Canada's Wonderland

Canada's Wonderland
Location	Vaughan, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates	43°50′33.16″N 79°32′31.00″W
Website	Official website
Owner	Cedar Fair Entertainment Company
General Manager	Norm Pirtovshek
Opened	23 May 1981 (1981-05-23)
Previous names	Paramount Canada's Wonderland
Operating season	May through October
Area	330 acres (130 ha)
Rides	68 total 16 roller coasters 2 water rides
Slogan	Fun and Only!

Canada's Wonderland is a 330-acre (130 ha) amusement park located in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada, a suburb directly north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The park is open seasonally from May to October and contains more than 200 attractions (including sidestall and redemption games and video arcades) in eight differently themed areas. It opened in 1981 and was Canada's first major theme park and is still today the largest and most popular theme park in Canada. Under the ownership of Paramount Parks from 1994 to 2006, it was known as Paramount Canada's Wonderland. When sold to Cedar Fair in 2007, the park reverted to its original name.

The park has been the most attended seasonal theme park in North America for numerous years in the 2000s. Almost every year in the decade, the park's attendance has reached the three million mark, slightly higher than that of other major destination parks such as Kings Island, Knott's Berry Farm and Cedar Point, the three being sister parks to Wonderland. It also holds the record for most roller coasters in a park outside of the United States, with 16, including Leviathan, which is under construction since the 2011 season and set to open for the 2012 season.

Park history

Planning

In 1972, the Taft Broadcasting Company, headed by Kelly Robinson, first proposed building a 330-acre (130 ha) theme park in the then-small village of Maple, part of Vaughan, Ontario. Several other possible locations in Ontario were considered, including Niagara Falls, Cambridge and Milton, but Maple was finally selected because of its proximity to the city of Toronto and the 400-series of highways.

Others had seriously considered the Greater Toronto Area as a spot to build a theme park, among them the Conklin family (whose Conklin Shows ran various midways around North America, including Toronto's Canadian National Exhibition midway). Walt Disney also considered the idea before choosing Florida, rejecting Toronto mainly because the climate was too cold, making the operating season too short to be sustainable.

Construction of the park was opposed on multiple fronts. Many cultural institutions in Toronto such as Ontario Place, the Royal Ontario Museum and the operators of the Canadian National Exhibition felt that the Toronto market was not large enough to support more competition. Other groups that fought the building of Wonderland included a Vaughan residential association called SAVE, which felt the increased traffic would reduce property values. People in the region were concerned that the new park would be similar in esthetics to a carnival or midway. Some of the concessions the company made included a landscaped berm around the park to reduce noise and modifying the appearance of the large parking lot. Taft was concerned about opposition, going as far as to fly a group of opponents and regional councillors out to Cincinnati to show them the positive impact of one of its theme parks on the local community.

Canada's Wonderland was also responsible for changing the master development plan for the province of Ontario. The government wanted to increase residential and commercial development to the east of Toronto in the Regional Municipality of Durham, which includes Pickering and Oshawa, while keeping the lands to the north of Toronto agricultural (see Greenbelt). The Wonderland promoters were able to convince the province to amend the planning policy for the region, and the park secured infrastructure improvements (including a highway overpass and sewage systems) that were expanded and built out to the site. These improvements paved the way for increased development throughout the region.

Concerns were also raised about the cultural implications of allowing an American theme park to open in Canada. Many felt that it would be a "Trojan Horse" for American culture. To counter the criticism, Taft planned to open Frontier Canada, a part of the park devoted to Canada's history. Early park maps show the area encompassing what is now Splash Works, White Water Canyon, the F/X Theatre and the southern part of Kidzville, as well as proposed attractions, including a steam passenger train. While Frontier Canada was never built, several elemental themes remain in the area. Unlike its sister parks, Kings Island and Kings Dominion, it was decided in the early planning stages that the centrepiece of the park would not be a replica of Paris's famous Eiffel Tower. Instead, the park's designers chose to build a massive mountain, known as Wonder Mountain. Situated at the top of International Street, Wonder Mountain featured a huge waterfall and interior pathways which led visitors to a look-out point. Other elements that were never built include a hotel and conference centre (to have been constructed north of the park).

