A Wonderful Park: The History Of Canada's Wonderland

[@AtomiicCoasters]

Hey everyone. After noticing the negative feedback to the montage segments in this video since it spiked in popularity last month, I was planning to remove them, however KZbin doesn't allow videos with over 100,000 views to be trimmed or have sections muted. I apologize for how those segments turned out, especially with the audio mixing. It sounded nowhere near as bad when I was editing it, and I only realized how bad it was a few days after the video was uploaded. I have more videos planned in this sort of style for the future, and I'll refrain from including more montages in them, unless it's a video specifically built around them. I'm really sorry for the audio in those segments, and I have included a warning info bubble at the beginning of the video now (should've done like 2 years ago).

[@snorkob]

I am glad youtube stopped you from removing the montages cause they were sick!! Idk what negative feedback their would be, the music and cuts fit so well together

[@hannahdarise]

As a Canadian who grew up near Canada's Wonderland and had a season's pass for many summers, thank you for this incredible deep dive into our Canadian gem of an amusement park!

[@johnpatterson4272]

Nice research, well played by you Atomiic Coasters. I worked at Wonderland from '83 to '85, it's where I met my wife of 33 years whom was also an employee of the Park. The Blauer Enzian was eliminated as an attraction, the result of an employee fatality in 1982. It never reappeared as a mechanical operation within the Wonderland property thereafter. There was also a 4th ride attached to the International Festival known as 'the International Flyer'. Paramount brought a more 'in-your-face' commercial angle to Wonderland with almost every ride being sponsored by some North American conglomerate. It made the Park feel cheap and like a sell-out. Once Cedar Fair took-over Wonderland emerged into the 21st century as a more viable modern amusement facility. Can you do an expose' on the Kingswood Music Theatre at Wonderland? From its opening in 1983 through the rest of the 80's it was 'the' place to see and hear big name talent in the GTA.

[@AvroBellow]

I agree with Kingswood Music Theatre. I was there for Hot Summer Rush '99 and the list of acts was impressive to say the least: LIL KIM SPICE GIRLS LOVE INC. PROZZAK WALDO'S PEOPLE There also happened to be a full rainbow over the stage that day and Lil Kim said something that I'll never forget: "This is my first time coming to Canada and it's also the first time that I've seen a full rainbow!" Ah, good times, good times.

[@LowLifeDust]

@@AvroBellow My public school Drumline played at the Kingswood, was pretty dope trip to play drums and get to hang at the park the rest of the day

[@KatChanelb12]

I want to take a moment to say how much I appreciate the incorporation of RCT music.

[@WilliamrikerNCC1701]

This is a really good historical doc on wonderland and lots of great old footage. Thanks for the enjoyable watch.

[@TLDRShort]

Great video! FYI, Riptide was originally called Cliffhanger, and Drop Tower was originally called Drop Zone, named after the movies of the same name. It was changed after Paramount sold to Cedar Fair. Also, Paramount added the now defunct Action FX theatre. And who could forget Jet Scream, the easiest way to collect loose change

[@Mugmoor]

Time Warp was Tomb Raider as well, and Flight Deck was Top Gun. There also used to be a little park with statues from various Paramount films, but that has since been removed. I love Wonderland! Been going every summer my entire life, at this point I could draw a map by memory.

[@nickp.4995]

Wasn't the theatre originally Days of Thunder? That was a horrible ride, it was dated after 1 year.

[@yourmomentphotography7293]

Very well put together love the detailed video, and the old commercials that is so amazing to see how the park started to what it has become. Thank you for the great video, so amazing.

[@shawnokeefe1580]

The Frontier Canada area was supposed to have a Massive log flume called the Widowmaker..is on my opening day souvenir map as coming soon…that area was eventually White Water Canyon

[@crlslice4933]

Can I just say wow. This video is so good it feels like a documentary and I’m here for it keep working hard !

[@AtomiicCoasters]

Thank you so much! There should be more coming down the pipeline soon :)

[@BmanTheChamp]

This was a great video, I was riveted throughout. I always enjoy a look back at CW's history.

