.

It was quite breezy throughout the day. Luckily the winds weren't strong enough to close down the taller rides.

Here I am on the Sky Ride.

The Sky Ride opened about 20 minutes before the rest of the midway, so that is why it looks quiet in the next few photos.

The classic Polar Express was forming quite a line before opening for the day.

It sure was a sunny morning!

Once the rest of the rides opened, I rode X-Drive, Niagara Falls log flume, followed by the Crazy Mouse. My car spun a lot!

Up next was a fast ride on the Polar Express!

After taking in more rides on the midway, including the Swing Tower and Mega Drop, it was time for some lunch. I had a very tasty burrito from Burrito Co. in the Food Building.

In the early afternoon, we checked out the CNE Art Collection in the Withrow Common building. It was rather nice checking out various paintings from the CNE collection.

After viewing some paintings, I took another ride on the Sky Ride.

Here's a look at the Wave Swinger from the Sky Ride.

The Niagara Falls log flume was attracting quite the crowd.

X-Drive is a ride I can't get tired of watching or riding!

The midway was starting to get busier come early afternoon!

Here's my mom waiting for me at the end of the Sky Ride.

Views of the midway such as this are very iconic with the CNE!

I love the Swing Tower. I always make sure to ride it each year!

After getting on more rides, my mom and I checked out the "Carnival: An Exhibition" exhibit in the Enercare Centre. Artifacts were provided from the Conklin family.

It was really neat seeing these artifacts on display!

Here's a look at some antique carousel horses.

Here are some more carousel horses and kiddie ride pieces that were on display.

Here is an original Tilt-A-Whirl sign. Very cool!

Here is a restored car for the Flyer wooden roller coaster that opened in 1953 and operated for nearly 40 years.

The flipping and twisting on X-Drive is just insanely fun!

Later in the afternoon I took a ride on the Observation Wheel. This 150 foot tall giant was new at the CNE in 2023.

Here I am on the Observation Wheel.

From the Observation Wheel, you can see the reconstruction of Ontario Place taking place.

Here's a look down on the midway from the Observation Wheel.

After a ride on the Observation Wheel and the Ring of Fire, I took another ride on the Sky Ride.

From the Sky Ride I captured the Swing Tower in action.

Here's a car on the Crazy Mouse zipping down one of the many drops!

Star Dancer was swinging riders upside down throughout the day! Hard to believe this ride is five years old!

The midway became quite busy between 4 and 5pm!

Before we left the CNE for the day, I had a classic Hot Ice Cream Waffle.

It was very good and something to enjoy every year!

After a great day of rides (over 15 total) and checking out exhibits, we headed out just before 6pm. Thanks for checking out the photos of our annual visit to the CNE! 🙂

Canada's Wonderland - August 8th, 2024

 On Thursday, August 8th, I went to Canada's Wonderland the day of the announcement for AlpenFury, a new roller coaster opening in 2025!

From early afternoon through close, I hung out with my amusement park friends Amadeo, Daniel, and Arianna! It was a great time riding quite a few rides with them, celebrating the announcement of AlpenFury!

Below are photos of my sixth visit of the season at Canada's Wonderland! 🙂

This view is going to look quite different with the opening of AlpenFury next year!

When I arrived at the park, it had not quite opened for the day. The announcement of AlpenFury caused quite a buzz at the park!

Once inside, I immediately headed towards the AlpenFury display. AlpenFury looks like it will be an amazing roller coaster with its launch through Wonder Mountain followed by a total of nine inversions!

I really cannot wait to ride next year! While at the display, I chatted briefly with Grace Peacock, Director of Communications about the addition of AlpenFury. I always enjoy chatting with her!

With the announcement of AlpenFury, the banners surrounding the construction area in International Festival (will be renamed Alpenfest in 2025) have changed, announcing the arrival of AlpenFury in 2025! While walking through the area, I briefly ran into Luke who was doing a video of AlpenFury for ACE. 🙂

The banners on the fence near Wonder Mountain have conceptual design work showing what the area will look like in 2025 with the addition of AlpenFury!