Construction and opening

On 13 June 1979, Ontario Premier Bill Davis depressed the plunger on an electronic detonating device in downtown Toronto, triggering an explosion on the site. Construction began immediately and continued on to early 1981. Canadian companies partnered on the preliminary design and engineering of the project and helped to mould the dream into a reality. Construction of the mountain alone involved a dozen local companies under Cincinnati engineer Curtis D. Summers.

Two years later, on 23 May 1981, Davis and Taft Broadcasting President Dudley Taft officially opened Canada's Wonderland to the public. The spectacular opening ceremony included 10,000 helium balloons, 13 parachutists, 350 white doves, and a pipe band. Four children, representing the Arctic, Pacific, Atlantic, and Great Lakes regions of Canada, each poured a vial of water from their home regions into the park's fountain. Hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky also appeared as a special guest, helping to raise the Canadian flag. 12,000 guests were welcomed into the park for the first time. The park cost $120 million to build.

Paramount era

The Flight Deck roller coaster (formerly Top Gun) in action (2006).

During the 1980s, Canada's Wonderland and the Loblaws supermarket chain mounted a cross-marketing campaign. Loblaws issued "Wonder dollars" based on customers' purchases, which were redeemable at Canada's Wonderland at par with the Canadian dollar on weekdays. The obverse of the coin featured Wonder Mountain, while the reverse featured the Loblaws logo.

Kings Entertainment Corporation operated the park during the 1980s and early 1990s. The park's former connection to Hanna-Barbera Productions was reduced after Paramount Pictures raised its stake from 20% to full ownership of the park in 1993 and renamed it Paramount Canada's Wonderland. After Viacom bought Paramount in 1994, a successful attempt was made to bring families back to the park by attracting children with original Nickelodeon cartoon characters that were familiar to a new generation.

Many changes were made in the next decade. In 1996, Splash Works was expanded, with a new water slide, a wave pool and a new child-friendly water playground (The Black Hole, White Water Bay and The Pump House). In 1998, the park expanded by adding KidZville, which was mainly designed for infants and children. In 1999, Splash Works was expanded for the second time, with the addition of raft rides The Plunge and Super Soaker.

In 2001, a new themed area called Zoom Zone was added within the KidZville section. Three new attractions were built in that area: Silver Streak, a family roller coaster; Blast Off, a "frog hopper"; and Jumpin' Jet. In 2002, the park unveiled Action Zone, a new themed area which at the time contained already existing rides and added the Psyclone ride.

Splash Works also received its third and most current upgrade, with the addition of a child water playground area called Splash Island and the removal of Pipeline.

On 11 May 2003, with the park packed with people for Mother's Day, two guests were involved in a fight at the front gates of the park which led to a shooting death. It was thought to have followed a prior dispute involving the two over a drug exchange, according to York Regional Police. The park has since added metal detectors at the front gate, with twice the amount of security.

In 2005, the park introduced Fearfest, a Halloween event featuring various haunted house attractions in different themed areas. Though the section for smaller children was closed off, the park continued running many of the thrill rides during the event, such as the Thunder Run, where patrons ride a mine-car-like train through a mountain. During the Halloween season, it is re-themed as the "Haunted" Thunder Run, with a darker tunnel and more strobe lights, fog machines, and black-light lit scenes featuring the "skeletons" of miners.

In 2006, the park introduced Spooktacular, a Halloween event geared towards children. The event included children's rides, costume contests and a treasure hunt. Spooktacular was open on weekends during the daytime, while Fearfest remained open at night. Due to very low attendance, Spooktacular only lasted one season.^{[citation needed]}

Cedar Fair era

On 14 May 2006, it was announced that Cedar Fair Entertainment Company was interested in acquiring the five Paramount theme parks, including Canada's Wonderland. The acquisition was completed on 30 June. As a result, in early January 2007, Cedar Fair began to drop the "Paramount" name from all of the former Paramount parks, and the park is currently referred once again by its original name: Canada's Wonderland. The 2007 and 2008 season marked a transition year of removing "all things Paramount" throughout the park, which included the renaming of some of the rides. By the start of the 2008 season, the Paramount logo and similar references had been removed.