[@teashdrinks714]

I love trying to recreate wonderland on roller coaster tycoon 2, this video just made me wanna play that game again

[@darthniloc6099]

I’ve been going to wonderland since 86/87 where I was 4/5 and Vortex is still my favourite coaster there! I love how it goes over the top of the mountain and how close it gets to the water as you go over it.

[@horatiohuffnagel7978]

It's cool how it swings back and forth. Fast too!!

[@darthniloc6099]

@@horatiohuffnagel7978 agreed! Is it your favourite one in the park?

[@alexmaxwellvid]

awesome video but almost killed me with the music volume at a couple points

[@kaitlin9288]

Great video! I really miss when Paramount owned Canada's Wonderland; it really made me feel better about not being able to afford going to Universal Studios as a kid lmao

[@CS.94]

The park has become infinitely better since Cedar Fair bought it from Paramount though…

[@jamesm5939]

This was great. Thanks for putting that together. I went to this park a lot when I was young and even worked there in 1999 and 2000. This footage brought back a lot of great memories. I haven't been since 2012...I think it's time to change that this year.

[@Omar_E11]

The lines are ridiculous nowadays so make sure to get fast lane tickets

[@KashBoiz]

I just went to wonderland a few days ago, this makes me love the park even more! the amount of effort they put to put a smile on my goofy face. thanks for making this video. This really deserves a lot more attention than its getting!

[@ohnonsense]

goofi

[@Smoothfonzo]

That was a great video and nice history piece. One thing I haven't seen mentioned, and it's something I came across while looking for information on Canada's Wonderland, and it's the fact that Taft had actually built a park in Australia modeled after Canada's Wonderland, even going so far as to give it the name of Australia's Wonderland in its early days. But it closed in 2004.

[@alexgeorge501]

thanks for taking us on a ride through memories of my favorite theme-park in all of Ontario-let alone all of Canada+the world! Can't wait to return to the park for the 2022 season this May! (props to the great music that you used in the video, including the tunes from RCT1-2)

[@yourmomentphotography7293]

Ya I thought the roller coaster tycoon music was funny I started laughing when I heard it lol

[@alexgeorge501]

@@yourmomentphotography7293 same here, i chuckled a bit too, hope to see you in the park this June or sooner!

[@SnPSFan]

I went to Canada's Wonderland for the very first time last weekend - it was the second weekend of their opening for the year, so not every part of the park was open, but I really loved my time there, then I ran into this wonderful documentary. I did get the Fast Lane Plus because initially, I thought I would be visiting this place maybe once and never again so I wanted to get as many rides as possible. But the park changed my mind most definitively, and now I am looking forward to going back, maybe check out the water park and visit their special events over Halloween and Holidays. Thank you very much for such an informative video!

[@AtomiicCoasters]

Thank you! I hope you have plenty of great experiences with Wonderland in the future too!

[@mommabear4232]

these commercials are appreciated, thankful over here for the blast from the past,,, I wish we could turn back time

[@Haybalesnail]

Got to go to the haunt (night time halloween theme event) for wonderland and it WAS AWESOME! The themeing and character actors is very good and the mazes are top notch

[@sarah-seww-creative]

Wow watching all these old commercials sure brings back memories.

[@TorontoWire]

Love the info I put forth in the Roller Coaster community 10 years ago is still being used in videos today.

[@experimentwithme686]

I am a proud civilian of Ontario, and as this park doesn't get as much love on KZbin, I was happy to see it in an hour long documentary. I went here in 2022, I think it was 2022.

[@mazdaman1982]

I remember my dad taking me to paramount Canada’s Wonderland in the middle 90s . Amazing memories thank you for posting this video

[@Lebronat40]

i wasnt born until 1993

[@Salicat99]

I was picked to ride with the dolphins in 1984 for my 11th birthday. Thanks for the awesome memories!

[@DarroujGaming]

This is a heavily underrated channel. You deserve more subscribers. Great video. This is my home park, and the history is really cool

[@fmusopp]

trying to keep things quiet and all of a sudden the vidio starts blaring music. wtf

[@joelli14]

Amazing video :D I love listening to Wonderland History!

[@AtomiicCoasters]

Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it!

[@Lorijenken]

Ive been going to Wonderland since 1987 and Dragon Fyre is still my first and last coaster I go on, and I can say that I have riden Thunder Run both outside and inside, I love my park been through alot.

