Married a Canadian

I second the Fast land plus advice, as given that it is the last weekend before school starts, the place will be pretty packed. I would start with Guardian, as that ride does not have fast lane, and the lineup gets pretty long as the day progresses (and it can break down every so often). The water park is a good place to duck into when it gets hot...but lots of people have the same idea you do. If you want to get soaked to cool down without doing the waterpark, Timberwolf falls will do the trick nicely. If you are looking at "extra" rides, the CNE will still be running next weekend and the Midway has some pretty decent stuff in there. It is airshow weekend next week though, so again rather a crowded place to be. No escaping it...sorry. Enjoy your days at the park.

Just want to second this AND also say I am looking forward to the new flat rides. I have done the flying eagles equivalent at other parks and there is some good fun to be had with the "sail" in order to gain extra height. What some people forget about CW is how good a park it actually is compared to some in North America.....and how "blase" we can get just because it is there and we are used to it. I am originally from the UK...and have been to Alton Towers, Thorpe park and Blackpool pleasure beach. None of those have anything like Leviathan or Behemoth (Pepsi big one is the closest). When I get visitors from the UK one of our tourist things to do is take them to CW.....imagine a roller coaster newbie trying Leviathan for the first time...when the biggest thing they have done is something at the local funfair. There usually are some heavily soiled trousers after a ride! Some of the coaster community seem to forget they are not the only ones who go to theme parks or just because "we" have been on something numerous times or seen it numerous times...does not make it boring in general. My personal opinion at this time is the CF has done an EXCELLENT job with Wonderland, has turned it into a "returnable" park (I have a seasons pass), has two rides that scare British tourists (Leviathan and Behemoth), has added new attractions each year since purchasing from Paramount and overall seems to "care" about the general "fare" paying public. I think criticism at this point in time is not really comparable to the actual state of the park itself. Just my two cents.

Dom946 I have been critical of Guardian's theming on this thread and have asked the question why it seems "incomplete" in regards to the queuing area, lack of merchandise shop etc....however...when the ride came out and details were discussed...the cost of the ride seemed to be agreed at about $10 million. Whatever the criticism of the ride itself..that is not a small amount for a regional park be it high in attendance or not. I don't think you are spoiled...I just think your definition of "cheap" is a little unfair to Cedar Fair. We are never going to get Spiderman/Transformers/Escape from Gringotts etc at CW....I think afew too many people compare Guardian to these rides. The problem with going to Disney or Universal is that you end up doing rides that you ain't going to be doing in your home park. Tomb raider/Time warp was the last ride that I recall installed from the paramount days...and most enthusiasts on here HATE that one. If you want to compare the CF investment to the Paramount investment...then feel free. Also compare it to other CF parks outwith Cedar Point.....I think we stack up pretty well....Wonderland is WAY better now than it was when I first moved to Toronto This is where the coaster enthusiast world can get a little bit frustrating. Is it wrong to have something that is fun for kids? Does EVERY new addition have to be some launched RMC flyer hyper dive coaster with inversions to satisfy our hobby? Are we saying if a ride is only fun for kids then it is not worth having in a park or not worth adding? I love my coasters for sure...but I also like going on rides with my son at a level that is appropriate for him.....he loved Typhoon...which makes it a good addition for me....the fact it is second hand played no role in his or my enjoyment of it. We ARE spoiled in the coasterworld. That is proved by someone mentioning Lightening Rod in this thread as though that is what we should be having. That ride has NOTHING to do with Wonderland...it is the big addition for Dollywood next year...and good on them for it. People are wishing for that type of thing to come to Wonderland....and who knows what might happen for the future....I am one of the people that think it is a safe bet that we will get a coaster in 2017. I don't want to be one of the people though that start dissing my home park for not meeting expectations and being allegedly cheap....when the optics are the opposite.

3 Off years!?...3 years of additions and investments to the park and they are described as off years? I would hardly call Guardian an OFF year. Ditto adding to the waterpark. Next year they are adding to the flat ride selection at the park with two fun rides...what is the problem in that? As thrilling and exciting as new coasters are...you aren't getting them every year..and at Wonderland..they are also trying to cater to the general public aswell. We have had Behemoth, Leviathan, Guardian, Windseeker, Slingshot, Waterpark improvements AND next years additions in about a 7 year period. I don't mind people critiquing the rides at CW but to "pooh" the investments is rather dismissive to all the GOOD work Cedar fair has done for the park. Who here wants the Paramount days back with all the spectacular new stuff we got then!