In August 2007, Cedar Fair announced that Fearfest would be renamed Halloween Haunt to remain consistent with other Cedar Fair parks, and that Spooktacular would be discontinued. In its place, the park extended its regular operating season until the last weekend in October. Halloween Haunt runs in the late evenings on October weekends.

In the off-season of 2008–2009, the television show Flashpoint shot an episode at Canada's Wonderland called "The Perfect Family", which aired on 10 April 2009. Canada's Wonderland was called Northern Dream Park in the episode.

On 4 May 2008, Canada's Wonderland opened a hypercoaster called Behemoth. Behemoth currently holds the records for the tallest and fastest roller coaster in Canada standing at 230 feet (70 m) (three feet [0.9 m] taller than the Drop Tower) and reaching speeds of up to 77 miles per hour (124 km/h). In addition, Cedar Fair reactivated the two topmost waterfalls, which had been inactive for a long time.^{[citation needed]}

On 19 July 2009, Nik Wallenda walked on a tight rope from the pond area of Medieval Faire to Wonder Mountain.

An aerial view of the park in May 2011.

In 2011, Canada's Wonderland opened a 301-foot-tall (92 m) WindSeeker, making it the tallest ride in the park (until Leviathan opens in 2012). The park also announced the addition of the Starlight Spectacular show, which started on 25 June 2011 and ended on Labor Day, 3 September 2011. It was a nightly light and sound show designed to celebrate the park's 30th anniversary; it was shown at 10pm EST every night on International Street. Canada's Wonderland stated that the total cost for the show was approximately $1 million, with 16 million different colours and 300,000 LED lights. While the show took place at the front of the park (International Street), the highlight was on Wonder Mountain, with many 3D images and colours. In July 2011, Cedar Fair released a game called Amazement Park on Facebook which can only be accessed by Facebook users. The game features many rides from all the Cedar Fair parks. Rides from Canada's Wonderland include Shockwave, WindSeeker, Behemoth, Drop Tower and many other attractions.

In August 2011, Canada's Wonderland officially announced a new ride for the 2012 season. Leviathan will be the park's tallest, fastest, and longest roller coaster, as well as the tallest and fastest in Canada. In addition to Leviathan, Canada's Wonderland will also open Dinosaurs Alive! in 2012.

Current areas and attractions

Ride Rating System
Rating	Thrill	Description
1	Low	Rides that are generally calm and gentle in nature
2	Mild	Rides that generally have low speeds with gentle motion and braking. Rides have smooth transitions with some changes in elevation and speed.
3	Moderate	Rides that generally have low to medium speeds and/or heights with moderate motion and braking. Riders may encounter unexpected changes in direction and/or speed during portions of the ride.
4	High	Rides that generally have medium to high speeds and/or heights with moderate to rapid braking. Riders may encounter unexpected changes in speed, direction and/or elevation.
5	Aggressive	Rides that generally have one or more of the following: high speeds and/or heights, aggressive and unexpected forces, and rapid directional or elevation change. Riders will encounter many unexpected rapid changes in speed, direction and/or elevation.

The park has several themed areas. The four original sections are: International Street, Medieval Faire, Grande World Exposition of 1890 (now Action Zone), and the Happyland of Hanna-Barbera (divided into 2 kids areas now). The current areas include the original sections and White Water Canyon (1984), Splash Works (1992), and children's areas including Kidzville (1998), Zoom Zone (2001) and Planet Snoopy (2010)

International Street

Main article: International Street (Canada's Wonderland)

International Street is the park's entry area, similar to the Main Street, U.S.A. sections of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Using a format borrowed from Kings Island and Kings Dominion, both sides of the street are lined with shops, including souvenir shops, clothing stores, restaurants, and candy stores. Wonder Mountain, the park's centrepiece, appears at the end of the street. In early decades, stores sold high-quality imported goods, themed to the buildings, and restaurants sold unlikely foods for a theme park, such as shrimp, paella, and smoked sausage.