[@Seventizz]

Oh wow, I've been going there all my life and it just dawned on me now that Zumba Flume is gone lol. Also, you forgot Jet Scream which was basically the same ride as Lumberjack - but on a much bigger scale. It was one of those rides that looked impressive to watch and rather tame to ride. It was a heavily promoted ride upon it's launch. It left the park a few years back.

[@mikel2340]

I was looking for this comment - I was going to speak up about JetScream, but it looks like you have this covered 😎 But yeah - I’d love to hear the story behind it disappearing

[@TomLube]

JET SCREAM!!! That's what it was called. I was seriously confused about the lack of inclusion. It looks like Lumberjack is in the same place as Jet Scream?

[@MrCoreyCoreyCorey]

Great job! Love it! Born and raised in Toronto. I went so many times. Now I moved to Montreal, my girls are 8 and 10. I'm waiting for another few years and then plan to make a weekend visit until the younger one is tall enough and brave. I'm too old to get on those crazy rides now!

[@ldiscobball]

I found this video because i was telling my kids about my family fav ride when i first attended being blauer enzian, because of my German heritage. Absolutely awesome trip down memory lane as someone that has attended since being a 3yo in 81. And having attended last weekend. I think it’s gonna be ok.

[@joshstafford5621]

This was awesome. Spent a lot of my childhood here.

[@2001mark]

As an 80's kid who helped build its legacy this is a great vid for an awesome place. From 20+ visits a year season's pass as a kid, to working there high school summers... from friends cheating safety bars for thrill cheats (puff their chest roller coaster bars*), to jumping in & out of Zumba Flume boats around the hidden view hairpin lols... 2hr Vortex opening night lineup, 12x in a row JetScream, etc etc the place keeps rockin'!

[@kaylachristina9249]

I have so many stories about when ive went to wonderland. Its less then 2 hours from where i live and when i was a kid my dad used to bring us there once a year. My dad and brother have gotten stuck on psyclone during a power outage on one of our visits lol. Tomb raider or time warp is one of the worst rides there in my opinion. And the beast. Its so rough of a ride. Ive never got to ride top gun as it breaks down so often. But its my brothers fav ride. Mines dragon fyre. We always have fun here. But i will say security and some staff can be really rude and not helpful in anyway lol. That being said ive had so many amazing times and awesome memories made. Like seeing my best friend for the last time before she passed away. We ran into each other there just randomly. Now that spot by timberwolf falls is a place i have a moment to remember her. She took me on my first coaster vortex. 😊 awesome video! Great job clearly you did alot of research! I had no idea thunder run was a different ride first! Thats really neat. I love that ride lol

[@themeparkreconnoiter9787]

When Fright Fest first debuted at Canada's Wonderland in the 1990s when it was owned by Paramount they've not only have the Star Trek Characters, Jason Voorhees, and The Headless Horseman from Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow, they would also have Harry Warden from The Canadian Horror Film My Bloody Valentine released by Paramount in 1981 the Same year the park opened and 1 decade before Paramount bought the Park.

[@MissT0J0M0]

Had a wonderland season pass from 2009-2013 and i loved it. This video was so interesting and makes me wanna go again this summer!

[@clairefunnell8481]

Fantastic documentary. Brings back so many memories. First rides on The Bat, Top Gun. It's a great park. 👍 love it. I remember Shivas Fury, was removed for Time Warp. Made me mad. I miss Bayerns Curve, Jetscream, Zoom flume and Orbiter. I loved all these rides so much. Thanks so much for this. Really enjoyed it.

[@AtomiicCoasters]

Ayy, glad to hear that you enjoyed this!

[@JRCentrex]

Shiva's Fury and Great Whale of China were both removed from where Time Warp is now. Also missed Boom Ball was an interesting attraction where the fly is now. Totally agree with Atomic that Flight Deck has to go. Would also love to see Mine Buster get the RMC treatment it deserves.

[@leonkiriliuk]

I remember when Jet Scream was introduced, it was a big deal. I'm surprised it was removed. It was a great ride.

[@MsVideogamer]

My mom still has her first season pass from the 70s. We had our season pass every year when we were younger and now that I’m a mom we get them every year and my son loves it 😊

[@chriss5165]

great vid! I'm visiting first time in a couple days and I love learning the history before I visit!

