Canada's Wonderland Discussion Thread

[KBrylczyk]

Here's hoping this will be open when I visit in two weeks.

[Johnlloyd]

The final piece for AlpenFury was put into place earlier today! 

[Nrthwnd]

^ It all - looks - so - niiiice! 

[prozach626]

We've really seen some good coaster additions lately, all the way from the families to the thrill riders.

[Johnlloyd]

AlpenFury has officially begun testing! Who's excited to ride? 

[Nrthwnd]

^ QUICK! Send me a plane ticket!

 

 

[KBrylczyk]

Had to postpone my trip next week for unrelated reasons, glad I'll be able to get on this and Siren's Curse later this summer!

[thrillseeker4552]

Objectively this looks like it will be Premier's best coaster yet. I'm happy to see they modified the side paneling on the train to make it easier to enter/exit, plus no comfort collars or seat belts. The second launch will also hopefully have a pretty good kick since there isn't much length down in that tunnel to bring it up to top speed. And the layout looks SO good!

I was nervous about it not being ready in time for my 2-day visit on 7/31 & 8/1, but I have a little more faith now since it started testing. Yay!

[abovethesink]

 

6 hours ago, thrillseeker4552 said:

Objectively this looks like it will be Premier's best coaster yet. I'm happy to see they modified the side paneling on the train to make it easier to enter/exit, plus no comfort collars or seat belts. The second launch will also hopefully have a pretty good kick since there isn't much length down in that tunnel to bring it up to top speed. And the layout looks SO good!

I was nervous about it not being ready in time for my 2-day visit on 7/31 & 8/1, but I have a little more faith now since it started testing. Yay!

Same for about 10 days later!

[coastersandhockey]

Hi everyone! I am going to sound like a complete idiot here but I am heading to Canada's Wonderland for the first time the weekend of July 11th and Canada in general for the first time since I was 4 and we did Niagara Falls. We will stay near the Falls and do the Falls Thursday night, Friday or Saturday, and Sunday morning with Canada's Wonderland either Friday or Saturday. Some questions for those of you who have visited from the states.... What was the border crossing like? We are coming from Cleveland on a Thursday evening after work. (Here comes the idiot part) Do I need to do anything special for cell service and using my Mastercard debit card? Or should all work pretty seamlessly? 

Okay and for you CW locals, tips and tricks? Best way to attack the park? Is there early entry available for passholders (It seems there is but their website doesn't really show on what rides?) Will it be hopelessly busy regardless of which day we go (can choose between Friday or Saturday)? Best food on the dining plan? Any rumblings of Alpenfury being open by then? 

Thanks in advance. Super stoked for this trip!

[john10693]

Border crossing off peak times are minimal at the Falls Bridge but can be a bear during rush hour, early Saturday and afternoon Sunday. It's been my experience that the best crossing is north at the Lewiston bridge. I am not a local but from western NY and Friday is your best bet crowd wise. Be forewarned however that this park is always crazy busy and fast lane is the only option for me. The park is relatively small compared to say Cedar point and only takes 15-20 minutes to cross the park. If you get fast lane I suggest hit wonder mountain's gaurdian first if you want to ride it as there is no fast lane. If not, I would hit up Leviathan area then head straight to the opposite side of the park where most of the better rides are (Yukon Striker, behemoth and some really good flats). If Alpen Fury is open I'd head back to the middle of the park and do Vortex and some of the flats over there. I do one day round trips and get there at about 10 and with fast lane can get everything in by mid day, without FL waits are easily 1+ hours on everything. Wonderland and kings Island are the best for fast lane as on non Saturdays waits are short compared to say Cedar Point.  Also, avoid taking the 407 as the toll is about $45 each way US dollar and only saves about a half hour and yes, it's a major metro and traffic just sucks. Other than that, it's one of my favorite parks and have been going there since it opened , you will have a great time, enjoy.

[CaptainUnknown]

Fellow American also visiting for the 1st time in mid-july. Heard there's a marketing shoot scheduled for July 1. But I also heard that official media day just got postponed. I don't know either date of that or if marketing filming has been delayed. Fingers crossed for us all.

[Doppel Looping]

23 hours ago, coastersandhockey said:

Hi everyone! I am heading to Canada's Wonderland for the first time the weekend of July 11th  

Should be fun. 
wonderland will be busy from now until september.

Fast pass probably a good idea. 
Friday traffic near wonderland will be bad. 

1 day max in niagara falls is all you need then get the hell away from there. it is far away from everything else ~2.5 hr to wonderland  in good traffic . Maybe 1.5 hr to western toronto  

In niagara there is the boat under the falls and standing around looking at them from shore. There is an old hydro generating station that was restored with interactive displays and tunnels you can take to the base of the falls.

The drive along the niagara river is nice to niagara on the lake which is a nice historic town with some good restaurants and a much less trashy vibe than the falls themselves. They have the Shaw festival theatres with some good plays on you could see. My wifes favourite restaurant is treadwell in notl. Also good area for picnics.
 

I would suggest you find a hotel on west side of toronto or north near wonderland  

If you get a day in toronto, take the ferryboat to the island it is really nice. 
 

As of last sunday i saw one train go around the track from the final brakes on behemoth. The station was being actively worked on with ladders and construction crews. They are working hard on it. 
 

be sure to ride Behemoth in row 8 for the floater air. Leviathan is great back row and even better at twilight. 
 

feel free to reach out for more ideas. 