The buildings are named the Latin, Scandinavian, Mediterranean, and Alpine Buildings.

International Festival

International Festival is located in the northeast section of the park and is home to 14 games and six rides. International Festival is most notable for its midway games.

Ride	Year opened	Manufacturer	Description	Rating
The Fly	1999	Mack Rides	A custom designed wild mouse roller coaster added as the eleventh roller coaster in the park. Its layout has since been cloned for several other parks. Unlike normal wild mouse coasters, the ride begins with a 50 ft (15 m) drop, then returns up to maximum height, followed by a quick series of hairpin turns, drops, and brakes.	4
Klockwerks	1981	HUSS	One of the original rides from when the park opened.	4
Shockwave	2001	Mondial	A Mondial Top Scan. The ride spins around on an angle while guests (while restrained on the seats) are spun around on almost every possible angle the ride operates on.	5
Thunder Run	1981	Mack Rides	A steel mine train roller coaster. It was originally called Blauer Enzian, opened in its current incarnation in 1986, as the sixth roller coaster at the park. The ride uses a drive motor with a rubber wheel in the front of the train to drive it around the track, rather than a traditional lift. Thunder Run makes two passes through Wonder Mountain at the centre of the park.
Vortex	1991	Arrow Dynamics	A steel suspended roller coaster, similar to Flight Deck at Kings Island. It was Canada's first suspended roller coaster when opened, was the eighth roller coaster added to Canada's Wonderland. It shares Wonder Mountain with Thunder Run for its lift and first drop, but the majority of the ride takes place over the open water behind the mountain.	5

Action Zone

Action Zone was originally The Grande World Exposition of 1890 and is one of the original four themed areas at Wonderland. It was made to resemble an old world's fair, with expositions from different countries, focusing on African and Asian themes. The restaurants and bathrooms formerly were true to the exposition theme. One of the restaurants was called Ginza Gardens (now The Backlot Cafe) and had a Japanese theme and formerly a Japanese façade. There is also an arcade area within this section of the park. The Mighty Canadian Minebuster, one of the original four roller coasters, is on the outskirts of the Action Zone and was intended to be the centrepiece of the never-built Frontier Canada.

In 2002, Action Zone, was created as a new themed area within the Grande World Exposition of 1890. However, the entire area was later renamed Action Zone.