[@somedude2073]

Wow, great video. It's so well researched, edited, voiced, scripted, etc. I'm amazed you don't have more subscribers. Keep up the great work!

[@schmuben8580]

Absolutely incredible video! Love your attention to detail

[@adamwiggins9865]

I vividly remember the bedrock dolphin and sea lion show. I was too young for anything else there.

[@FoxCDN]

wonderful work on this walk though the parks past. Some fantastic details I want aware of. :D thank you!!!

[@grahamholmes9737]

I had great memories here... Even a school physics class trip where we measured gforces and such...

[@shawnokeefe1580]

Pre Vortex you could walk up wonder mountain..had a fantastic view and was fun to hike the path up

[@bernie9817]

Agreed, flight deck sucks major nuts. Would be happy to see it go.

[@MNATrevor]

Great video. One small pet peeve though is it’s not the Wild Beast. It’s the Wildebeast. They have a statue of the Wildebeest on the outside of the ride.

[@runraggedrhino]

He missed that it was originally called Wildebeast, but I want to say some time in the early 2000's they did officially change the name to Wild Beast. I remember my highschool friends and I joking that it must be because the general public was too dumb to know what a wildebeast was.

[@MNATrevor]

@@runraggedrhino someone should tell Canada Wonderland website then. Their website still lists it as the Wildebeast

[@runraggedrhino]

@@MNATrevor Ooo, interesting. Maybe they changed it back?

[@MNATrevor]

@@runraggedrhino tbh didn’t know they ever changed it

[@robertspadorcia8175]

this is so funny that it's been recommended to me. Talking about the standup rollercoaster at CW. I remember going with my twin cousins(back in the 90s). One of them managed to step on the peddle ahead of us just after we went up the hill. That lowered the seat and he had to endure the entire ride at the lowest settling. good times.

[@DaddyOfTheSugarVariety]

Growing up in the 80s & 90s I loved Smurf Village/Gargamel's Castle, Scooby Ville & Bedrock!

[@tevster1316]

Incredible vid! Growing up close by the park in the 90s brought back so many great memories. Even though you covered a ton of ground (and air lol), I think you missed a few significant things about the park: 1) Music at the park: Kingswood Music Theatre hosted tons of big names in 80s and 90s. One year there was a show for YTV’s The Hit List in the 90s that I’m positive only required park entry fees. Also, MuchMusic held many Electric Circus dance parties at the park in the 90s. 2) Holiday fireworks: quite possibly the best fireworks in the GTA. 3) Halloween Haunt 4) Xtreme Skyflyer - the bungie jumping ride - was super super popular when it came out.

[@TomLube]

Omg, is Xtreme Skyflyer gone? Basically every time my family and I went, we would leave the park and have our bagged lunch on the berm by this ride, watching people go and scream as they got launched. 3, 2, 1, fly!

[@mustanghunts]

Great trip down memory lane. I worked there the opening year on the Zumba Flume. What a blast it was. Thanks for the video 👍🍻

[@AdventuresonTour]

Only those over 50 would remember, but in the early years before Thunder Run open. You could go up on top of the mountain. You can still see the discolored patch on the south side of the mountain by the bathrooms where they closed the public access pathway.

[@TVTubeNick]

This is something I wish there were more pictures of. I always notice the path and wish I could get up there…. Most people don’t even know that existed

[@AdventuresonTour]

@@TVTubeNick Canada’s Wonderland has put some videos up showing the pathway and what it looks like on top.. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bpzLeoyEh82ia5Yfeature=shared

[@AdventuresonTour]

@@TVTubeNick they still do special tours of it a few times a year. Lots of videos here showing it

[@lisabourque5076]

Thank you! I really enjoyed this. It did make me a little sad, though. I miss some of those defunct rides. Zumba Flume & SkyRider were two of my favourites. Before they announced the closure of the latter, we would stay on for several rides in a row. We were some of the last people to ride it when it closed.

[@TomLube]

As someone who has been going since 1997, thank you for this.

