Going to Canada's Wonderland - suggestions and do I need a passport?

^I'll be stopping at Marineland. That's a hefty price for one coaster - I wonder if there are any discounts?

Not that I know of....

I should say this. I could see paying 40 for dragon mt. the first time you go, but not year after year.

You could get a seasons pass for $45. Thats how they get ya.

The park is kind of like a Busch Gardens & Sea World combo. The price is well worth the visit if you take advantage of all the animal stuff too. I had a blast hanging out in the deer sanctuary surrounded by hundreds of deer you could actually walk up to and pet and they wouldn't run away.

^That sounds sweeet :) Do they bite?

yeah they bite... ;)

The tower ride is cool there. It`s built on a tall hill and it over looks the falls. It`s a neat feature.

There might be a combo pass if you`re interested in things like maid of the mist (which I highly recomend), journey behind the falls, white water walk. These are all falls attractions. Stay away from Niagara`s Fury though. It`s the worst $15 you could spend. If you get it in a package it might be worth a look.

^I saw the Falls when I was a kid - I just wanna get on that coaster, and drop tower, see the park, and play with the biting deer :)

I loved Marineland, but not for the rides obviously. I love zoos and aquariums so this was a no-brainer for me. The park was beautiful!Don't forget to visit the deer farm! I don't remember them biting, but they are a lot more friendly if you have food. ;)I rode Dragon Mtn. once. That was definitely a "check off the list" coaster although I think Gator loved it. :)

Canada's Wonderland is also very beautiful! I was impressed by the landscaping. The last time I was there was in 2005, long before you needed a passport. The only coasters I liked were the Canadian Minebuster and the Italian Job/Backlot. I LOVED their flats, especially the Sledgehammer.

If you have some extra time don't forget Martin's Fantasy Island, which is nearby on the US side. :)

The first time I went to Canada was in 2004. I was detained for about an hour while they searched my car and asked me a million questions. Apparently travelling alone in a rental car for all the way from WV just to ride rollercoasters raises a red flag or two. ;) It was rather painless, since I had nothing to hide anyway. That was the only trouble I had with crossing the border. All the other visits over the border and back went smoothly.

-Tina

I didn't think much of the deer park at Marineland. Mark Rosenzweig dubbed it "Deerschwitz" back in 2004, and I thought it a rather apt description*. Personally, I don't understand the attraction of deer parks because if I want to see deer, all I have to do is drive down the highway on a summer evening and try not to hit the suicidal ones.

It turns out I do have an illustrated MarineLand trip report on-line from 2004. I imagine it has changed a little since then, but probably not much.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

* On reflection, perhaps "Deerchau" would be a better name, but that is overthinking the problem a bit...

--DCAjr

https://www.canadaswonderland.com/events/event_detail.cfm?event_id=751&ec_id=12

Just announced

Cool. I love night time shows!

^Dave, the attraction of deer parks is that you can interact with the deer (without crashing into them) since they won't run away from you.

Dragon Mountain is essentially a ginormous Arrow mine train with 4 inversions. It's stupidly awesome!

you can pick you own deer and either take it home with you, or cook it on site.

AV, I like that analogy. There's something so quaint about Dragon Mountain, it's hard to resist.

It's because it's about as unique as it gets.

DKNY6362, I am guessing you have never been to Enchanted Forest to ride the Ice Mountain Bobsleds...

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Most of us haven't. But that is certainly one of the most unique coasters ever as well. I've had my eye on that thing for almost 20 years.

I never heard of it until this topic. It looks very interesting. Here is one of many YouTube videos that I found.

CW is my home park as well and everyone's pretty much covered it all with great tips but here's some extras:

The coaster at Blue Mountain which just opened last weekend. The resort is located about an hour to hour and a half northwest of CW depending on traffic. Avoid traveling north of Toronto on a Friday afternoon in the summer months. CW on the main route to cottage country it is always clogged with traffic from folks heading up to the lakes for the weekend. http://www.bluemountain.ca/ridge_runner.htm

Centreville Island is only worth a special trip if you're hanging out in downtown Toronto and have a thing for dark rides. They have a classic one there called Haunted Barrel Works which is fun but not spectacular unless you're a die hard.

Ontario Place usually has online discounts or tickets available through Shopper's Drug Marts which are easy to find. There's not a ton there aside from the flume ride and some dated waterslides. But fans of the flume may want to make a trip this year as there's a "revitalization" going on for Ontario Place and there's been talk of removal or replacement of the rides including the beloved flume. The Molson Ampitheatre is located inside Ontario Place so if there's a concert you get access to the park as well. So we ususally do some laps on the flume before a show if there's time.http://www.ontarioplace.com/en/rfi/index.html

Marineland is well worth a trip! Occasionally they have a $5 off coupon some seasons which can be found in the big Marineland booklets located in the lobby of almost any hotel or casino in the falls area. They did not have this last year so not sure what's up for 2011. But as DKNY pointed out the season pass is only an additional $5 so you could get some laps on the way in and also on the way out making for a decent value! The park itself is very odd and needs to be seen to be belived. Heads up on the deers as they can be very aggressive and make a mess of your clothes. If you've got a long drive ahead of you it's probably best to avoid the deer park unless you're cool with some greenish deer drool on your shirt or shorts.

Not mention the dears eat small children ;)

Good tip about the season pass... hit it up on the way in and on the way out. Unless you come in through fort erie, and go out through Windsor. Perhaps to hit up MichAdv.

Marineland is strange.. haven`t been in a while but isn`t there very long pathways inbetween attractions... almost so long that you think you`ve gone the wrong way. I really should get back there soon. I haven`t been since becoming a real fan of coasters. Last time I went I really didnt find it any better than dragon fyre or viper (Darien Lake) which is clearly not the case.

Hey Cropsey... Why do you think they haven`t announced the SPPN yet? I`ve heard it`s either the 29th, or the 6th. Maybe it has to do with when windseeker is going to be ready for. Usually it would have been posted by now. Do you post on CWmania? I try to but it`s pretty laime at times.

LostKause said:
I never heard of it until this topic. It looks very interesting. Here is one of many YouTube videos that I found.

I completely fell in love with that little park. Can't believe I've never seen footage of it before. It looks like a delightful little place, with plenty of charm.

...And trees? ;)

That flume ay Ontario Place looks like fun. Does anyone know who designed it? I especially like how fast it goes in some places, and it look like a rapids ride in some places. It's really cool.