Canada’s Wonderland
About a month ago (when it was still summer), we went to Canada’s Wonderland – an amusement park – to get some adrenaline rush and have a wild ride (literally) in the numerous roller coasters there. Here are some pictures that will hopefully make you jealous.
Flightdeck: Speeds of 90km/h, exhilarating 90-degree vertical climbs, barrel rolls, inverted wing loopovers, a 270-degree after burn and a complete snap roll over. Highlight: You are in a chair that is suspended from the top.
Mighty Canadian Minebuster: Longest wooden rollercoaster. Speed over 90km/hr and over 1.2km of track. Highlight: I love wooden rides for their clittery-clack sounds and jerks.
Sky Rider. Highlight: You are standing up.
Some time to cool off!
The Behemoth: Canada’s biggest and fastest. It takes you up 70m and then sends you speeding down at a 75 degree angle of descent with speeds reaching 125km/hour! Highlight: Open air seating: there is virtually nothing substiantial to hold on to
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| Water rides: Since it was a beautiful day, this area was too crowded. | |
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| Psyclone: Gravity defying hang time on the most powerful pendulum on the planet! It will swing 120-feet in the air, while spinning on a giant, sky teasing disc. Highlight: Your body swinging and spinning (two forces). | |
Dragonfly: Two 360-deg loops, helix and corkscrew on a wooden roller coaster.
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| Shockwave: Twisted force and spinning power, boosts riders 70-feet in the air, while rotating and looping 360-degrees! Immense speed, immense force. Highlight: Your body spinning and rotating on 3 axes – complete confusion guaranteed. | |
Some classic stuff
There were many more rides that I couldn’t photograph. Overall the day was great and we did most of the high-thrill rides and a couple of kiddie rides. 
The last time I was in an amusement park was about 15 years ago, at Esselworld in Mumbai.
Information:
Canada’s Wonderland is accessible by public transit and takes only an hour from downtown: Take a GO bus from Yorkdale or Yorkmills subway station on Yellow line. Alternatively, YRT bus #20 serves this area but it will take ages to reach. By car, the wonderland is about 40km from downtown, off Hwy 400N.
Tickets for adults cost $53.
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I am not a big fan of roller coasters, I just didn’t find the adrenaline rush enticing. I’ve seen the standing version once, and rode one of those, which was about 12 years ago, in Expoland in Osaka, which is now closed. Aside from that visit, the most recent visit to an amusement park was in 2005, when we went to Prater in Vienna, but the main objective was to ride the Wiener Riesenrad, which was rather historic. After the riesenrad, my sister and I rode another ride in Prater, but it only lasted about 2 minutes and then that was it. And last year, I was in Copenhagen and my hotel was literally right across the Tivoli Gardens, which is billed as the oldest amusement park in the world, but I didn’t even enter the thing.
If only the rides and the adrenaline rush was coupled with spectacular scenery, along the lines of paragliding or zorbing or ziplining, then it would be great. But somehow the idea of going to a contained place containing all these rides to make your body produce adrenaline is not too enticing to me. But heck, to each his own, eh?
Shpereing, Zip lining or bungee jumping – I haven’t done any of them. But if you have, that’s awesome. I could easily substitute going to amusement park with, say, a trek in Himalayas – its more adult and complete experience for sure. But being teenagers / tweens (which I still am) once in a while is not that bad either; not as a norm, but as an exception: for example, getting absolutely drunk in a house party (what a weird example).
Being drunk in a house party? Funny, because I am just planning one such event!
And you pay to do all this to yourself! I get dizzy easily.
We had free tickets, LOL. I know it sucks if you get dizzy: I guess I am lucky that way!
Fantastic!
A few years back I went to this amusement park named Six Flags….in Aurora, Ohio. It was something similar and I had the best experience of my life there.
Yup, I loved it too – its been so many years since I been on roller coasters…
I can feel the bitterness at “when it was still summer”! lol
Indeed, it’s really cold now. Yuck.
I have always wanted to go there, and never managed to. Maybe when it’s summer again?
The transition from summer to winter (or fall) was so swift, wasn’t it? One week it was 20ºC something and in less than a week we are down to 9ºC. Sucks!
Wooden roller coasters are awesome, they always feel like they’re going to fall apart. Adds to the excitement
Yup, totally agree. Some people don’t like the jerks and the noise, but I find that attractive too!
I am big whuss…so roller coasters are just not my thing. I get nauseous even in a small roundabout…so you can imagine why I stay away from them.
LOL, that sucks, but its not a big deal.