Ok..so no coaster this time (2017 seems to be the general opinion online now)...but two interesting additions. https://www.canadaswonderland.com/what-s-new/new-for-2016-flying-eagles-skyhawk I can't quite figure out Skyhawk from the description, at 100ft it looks thrilling...whatever it is!! I leave it to more knowledgeable people than me to explain. Flying Eagles....I find these rides good fun and if the wind is right...you can soar REALLY high if you get the "sail" in the right position. A good fun family ride but one that you can have some fun experimenting with to change the experience. Nice additions in my opinion, and pleased to see Wonderland continuing the recent trend of expanding each year with different themed rides. I also think it will mean GREAT excitement for 2017 now as that SHOULD be new coaster time. Clever strategy by the park....there will be a LOT of interest

Escape from Gringotts broke when we were in line in February. We had already waited half an hour and moved pretty quickly. We decided as it was a new ride with new technology AND the staff kept everyone well updated with mechanical updates that we would continue to wait. In the end we got on after 50 mins which was pretty fair. This is the only ride we have ever done this for and it was down to the fact that we saw what the lines were like later in the day (on the previous day). If it was a coaster? I would leave the line and come back when the ride is fixed...not easy to stand around waiting if family are in tow and the young one is getting antsy.

Top 4 1 Top Thrill Dragster (rather overhyped for me.....sort of a "is that it?!" feeling once over) 2 Superman Escape from Krypton...enjoyed it a lot 3 Millenium Force..Great fun 4 Leviathan...front row for me still ranks highly...top 6.

Pleasant surprises? Great Bear at Hersheypark: Rode not expecting anything and found it to be really good fun. Escape from Krypton SFMM: Backwards launch....no expectations....killed myself laughing the short time I was on it. A good sign! Gatekeeper CP: A lot of criticism on this website of this ride. When I rode it that criticism is in the back of your mind...I loved it and re rode it about 5 times due to the fun factor and smoothness (and the keyhole effect). Realised that sometimes it is best to ignore a review and judge for yourself. Unpleasant surprises. I haven't had any "unpleasant" surprises at theme parks....more rides that I have expected more from given their reputations and gotten off disappointed. That is in no way a criticism...just personal preference. Case in point below with my first one. Escape from Gringotts Universal: Diagon alley blew me away...majorly impressed. I had been told nothing but awesome reports about the new ride...and as good as it was (and it was)...it had been hyped up to the point that I expected it to hit my number one spot ridewise with ease. It didn't even crack my top 10.....which leaves you a bit underwhelmed even though you KNOW it is an awesome ride. Millenium Force CP: Again awesome ride...is in my top 10...but suffered from its own hype. The Swarm, Thorpe Park. Had ridden Gatekeeper before this ride so was expecting the same kind of "fun" quotient. The theming was awesome...the ride....meh. Disappointing!

RE the fast pass. We looked into it before we went. It was $60 for 9 rides. There were time windows for each ride...but so long as you did not arrive EARLY for anything you could do the ride at any time you wanted...ie if Skyrush was a time of 11am..you could still go at 3pm in the afternoon. You could not however go at 10am to use the fast pass. I used it on one of my days at the park due to family circumstance..and it worked OK. I did NOT like the entry through the "exit" of the ride...but the time windows were OK after being told about the time flexibility in them. Passable on a busy day..but needs some work. I reiterate what was told to me...stay at a Hershey property and get the evening preview perk AND the early entry to the park the following day. That cuts down on a lot of the line times.

Wonderland is my home park...and although it isn't my favourite...ever since Cedar fair bought it....it has REALLY moved up the list with the additions of Behemoth, Leviathan and Guardian PLUS the additions to the waterpark. I can tell I like the park as I feel protective when others criticise it....even though I know that sometimes they are right! Not a bad park to have as a "home" though. Favourite park?? Tough question...so far for roller coasters it has been SFMM (sorry Cedar point!). Outwith that it would be toss up between Universal Studios (Diagon Alley blew me away and that is something coming from a snobby Brit who was ready to criticise) and Disneyland California adventure. The Disney choice might surprise some.....but Radiator springs racers is the best family ride I have ever been on...when son wanted to go on it again and again and again.....it sold it to my wife and I. The theming was pretty cool too!

