canadas wonderland...thoughts? tips?

canadiancowgirl

Earning My Ears
Joined
Mar 30, 2016
Have been to CW a couple of times in my teens and to be honest was never really impressed with it...because, in my opinion, once you do the mouse nothing else can compare. Am now grown with children of my own (ds 8, ds 5 and dd 2). Husband and I are thinking of doing a trip to wonderland for their birthdays in May since they all have May bdays. We've done Marineland when my oldest was younger but this will be the first amusement park for my younger 2.

I am hoping to use the trip as a "test run" for disneyworld. There is a very good chance our first trip to Disney may be our only trip and I want to make sure our kids are old enough to enjoy it (ie not getting freaked out by the 6 foot tall Mickey or getting sick on the carosel lol).

Just wondering if any of you have any advice on spending the day at CW? planning on going mid week in mid May. Do they allow childrens wagons instead of strollers? Particular rides to avoid or must dos'? Places to meet characters? Thoughts on whether a 2 year old would enjoy disneyworld? Also, thinking of getting a hotel with a waterslide or good pool to make a mini get away out of it (from northern ontario), any recommendations on a good place close by or along the hwy 400 corridor?

Thanks for your help!
 
Hi
I just wanted to mention
Canada Wonderland tickets are available on the airmiles website
I think it's a great way to introduce the family to family travel.
Have fun planning.
Hugs
Mel


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Be prepared for the ride of a lifetime, beginning in 2019!

Take Yukon Striker’s epic journey high above the park’s skyline, where you’ll hang over a 90-degree drop for three breathtaking seconds, staring 245 feet down into an underwater tunnel. Then suddenly you dive, reaching speeds of 130 km/h and soaring through four dynamic inversions, including a complete 360-degree loop – the only one of its kind for a dive coaster.

Canada’s Wonderland is the perfect place to satisfy everyone’s idea of fun! Our family environment, exciting variety of rides and attractions, along with our top-rated waterpark, promise a memorable time for everyone! A day at Canada’s Wonderland is always a special treat for your family and friends.

Canada’s Wonderland offers thrills and family fun with 200 world-class attractions. Experience over 70 rides including 17 roller coasters, highlighted by Yukon Striker – the tallest, fastest and longest dive coaster in the world. Plus, experience Wonder Mountain’s Guardian – an interactive 4D dark ride.

Families can spend the perfect day together in the Planet Snoopy and KidZville play areas, filled with kid-sized rides. Your admission also includes Splash Works – a 20-acre water park.

For more information call (905) 832-7000 or visit www.canadaswonderland.com.


Valid any one regular operating day May 3 - October 27, 2019

Frequently asked questions
https://www.canadaswonderland.com/help/frequently-asked-questions
 
You can not compare the 2. Actually you can. For the cost difference even with Disney being more, there is so much more. CW is not toddler friendly. The lines are crazy, even mid week. The service is from kids on the summer break. The filth around the grounds, they cant keep it clean. The small area for kids 5 and under are no different then the rides you can get at those small carnivals that still stop at the fair grounds or shopping malls.
Can you see how much I love the place.
Maybe for your 8yr old if they like roller coasters. That is what the park is known for.
For meeting Characters, they dont have them out all the time, you might get lucky and spot Snoopy by the kids entrance. But you best way to gauge their reaction is if you have taken them to see Santa.
But my girls when they were small had opposite reactions, one loved Mickey, the other cried. Both were fun for me.
I would save your money on CW, you for a family of 5 min would be looking at $300 for the day. And that is with no fast passes.
I could go to Disney not ride one ride and be entertained from morning to night. The shows are world class, entertainment everywhere and the fireworks at night. Save you funds for the Most Magical Place it is and bring kleenex when your kids eyes light up. Even the 8yr old who might say that they are not into it.
My 2cents.
 


My kids have never liked Canada's Wonderland. They're almost 20 and 15 now. My son & I went for the last time on a school trip last year. No one in our family likes intense high-thrill rides and that's what CW mostly is. Disney World, Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood they (and I) loved. (But we still don't do roller coasters).

If you and your husband like roller coasters, then this might be a good age to introduce your kids to them. I think the reason my kids don't like them is because my husband & I don't and we didn't go on roller coaster rides when they were younger.
 
My family and I had season passes a couple years ago and halfway through the year no one wanted to go anymore. CW is very much lacking in anything family friendly and is all about the thrills. There are very few rides that everyone can ride and the food is awful. Lines and crowds are everywhere and the kids area is the worst for it.
 
I agree with everything posted above...and as a teen I was at Wonderland several times a week and loved it then! Not worth a special trip with kids that age. Maybe do Great Wolf Lodge instead...they have characters at story time in the evening. I think 2+ is great for WDW by the time you save for and plan the trip your little will at just the right magical age - and if they just want to stand near a character with a sibling in between for photos that works too!
 


