[edit]
Proposal[edit]
Rides at Sunnyside Amusement Park in 1923. Sunnyside was an early amusement park in Toronto that was demolished in 1955.
When Canada's Wonderland was planned, the Greater Toronto Area lacked a seasonal amusement park that had roller coasters. The city of Toronto had previously hosted three such amusement parks: Sunnyside Amusement Park closed in the 1950s to make room for the Gardiner Expressway. The Scarboro Beach and Hanlan's Point amusement parks both closed in the 1920s.
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, located directly north of Toronto. 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 in Exhibition Place). Walt Disney also considered the idea before choosing Florida for the Walt Disney World Resort, rejecting Toronto mainly because of the city's seasonal climate, which would make the operating season too short to be profitable.
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 thought the increased traffic would reduce property values. People in the region were concerned that the new park would be similar in aesthetics 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 Broadcasting was concerned about opposition and flew a group of opponents and regional councillors to Mason, Ohio (just north of Cincinnati) to show them the positive impact of one of its theme parks on the local community.[citation needed]
Canada's Wonderland was also responsible for changing the master development plan for the province of Ontario. The provincial 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, as a 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. This infrastructure paved the way for increased development throughout the region.
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 Kings Island and Kings Dominion.
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 Action Theatre and the southern part of Kidzville. Taft also proposed including a steam passenger train. While Frontier Canada was not brought up as an idea until 2019 by a different owner, several original themes remain in the area. Unlike its sister parks, Kings Island and Kings Dominion, it was decided early 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 that led visitors to a look-out point. The interior pathways have been closed since and have remained closed. In 2018, the park announced plans to open a Hyatt House and Hyatt Place–branded hotel eventually.
Construction and opening[edit]
On 13 June 1979, Ontario Premier Bill Davis depressed the plunger on an electronic detonating device at St. Lawrence Hall in downtown Toronto, triggering an explosion on the site. Construction began immediately and continued on to early 1981. Canadian companies were partners on the preliminary design and engineering of the project. Construction of the mountain alone involved a dozen local companies under Cincinnati engineer Curtis D. Summers.
Canada's Wonderland was opened to the public in May 1981.
Two years later on 23 May 1981, Davis and Taft Broadcasting President Dudley S. Taft Sr. 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 ($398 million in 2025 dollars) to build.
Kings Entertainment and Paramount era[edit]
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.
In 1983, Canada's Wonderland added the Kingswood Music Theatre, a 15,000 seat amphitheatre that has hosted many concerts. After the Budweiser Stage (then known as Molson Amphitheatre) opened on the grounds of Ontario Place in 1995, cultural festivals at the theatre became less prominent.
Since the closure of Mighty Flyer in Exhibition Place in Toronto in 1992, Canada's Wonderland is the only location in Ontario with wooden roller coasters in operation.
Ride seats for Drop Tower in 2001, then named Drop Zone: Stunt Tower, in reference to the Paramount film of the same name.
Kings Entertainment Company operated the park during the 1980s and early 1990s. The park's former connection to Hanna-Barbera Productions lessened after Paramount Pictures raised its stake from 20 per cent 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 occurred in the next decade. In 1996, Splash Works 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 expanded for the second time, with the addition of raft rides: The Plunge and Super Soaker.
Other changes involved Paramount incorporating references to their film properties into the park. This included the addition of film props around the property, a film-merchandise store, and the renaming of several attractions after Paramount film properties.
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 replacing the Exposition of 1890, 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 additional security, but not as a direct result of this event.
In 2005, the park introduced Fearfest, a Halloween-themed event featuring haunted house attractions.
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, in which patrons ride a mining type 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 child-oriented Halloween event. 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. Fearfest was renamed Halloween Haunt and Spooktacular was renamed Camp Spooky.
Cedar Fair era[edit]
On 14 May 2006, Cedar Fair announced it was interested in acquiring the five Paramount theme parks from CBS Corporation (successor of the original Viacom), including Canada's Wonderland. CBS stated that amusement parks did not fit the company's new strategy. The acquisition was completed on 30 June 2006.