[Johnlloyd]

After an extensive retracking, Mighty Canadian Minebuster officially reopened yesterday! Canada's Wonderland posted an on-ride video on their social media channels! It looks so smooth now! 

[prozach626]

That looks great. 

[Doppel Looping]

I got a ride on minebuster today. It is the first time this year that i have seen it running. 

it was good  

The new track starts just before the first drop. It takes a little dip before cresting the hill and gives a mini pop of airtime going over the top. (I was towards back of the train. )

The first drop and out section was nice and smooth. I was concerned about the back trip and helix but while not as smooth, they were at least passable. 
 

It was the nicest minebuster ride i have had in a long time. 

[coasternut]

Any official word on Alpen Fury's opening date??? I've got to hit this park this season...

 

[Johnlloyd]

4 hours ago, coasternut said:

Any official word on Alpen Fury's opening date??? I've got to hit this park this season...

 

No official opening date for AlpenFury has been announced as of yet. Lots of testing has been happening over the past month, so hopefully soon! 

[Johnlloyd]

The wait is over! AlpenFury will be opening this Saturday, July 12th! Season pass holders can also get exclusive ride time on AlpenFury from 9am to 10am on select dates! Who's ready to ride? 

[CaptainUnknown]

Hell yeah! Now stay open until I can ride on the 22nd/23rd.

[coastersandhockey]

Quick little report from our visit on Saturday. As I said earlier in the thread this was my first every visit. We got SUPER lucky and the park announced on Thursday that Alpenfury would actually be open on Saturday. We had planned on visiting Friday to avoid such huge Saturday crowds but decided to change so we could get on Alpenfury, and that we did! We got to the park around 3pm after visiting some family in the Toronto area. By this point obviously Alpenfury had a huuuuuuge line. Heard reports of around 5 hours? My girlfriend has a disability pass so we waited in the ADA line and got on in about 30 minutes. WOW what a ride! I haven't been left speechless by many rides but Alpenfury did it. Absolutely bonkers crazy from start to finish. Even the first launch and airtime hill hit before all hell breaks loose. Top 10 potentially? Only rode it once so I'll have a better idea after I ride it some more next weekend. 

 

Some other thoughts:

-Minebuster retrack is great. Can't wait for them to do the whole thing

-Wilde Beast was my 100th wooden coaster credit. It sucked. 

-Behemoth... meh.

-Leviathian is fantastic! Reminded me more of Millennium than it does the other B&M gigas. Great ride. 

-Yukon Striker is also GREAT. Way smoother than Valravn. Great pacing. First drop seems to go forever. 

-Lots of tweens and teens causing a ruckus. Is there no chaperone policy at this park? Saw multiple brutal bloody fights. There was also an incident at Leviathan at the end of the night where a weapon was allegedly seen and caused a panic. I will say though that Wonderland security was FANTASTIC and always very quick to the scene when there was an issue, and in large number. 

-Last thought, wow this park is PRETTY. The vibe and look of the park is fantastic and every employee we encountered was very nice. Not quite Dollywood level but better than almost all regional parks. Easily one of my top parks now. 

 

Here's some pictures for y'all:

[Johnlloyd]

6 hours ago, coastersandhockey said:

Quick little report from our visit on Saturday. As I said earlier in the thread this was my first every visit. We got SUPER lucky and the park announced on Thursday that Alpenfury would actually be open on Saturday. We had planned on visiting Friday to avoid such huge Saturday crowds but decided to change so we could get on Alpenfury, and that we did! We got to the park around 3pm after visiting some family in the Toronto area. By this point obviously Alpenfury had a huuuuuuge line. Heard reports of around 5 hours? My girlfriend has a disability pass so we waited in the ADA line and got on in about 30 minutes. WOW what a ride! I haven't been left speechless by many rides but Alpenfury did it. Absolutely bonkers crazy from start to finish. Even the first launch and airtime hill hit before all hell breaks loose. Top 10 potentially? Only rode it once so I'll have a better idea after I ride it some more next weekend. 

 

Some other thoughts:

-Minebuster retrack is great. Can't wait for them to do the whole thing

-Wilde Beast was my 100th wooden coaster credit. It sucked. 

-Behemoth... meh.

-Leviathian is fantastic! Reminded me more of Millennium than it does the other B&M gigas. Great ride. 

-Yukon Striker is also GREAT. Way smoother than Valravn. Great pacing. First drop seems to go forever. 

-Lots of tweens and teens causing a ruckus. Is there no chaperone policy at this park? Saw multiple brutal bloody fights. There was also an incident at Leviathan at the end of the night where a weapon was allegedly seen and caused a panic. I will say though that Wonderland security was FANTASTIC and always very quick to the scene when there was an issue, and in large number. 

-Last thought, wow this park is PRETTY. The vibe and look of the park is fantastic and every employee we encountered was very nice. Not quite Dollywood level but better than almost all regional parks. Easily one of my top parks now. 

 

Here's some pictures for y'all:

I am glad to hear you had a great first visit and were able to ride AlpenFury! I got my first rides on AlpenFury on Monday and thought it was insane!

As for a chaperone policy, there is not one at the park. I wish there was one in place, as I too (as a regular), have seen many teens being disruptive and rowdy during multiple visits over the past three years. That behavior does kind of take away from the experience.

Hopefully you're able to come back soon! 

[damos]

Looks awesome! Thanks for sharing pics!

[thepoint4life23]

I really don't understand how we got to a point as a country that teens and such feel  its fun to go cause disruption, panic and fight and more so why its giant space like theme parks. I know most parks have to deal with it.  

Good to see this ride getting good reviews.