[@thomasmckeaveney8935]

The volume of the music is way too loud for how quite the voice over is

[@scootydoo11]

Well done. Thank you for making this video

[@LowLifeDust]

As someone who has been here many a times since I live a few hours away, this video was awesome to see and relive moments of history that I remember so much! I need to go back soon, the last time was when leviathan was built...when you said 2012 I almost died...thats 12 years ago and im now 28💀

[@Daniel-t9q5p]

It's fantastic!!!! This park is just crazy.

[@WrestlinGifs]

Take me back to Paramounts Wonderland, so nostalgic 🥺

[@taiyoki_futatsu]

Nahh paramount completely soiled the once beautifully organized park theming... I'm glad cedar fair is finally refurbishing the park to its former glory...

[@aznmyth]

Very nice summary of the history of Canada's wonderland. It would be great if you could add to this video, maybe not every year, but every 5 years as some significant moves should be happening in between

[@ecoomber]

This was great. And loved the RCT music :)

[@barriepewter]

Still have a couple of the Photo Keychains from back in the day. The Pirate show was cool, had flashbacks when I saw the ship in Las Vegas.

[@AvroBellow]

The unspoken rule of Canada's Wonderland is that Dragon Fyre is always your first ride to loosen you up for the others. Spinnovator is better known to locals as "Quixote's Kettles". I still miss Bayern Curve. It was simple but fun as hell. When you heard the horn, you knew it was about to get real. I missed SkyRider for years but it's hard to keep missing it when Yukon Striker is the replacement. One ride I will miss for the rest of my life though, is Jet Scream. That's one of, if not the, greatest flat ride that I've ever been on in my life. About 20-odd years ago, I experienced a capsule slide at Wet'n'Wild in Orlando. This capsure was shaped like a WWII dumb bomb but it was a bright and speckled royal blue colour. The thing is, it didn't count down. It moved slowly into position to drop you and when it stopped, you had no idea when the floor was going to give. That is the ultimate in nerve-wracking! 😆

[@spittinvenom9843]

The Kettles, that’s what I remember

[@charlesburns7391]

This is really well made. Suprised how few subs you have

[@AtomiicCoasters]

Thank you! Guess I just gotta keep on making stuff and eventually they’ll come around :)

[@spookerredmenace3950]

now idea how i found this channel but hello from Cobourg ontario Canada,, liked and subbed

[@angelaaniol2353]

Wow I did not know any of this stuff what a great video! Also I'm so sorry you didn't get to see paramount wonderland. It was great when I was little. I look forward to exploring the modern wonderland with my son in the next few years.

[@emergency0314]

So over all, this Documentary was put together well. Excellent information and nice use of old commercials. However there is one negative thing I must address because I feel this can stop this video and future videos from being that much better, The Music. The Choice of songs is just fine, but the volume isn't. Far to much I find myself turning up the volume to be able to hear your narration, only then to need to turn down the Volume because the music was way to loud. This became a true annoyance when you were talking about the chapter when Ceader Fair took over. Your Narration and the music was bouncing back and forth way to much. Please lower the music volume. Thank you for your time

[@zedas1]

Anybody else old enough to remember when you could walk on the mountain?

[@jasontemple1496]

grew up a 45 minute drive from CW... had season's passes the last 4 years we lived there and would save to have money for the bus that went there (stopped at the end of my street). I still love CW even if my home park is now Cedar Point... always been and always will be a great park.

[@jasontemple1496]

as per vortex. this opened after I moved to Windsor so I didn't even get to ride it until it was 2-3 years old. cedar point being my home park of course I got to ride Iron dragon, but yeah when I got to ride Vortex for the first time it was instantly my favorite hanging coaster. Only 2 that I truly wish I got on, Eagle Flight, and the original Big Bad Wolf.

[@PaulC112]

I just came across this video and noticed you used my video . Cool

[@shawnokeefe1580]

Spinovator was called Quixote’s Kettles

[@treynolds94]

Love the rollercoaster tycoon theme music in the background. All I can say I wow what a great informative and entertainning video. You never did mention jet scream tho, the full 360 space shuttle.

[@patrycjaradomska8232]

Very interesting watch, thank you for so much info in one video. I've been there twice on my three week visit in Canada and I absolutely loved it. flight deck sucks.