Ride	Year Opened	Manufacturer	Description	Rating
Antique Carousel	1981	Philadelphia Toboggan Company	A carousel that was originally located in Palisades Park, New Jersey. The ride features 64 original hand-carved horses; the lead horse’s name is Caesar.	1
Backlot Stunt Coaster	2005	Premier Rides	A family LIM-launched roller coaster based on the chase sequence of the 2003 remake of The Italian Job. Riders launch into a parking garage, dodge police cars, and are attacked by a helicopter, which ignites fire all around riders before hitting a second launch section, sending riders into pitch black darkness. Formerly known as The Italian Job: Stunt Track (2005–2007).	5
Behemoth	2008	Bolliger & Mabillard	A steel hypercoaster built by Bolliger & Mabillard, and the park's fifteenth roller coaster, beginning operation in May 2008. It is currently the tallest and fastest roller coaster in Canada, with a maximum height of 70 metres and a 135 km/h maximum speed. Rather than the standard, four seat across setup common in most B&M roller coasters, Behemoth features a new, "prototype" seating arrangement that has four seats arranged in a "V" formation.	5
Flight Deck	1995	Vekoma	A steel inverted roller coaster. It is Canada's first and only inverted looping Jet coaster, and has been cloned 24 times for many parks around the world. It was the ninth roller coaster added to the park.	5
Mighty Canadian Minebuster	1981	Taft Broadcasting	A wooden roller coaster. It is one of the four roller coasters that debuted with the park in 1981, and is one of two wooden coasters at Canada's Wonderland modelled after a ride at Coney Island amusement park in Cincinnati, Ohio (the Shooting Star). Today, Minebuster is still the longest wooden coaster in Canada	5
Orbiter	1981	HUSS	A HUSS Giant Enterprise. It was dismantled in 2006 but reopened in 2008.	4
Psyclone	2002	Mondial	The 1 minute and 54 second ride features 40 seats facing outwards that rotate from a central pendulum as the ride reaches its maximum arc angle of 120 degrees.	5
SkyRider	1985	TOGO	A steel stand-up roller coaster. It was the park's fifth roller coaster. It was added one year after a near-identical coaster, King Cobra, was added to Kings Island to be North America's first stand-up roller coaster. However, King Cobra closed in 2002.	5
Sledgehammer	2003	HUSS	A HUSS Giant Jumper.	5
Swings of the Century	1981	Zierer	A suspended swing ride that rotates with a wave motion lifting riders up to 30 feet (9.1 m) in the air.	3
Time Warp	2004	Zamperla	A steel flying roller coaster. It was the thirteenth roller coaster added to the park, and Canada's first "Flying Coaster", as riders lie flat on their stomachs in a car suspended from overhead, in order to take in the experience face-first. The ride has no vertical inversions, but contains two Heartline rolls. Formerly known as, Tomb Raider: The Ride.	5
WindSeeker	2011	Mondial	A flat ride featuring two-person swings that slowly rotate and ascend the 301-foot (92 m) tower until reaching the top where speeds increase up to 30 miles per hour (48 km/h). After several delays in May, it opened June 21.	4
Xtreme Skyflyer	1996	Sky Fun	Pay-per-ride Double Skycoaster with a dive of 153 feet (47 m). Currently Canada's largest free-fall swing.	5

Medieval Faire

The Medieval Faire section of the park has a medieval European theme in both the setting and the rides. However, this has diminished in recent years with the advent of unthemed new rides. The two original roller coasters, Wild Beast and Dragon Fire had pseudo-old English spellings (Wilde Beast and Dragon Fyre) before 1998. The stores and restaurants follow the medieval theme, as does the castle theatre (Wonderland Theatre, originally Canterbury Theatre) and a pirate show in the middle of the lake. In 2006, Wonderland Theatre had the stage refitted for an ice rink and has hired international figure skaters to perform in their ice shows.

Ride	Year Opened	Manufacturer	Description	Rating
The Bat	1987	Vekoma	A classic Vekoma Boomerang roller coaster. It was the seventh roller coaster added to the park	5
Dragon Fire	1981	Arrow Dynamics	A steel roller coaster. It is one of the four roller coasters that debuted with the park in 1981. Uniquely, unlike the other roller coasters produced by Arrow that contain corkscrews, Dragon Fire's corkscrew runs counter-clockwise. While the ride came with 3 trains, only two are used for this ride, with the third being used for The Bat.	5
Drop Tower: Scream Zone	1997	Intamin	A drop tower ride. All the former Paramount Parks have a ride similar to this with different heights. Formerly known as Drop Zone: Stunt Tower (1999–2007).	4
Leviathan	2012	Bolliger & Mabillard	A steel giga coaster. It will be the parks sixteenth roller coaster. It is notably known as Bolliger & Mabillards, first Giga Coaster. When it opens, it will be the tallest and fastest roller coaster in Canada and the seventh tallest and eighth fastest coaster in the world.	5
Night Mares	1981	HUSS	Riders are lifted 49 feet (15 M) in the air while spinning from a horizontal to vertical position.	4
The Rage	1981	HUSS	A HUSS swinging ship ride.	3
Riptide	2000	Mondial	A Mondial Splashover Top Spin.	5
Speed City Raceway	1997	J&J Amusements	Go karts	4
Spinovator	1981	Heinrich Mack GMBH & Co	A Teacups ride	3
Wild Beast	1981	Taft Broadcasting	A wooden roller coaster. It is one of the four roller coasters that debuted with the park in 1981, and is one of two wooden coasters at Canada's Wonderland modelled after a ride at Coney Island amusement park in Cincinnati, Ohio (Wildcat)	5

White Water Canyon

This section of the park is heavily surrounded by trees. It was introduced in 1984 when the White Water Canyon ride debuted. It is where the Frontier Canada themed area had been promised (along with Splash Works).

