Married a Canadian

The drop pods at the water park are a welcome addition. In fact they can get the heart rate going as much as any coaster or flat ride..especially when they mess around with the countdown ie "dropping in 5.4.3 SPLASH!!". They are turning the waterpark into a SOLID area to spend time in. I liked it before...I REALLY like it now with the addition. If they could turn the lazy river now into a rapid river "a la" Aquatica in Orlando..then it would be perfection! I don't know my flat rides as well as some of the people on this forum, so will defer to their judgement on Soaring Timbers. I am just happy that CF does invest in Wonderland, and have always been consistent in my praise for them. Since I moved to Canada in the Paramount days, the park is now night and day. Kudos to the owners for keeping the park varied and exciting. In relation to the talk about CF building a hotel on site (a couple of pages back). My personal opinion is that it wouldn't make much sense for them to do that here given that Wonderland is close enough to Toronto and in a large enough urban area for there to be plenty of choice close by (Vaughan, Toronto etc). You can literally stay 5 minutes away at a reasonably priced hotel (advertised on the CW site). An onsite hotel would have to include some "draw" factor to it.....I can't see what that could be...given that if you stay at a hotel in Vaughan...distance is not a problem. Can't quite see the "Grand Torontonian" flagship resort at CW.

We will be on a Galveston cruise in December next year so will be interesting to see how they adapt it! Wonder if they will take the "Frozen" elements out of their other stage shows now they are concentrating on a dedicated show. Probably not.....but there was one show on board (Believe or Wishes...can't remember) where all of a sudden Olaf showed up and it looked a little bit too much like "lets throw this in for familiarity" rather than any move the story along. Anyway....looks great...and will be a big hit either way I am sure. Our family loves the Disney cruises and my wife LOVES Frozen...win/win for us.

Back in my teenage years I made the mistake of going on a carnival "spinny" type ride (the evil ones that spin for the sake of spinning and then some more just to prove that they can). Had eaten supper earlier...was trying to impress the nice young teenage lady who I was also with that day...went on the ride, when I really didn't want to...however as she asked so nicely!! Throwing up in the same car as the person you are trying to impress......not my finest hour!!! Don't go on many of those evil spinny type rides now, and I certainly don't eat large meals if and when I do!!!

SteveZ Fast lane plus for sure at the weekend....just gives you a bit more flexibility. A couple of rides don't have this feature...so they will be the ones that you want to do early..most obvious being Wonder Mountain's Guardian. If you check back a couple of pages...there are afew good "schedules" to try at the park and which rides to hit in which order. If you are driving up from Buffalo on the 20th....give yourself PLENTY of time as the QEW/401 is pretty terrible. Arriving for park opening might take an earlyish start if traffic is bad! Have a great time...the weather has been pretty amazing up here this summer, hope it continues for your visit.

Have you booked accommodation yet? Gatwick airport has a mainline rail station right there which will give you transport options for the whole of the UK if need be. Alton towers is a little awkward to get to...but not difficult enough to say "don't go". If you are staying in the South of England for Thorpe park, then London will pretty much cover your touristy stuff.....but if you want to travel and see some different things...I would recommend Canterbury Cathedral and Dover Castle, both very interesting with some nice history. Even though Alton and Thorpe might not be up to "American" standards...if it is your first trip to Europe...you will find the UK different enough from the US to enjoy yourself anyway. Whatever you choose won't be wrong....just have a great time.

I doubt it would be going anywhere.....it is still actually one of the "newer" coasters in the park if we are talking last 10 years. Also...it hardly takes up much of a land footprint..so even if it was removed....I doubt there would be room to put in the launched giga invert RMC with flyer and winged elements that some of the fans would like.

How is the security over there right now with the Euros going on? Has it been noticable..especially getting into the park?

Fastlane plus for sure. Busy BUSY couple of days at Wonderland at that time of year. Looks the opposite to me personally, not expanding too rapidly, not "too many" parks in their inventory, different rides being added to a few different parks, not buying "licences" they can't afford to keep (I loved the Wiggles!), trying to keep what they do have "clean and in good repair"..etc etc. From a purely "Wonderland" perspective...Cedar fair have been a breath of fresh air. I always thought that Six Flags tried to grow TOO big....the amount of parks they had to sell was testament to that. I don't think Cedar Fair will get to that point any time soon.