[@thefreestylefrEaK]

I live 30 minutes across town and the last time I was there was probably sometime in the early 1990's and quickly grew tired of regularly waiting 2-3 hours in lineups for a 5 minute ride. I don't know what it's like lately. Nobody even brings up Wonderland anymore. Many times I forget it even exists.

[@shellbacksclub]

The DAYS OF THUNDER virtual ride was sick during the Paramount era!

[@Karashote]

the music during the coaster montages is so bad

[@TheBigHeavyKevy]

I thought smashing my head against the restraint was the sign of a really awesome roller coaster.

[@The0men710]

lololpolpol

[@mavzee2827]

Love your videos. Sadly your audio control between your vocals and the music is brutal. Have to turn you up when you're speaking. Then have to race for the remote when you play music.

[@MochaMoray]

Thanks great info great vid

[@bisigurl3745]

Another unique ride is the Extreme Sky Flyer......I will never go on it myself, but many enjoy it!!

[@nathancleary3190]

good video bro lots of research evident. should be proud especially if ur only like 18. was informative, energetic, and detailed. props

[@veronicao9263]

Awesome vídeo brought me back to many memories. Skyrider, was by far my favorite ride. Till i met the leviathan

[@shawnokeefe1580]

Great video history…thank you

[@horatiohuffnagel7978]

Its was pretty good back in the day. Top Gun was the best. I remember when it was on the outskirts of toronto in the 90s. Surrounded by mostly farmers fields. Now its surrounded by sub divisions. Way too busy now. Can hardly get on more then 6 rides. Spend all day in line.

[@DaddyOfTheSugarVariety]

One time in the early 2000s we only rode rollercoasters the whole time. I ended up with a concussion. The next day at work I was literally walking into walls because I couldn't see straight, lol

[@dachozenwun]

Nice I love this park. I need to go to splash works

[@TugaMugssy111]

I’ve been on all of these and by far leviathan and Yukon striker are the best I think I’ll ever be on!!

[@robertmaheu7583]

vortex and top gun were amazing followed by lazy river at the end of the day epic

[@camaromike82]

Great video, brings back some fond childhood memories .. fyi though, leviathan is not the longest coaster in Canada, that belongs to a coaster at Marineland, by 100ft.

[@EmelyPhan]

Around the time when the first season with Windseeker, there was a girl near me (around 11 at the time) who was probably around 13-15, got scared and did go on cause she thought it was a really fast ride. Her friend was there and tried to convince her it wasn't. It was not that fast.

[@NikkiDeJonge]

I miss the old logo with the iconic Mountains & Rainbow..in the80's & in eraly summer..you go to McDonald's & get a combo meal with a plastic collector cup with a Canada's Wonderland theme (usually with the Smurff's, Flintstones or Jetsons) 🍁

[@cody_go_create]

Great video!

[@stevenrocha1964]

Gotta work on your volume normalizing. I had to constantly change my volume between your narrative and the ads

[@runraggedrhino]

So much unnecessary hate for Top Gun/Flight Deck! This was always our rope drop ride for me and my friends and we loved riding it over and over again!!

[@blairwestover6352]

Great video. But you missed a few rides such as jet scream. My favorite as a child.

[@haterhayder]

Hey man, enjoyed the video but please avoid the super cringy transition music. A quick transitions, or casual Segway would be much preferred lol

[@holotape]

The Paramount era pretty good in the beginning. In the late 80’s and early 90’s, parks like Disney’s MGM Studios and Universal Studios Orlando opened and everyone was really into behind the scenes movie magic. I was around MGM within a couple weeks of opening. When Paramount came in, we started to see a transition to that vibe, with rides like Top Gun (which was smooth and beautiful, unlike the Drachen Fyre and Mindbuster) and Days of Thunder. There was actual theming and world-building in the ride queues. There was also a big Star Trek exhibition, and there were Klingons roaming the park, ready to insult your lack of honour. It was fun. Felt like it was going somewhere, but I guess not. Top Gun being a roller coaster made sense…it was supposed to be the sensation of flying a jet. Tomb Raider though….uh…

[@Pusarah]

Great video. I'm always interested, my step father, maintenance worker died here unfortunately is 82 Haven't used my lifetime season pass in a long while, time to go back!