After the sale, Cedar Fair began to drop the name "Paramount" from all of the former Paramount properties it acquired, as a result, the park reverted to its original name of Canada's Wonderland in January 2007. The 2007 season was a transition year throughout the park and included renaming the movie-themed rides since Cedar Fair did not hold the rights to Paramount film properties. By the start of the 2008 season, all Paramount logos and similar references had been removed. In August 2007, Cedar Fair announced that Fearfest would become Halloween Haunt to remain consistent with most other Cedar Fair parks, and that Spooktacular would become Camp Spooky. The park extended its regular operating season until the last weekend in October. Halloween Haunt runs in the late evenings on October weekends.
Lines to Behemoth during the ride's opening day on May 4, 2008
On 4 May 2008, Canada's Wonderland opened a Bolliger & Mabillard hypercoaster called Behemoth, which held the record for the tallest and fastest roller coaster in Canada at the time of its opening, standing at 230 feet (70 m) and reaching speeds of 124 kilometres per hour (77 mph).
On 19 July 2009, stunt performer Nik Wallenda walked on a tight rope from the pond area of Medieval Faire to Wonder Mountain.
For the 2010 season, Planet Snoopy opened to the public, which was a retheme of both "The Happy Land of Hanna-Barbera" & "Nickelodeon Central" areas of the park to align Canada's Wonderland with the rest of the Cedar Fair chain. The area consisted of a retheme of all of the rides and facilities of both areas into one cohesive section themed to the Peanuts comics (both Ghoster Coaster & Swan Lake remained unchanged following the change), along with the addition of three new rides for children and families from Zamperla; Lucy's Tugboat, Peanuts 500, and Snoopy's Revolution.
Canada's Wonderland's WindSeeker during the ride's opening season in 2011
In 2011, Canada's Wonderland opened WindSeeker, a 301-foot-tall (92 m) tower-swing ride, making it the tallest ride in the park until Leviathan opened in 2012. The park also announced the addition of the Starlight Spectacular show, which started on 25 June 2011 and ended on Labour Day, 3 September 2011. It was a nightly 'light and sound show' designed to celebrate the park's 30th anniversary; it was shown at 10 pm 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 2012, Leviathan, a Bolliger & Mabillard Hypercoaster (also classified as a giga coaster), opened, surpassing the Canadian records set by Behemoth in 2008, becoming the tallest and fastest roller coaster in Canada. Norm Pirtovshek, general manager of Canada's Wonderland, said that the Leviathan as a new attraction would help to spread out visitors. It was also described as part of a "roller coaster renaissance" where theme parks distinguished itself by introducing bigger and faster rides to attract guests. In addition to Leviathan, Canada's Wonderland also opened the Dinosaurs Alive! walk-through dinosaur exhibit, which was located in Planet Snoopy.
Leviathan during its opening season in 2012
On 27 May 2012, for the first time in the park's history, Canada's Wonderland in partnership with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association hosted the Run For Vaughan, a one-kilometre, 5-kilometre, and 10-kilometre run to raise money for the planned Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital (then known as Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital) that would be built on land once owned by Canada's Wonderland north of Major Mackenzie Drive.
On 30 August 2013, Canada's Wonderland announced that Wonder Mountain's Guardian would open inside Wonder Mountain in May 2014. The attraction is a 4-D interactive dark ride/ roller coaster with animations from Montreal-based Triotech. Park management also announced that SkyRider would close Labour Day, 2014.
Wonder Mountain's Guardian in 2014, a year after it opened at the park
In October 2014, a man was fatally stabbed at Halloween Haunt. SkyRider was removed at the end of the 2014 season and relocated to Cavallino Matto in Tuscany, Italy, as Freestyle in 2015.
For the 2015 season, Splash Works opened two new attractions, which marked the first expansion to the waterpark since 2002. Both attractions were relocated from Ontario Place, however they never opened in their original locations and were sent to Splash Works. Typhoon is a set of two partially enclosed tube slides with funnels, and was formerly known as Topsy Turvy. Splash Station is an interactive children's play structure similar to the adjacent Pump House, featuring two slides, numerous water features, and a tipping bucket. Though not announced prior to its opening, SlingShot also for the 2015 season in the dry park. This upcharge attraction catapults riders nearly 300 ft (91.5m)in the air, and reaches speeds approaching 100 km/h (60 mph).