Fascinating, thankyou John Lloyd. Very interesting how the park AND the area round it has evolved in the time period. It shows Cedar Fair in a good light actually to see how much THEY have done with the park in a relatively short time period in relation to how long the park has been open.

I love that top picture. How times have changed. In 1981 I was in primary school in Scotland...probably not even realising that Canada was a country. One question I have...is that an airfield in the top right of the first picture? Would be interested to know if it is...when it closed and whether it affected the park in the early days. Nowadays when there are fireworks during the celebrations at Wonderland, we always get them notified in aviation briefings for YYZ (ie they can't be above a certain height due to inbound and outbounds to Toronto). Anyway great picture and post before that.

Agree with John Lloyd..and I think you are doing the right thing starting off with Guardian. Never understood why they didn't Fastpass that one..but hey ho. The Bat is another coaster that does not have fastlane...so you might want to do that after Thunder run (which is also non fast lane). Vortex is a good ride...but has the quicker line...so there is some flexibility in when you decide to do it. With your Fast lane plus you can also go on the new Flat ride "Skyhawk". I think this ride will be quite popular as it is new, and different from what the GP is used to, so find time in your day to give it a shot (if you don't mind that type of motion). Apart from that....you are on the right track...and John's advice is as good as any. Have a great day..and enjoy Leviathan. Personal preference is front row.....there are just as many good arguments out there for other places on the ride....hope you find a good spot for yourself.

I live 20 mins from Wonderland...which is OK...although Toronto traffic is notoriously bad. The drive is better at weekends! We drove to Hershey park last year from Pittsburgh..which was a 3 hour drive...that is about my limit of driving. I also remember driving to Alton Towers from Hull when I was at university...that seemed to take an age at the time...probably wouldn't feel so bad now!

We love water parks as a family...but won't go in PEAK season...I really don't want to wait 40 mins or so for a slide that might only take 30 seconds. We do go to the Waterpark at Canada's wonderland each season though because as season pass holders we get early entry. This means we can do a few slides and mess around in the lazy river before everyone it gets too busy. We did Aquatica in February this year and LOVED it..as it was pretty much walk on everything all day. IHU's breakaway falls had my heart pounding as much as any roller coaster has! The Great Wolf lodge in Niagara falls also has a couple of fun slides which make family trips there enjoyable.

While Alton Towers is a great park, I personally agree with Henry M, and think that it is a bit too difficult to get to in the timeframe you have said from Heathrow airport. While renting a car might be cheaper option, if you are not used to driving on the opposite side of the road (from the US)..getting out of Heathrow can feel pretty tricky (quite afew Roundabouts!) and if you are doing it after a flight from LAX....even more so. Heathrow does have pretty good transport links though and there is a bus station there (National express) which can take you pretty much anywhere in England. I disagree with the 200 pound rail fare stated though...I have never paid anywhere close to that in the UK anywhere. If you leave planning to the last minute then sure...but if you book online..or get something called a "Britpass" then you can get some good deals. Rail will require you getting into central London though which you can do through the underground or Heathrow express (expensive). Bus station is right at the airport if you went that route. Personally I think you are asking a LOT of yourself though to do this in a short period of time..but it is doable. Thorpe park is pretty much adjacent to Heathrow, lots of accommodation options around (even staying in London would be OK)..and there are some pretty OK rides there aswell (you can ride Nemesis Inferno as a consolation to actually doing Nemesis), I also loved the "Saw" ride as the theming was pretty cool. Transport options are numerous without needing a car (even bus or taxi from the airport would only take 15 mins),and if you stayed in London...rail options are plenty. You may well feel more relaxed doing the closer park and you could tie it in with some sightseeing in London if you haven't already. My opinion only...I lived in the South East of England for a couple of years, while my aunt and uncle lived near Alton towers...so I know both areas. I don't think there is a wrong answer for you....just whichever you think will work out best. You will enjoy both parks...whichever you choose. The only thing I will say is DON'T rent a car if you are not sure about driving on the left. I think they make Heathrow as much as a b*****r to get out of as possible just to trip up the American tourists!!!