Good point...I didn't think of it that way. Either way it was a great ride. Just shows...I have never thought much about what they name coasters. Someone in some department somewhere has that enviable job.."hmmm I think we will call this one Great Bear". People are worried at the moment what they might call the next Wonderland coaster (Ziz)...when my first thought is usually "is it going to be fun to ride". Having said that "Skyrush" is good name and a good coaster.

Can I also add that Great bear is underrated. It was the most pleasant surprise at the park for me as I held no expectations. It really had some awesome sections. As I said in my review...I think the worst part was the name..as it was very un "bear" like. More bird like to me with the swooping sections. A solid park and selection of coasters.

Just got back from our two day visit to Hershey. Checked out the park with my family (wife and son) and had a really good time. Thankyou to people who gave the advice earlier, we took advantage of the 3.5 hour evening perk which worked nicely. The drive from Pittsburgh was OK with no problems and The hotel Hershey was a REALLY nice place to stay. My general overview of the park is positive. We only had problems with the HEAT on Weds...it was probably about 35-36 degrees centigrade. This was the HOTTEST day we have EVER done a roller coaster park (including Florida and California) and it really does drain you as the day goes on....and makes for some rather grumpy punters round the place. The Boardwalk actually was not a pleasant place to be as it was SO crowded...the lines to go down a waterslide were insane. We got better value by going back to the Hotel and using their outdoor pool (which was lovely). My wife and I spoke about coming back in early season as the heat did affect the family experience a bit (through no fault of the park). Ice cream sales must have been pretty high. Anyway...the rides. My top ten has been altered! Skyrush.....shot straight up to number 4 on my list...above Maverick (maybe controversial to some). I rode it 3 times...the first two I was somewhat..."well this is good but not great".....3rd time...I was close to the back on an outside seat...and I have NEVER felt so close to coming out of my seat on a coaster!!. When people call it an airtime machine...I fully get it now! My goodness....only Apollo's Chariot tops it for me in terms of airtime. It was great fun....I love the headtrip of thinking you are coming out of your seat..even though you are fully latched in. I love Maverick...but feel well strapped in on it....Skyrush had that pure terror feeling that puts it top 5. Other rides Laff Track...we took everyones advice and went there straightaway (after the early hour). There was still a 20 min wait even just after 10am.....we did not run....it was too hot! I thought it was a fun ride...but I would not want to wait over an hour for it. I am guessing the fact that it is new means it is a main draw right now? We loved how it "zipped" around and it had a nice theme (the mirrors are great for a 7 year old kid). Thankyou to those for the advice of getting to it first.....as much as I thought it was fun...I would have been "fatigued" if I had waited an hour (especially in the heat). Lightening Racer...I loved it and found it really comfortable. I love racing wood coasters. I thought it was better than Gemini at CP. Wildcat....Was running fast on Wednesday. Pretty rough...and marred by some rather incessant 12 year old screaming the WHOLE ride behind me. It did seem to rattle up a fair rate of knots! I got off with the "ooooof!!" feeling that you get on some woodies. Still a fun ride. Great Bear...A pleasant PLEASANT surprise. I have read mixed reviews...and I am not really a B and M invert type person. I thought it was smooth, comfortable, packed enough kick to make it fun...but also had some really fun "swooping" type sections, which I am always a fan of. I actually thought the name should be more "birdlike" as they really had some long sweeping sections that didn't seem very bearlike. I would put it just below Montu now as favourite B and M invert. Good fun. Storm Runner. Liked it..good fun...but left me wanting more (which is a positive thing). It was better than Top Thrill Dragster (for me) as it added a bit more punch after the launch.....I just felt that it was just getting started as it ended. Personal opinion only. It is a good ride for sure..but it didn't hit my top 10. Farenheit..Same as storm runner. Liked it, good fun...but wasn't completely knocked out by it. I do LOVE those vertical lift hills though. Saw the ride (which is in my top 10) has one and I think they are good fun. Part of the problem I had on Farenheit was related to my height and the restraint system...I just got a bit too banged around on the neck and side of head. I did actually prefer Farenheit to Storm runner though (personal opinion) for the vertical lift hill alone. Plus there was a VERY nervous teenage American college kid in front of me who kept up a VERY colourful commentary during the ride...and improved my grasp of teenage cursing lingo. Most amusing I did not get to Comet or Sooperdooperlooper as we were trying to stay cool in the Boardwalk, and also doing some of the kid rides. Flying Falcons was EXCELLENT fun. My son LOVED it....which always counts for a lot with me (which is why to be fair Laff Track is actually OK...he loved that aswell). Trailblazer was another that had him smiling. Parents are able to unwind on it while the little ones lift their arms up on the ride. Anyway...all in all a fun visit. The one criticism we did have on the day we visited...maybe regulars can confirm or explain.....the loading crews on some of the rides were.....ermmmm....not very efficient?!??!???. Skyrush...mid afternoon..was leaving half empty train after train after train (with a 45 minute line?). The time I rode...the ride attendants were letting LARGE groups of kids on camp dictate to them the ride operation ie "I am riding with them, no I don't want so sit there, I need to ride with this person etc etc etc" The train I went was delayed 3 mins as the ride attendant tried to cajole these kids into speeding it up. This happened on Storm Runner and Farenheit aswell...I was VERY surprised...you certainly would not see this at Wonderland. I don't believe the ride attendants need to be rude...but they should be in CHARGE of the ride....I think they were letting themselves get bullied by people their age....and it detracted from the park operation. I shudder to think what would happen if Disney let the Seven Dwarfs mine train leave half empty every cycle because people don't want to sit in x, y and z place! Thankyou again to everyone for their advice. The biggest compliment I can pay is that my wife and I have decided we WILL return.