Near the close of the 2015 season, Canada's Wonderland announced that two new flat rides would be added in 2016: Skyhawk (a Gerstlauer Sky Roller) and Flying Eagles (a Larson International Flying Scooters). Cedar Fair CEO Matt Ouimett also confirmed in December 2015 that virtual reality (VR) headsets would be added to Thunder Run in 2016. Available to riders for an additional upcharge fee, the experience is co-developed with Mack Rides, a German amusement ride company. The VR headgear is a type of head-mounted display that animates the entire field of vision to produce a 360-degree 3D experience.
On 26 August 2016, Canada's Wonderland announced that a new flat ride would be added in the 2017 season: Soaring Timbers (a Mondial Inferno). The ride is stated to be the first of its kind in North America. The park also announced a Splash Works expansion for 2017 in the form of Muskoka Plunge, a 59-foot (20 m) tall waterslide complex featuring four "trap-door" speed slides. The slides replaced Body Blast.
On 16 August 2017, Canada's Wonderland announced the addition of Flying Canoes for the 2018 season. Flying Canoes is an interactive family ride that allows riders to control their journey of flight in two-person canoes that rotate speedily around a circuit. They also announced the addition of Lumberjack for 2018. Made by Italian manufacturer Zamperla, Lumberjack is a thrill ride that takes guests to heights of 75 feet (23 m) on two swinging axe-themed pendulums, propelling them into a looping 360-degree experience. In addition to these two attractions, the park announced an expansion to the Splash Island pool (located in Splash Works), which doubled the size of the pool and included new interactive water features and children's slides, along with shaded seating areas for families to relax. The area was renamed to Lakeside Lagoon following these upgrades.
Yukon Striker under construction in October 2018
On 15 August 2018, Canada's Wonderland announced Yukon Striker, a B&M Dive Coaster which opened to the public on 3 May 2019. The ride features a 245-foot-tall (75 m) drop into an underwater tunnel in the centre of the Vortex helix, which has a top speed of 130 km/h. Upon opening, the ride became the tallest, fastest, and longest dive coaster in the world and features four inversions, more than any other dive coaster, including the first vertical loop on a Dive Coaster. They also announced the opening of Frontier Canada, a gold-rush-themed attraction area that includes Yukon Striker, Mighty Canadian Minebuster, Lumberjack, Soaring Timbers, Flying Canoes, Vortex, Timberwolf Falls and White Water Canyon. Canada's Wonderland also announced Winterfest, an immersive holiday-themed event. In addition, the park announced that Dinosaurs Alive! would be closing on 28 October 2018. The attraction's former gift shop is still used seasonally for WinterFest.
On 4 February 2019, the park announced that Orbiter would not be opening for the 2019 season. Since the announcement, the attraction has been removed from the park and the area surrounding it was replaced with a pathway connecting Action Zone and Frontier Canada.
On 14 August 2019, Canada's Wonderland announced the addition of two new attractions for the 2020 season. The first, Beagle Brigade Airfield, is a new children's ride located in Planet Snoopy. The attraction is mostly identical to the version at sister park Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, Missouri, which share the same name, but Wonderland's version is partially covered. In addition, the park announced Mountain Bay Cliffs for Splash Works, which is a cliff-jumping style attraction featuring multiple platforms of varying heights, the highest of which is 25 feet (7.6 m). Both of these attractions opened in 2021.
On 22 November 2019, WinterFest debuted at Canada's Wonderland. WinterFest is a holiday event. During WinterFest, five million energy-efficient LED lights were strung on 800 trees, the buildings, the décor, and on Wonder Mountain. On International Street, the lake had been frozen into a skating rink called Snow Flake Lake. There were eight themed areas.
COVID-19 pandemic[edit]
See also: COVID-19 pandemic in the Regional Municipality of York
Restrictions placed by the Government of Ontario to combat the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the park remaining closed for the 2020 season. This also led to the cancellations of that season's Halloween Haunt and Winterfest events. Canada's Wonderland posted a series of four horror vignettes 30 October 2020 titled Nighttime Walk to celebrate Haunt featuring the empty park. The park attempted to reopen in May 2021, but it was postponed to July 5 of the same year. An online reservation system was required for guests to book the date and time of their visit during the shortened 2021 season. As a result, 2020 and 2021 season passes were extended to partially include the 2022 season and refunds were not officially offered. Both Beagle Brigade Airfield and Mountain Bay Cliffs had their opening years pushed back to the 2021 season.
