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Should give them time to install free lockers, right? /s

The park did an in-season BTS update. Great demo that the work doesn’t stop after the season begins. They’re re-surfacing midways.

In case anyone hasn’t heard, TT2 is down for an “extended closure” while Zamperla makes modifications to the trains.

I read, and I enjoy. And Tornado was too painful for me to love in turbo mode, so I get it! Jealous you found the weird elevator in Helsinki (I thought about it but ran out of time) and, unrelatedly, now I want to go back to Aarhus. Or maybe I just need a break from Ohio. Thanks for posting all of this. Know how much work it is (which is why I can't find the time to do it anymore) but it's great to look back at a fun three weeks.

Dino: Off Road Adventure replaces the Chapparal Antique Cars.

This past Thursday (May 9th), I made my first visit of the 2024 season to Canada's Wonderland! A lot of changes have been made during the off-season with a new security checkpoint entrance at the front gate, the demolition of buildings in International Festival (for the next addition), renovation and renaming of Backlot Café, a renovated Wonderland Store, new signage around the park, the removal of Xtreme Skyflyer (announced earlier this year), and, Viking's Rage refurbishment, the removal of the maximum height requirement for most rides in Planet Snoopy and Kidzville (yes, I have now been on all of the roller coasters at Canada's Wonderland!), and a few other things mentioned below! Check out the photos below! New security checkpoint at the front gate. This new layout with the path going under Leviathan has a much better flow than last year's setup! The new structures look great too! New signage at the front gate area has been installed. It looks very clean and easy to read. The Wonderland Store was renovated and expanded during the off-season. New directional signage has been put up around the park. The old Tiny Tom Donuts location in International Festival was demolished during the off-season. The Multi-faith Space building and surrounding structures in International Street had also been demolished this past off-season. Tiny Tom Donuts was relocated around Wonder Mountain where the Alpen Amusements claw machines were. During my visit, the donut making machines were being installed. I assume the new location will open soon. The Coca-Cola Refreshment station in Action Zone was removed and replaced with this structure. I have a feeling it will be a new Coca-Cola refill station, but we shall see! In the Grande World Exposition of 1890, Backlot Café has been transformed into the Grande World Eatery. The building has received a fresh new coat of paint and a major transformation going on inside. I look forward to seeing the final product when it reopens this season as it was quite dated last year. Here is the former location of Xtreme Skyflyer, which was removed earlier this year. Judging by the signage, it looks this area could also be associated with the work happening around Wonder Mountain. The building next to Klockwerks, which has stood abandoned for the past decade, is now being used as a Coca-Cola refresh centre was the other location in International Festival was recently demolished. With the on-going construction in International Festival, the exit path for Thunder Run was rerouted with this nice boardwalk for this year. During the off-season Viking's Rage received a major overhaul consisting of a new electric drive system and a new coat of paint, closely resembling that of what it looked like when the park first opened! Hopefully it will be ready to reopen soon! The old diving structure at Arthur's Baye in Medieval Faire was recently removed. It is said to be replaced with a new one sometime this year. The lockers outside Wonder Mountain's Guardian have been removed. I later learned that the ride now has the moving bin system that Yukon Striker has! Here is a quick look inside the newly renovated and expanded Wonderland Store. The new layout flows a lot better! That is all the updates I have for now!