Ohhh. great wolf lodge we loved!! We went 4 or 5 times over as many years. My son, turning 15, wanted to know recently when we were going back!
 
Full disclosure: I love CW and WDW. In fact, I don't think I've ever met a theme park I didn't like. I have a big grin on my face whether i'm riding "Leviathan" or "Journey into Imagination". Yes, I have a problem!

Just wondering if any of you have any advice on spending the day at CW? planning on going mid week in mid May

You've already hit the best advice I could give you which is to go mid week in May or June. A mid week day in May or June, when most kids are in school, is the only time to go to CW now in my opinion. Summer and weekends can be extremely crowded. The park hours will probably be 10-6.

I would arrive by 9:30 at the latest. Enter in to the hub (do they call it that?) and head for one of the height measurement kiosks on either side of the fountain. Here your kids will be measured and given coloured wrist bands to indicate the rides they will be tall enough for. From there, head to the right side of the mountain and wait for them to open the bridge over to Snoopyville at 10:00am.

Do they allow childrens wagons instead of strollers?

Yes. Wagons are allowed.

Particular rides to avoid or must dos'?

There are about 25 rides in the kids area and the 2yo would be able to ride about 15 of them (an adult will have to ride with them on most). To me the must do's would be for your older kids if they meet the height requirements. These are Silver Streak, Ghoster Coaster and Boo Blasters (similar to Buzz Lightyear at MK). SS and GC are small but mighty roller coasters. If you're older kids can handle these they will be able to handle just about anything at WDW. There is a tiny coaster called "Taxi Jam" if they wanted to work there way up to it.

Places to meet characters?

There is a spot to meet "Peanuts" characters as you come over the bridge into Snoopyville. You will also see characters roaming around the kids area.

Thoughts on whether a 2 year old would enjoy disneyworld?

Absolutely! You will find several threads on DIS with the theme of "How old should my child be to go to WDW? It really comes down to a personal decision of you know your kids best.

any recommendations on a good place close by or along the hwy 400 corridor?

We are local, so this one I can't help you with. I know that some hotels do offer ticket packages with the room.


There is no doubt that WDW and CW are different animals. WDW is a group of theme parks like no other. I think that a trip to CW though can help you figure out a lot of things prior to a WDW trip:

-are your kids interested in ride, shows, theme parks in general
-what is their thrill ride tolerance
-just how long a line are they able to wait in without losing it?!
-how long will the family last in the park

Anyway, sorry this is so long. Hope it answers some of your questions.
 
Our family loves Canada's Wonderland, we make the trip from Ottawa to Toronto once a summer to go, but we are all, including DS 11 and DD 8, roller coaster junkies. Honestly, for kids as young as yours, it's not going to be as much fun - Planet Snoopy is good for the young ones, but it would be hard to fill up a day.

We watch for the deals they run a couple of times a year that get you the Fast Lane Plus for cheap - it seriously cuts down on lines, but it is mostly on the big coasters, which most of your family could not do.

We have stayed at the Best Western North York - nice enough, and close. There are quite a few close hotels, but the on site one they are building won't be ready until next year, I think.
 
If you are going on a weekday in May check the schedule to see what shows are actually running, if shows are important. I went on a field trip with my daughter once early in the season and the kids who didn’t like rides had nothing to do because some of the shows were not up and running yet.
 
Haven't been to CW in 20 years, so I won't be any help on that front. I think if you're trying to use it as a test run for Disney, it will give you a better idea of whether you and your husband are ready, rather than whether your kids are. Kids can do Disney at any age. Kids can love Disney at any age. It's just different. You have to think of what is going to matter to you (try not to plan based on what you expect them to "really appreciate" or "remember forever"). On our first trip, my kids were 8, 6 and 4. The things they talked about the most afterward were the back windows that they could open themselves in our rental van and the TV in their bedroom at the condo we stayed at. Most days, they wanted to leave the parks to go back and swim. But they still loved the trip. My husband and I just needed to readjust our expectations so we could all have fun and not worry about making the most of the money we'd spent. We went again when they were 11, 8 and 6, then when they were 12, 10 and 7. They have loved it every time, in different ways and for different reasons, but they would all still go back in a heartbeat.

If you want to gauge their reactions to Mickey Mouse and other characters, try Chuck E. Cheese. That's a lot cheaper. :)
 
Our family loves Canada's Wonderland, we make the trip from Ottawa to Toronto once a summer to go, but we are all, including DS 11 and DD 8, roller coaster junkies.

Ironically we make the 3 hour drive to Ottawa for weekend just to spend a full day at Calypso. I like Wet 'n' Wild but hands down Calyspo beats W'nW any time!
 