Also due to the pandemic, the 2020 and 2021 editions of Toronto's original Santa Claus Parade – normally held on the streets in Downtown Toronto in previous years – was pre-recorded from Canada's Wonderland with no spectators on site and was broadcast on Eastern Standard Time's prime time on 5 December 2020 and 4 December 2021, respectively. From 29 March 2021 until summer 2021, Canada's Wonderland served as a drive-in mass COVID-19 vaccination site.
Additions in the 2020s[edit]
On 16 June 2022, Canada's Wonderland announced Lazy Bear Lodge (marketed as Lazy Bear Lodge: Wood Fire Grille), which became the park's largest dining facility to date. The restaurant is located on the hillside beside Vortex's first drop, overlooking Yukon Striker and the rest of Frontier Canada, and features seating for over 500 guests, an indoor and outdoor bar, two floors, a multi-level outdoor patio, and numerous fire pits for guests to relax by. The menu is a Canadian-inspired rustic-grill BBQ, featuring local ingredients and two meat smokers. In addition, the menu is rotational, changing for each major season. The restaurant opened to the public on 17 September 2022, with the indoor bar opening a week prior.
View of exit at Snoopy's Racing Railway (2023)
On 11 August 2022, Canada's Wonderland announced two new attractions for the 2023 season. The first, Tundra Twister, is a first-of-its-kind flat ride from Mondial that is located in Frontier Canada next to Yukon Striker's zero-g winder inversion, creating many near-misses with the coaster. The ride features rotating gondola arms that freely rotate, while the ride's base spins 360 degrees at heights of 154 feet (47 m) and speeds of 75 kilometres per hour (47 mph). The second was Snoopy's Racing Railway, a family launch coaster manufactured by ART Engineering and the park's 18th roller coaster overall. Snoopy's Racing Railway is located in Planet Snoopy and takes up a portion of the land that was previously occupied by Dinosaurs Alive!. The coaster opened to the public on 18 May 2023, and Tundra Twister opened to the public a few weeks later on 3 June 2023.
On 10 August 2023, the park announced Moosehorn Falls, a new waterslide for Splash Works for the 2024 season. The slide features six-person rafts travelling down a course of small drops and turns before plummeting down a large drop into a 42-foot (13 m) wall, leading into the final splash pool. The name "Moosehorn Falls" is inspired by waterfalls on the Moosehorn Trail in the Fundy National Park in New Brunswick. The trail and park is located within the UNESCO-designated Fundy Biosphere Region. The attraction was planned to open in June 2024, but was delayed until August.
On 8 February 2024, Canada's Wonderland announced that Xtreme Skyflyer would permanently shut down for the 2024 season after 26 years of operating. The attraction gave over 1.17 million rides prior to its removal. This closure was cited for future expansion and development by the park.
Six Flags era[edit]
A returning train on AlpenFury
On 1 July 2024, Cedar Fair merged with Six Flags, and the combined Six Flags Entertainment Corporation took over Canada's Wonderland.
On 8 August 2024, the park announced the construction of a Premier Rides launched coaster for the 2025 season known as AlpenFury. The ride is 1,000 metres (3,300 feet) in length and feature a 50-metre (160-foot) launch out of Wonder Mountain at 115 kilometres per hour (71 mph) along with nine inversions, setting a record for inversions on a launched roller coaster in North America. Concurrent with AlpenFury's addition, the International Festival section of the park was renamed and re-themed to Alpenfest to match the new ride. The roller coaster opened to guests on 12 July 2025.
Time Warp closed permanently at the end of the 2024 season, with official confirmation on 13 March 2025 and subsequent removal.
Beginning in the 2026 season, Flight Deck was renamed The DareDeviler. The coaster also received second-generation trains from Professor Screamore's SkyWinder in Six Flags America as that park closed permanently at the end of the previous season.