The two roughest rides ever for me had nothing to do with the rides and more to do with the restraints. I had the "pleasure" on both Cheetah Hunt and California screamin of the enthusiastic ride attendant jamming the shoulder bars down over my 6ft 2 rather broad shouldered build. I had no room to adjust my foot/leg angle, which is what I normally do on coasters during a ride.....so felt every bump, curve, loop, acceleration in a way I really did not want to feel.....and to be fair to Cheetah hunt...was not really how I think it should have felt!! Green lantern First flight at SFMM....not sure the being "thrown out of the chair and having ones crown jewels crushed" should actually be part of the experience but it was for me...and I remain unconvinced by it. It was actually more amusing afterwards as my wife laughed at me when I came off the ride complaining of my pained anatomy...she then went on had had the same thing happen to her...minus the crown jewels part. My understanding is that it was as painful!.

Short visit to the park yesterday with my son to have a look at the new section of the waterpark (Typhoon). I thought it was a nice little addition, he loved it (which is the most important part). My only minor minor gripe, as a season pass holder....the one hour early entry to the waterpark is great...but the choice of what they have open (just the black hole, pump works and tidal pool) is rather lame. Probably more down to staffing than anything else...but I would like to see maybe one more slide open in this time to get afew rides in (maybe super soaker or the plunge?). First world problems I know! Personally I think the waterpark is pretty decent (and VERY clean yesterday...impressed!) and on a hot day is a great distraction. As much as we talk coasters for Wonderland, if they pay some attention to the waterpark in the future it can stand on its own as a visit in itself. I do not know much about water attractions. What do they call those slides that you get into a sort of capsule (clear front) and then they drop the bottom out on you? I would love to see some of those come to Toronto...although I can imagine the lines would get pretty long. Last thought....all the speculation of what and when CW will get in the future. Just looking at the area that Skyrider used to stand in. My own personal opinion is they will fill it with something sooner rather than later for the very fact that the area looks BARE and not very scenic now. Most people agree that CW is a clean scenic park. I am pretty sure the CF want to keep it that way.....having a bare field with rather dead grass and piles of sand and gravel is not really the way forward...and there were afew comments yesterday I heard about that area looking rather sparse! Like everyone else...I am interested to see what happens.