Ride	Year opened	Manufacturer	Description	Rating
Action Theatre	1994		A 3D theater which currently houses SpongeBob SquarePants 3-D.	4
Timberwolf Falls	1989	Hopkins Rides	A Shoot the chutes water ride.	4
White Water Canyon	1984	Intamin	A river rafting ride originally named, White Water Rafting Adventure	4

Splash Works

Main article: Splash Works

Opened in 1992, Splash Works is a 20-acre (8.1 ha) water park. The water park is home to Whitewater Bay, the largest outdoor wave pool in Canada, and 16 water slides.

Children's areas

Main article: Children's attractions at Canada's Wonderland

The children's areas in Canada's Wonderland all began as The Happyland of Hanna-Barbera. The three areas were themed as Yogi's Woods, Scoobyville, and Bedrock; the first was converted to Smurf Village in 1984. In 1993, the Smurf area transitioned to Kids Kingdom, which became Kidzville in 1998. In 2003, Bedrock became Nickelodeon Central. Planet Snoopy, based on the comic strip Peanuts, replaced Nickelodeon Central for the 2010 season, standardizing the park with the rest of the Cedar Fair chain. A fourth themed area is Zoom Zone. Quite small, it is part of Kidzville. Created in 2001 with the debut of Silver Streak, it also contains the small rides Blast Off, and Jumpin' Jet. One of the Kidzville rides, and originally a Kids Kingdom ride, Jumbo Bumps, was removed to make way for these three rides and the new section. Starting in 2004, Zoom Zone was no longer shown on park maps as an independent section. However, since Cedar Fair's takeover, each of the three rides mentions it is in Zoom Zone, and park signage continues to use the name. Currently, KidZville and Planet Snoopy are the only children's areas.

The first ride accident in the park's history occurred on 23 August 2003, when the Jimmy Neutron Brainwasher fell apart. Three children were sent to hospital as a precautionary measure.

KidZville

KidZville is one of the two current children's areas at Canada's Wonderland. The current rides are,

Ride	Height Requirement	Manufacturer	Thrill level
Blast Off	Over 36"	S&S Worldwide	2
Chopper Chase	Under 48"	Caripro Amusement Technology	2
Flavourator	Under 44"	Zamperla	2
Frequent Flyers		Bradley & Kaye	2
Jokey's Jalopies	Under 46"	Bradley & Kaye	2
Jumpin' Jet	Under 42"	Zamperla	3
KidZville Station	Under 40"	Mack Rides	2
Silver Streak	Over 44"	Vekoma	4
Swing Time	Over 36"	Zamperla	1
Taxi Jam	Over 36"	Miler Coasters Inc.	2

Planet Snoopy

Main article: Planet Snoopy

Planet Snoopy is the newest children's area that opened in 2010. The current rides are,

The Pumpkin Patch ride

Ride	Height Requirement	Manufacturer	Thrill level
Boo Blasters on Boo Hill	Over 46"	Sally Corporation	2
Character Carrousel	Over 46"		1
Dinosaurs Alive!		Dinosaurs Unearthed
Ghoster Coaster	Over 40"	Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters	4
Joe Cool's Dodgem School	Over 36"	Lusse Brothers Incorporated	2
Lucy's Tugboat	Under 48"	Zamperla	2
Peanuts 500	Over 42"	Zamperla	2
The Pumpkin Patch	Under 48"	SBF Visa Group	2
Sally's Love Buggies	Over 42"	Eureka	2
Snoopy vs Red Baron	Over 32"	Bradley & Kaye	2
Snoopy's Revolution	Under 42"	Zamperla	2
Snoopy's Space Race		Intamin	2
Swan Lake	Under 48"	Bradley & Kaye	1
Woodstock Whirlybirds	Under 40"	SBF Visa Group	3

Fast Lane

See also: List of Fast Lane attractions#Canada's Wonderland

Fast Lane is Canada's Wonderland virtual queue system, For $50, visitors get a wrist band that lets them cut to the front of the line for 15 of the most popular attractions.

