Johnlloyd

It's crazy to see how much snow they received in a short period of time. I also like seeing parks during the off-season.

Waldameer received a ton of snow recently! The park posted some photos of the rides covered in the snow! https://www.facebook.com/share/p/FG1ZZ4y7Q86ZfPPn/

It's been quite a while since I've shared some updates of the new for 2025 attraction, which will be announced on August 8th, 2024! Last Wednesday (July 24th) I went to Canada's Wonderland for my fifth visit of the season. Below are photos of the construction progress around Wonder Mountain, in International Festival! There are tons of footers to be seen! I can't wait for the official announcement on August 8th!

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!

The classic Dragon Fyre at Canada's Wonderland on October 28th, 2023, exactly 142 days ago!

Wow, it's been a while since anything was shared here! Here is some news coming from the park today! Xtreme Skyflyer is being removed before the start of the 2024 season. Details below! I was glad to have finally gained the courage to ride Xtreme Skyflyer last July! It'll be interesting to see what takes up the space where Xtreme Skyflyer had stood since 1996!

Viper at Six Flags Great America!

Tig'rr at Indiana Beach!

Reptilian at Kings Dominion.

Link: https://www.canadaswonderland.com/blog/media-center/2023/canadas-wonderland-announces-giant-boomerang-water-slide-for-2024

Yesterday I had visited Canada's Wonderland for the first time in three weeks as I had visited Six Flags Great America, Six Flags St. Louis, and Indiana Beach two weeks ago. Since my last visit to Canada's Wonderland, they had changed the opening times for White Water Canyon and Timberwolf Falls from 11am on weekdays to 12pm on weekdays, with the opening of both rides at 11am on the weekends. It was a bit of a surprise for me and some other guests yesterday as they both opened at 11am for many years. I am wondering if a staffing issue has caused the new hours of operation for White Water Canyon and Timberwolf Falls as it's not like the park isn't busy during the summer months. Hopefully this change doesn't last for too long as it can be quite hot outside by 11am this time of year. White Water Canyon's new opening time: Timberwolf Falls new opening time:

I know these are just ideas right now, but I honestly hope they don't ever touch Wonder Mountain like they propose in the first concept. Maintaining the iconic look of Wonder Mountain is something I prefer. As for the second concept, it sounds interesting and something they could put in the old Action Theatre area. I was finally able to ride Mystic Timbers at Kings Island back in April and really enjoyed it. So a wooden coaster like that in Frontier Canada would be a great idea. As for the third concept, it seems like an odd choice, but would make great use of the Kingswood Music Theatre. Lol The next few years at Canada's Wonderland could be interesting.

I am glad to hear it reopened today. Unfortunately it was closed the last two days, which were the two days I was at the park for my very first time. Maybe I will be able to ride Whizzer in the future. Just a bit disappointed that I wasn't able to ride this classic and rare coaster. But I still had a great time at Six Flags Great America regardless of Whizzer being closed both days!

The limited number of dining locations on weekdays in May and June has been a common occurrence this year. I was a bit surprised to see Backlot Cafe closed the last time I was at the park. It has some of the better options for food. As for Tundra Twister, I find it to be a really fun ride. Depending on the ride cycle, it can provide some intense head dives towards the ground and some awesome hangtime. You will definitely need to ride it a few times as each ride cycle provides a slightly different experience. The crew on Sledge Hammer have been very interactive with the riders this year and last year! It definitely adds to the experience!

If you're looking to purchase Fast Lane, I would probably recommend getting it for the Sunday as weekends are usually very busy at Canada's Wonderland unless there is inclement weather, such as rain. As for the Monday, the park shouldn't be too busy as local schools are still in session and many schools do go to Canada's Wonderland for field trips, but they usually leave by 4:30pm at the latest. When going on the Monday, just be aware that many food locations may be closed as that has been a common occurrence for the month of May and the early part of June (as of last week) as it isn't peak season yet. As a regular visitor and having Canada's Wonderland as my home park, I would definitely recommend getting on Shockwave, Sledge Hammer, Wilde Knight Mares, and the new Tundra Twister is you're looking for some unique flat rides. For more classic flat rides I would recommend Spinovator (Mack Calypso), Klockwerks (Huss Swing Around), and Swing of the Century (Zierer Wave Swinger). There are many other flat rides to check out too that I did not mention! One last thing, if possible, get there before opening (park opens at 10am, front gate opens around 9:30am) as there can be quite the crowd at the entrance. Also, be sure to have fun!