Canada’s Wonderland: The best Rides, Activities and Hotels nearby

Canada’s Wonderland amusement park is one of Canada’s most popular entertainment destinations, offering visitors an unforgettable experience. In this article, we’ll explore the best rides not to be missed, exciting activities to discover and hotels ideally located near the park.

Canada’s Wonderland is Canada’s largest amusement park and one of North America’s largest theme parks. It offers rides, shows, restaurants and entertainment for all ages.

The park is located north of the Greater Toronto Area. The park offers over 77 rides and 18 roller coasters, including the world’s biggest and fastest.

Canada’s Wonderland opened its doors for the first time on May 23, 1981, becoming Canada’s first major theme park. The park has a rich history and welcomes over 3.5 million visitors per season.

In its early days, it already offered several rides and shows. Over the years, Canada’s Wonderland has added new rides to bring us more and more excitement. Today, it measures 300 acres (or the equivalent of 227 football fields)!

Taking a photo with family or friends in front of the fabulous mountain and fountains is a classic!

Tickets can be purchased on site or online at Canada’s Wonderland. If you buy them on site, tickets are $30 to $40 more expensive than online. We therefore recommend that you buy them before you arrive on the site.

Admission is free for children under 2.

During high season, check Costco.ca for discounts.

Here are the ticket prices for 2024:

While we’re on the subject of passports, we might as well talk about the Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card!

It gives you 2 Scene+ points for every dollar spent on entertainment at theme parks like Canada’s Wonderland! It also avoids the 2.5% foreign currency conversion fee when visiting other Cedar Fair parks in the USA.

Then, redeem 1,000 Scene+ points for $10 off your grocery bill or travel expenses.

Several hotels in the vicinity of Canada’s Wonderland offer room and attraction packages.

• Aloft Vaughan Mills: The closest hotel to Canada’s Wonderland is Aloft Vaughan Mills. This top-rated hotel is also right next to Vaughan Mills, a large shopping center with a LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Toronto.
• TownePlace Suites Toronto Northeast/Markham: This hotel is perfectly located between Canada’s Wonderland and the Toronto Zoo. What’s more, it gives free breakfast to all its guests and its rooms have a kitchenette.
• Courtyard by Marriott Toronto Vaughan: Recently renovated, with easy access to highways 400 and 407. The Courtyard by Marriott Toronto Vaughan is 10 minutes from Canada’s Wonderland.
• SpringHill Suites Toronto Vaughan: This contemporary hotel has large rooms and also offers free breakfast to all guests.
• Toronto Marriott City Centre Hotel: Right in the heart of downtown Toronto, it’s further away than the Canada’s Wonderland hotels above. But it’s glued to Toronto’s Rogers Centre. If you also want to see a Blue Jays baseball game during the season, you can even attend from certain privileged rooms!

Do you have Marriott Bonvoy points on an American Express^®* Marriott Bonvoy^® Card byany chance? You could have a free night to make this stay less expensive.

Or, if you have points from your favorite loyalty program, check to see if you can use points to reimburse your Canada’s Wonderland getaway.

The Leviathan is a ride for thrill-seekers of all kinds. It’s one of the biggest and tallest roller coasters in the world! It’s a gigantic roller coaster, measuring 1.6 kilometers in length.

It rises to a thrilling height of 93 metres in the air, then plunges into a steep 80-degree freefall. Then the cars speed along at 148 kilometers per hour, turning in curves of over 90 degrees.

The Yukon Striker is another ride that takes passengers’ breath away and makes them scream in terror for two minutes!

The ride begins by hanging for 3 long, interminable seconds before reaching a speed of 130 km/h. In addition, there will be inversions and a complete 360-degree loop.

In less than 4 seconds, passengers accelerate from 0 to 125 km/h. It’s another Leviathan and Behemoth ride to try.

It’s a merry-go-round that goes forwards… and back again! For connoisseurs, it’s the same style as La Ronde‘s Boomerang.

Passengers ascend 70 meters into the air, then wait for agonizingly long seconds before being suddenly dropped at 100 km/h to the ground.

The Windseeker, Flight Deck, Backlot Stunt Coaster and Psyclone are just some of the rides you’ll want to try out.

At the opposite, Kidzville and Planet Snoopy are places that appeal to younger visitors. They have their own level of rollercoaster.

Splash Works Water is the part of the park with water slides, a swimming pool and water games. In 2024, this part of the park will open on May 25, and there will be a promising new thrill ride called “Moosehorn Falls”.

The official Canada’s Wonderland map contains full information on minimum size requirements.

On the map, you’ll see several Fun Pix pictograms, where a photo is taken during the ride. You need to have purchased the Fun Pix option to have unlimited access and download them.

What’s more, several official park photographers are scattered throughout the park in strategic locations, and Fun Pix lets you get those photos.

There’s more to the park than just rides! During the day, a variety of stunts, musicals, bands, circus acts and sky dives are presented.

Each day’s program is different and may vary, so it’s a good idea to check their calendar before you visit.

Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the Peanuts Gang always put on a big show at the Peanuts Gazebo in the Planet Snoopy section. They organize dances and get-togethers for children.

For guests looking for adrenaline-pumping action, take in the aerial madness of the Fall Out Stunt Dive Show and Victoria Falls High Divers.

Halloween Haunt: Every year and during the evenings, Canada’s Wonderland offers a terrifying Halloween Haunt event, filled with zombies, mazes, monsters, spooky shows and scary attractions. Not recommended for children under 13, as it’s really scary. Some rides are open and visitors can ride them in the dark. An additional ticket must be purchased, starting at $44.99 per person.

Camp Spooky: On weekends in September and October, kids can have their own Halloween party! This gentle, family-friendly event features candy, a Halloween costume parade for kids, live entertainment with The PEANUTS band, and meet-and-greets with Halloween characters.

Winter Fest: Takes place between November and early January. It’s a new event at Canada’s Wonderland. It includes ice skating on Snow Flake Lake, a dozen shows, holiday food tastings, millions of spectacular lights and hundreds of magnificent Christmas trees throughout the park, including two 15-metre-high Christmas trees on International Street.

Oktoberfest: This German festival takes place on weekends in September. Enjoy authentic German-themed sausages, schnitzel, giant Bavarian pretzels and cold beers, while listening to traditional bands.

Celebration Canada: First week of July. Celebrate Canada’s birthday with music, traditional First Nation performances, street performers, poutine and other Canadian delicacies.

Fireworks: On certain dates only, such as Canada Day and long vacation weekends.

KidZfest: Mid to late July. It’s a party just for kids! They can meet Peppa Pig and Marvel superheroes, enjoy dance parties, music and shows.

Canada’s Wonderland is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. during the summer. The park may close earlier in spring and autumn, when the sun sets earlier. We strongly recommend that you check the calendar before visiting the park.

Splash Works opens in late May and runs until early September.

While you’re in the Toronto area, visit Niagara Falls and the surrounding area!

The famous falls are located 1h30 from Canada’s Wonderland, and make an excellent one- or two-day getaway.

Photo credit: Canada’s Wonderland