AlpenFury will definitely be a great addition to the park, bringing the roller coaster lineup to a total of 19, second most at a park in North America!

After checking out the display and construction area for AlpenFury, I started my day off with a ride on Vortex!

After Vortex, I rode Yukon Striker, and then took a spin on Behemoth.

I am happy that the park has finally added a single rider line on Behemoth this year! My only concern is the lack of training the ride attendants currently have with placing single riders in the station as quite a few trains were dispatched with empty seats, causing the line to move slower than expected. It moved even slower later in the day as a handful of empty seats were noticed. I suppose this issue will be resolved through more training.

While in Action Zone, I noticed the hanging flower baskets were looking quite beautiful this year!

After a while, I headed over to Medieval Faire. While there, I noticed the trailer serving beer and snacks had been replaced with a permanent structure sometime over the last two weeks. It looks really good and fits in very well! I then took a ride on Dragon Fyre.

After a ride on Dragon Fyre, I ventured over to Grande World Exposition of 1890 to see the construction progress on the newly announced AlpenFury. There was some work done where Xtreme Skyflyer once was located.

It is crazy to think that a massive launch coaster will be passing through here next year!

At the Wonderland Store near the front gate, they instantly had AlpenFury merchandise for sale! I instantly bought the t-shirt and wore it proudly throughout the day!

It is hard to currently envision another roller coaster coming out of Wonder Mountain. But it is happening in 2025 as AlpenFury will launch out of Wonder mountain right over Vortex and Wonder Mountain's Guardian!

Shortly after 2pm, I met up with Amadeo, Daniel, and Arianna! While I didn't have a swimsuit, I still tagged along as they went to Splash Works to experience the new for 2024 Moosehorn Falls!

Here they are after navigating the zero gravity wall! It looked quite thrilling!

Here's another photo of Daniel, Arianna, and Amadeo just before they exited the raft.

Here is Amadeo about to jump from the highest platform on Mountain Bay Cliffs in Splash Works.

After spending some time in Splash Works, we grabbed a bite to eat at the Grande World Eatery in Grande World Exposition of 1890. I had the jerk chicken and vegetable rice dish.

Posters are everywhere advertising the new for 2025 AlpenFury! I think this poster was in the hallway to the Washrooms in Wonder Mountain.

After riding Vortex and Behemoth, we took a ride on Mighty Canadian Minebuster. It rode quite well during this visit.

We then took a ride on Flight Deck, which also wasn't too bad this time around.

Then to make ourselves really good, we then rode Time Warp! lol

Since we were feeling quite warm and humid, we took an evening ride on White Water Canyon.

After our ride on White Water Canyon, we had another meal, this time at Roadside Chicken. To my surprise, they improved the chicken at this location! It was really good! Pictured are honey garlic house wings with fries. They were accompanied by a slice of bread and deep fried pickle slices!

As darkness began to fall on the park, I captured some nighttime photos of Yukon Striker. Here is one of the photos of Yukon Striker's cutback element.

Here is Tundra Twister at night! I had a thrilling ride on it earlier in the day before I met up with Amadeo, Daniel, and Arianna.

We finished our day at Canada's Wonderland with the final ride of the night on Yukon Striker!

Here is the AlpenFury display at night! The detail put into the display is amazing! I hope they incorporate such detail into the roller coaster's sing next year!

Here's a night time view of the Royal Fountain on International Street after the park had closed for the night.

Here's Arianna, Amadeo, myself and Daniel posing for a group photo before heading out for the night! 

It was an awesome day at Canada's Wonderland hanging out with some great people on the day of the announcement of AlpenFury! I can't wait to ride AlpenFury next year! Thanks for checking out the photos of a great day at Canada's Wonderland! 🙂