Timeline

Today, Canada's Wonderland has over 200 attractions (including games), with over 60 thrill rides. The park holds a number of Canadian records, among them the most roller coasters, with 15 and one more scheduled to open in 2012. The park encompasses eight themed areas on 330 acres (1.3 km²) of land, with an artificial mountain as the central feature. In the southwestern quadrant, a 20 acres (81,000 m²) waterpark called Splash Works has over 2 million gallons (7,570 m³) of heated water, Canada's largest outdoor wave pool, measuring 36,000 square feet (3,300 m²), a lazy river, and 16 water slides.

In 1983, Canada's Wonderland added the Kingswood Music Theatre, a 15,000 seat amphitheatre that has hosted many "big-name" concerts. After the Molson Amphitheatre opened on the grounds of Ontario Place in 1995, cultural festivals at the theatre became less prominent.

Major attractions by year

The Rage (2007) opened with Canada's Wonderland in 1981.

The Jet Scream "looping starship" ride (2003), removed at the end of the 2010 season.

Psyclone (2005), built for the 2002 season.

1981 – Park opens with:

Antique Carousel, Balloon Race (Frequent Flyers), Bayern's Curve (R), Bedrock Dock (R) moved to Carowinds, now operates as "Little Bill's Cruisers", Thunder Run, Dragon Fire, Flintstone's Flyboys (R), Ghoster Coaster, Great Whale of China (R), Happy Landing (Swan Lake), Hot Rock Raceway (R), Klockwerks, Krachenwagen, Mighty Canadian Minebuster, Wilde Beast (Wild Beast), Quixote's Kettles (Spinovator), Scooby Choo (KidZville Station), The Fury (R), Orbiter, Swings of the Century, Nightmares, The Rage, Wonder Tour, and Zumba Flume (R).

1982 – Kings Courtyard (The Courtyard)

1983 – Kingswood Music Theatre

1984 – White Water Canyon, Smurf Forest (until 1990s) (R)

1985 – SkyRider

1986 – Thunder Run (formerly Blauer Enzian)

1987 – The Bat

1988 – Racing Rivers

1989 – Timberwolf Falls

1990 – Jet Scream (R)

1991 – Vortex

1992 – Splash Works: Whirl Winds, Body Blast, Splash Island Kiddy Slides

1993 – Kid's Kingdom play area (later renovated and renamed Candy Factory)

1994 – "Days of Thunder" – Motion Simulator Movie Ride (Action Theatre – Currently Playing "SpongeBob SquarePants 3D")

1995 – Top Gun (later renamed Flight Deck)

1996 – Xtreme Skyflyer; Splash Works Expansion: Wave Pool, The Pump House, Black Speed City Raceway

1997 – Drop Zone: Stunt Tower (later renamed Drop Tower: Scream Zone)

1998 – KidZville, James Bond – "License To Thrill" (feature at Action Theatre (R)), The Edge Climbing Wall (R)

1999 – The Fly; SplashWorks Expansion: Super Soaker and The Plunge; "Escape from Dino Island" (feature at Action Theatre (R))

2000 – Riptide, Scooby-Doo's Haunted Mansion (Boo Blasters on Boo Hill)

2001 – Shockwave; Zoom Zone (new kids area) including: Silver Streak, Blast Off and Jumping Jet; "7th Portal" (feature at the Action Theatre (R))

2002 – Psyclone; SplashWorks Expansion: Riptide Racer, Barracuda Blaster and Kids Sprayground

2003 – Sledge Hammer, Nickelodeon Central (replacing Bedrock), "Warrior of the Dawn" (in Action Theatre) (R), "SpongeBob SquarePants 3-D" (feature in Action Theatre), Launch Pad (trampolines; requires separate fee)

2004 – Tomb Raider: The Ride (later renamed Time Warp)

