Canada's Wonderland facts for kids
Previously known as Paramount Canada's Wonderland | |
Location | Vaughan, Ontario, Canada, |
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Opened | May 23, 1981 |
Owner | Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. |
Slogan | Where Else? |
Operating season | May through October |
Area | 330 acres (1.3 km2) |
Attractions | |
Total | 48 Thrill Rides & 200 Attractions |
Roller coasters | 15 |
Water rides | 20 Acre (81,000 m²) Waterpark – Waterpark, Outdoor Wavepool, 16 Water Slides |
Website | canadaswonderland.com |
Canada's Wonderland (often referred to locally as Wonderland) is a 330-acre (1.3 km2) theme park located in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada, 30 kilometres north of downtown Toronto, Ontario. It is considered one of North America's premier amusement parks, with more than 200 attractions. The park is open seasonally from May to October. While under Paramount Pictures (later bought by Viacom) ownership from 1994 until 2006, the park was known as Paramount Canada's Wonderland until it was sold to Cedar Fair and reverted to its original name. The park has also been the most attended seasonal theme park in North America for two years running (2005 and 2006). Park attendance in 2005 was 3.7 million people. In 2006, attendance was just over 3.2 million.
Contents
Attractions
The park's themed areas are:
- International Street
- Medieval Faire
- International Festival
- Nickelodeon Central
- Hanna-Barbera Land
- Kidzville
- White Water Canyon
- Splash Works
- Grande World Exposition of 1890
- Action Zone
Water slides
- Black Hole
- The Plunge
- Super Soaker
- Body Blast
- Riptide Racer
- Barracuda Blaster
- Whirlwinds
- Splash Island Waterways
- Splash Island Kiddie Slides
Roller coasters
- The Bat - Steel shuttle coaster with a loop and cobra roll, built by Vekoma
- Behemoth - Steel sit down coaster with a 70 metre drop and travels at 125km/h; new for 2008, built by Bolliger & Mabillard
- Dragon Fire - Steel double-loop, double-corkscrew with a downward helix, built by Arrow
- The Fly - Wild Mouse roller coaster built by MACK Rides
- Backlot Stunt Coaster - (formerly Italian Job: Stunt Track) steel, powered launch, built by Premier Rides
- Mighty Canadian Minebuster - Wooden coaster with modified out-and-back layout, built by Philadelphia Toboggan Company
- SkyRider - steel stand-up, with one loop and a downward helix, built by Togo
- Thunder Run - Steel mine train coaster with no lift, built by MACK Rides of Germany
- Time Warp - (formerly Tomb Raider: The Ride) Steel flying roller coaster, built by Zamperla
- Flight Deck - (formerly Top Gun) Steel inverted looping coaster, 5 inversions of various types, built by Vekoma
- Vortex - Steel suspended coaster, built by Arrow Dynamics
- Wild Beast - Wooden, modified Bearcat/Wildcat, built by Philadelphia Toboggan Company
Child-oriented roller coasters
- Scooby's Gasping Ghoster Coaster - Wooden, children's coaster, double out and back layout, built by Philadelphia Toboggan Company
- Silver Streak - Inverted steel family coaster, built by Vekoma
- Taxi Jam - Steel children's coaster, built by Miller
Flat rides
Besides the large number of roller coasters it has, it also has a huge variety of flat rides, such as bumper cars, carousels, many of these relying on centrifugal forces, and other funfair rides, such as:
- Psyclone - A Mondial Revolution, swinging and spinning reaching heights of over 110 feet (33.5 m)
- Shockwave - A Mondial Top Scan that twist and turns on every possible axis.
- Riptide (formerly Cliffhanger) - A Mondial Splashover with twin gondolas that flip and go around in the air, but you might get wet.
- Klockwerks - An old classic that rotates and with the centrifugal force pushes you outward.
- Sledgehammer - Spins riders on two axes and blasts you up and down distances of 85 feet (25.9 m).
- Action Theatre (formerly Action F/X Theatre) - Motion based seating ride in two large theatres featuring Sponge Bob Squarepants in 3D)
- Drop Tower (formerly Drop Zone) - A vertical tower-like ride that begins by slowly taking its passengers up the towards the peak of the tower and then immediately drops the passenger down until he/she reaches the ground.
Images for kids
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During the park's development, it was decided that Wonder Mountain would serve as its centrepiece, as opposed to the replica Eiffel Towers found in its sister parks.
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In 2005, the park introduced Fearfest, a Halloween-themed event featuring haunted house attractions.
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Entrance to the park featuring its original name. The park reverted to its original name in 2007, after it was acquired by Cedar Fair.
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Yukon Striker under construction in October 2018
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Behemoth is a large steel hypercoaster located in Action Zone.
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Grande World Exposition of 1890 is an area themed to resemble a 19th-century world's fair.
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Vortex is a suspended roller coaster located in Frontier Canada.
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The Medieval Faire's setting, and most of its rides, are medieval-themed.
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Entrance to the Leviathan, a giga coaster in the Medieval Faire
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One of the entrances to Planet Snoopy, a children's area themed after the Peanuts comic strip.
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A Peanuts character at the Playhouse Theatre in KidZville, one of two children's areas at the park
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Entrance to Ghoster Coaster, a children's roller coaster that debuted at Wonderland in 1981