Hmmmm good question...as no B and M inverts crack my top 10...and inverts aren't usually my "Wow I have to go on those" type coasters. 1 Montu BGT 2 Duelling Dragons IOA 3 Nemesis AT (although this was about 10 years ago now) 4 Raptor CP 5 Nemesis Inferno TP I do want to go on Banshee as that look like good fun. Didn't think much of Alpengeist when I rode it!

True, but WMG isn't the "knock em dead" coaster that people are expecting to complete the Behemoth/Leviathan trio (and I say that as someone who enjoys WMG). Will be interested to see. I don't particularly want a dive coaster myself...but will go on one if that turns out to be the case.

Would a dive coaster meet the capacity requirement that seems to be the norm for CW? As much as I have enjoyed Sheikra/Griffon and Oblivion....I don't recall the ride crews really banging out the trains. I agree with most on here that the Leviathan and Behemoth are people gobblers which is good for the park. A new coaster would surely want to follow that trend?

Thankyou...I wasn't sure...I find either name fine...and love the ride aswell. Appreciate the info.

With apologies if this question has been asked before. We went to Magic mountain last year...and went on "F.u.l.l.t.h.r.o.t.t.l.e" for the first time. On TPR when you type that down it gets written down as YOLO coaster. I have had to edit it twice just to get that on screen. What is the official name for the ride or is there an inside story I have missed? Do people hate the original name? Much obliged if someone could enlighten me.

1 X2 2 Tatsu 3 Apollo's chariot 4 Maverick 5 Leviathan (front row) 6 Millenium force 7 Full Throttle 8 Manta 9 Saw The Ride 10 Gryphon/Sheikra equal

Two of the more INTENSE roller coaster moments for me had nothing to do with the ride and more with the restraints. I am 6ft 2 and sometimes the over the shoulder restraints get pushed down a little TOO enthusiastically by the ride attendants. On both Cheetah Hunt and California Screamin they were rammed right down over my shoulders to the point I could not move and had red welts left on the skin! Going round the loop on Screamin and the launch sections of Cheetah hunt were not too much fun in this position and were intensely painful! The two enjoyable intense for me are my numbers 1 and 2 favourite coasters. I love the part of X2 with the flamethrower where the seat seemed to be doing a flip just as they fired. I had not watched the ride before going on it so this was a surprise and felt pretty intense. I also did Tatsu at night, and as others have said the pretzel loop was amazing and in the dark was a real mindflip.

Thankyou for the advice. I did not know about the preview night and the 3.5 hour perk yet, so that sounds pretty good to me. Will post my opinions after the trip. I am flying to Pittsburgh with my son from Toronto and then meeting up with the missus who will already be in Pennsylvania at a camp. I am presuming a 3 hour drive from Pittsburgh to Hershey? Looking forward to it. Hersheypark is our "park" visit of choice this year outwith my home park of Wonderland and Disney (which we do every year). I enjoy reading this forum to see the locals view of their home park, and then the trip reports from the out of towners. I will be one of those in a couple of weeks.

Myself and the family are visiting Hersheypark at the end of July. We will be staying at The Hershey hotel so will get the early entry to the park but we also are looking at getting whatever Hershey does as a fastpass. I have used the fastpasses at Disney, Six flags (Flash) and Cedar fair Fastpass, so I was looking for advice on how the Hershey system works. Is it a "time" system like Disney or Six flags Flash pass, or is it more like Cedar fair front of the line access. Also is it sold at various locations around the park or is it something you need to buy in advance and pick up at guest services. I appreciate that fastpass is not to everyones taste and I have seen afew people saying the Hershey system is a bit of a waste of time, but they work for my family circumstances so any advice is appreciated. We are very much looking forward to trying Skyrush for the first time. I get the feeling it might hit my top 5!

Depends what you mean by "so much stuff". Jacket, hat and sunscreen for myself and kid. Nothing wrong with that at all. Fits nicely into a small backpack which get stowed in the bins at the start of the ride. When I am using the waterpark I will rent a locker to use. Can't legislate for everything....and the "put items in pocket" crowd are no better...as I have seen numerous items go flying on inverted rides as that article came flying out from being hastily stuffed in. Wonderland is better than some parks...and MOST people do their best to store their bags appropriately. I wouldn't call it a major issue unless it was happening ALL the time.