Canada’s Wonderland, Cr-coasterbuzz.com
Canada’s Wonderland in Vaughan (north of downtown Toronto), Ontario, Canada is one of the most popular parks in North America. It spreads over 330 acres and boasts over 200 attractions, including 65 thrill rides and a 20-acre water park. It is owned and operated by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company known for managing one of the most incredible parks in the world, Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio plus nine other theme parks around the US.
Canada’s Wonderland has nine themed areas. As you enter the park, you walk through International Street zone. It looks like the main street of some busy town with lots of sweet shops, clothing and gift stores and a few restaurants. The street ends with Wonder Mountain, an artificial mountain complete with a waterfall and a roller coaster, Thunder Run, themed after a runaway mine train. The mountain is located about in the center of the park.
To the right of the International Street there is Medieval Faire, the medieval-Europe themed area. The entrance to the Medieval Faire is a large gate in a long stone wall, similar to the ones that used to circle medieval castles. In this section, there are three great older roller coasters: Wild Beast, an old fashioned wooden roller coaster and Dragon Fire, a steel coaster that is quite intense with its 360 degrees loops, a corkscrew and a helix and The Bat, a 117-foot high coaster that goes forward and backward on the same track. Other interesting rides include: The Rage, a swinging Viking ship, 230-foot tall Drop Tower, and Riptide, a 360 degree swing that goes through a “wall” of water spraying upward. Everyone is bound to get wet. Also, there is Speed City Raceway, a small race car track. Besides all the rides there is also an ice skating theater, one of the main restaurants, the Marketplace International Buffet, a first-aid station and a baby care center.
Directly north of Medieval Faire there are lots of interesting changes going on right now. In that area there used to be Nickelodeon Central and Hanna-Barbera Land designed for younger children. The two sections are being replaced with Planet Snoopy, featuring new, Peanuts-themed rides and the whole Peanuts Gang walking around, giving out hugs and posing to pictures. Planet Snoopy is supposed to open in May 2010.
Next to the future Planet Snoopy there are two other zones: KidZville and International Festival. KidZville is a brightly colored children’s area with a town square, maze, Silver Streak, a junior inverted coaster, Ghost Coaster, a wooden roller coaster and many other fun rides for kids and their parents. In the center of the KidZville there is a baby care center, lost-child area and other guest services.
International Festival is the home of more traditional amusement park games and a few rides. The most notable are two roller coasters: The Fly, a family coaster with lots of twists and turns and Vortex, a suspended coaster.
Directly north of the Wonder Mountain there is White Water Canyon area, featuring Timberwolf Falls, a log flume ride through a waterfall, a raft ride and Action Theatre, a simulator ride. On the west side of the park there are two large sections: Splash Works and Action Zone. Splash Works, as the name suggests, is a water park with the largest (two million gallons) heated wave pool in Canada, Whitewater Bay. There is also a lazy river and plenty of high-speed water slides and rides, such as Plunge, Black Hole, Barracuda Blaster and more. Splash Works has a first-aid station, as well.
The Action Zone has some of the most impressive thrill rides in Canada. The best one is Behemoth, with its height of 230 feet and the speed of 77 miles per hour is the largest, tallest (230 feet) and fastest roller coaster in the country and one of the tallest in the world. There is also Mighty Canadian Minebuster, the largest and the longest wooden roller coaster in Canada. It starts in the Action Zone and goes through the center of the Splash Works. The Minebuster is 4000 feet long and reaches speeds of over 90 miles per hour. Other coasters are: Blackout Stunt Coaster, Flight Deck and Time Warp, the only flying roller coaster in Canada. There are also several other rides, such as the Jet Scream, a swinging “star ship” that goes 100 feet up in the air, Psyclone, Sledge Hammer, Xtreme Skyflyer, a free-fall swing and an old fashioned Antique Carrousel.
In the back of the Action Zone there is a music theater. There are several restaurants and snack carts placed strategically throughout the whole park. Some of the best eateries are: the Marketplace International Buffet, Back Lot Cafe, Coasters and International Cafe. There is also Starbucks, Diary Queen, couple of pizza bars, and many sweet shops.
Canada’s Wonderland offers lots of attractions and it is not unusual for guests to take a couple of days to fully enjoy all the rides and activities. There are several hotels in the area, such as Sheraton Parkway and Best Western, both about 15 minutes from the park, Howard Jonhson and Hilton Suites, about 20 minutes away and Holiday Inn Express in Vaughan (only 10 minutes from the park), which offers Wonderland packages that include park tickets, overnight stay, breakfast and parking.
A nearby campground, Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park and Camp-Resort also offers packages that include overnight camping and discounted tickets to Canada’s Wonderland.
To get to the park, you can either drive, or take one of several bus-lines that provide rides form different areas of Toronto. For details you can go to the official website for the city of Toronto or check with your hotel for information.
Canada’s Wonderland is truly the best theme park in Canada and one of the best in North America. It offers a variety of attractions, from mild and moderate rides to extreme thrill coasters. From the youngest to the oldest, everyone can enjoy the park. And, if it’s too hot out, you can go to Splash Works to cool off for a while and, then run back to your favorite rides.
