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I woke up in Milwaukee Wisconsin and said to myself, today I am going to Paramount Canada's Wonderland. It was a big deal to me seeing as the park is a good 1,000 miles from me. We arrived at the airport at about 6:45 and had a smooth check in which was the first thing I was worried about.
I knew it was going to be a small plane to Toronto seeing as there were only going to be some 30 travelers but nothing could have prepared me for the REAL size of the plane. It was a jet so it didn't have the rotating propellers (definately a plus) but it was so tiny we had to board from the ground seeing as the door would not reach up to the walkway from the airport.
The airline was Midwest Express so it was a comfortable 1 hour flight to Toronto. Customs went smoothly (it's such a pain going through those) and we went in search for our bus to our hotel. It turns out we had just missed it and had to wait another 1/2 hour, not unbearable but not pleasant either.
But enough of the small talk I'm probably boring you so onto the park.
We ran into some problems with check in etc. And we did not rent a car so getting to the park was quite a challenge and we arrived at the park at about 4:30.
Because I was taking my grandma and I had been to the park 5 years ago I decided no re-rides except for the Mighty Canadian Mine Buster so that we can get out quickly without boring my grandma to death.
First up that's right my first HANG AND BANG! I was excited just to see what this ride was really going to be like. After some talking to the non-enthusiasts in line who think that this is the greatest coaster ever, I was on the ride in the fourth row (remember my grandma was waiting for me, no front or back)
I am happy to say that the ride passed my expectations but sad to say that the people in line with their experience, were probably right. I give it a 7/10 while rough it had some good points of positive g's, the only thing that really bothered me was the horrible ride pacing at the bottom of the hills it would jerk in speed.
Second ride was one I was really looking forward to...Psyclone. The people in line for Top Gun said that it was overhyped but I must say it was just as good ast Top Gun, very exciting, I wish more parks would expand their flat ride selection. 7.5/10
My grandma looked bored so I took her to the Chinese acrobat show which had some very impressive tricks but I thought it was somewhat lame because they were things that seemed strange to practice for so long. My grandma liked a lot though so it was a hit.
Next coaster, The Fly, I had ridden Wilde Maus at BGW and I can honestly say that I preferred it over Alpengiest which I suffered extreme anticipointment from. The ride was rigged with several brake along the course though which severly took away the laterals. The drop was cool but did not catch my stomach like I was hoping, definately a ride for the whole family and would be one that would be cool to have in my backyard. 4/10
Shockwave, I was watching this ride and it looked insane. Another Mondial hit! I lucked out and got on the car that happened to do a lot of flips I didn't know up from down it was so insane I can't explain it. The line would've been about 5 minutes at SFGAm but due to EXTREMELY slow loading procedures on EVERY ride the lines that seemed non-existent in length would take a reasonable amount of time to get through. Anyway great ride, every park should have this. 9/10
Next up was yet another Mondial, Cliffhanger. This over-the-top type ride was better than I could've imagined. It was really hot yesterday and the water really helped to cool off even though I was not looking forward to the water part of the ride. The only problem I found with all these great Mondials were the lack of arm room, it seemed as though my arms were pinched next to my neighbors creating a slight bit of discomfort. 8/10
Due to the strange configured park we had to back track all the way to the fly and head into the Hanna Barbara area so I could get my grandma on Scooby Doo's Ghastly Mansion. Needless to say the ride was really awesome coming from a Scooby Doo hater person (couldn't think of a better word) Sadly the ride had signs in the line that nobody over some centimeters was not allowed on I don't remember what the measurement was but it was very short at least they didn't abide by the rule. Major downside to the ride was the worst capacity I have ever seen on any ride anywhere. It said an hour wait from the entrance and it's just one curvy path to the ride no back and forth que boxes, MAJOR downside. 7/10
After a quick look at the Taxi Jam which looks to give some okay air pops, we headed to Silver Streak. Base on how Deja Vu is pretty smooth, I figured Vekoma had figured it out in the not to distant past. Unfortunately I was more wrong than ever. For those of you who complain of the minor vibrating of the B&M speed trains, you ain't seen nothing yet. The trains rumbled that times 5 and I hit my head once VERY badly on the extremely hard harness. Terrible ride I don't reccomend this for the kiddies. 1/10
On to the unfortunatley probably ill-fated Skyride. This ride turned out being the best ride of the day. My second stand-up and my first non-B&M. The ride was truly great. Honestly it was not extremely smooth (although smoother than Iron Wolf) I felt that the seats were much more comfortable. The helix was really great and I'm hoping that I can get another ride on this classic before it's gone. 8.5/10
The last ride of the day, Mighty Canadian Mine Buster, back seat for me please, I had to wait for it, it would be worth it right? WRONG! This ride has aged so horribly I could not believe it. Fortunately I was not stapled until the bottom of the first hill. the first drop deleiverd a little air but as soon as I got to the bottom down came the harness and in came the pain. THe ride was rough beyond belief and in combination to the now tight harness it was a ride with no airtime and lots of remaining bruises. The thing is my riding partner thought this was the greatest ride ever. These people from Toronto have no idea how horribly rought their rides are it's disheartening. They need a trip to America. I give it a 3/10 for the first drop.
Overall the park had very light crowds but the entrance was far ways from parking lot and with my poor old grandma it was a tough walk. The atmosphere was very nice, very nicely lanscaped but the ground was filled with black colored gum balls that were not cleaned up upon spitting and again the long walk into the park and the extremely rough rides (I don't understand why quality parks like Paramount are so fond of these Vekomas) the park earns a 5/10 not what I expected to give it but definately what it deserves. Thanks for reading I know it's been a long ways for you too!
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SFGAMDie HARD said:
Shockwave, I was watching this ride and it looked insane. Another Mondial hit! I lucked out and got on the car that happened to do a lot of flips I didn't know up from down it was so insane I can't explain it. The line would've been about 5 minutes at SFGAm but due to EXTREMELY slow loading procedures on EVERY ride the lines that seemed non-existent in length would take a reasonable amount of time to get through. Anyway great ride, every park should have this. 9/10
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Depending on what time you rode, I was probably operating Shockwave. I also hate the slow loading times when I'm in line for it, but there is no way that it can be done faster. I'm not sure if you noticed, but every arm has it's own seperate restraint lock and release, so it requires us to first wait for people to sit down and lean back, then lock them, then check them. Multiply that by three (we only had enough people to run Shockwave with two people, so each person takes three arms). The maximum cycle count with two people we've ever got is 15 or 16 in an hour, times that by 30 people per cycle, and that's not very good capacity. Then remember that it's very rare that every seat is filled, as it seems everyone comes in twos or fours, so we always have extra seats, further lowering capacity. And to add insult to injury, that ride is the most tempermental in the park, and the hot weather was causing problems, so management told us specifically to slow down, to give it time to cool between cycles.
I do agree with you that the wait seems a lot longer than it should, but there is nothing we can do about it, sorry.
I just can't beleive you'd wait for stuff like Silver Streak and the Fly, yet you didn't ride Wild Beast or Vortex.....
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See THE ULTIMATE in Orlando TR'S! Right now in the TR fourm!
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Tuesday's Gone With The Wind.
Elijah Rock.
Is it written in the stars?
La Vie Boheme!!!
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“Ok, let’s get one thing straight. This is not a Coastocracy. I am the Coastator. I make the coastcisions around here and I will deal with the coastonsequences. Now, if there are no more coasteruptions, we can coastinue.” –Not Another Coaster Mockery
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