Donation made. I hope that Jack and the family can take strength from the fact that they have complete strangers wishing nothing but the best outcome at an extremely stressful time for everyone. Hopefully it gives that extra boost knowing that the community that you are part of (the coasterworld in this case) cares this much and he obviously has had an effect on the people that know him, and in my case...read about him. As an aside, I also can't imagine the stress coupled to the financial side of things...I have lived in the UK, Australia and Canada where healthcare is covered through taxes and nationalised healthcare. My son was born three months premature and I can't imagine what the bill would have been for his hospitalization! The US system has always confused me somewhat....but I hope this fund goes someway towards alleviating a tiny amount of the stress at this time. To Jack and his family, Love from Canada from 3 complete strangers who are wishing you ALL the best. Bruce, Lesley and Torran Donaldson

I was a bit suspicious but there actually is a park called "Big Sheep"...and the surname "Bone" is fairly common in England. I wish it was an April Fools. Having read the info page on the park...I don't think it is quite in Disney territory just yet.

For the record, I agree. It is like people that move near airports and then complain about the noise of the planes. Or the review I read on tripadvisor recently when someone complained that he could hear the noise from Islands of Adventure when he stayed at the onsite hotel. Quite amusing really in a sad way.

Found this story today http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-35919978 This is quite a rural area of the UK, but it got me wondering what types of rules and restrictions parks have to put in place in order to be "good neighbours". Anyone know of any "odd" ones at your local parks.

Interesting that they would install a "low capacity" ride for a park with the attendance figures that CW has. Do you have any idea what the timing cycles will be like to start with?. Personally I think adding "Fastlane" to it is quite a clever touch as if it is someone's MUST do ride for the summer, yet you can't wait 1 hour for a flat ride, you would probably pay the extra. In fact I just checked and they have put it as Fast Lane Plus! Probably worth it in peak summer, Leviathan, Behemoth and Skyhawk would be pretty mobbed! Unrelated question to Fastlane....do you know why they didn't include "Guardian" as a Fastlane ride? Thanks for the picture updates. Looking forward to seeing the finished ride.

As a Brit who now lives in Canada, and travels to the US on a fairly regular basis...I have to say that you will NOT have problems with border crossings at the Canadian border either way IF you have a valid passport and an ESTA. Yes you will get stopped at the crossing and asked questions, but they are along the lines of "where have you been, where are you going, where are you staying..etc". You will only have problems at customs and immigration if you create them yourself. Not if you have your travel itinerary and the required documents. The horror stories you hear about customs and immigration normally come from those who aren't prepared. The trip to CW would be worth it, and if you haven't been to Niagara falls, or the Niagara area..that becomes one of the must do parts of the trip. Good luck.

Nice pictures..thank you. Looking forward to riding both this year. Makes me smile as I wonder if the ride engineers get all excited with this thing in the car park in pieces thinking "we get to put this together soon"..."we get to test it soon". Like a kid building lego or a K'nex set.

I'll go for a natural wonder Niagara falls...still one of my favourite places. There is enough there to satisfy most tastes. I suppose you can even throw in one coaster if you visit Marineland.

I agree with JohnLLoyd....and I would add the flat ride "Sledgehammer" to your list...as it is good fun. Guardian does not have any fastpass entrance...so it is one to do earlier in the day as the line gets quite long (and they still haven't addressed the queue structure). Other than that...your list is as good as any. Enjoy!

Pretty sure it was "Nemesis" at Alton towers. Somewhat hazy now as it was a while ago, and I don't seem to recall as much of a "wow" factor as the ride probably deserves. Still remember the theming though which was and is pretty cool.

If it is anything like the one at Cedar point...it should be quite good fun, especially for parents taking their kids. If the wind is blowing right and you get the "sail" angle in the right position you can get some nice height. BTW 14 degrees centigrade today....Wonderland could almost have had winter opening this year!!