2005 – The Italian Job (later renamed Backlot Stunt Coaster)

2006 – "School of Rock: Live in Concert", "Paramount's Hollywood Stunt Spectacular" show (R), "The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbara" (feature at the Action Theatre) (R), Nickelodeon Celebration Parade (R)

2007 – Coasters 50s Diner, International Marketplace Buffet, "Twistin to the 60s" show (R), "Endless Summer on Ice" show, Picnic Pavilion

2008 – Behemoth, "Dance to the Music" show (R)

2009 – "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" show, "Marty's Party" Show

2010 – "Rockband Live" show, "Snoopy On Ice" show, Planet Snoopy

2011 – WindSeeker, Starlight Spectacular (R), VIP Tour Program (R), "Start Me Up" show, "Charlie Brown’s Pirate Adventure" show

2012 – Leviathan, Dinosaurs Alive!

Current name in (brackets); R = Removed/Closed

Location

Canada's Wonderland is on the east side of Highway 400 between Rutherford Road (Exit 33) and Major Mackenzie Drive (Exit 35), 13 km (8 mi) north of Highway 401, 6 km (4 mi) north of Highway 407 and 64 km (40 mi) south of Barrie. It is bounded by Highway 400 to the west, Jane Street to the east, Major Mackenzie Drive to the north and Rutherford Road to the south. Formerly quite isolated when the park opened, it is surrounded by housing on all sides since the mid-2000s. It has two public entrances and one entrance for staff, deliveries, and buses.

Public transportation

Regular transit access is provided by York Region Transit (YRT), while GO Transit, Brampton Transit, and MiWay all run special services. The bus loop at Wonderland is located near the northeast corner of the park, and is accessible from the service entrance on Jane Street, north of Major Mackenzie Drive. Transportation to the Wonderland Terminal is available from the following of the regional transit organizations:

• Toronto Transit Commission on behalf of York Region Transit: Toronto – Route 165 Weston Road North bus to Canada's Wonderland from York Mills subway station via Wilson subway station. Extra fare is required north of Steeles Avenue.
• Mississauga Transit: Route 88, express, non-stop trip between Canada's Wonderland and Mississauga's Square One Shopping Centre.
• York Region Transit: Route 20 Jane-Concord provides service along the Jane Street corridor from York University to Teston Road. YRT Route 87 Langstaff-Maple serve the park from nearby stops on Jane Street.
• GO Transit: Wonderland GO Bus Service (Route 60) from York Mills Bus Terminal and Yorkdale Bus Terminal.
• Brampton Transit: Route 66 from Bramalea City Centre.

York Region Transit used to provide express Magic Wonderbus service from Newmarket and Markham, but this was discontinued for the 2007 season. As well, beginning with the 2009 season, Route 4 Major Mackenzie no longer serves the Wonderland bus loop.

Logos

Wordmark used from 1981 until 1993.

The modified version of the logo used from 2004–2006, when Paramount owned the park.

The park, from its opening in 1981, was known as Canada's Wonderland. In 1994, when it was sold to Paramount Pictures (later Viacom), they changed the name of the park to include the word Paramount, something Paramount Parks did with all of its other parks in 1993. Prior to that, none of the Paramount-owned parks had the Paramount prefix.

The logo was completely changed to match the style of the Paramount Parks logo, as well as their other theme park properties, which all had the same styled logos, including the Paramount prefix, and the Paramount Pictures mountain logo.

In 2003, Viacom updated the logo of Paramount Parks, and all its theme parks, including Wonderland, to include an updated Paramount logo, even though the logo for Paramount Pictures, the film studio, remained unchanged.

In 2007, CBS Corporation, (split from Viacom in 2005), sold all of its theme park properties to Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, which in turn, dropped the Paramount prefixes from all five parks (and thus reverted to their original names), and gave the logos the Cedar Fair logo and font style.

See also

• List of Canada's Wonderland attractions
• Paramount Parks
• List of amusement parks in the Americas
• Incidents at Cedar Fair parks

External links

• Canada's Wonderland official website