And so at last we come to the final update of the longest trip report I've ever written, about the longest vacation I've ever taken, to the farthest place I've ever gone, to experience the worst roller coaster I've ever ridden. (Tornado at Bakken.) But let us not dwell on the negative, but rather focus our attentions on the very best things we encountered on this amazing trip.... 28: Big Finnish Up with the sunrise to catch our flight. And this is Helsinki, so sunrise is probably earlier than you think. And back home to the little strip of land we share with 750,000 other people near the Pacific Ocean. Time to reflect. Sometimes Smisty and I agreed as to what was the best of a particular thing, and sometimes we didn't. For example: Erik's Park of the Trip - Gröna Lund I really struggled with this one. Yes, I rate Gröna Lund as my second favorite park (with Europa being #1) but Liseberg was just so good on this trip. What I ultimately decided was this: If I can count the Grand Curiousa Hotel as part of Liseberg, then Liseberg wins--and if I can't, then Gröna Lund wins. And since it seems weird to me to count a hotel as part of an amusement park for this purpose, well...Gröna Lund wins. Smisty's Park of the Trip - Power Park I get it. I rated this one quite highly as well, and I skipped the crazy flat rides that Smisty cited as being particular highlights of Power Park. She also mentioned the Devil's Mine Hotel dark ride that gave you a limited number of shots. Best Wooden Coaster - Rutschebanen at Tivoli Gardens According to RCDB, Rutschebanen's elements are: Tunnel, Cable Lift Hill, Tunnel, Tunnel, Tunnel, Tunnel, Tunnel, Tunnel. But I think that's selling it a bit short. There are a few drops. And, of course, a brakeman. Normally, I don't distinguish between wood and steel for purposes of judging rides against one another, but doing it this way kept Misty and I in agreement. Otherwise, my favorite coaster overall would be her second favorite, and vice versa. Which, come to think of it, wouldn't really have changed very much in terms of presentation here. Best Steel Coaster - Fønix at Fårup Sommerland For me, it's not even close. I have Lech as my #1, and this now at #3, with Mako sandwiched in-between them, but probably just because I subconsciously don't want two such similar rides right next to each other at the top of my list. It's like someone took an MRI of my effed-up body, sent it to Vekoma, and challenged them to design a ride that specifically I would enjoy. And they did it twice (at least). Oh yeah, and Smisty likes it also. Best Coaster Collection - Liseberg Is this here just to make me feel better about choosing Gröna Lund over Liseberg? Yeah, probably. But there's not a bad coaster in this park, even if Balder is a bit overrated. Best Dark Ride - The Flying Trunk A weird multi-level dark ride that travels through narrated Hans Christian Andersen stories? Yes, please. I wouldn't say that there were a lot of dark rides on this trip, but many of the ones that did exist were relatively strong. Best Dark Ride Collection - Linnanmäki Witches and clowns, man. Erik's Favorite Water Ride of the Trip - Ragnarok at Tusenfryd On a trip without a lot of good log flumes, a rapids ride sneaks in and pillages my watery heart! (Or something.) Smisty's Favorite Water Ride of the Trip - The Three Hour Buffet Ferry Ride from Denmark to Norway Smisty, I don't think you're taking this very seriously. I was thinking more like an actual ride at a park. Maybe the log flume at Liseberg? No? *sigh* Fine. Erik's Favorite Walk-Through: Lustiga Huset at Gröna Lund I may be old and overweight, but I'm pretty sure-footed, and I love a good fun house. And this is the goodest. Smisty's Favorite Walk-Through: Gasten Ghost Hotel at Liseberg I'd love to show you a picture of it, especially the awesome flooded room--but photos are not allowed inside. So, instead, here's a picture of Smisty's favorite dessert of trip, Strawberry Shortcake Cake at Power Park's Road House. Erik's Favorite Flat Ride - Lake Carousel at Särkänniemi Yes, it's a Schwarzkopf. Yes, it's also very much a family ride. But it's just so gentle and fun! They don't make them like this anymore, but they should. Smisty's Favorite Flat Ride - Aquila at Tivoli Gardens A nicely themed Zamperla Air Race on top of a building. What more could a Smisty want? Transportation/Observation Ride of the Trip - Safari at Kolmården Zoo When I told Smisty the first draft nominee for this category, her response was, "That's it?" So then I threw in Särkänniemi's observation tower and Linnanmäki 's monorail to pad it out. But, really, what other possibility could there be besides this? Erik's Best Park Food/Restaurant - Spökbaren Gasten at Liseberg While food was perhaps not on balance as good as on our two previous European trips, there were some highlights. Such as the Danish Smørrebrød, or Liseberg's haunted pub. Of course, part of this choice is the atmosphere. After all, everyone knows that food tastes better when you're scared. Smisty's Best Park Food/Restaurant - The Disgusting Food Museum in Malmö, Sweden Smisty, you're making a mockery of this whole idea. This isn't even at a park and the whole point of the place is that the food is bad. Why do you hate me?? Erik's Best Non-Park Thing - The Paternoster Elevator What more can I say? Except that Smisty knew full well this was a category when she named a place that serves "three penis wine" as her favorite restaurant, and a buffet as her favorite water ride! Smisty's Best Non-Park Thing - Tropicario (or, as we call it, the Snake Zoo) Oh, I get it. By calling the Disgusting Food Museum your favorite restaurant, you got to mention both that and this. Cheater! Fine! I'm changing my favorite wooden roller coaster to the ARoS Aarhus Art Museum! How do you like those apples?! She likes those apples fine. I'd like to thank the following weirdos: Myself, for writing this trip report and taking most of the photos. Smisty, for proofreading it and being the B-camera. Bert, for being the only one who reads it. Goodballs, for being our pal. Elissa, for organizing the trip and herding the cats. Robb, for hating mango lassi. Peter Ellis, for inventing the Paternoster Elevator. And Hans Christian Andersen, without whom, we would be left with a dark ride themed to Mads Mikkelsen. Actually, that sounds kind of awesome. Goodbye forever!