Haven't been to CW in 20 years, so I won't be any help on that front. I think if you're trying to use it as a test run for Disney, it will give you a better idea of whether you and your husband are ready, rather than whether your kids are. Kids can do Disney at any age. Kids can love Disney at any age. It's just different. You have to think of what is going to matter to you (try not to plan based on what you expect them to "really appreciate" or "remember forever"). On our first trip, my kids were 8, 6 and 4. The things they talked about the most afterward were the back windows that they could open themselves in our rental van and the TV in their bedroom at the condo we stayed at. Most days, they wanted to leave the parks to go back and swim. But they still loved the trip. My husband and I just needed to readjust our expectations so we could all have fun and not worry about making the most of the money we'd spent. We went again when they were 11, 8 and 6, then when they were 12, 10 and 7. They have loved it every time, in different ways and for different reasons, but they would all still go back in a heartbeat.

If you want to gauge their reactions to Mickey Mouse and other characters, try Chuck E. Cheese. That's a lot cheaper. :)

This is going to sound really stupid but I'm from a blink and you miss it kind of town in Northern Ontario....so...where would one find a Chuck e cheese lol? do they have one in barrie? vaughn?
 
Have been to CW a couple of times in my teens and to be honest was never really impressed with it...because, in my opinion, once you do the mouse nothing else can compare. Am now grown with children of my own (ds 8, ds 5 and dd 2). Husband and I are thinking of doing a trip to wonderland for their birthdays in May since they all have May bdays. We've done Marineland when my oldest was younger but this will be the first amusement park for my younger 2.

I am hoping to use the trip as a "test run" for disneyworld. There is a very good chance our first trip to Disney may be our only trip and I want to make sure our kids are old enough to enjoy it (ie not getting freaked out by the 6 foot tall Mickey or getting sick on the carosel lol).

Just wondering if any of you have any advice on spending the day at CW? planning on going mid week in mid May. Do they allow childrens wagons instead of strollers? Particular rides to avoid or must dos'? Places to meet characters? Thoughts on whether a 2 year old would enjoy disneyworld? Also, thinking of getting a hotel with a waterslide or good pool to make a mini get away out of it (from northern ontario), any recommendations on a good place close by or along the hwy 400 corridor?

Thanks for your help!
Going to a local(ish) amusement park is a great idea to gauge everyone's stamina when going to a park. They're not really comparable to Disney in terms of what you get once inside, but it does help you in terms of learning everyone's idiosyncrasies when walking around.

As for the park itself, it's not bad for the little ones. Planet Snoopy and Kidsville offer a lot for them to do, but lineups can be long. May or June weekdays are probably your best options for low crowds.

As people have mentioned, wagons are allowed at the park. It's a great option to have when you've got tired kids and a lot of snacks and water.

As for rides, CW has a LOT of coasters, and that's what I'd usually recommend, but with your kids' ages, your options are limited in that regard. Silver Streak is quite fun for the little ones. They might be able to do Thunder Run, but that one gets packed and I'd recommend going there right after the (ahem) "rope drop".

Splash Works is fun, but I don't think it's open in May so a bit of a moot point there. We have seasons passes though, and it's a good place to go in the summer. When we hit Splash Works, we usually do a few rides then head over.

For hotels, there are a couple close to Vaughan Mills, which is just south of Wonderland. A little further south there's a Courtyard and Hilton Garden Inn. I'm not really sure about prices, but they are chain hotels so shouldn't be too bad?
 
The food is so terrible and they don’t let you bring anything in. My son has some allergies and there was almost nothing for him to eat.
There’s often a discount early in the season and in the fall if you buy online. I think Costco has discount passes too.

My son who is 7 doesn’t like going on the rides but loves watching the roller coasters.
 
I'd say the food is closer to mediocre than terrible, but neither I nor my kids have allergies so it's not an equal comparison I think.
 
We are season pass holders too, we get it mainly for the water park. As does the rest of the GTA when there’s a heat wave, lol.

You can’t really compare CW to WDW, but CW is local and offers fun for the family during our short summer season.


The food is so terrible and they don’t let you bring anything in. My son has some allergies and there was almost nothing for him to eat.
There’s often a discount early in the season and in the fall if you buy online. I think Costco has discount passes too.

My son who is 7 doesn’t like going on the rides but loves watching the roller coasters.

For food allergies, you can contact guest relations and they will allow food to be brought in for him. I notice a lot of families eating their meals on the grassy areas next to the parking lot and there is a covered area with picnic benches too.
 
Wonderland is OK. You can't go to WDW all the time, so better than nothing. The only thing that really annoy me is how inefficient their ride loading procedure is. So frustrating! And you have to pay extra for their fast lane. But like other posts mentioned, the price is reasonable compare with Disney`s price.
 

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