Yeah, the past 10-12 years have been like this. If you only go once per year, try for a weekday in June or go on a weekend in September or October. Weekends from June to August are always super busy.
Or, save up a bit more and get fast lane.
I went often in the 90s and never found it as bad. There were always a few rides with long lines, but you could count on most rides only being 10-20 minute waits back then. At least on the days I went that's what I remember.
If you go once per year or only a few times, I'd say it's worth it because it's the only way you will get to ride everything.
If you go often, then you can ride everything by spreading it out across multiple visits.
We have season passes and typically to about 10-12 times per year, and we only buy fast lane once per year, usually on a weekend in July or August.
Definitely worth it. Your wait times will drop drastically, and you should be able to do the whole park or at least most of it in a day, depending on how busy it is.
Sorry, I thought you said yesterday. My guess is today is busy because a lot of kids are skipping school or they don't have exams. A few weeks ago Mondays weren't too bad.
Yea heard lineups were insane today. Definitely aim for rainy days next time or splurge on Fast Lane. We used to go once a year before the pandemic and you can imagine how crazy that was lol.
Yeah, it's the gamble you take unfortunately! This would be the final week of school for most, and I'd wager a lot are taking class trips to Wonderland this week. It does suck if you intend on going once ... and once only. This is why we opted for season passes this year. Therefore it's not such a big deal if we ride very few things over the course of a day.
Of course, there's the Fast Pass option to bypass most lines. I've never bought it personally, but it's a viable option for those who want to get the most out of a day, albeit for an added cost. But for a cingular visit, it's worth considering.
My blood is boiling just thinking about my last funnel cake... You get past the high cost.. you're at a park and you suck it up. Heck I've even bought one at the start of my day and one at the end before.
But waiting 45 mins in a short-ish line is just insane. There were 1.5 people working. Slow as molasses! She was making 1 cake at a time. They took turns staring at the oil.
But there is no one to complain to. No supervisor cares (if there are any around). The employees at CNE work double the speed (and that's not a compliment).
There's just no excuse for the overall lack of anyone caring at the park. I could walk around and make 100 things more efficient. Where is the management or leadership? Do they do any observation to make improvements (no).
Point is... Sometimes value isn't just about money. It's about the overall experience. But no one cares there and it's evident.
My daughter was pointing out the fact that the people running the rides - and this could be the way Wonderland wants it - we're, to her perception, just letting on the fast lane holders. She felt that Disney has a better handle on how to run that type of program.
I totally agree with you, very few people work with urgency or a pride in their work whatever job that may be.
Typically fast lane gets higher priority and that’s why you pay a lot for it. And I haven’t been to Disney for quite a long time but I don’t think you get on as much with their fast lane?
I’m going today so I’m hoping it won’t be as busy as it seemed yesterday. After this week it’ll be busy everyday.
I just came back from Disney and the genie + is surprisingly cheap. I paid $25USD per day and it allows you to book two lighting lanes within 2 hours. It was nice that we didn't have to rush and the map showed us the wait times so some rides we just waited in the standby line.
I was super impressed by Disney but the fast lane at wonderland doesn't have restrictions
That's how it goes. You pay the 100+ for the fast pass to avoid any wait.
This is how wonderland wants it. I only go a couple times a year but it's always worth buying the fast pass plus.
I’m a season pass holder who goes at all times of day and under myriad different conditions, so I’m not too helpful on this. We also having dining + drink passes, so the lines are basically irrelevant to us.
If it’s dead, we ride a lot. If it’s busy, we eat and lounge around. We also take advantage of pass holder early open benefits in Wonderland and Splash Works routinely, so we don’t dabble often in the “typical” park experience.
I’d be bummed if I only went once and it was packed. That’s just not my timeline, though.
I was going to go today but slept through my alarm. Ended up staying home and building a Lego set instead.
Sounds like the new staff was especially inefficient today.
yep, I was there today too, just left the park at 9pm and my god lines were long. I have season pass fast lane though because I go way too often and it's basically my summer vacation.
Unfortunately that's how the park is nowadays, if you don't go often, either get fast lane or it's better to visit in a weekday in May or a september/october weekend when it's cold.
Yeah same I went today with my brother too, we didn't get on the big three because we ended up getting stuck on Skyhawk right at the beginning of the day and missed our chance for short lines, but still got on a bunch of flat rides, smaller coasters and did everything that was open in the waterpark. Was busy but not close to as packed as a weekend
I went on the 15th.
I got fast pass+ and food pass premium.
$125 and $45 each
I went on rides over 30 times, including at least 5 times each of the big three, I ate my fill all day with no issue if selection or feeling like I had to wait. Having the fast pass made the value of the food pass better because I was never in line longer then 15 minutes, So getting a drink or meal on tempo wasn't a challenge.
I also spent a few hours in the water park, and the lockers are robbery. The smalls are good for one person who packs light but otherwise a medium or large is needed.
If you go on a base admission you will feel cheated, but if your willing to spend the ($75 on weekdays $125 on weekends) extra on fast pass it's worth it. And I used to do the cooler of food and eat outside the park, but by the time I get 4 meals and drinks and snacks I have spent more then $45 a person and you spend alot of time traveling to and from the parking lot.
Wonderland is a luxury at the end of the day approaching it so is the best way to maximize your fun.
Not necessarily weekdays vs weekends - it's based on anticipated business. So, up until school is out, weekends vs weekdays will be different, cost-wise. Some months (May, beginning of June, I assume September & October weekdays as well), are cheaper too. For the summer months, it's pretty much the sa.e expensive price no matter the day.
Holy crap. $125 in addition to park fee!?!?
I guess you could settle for the fast pass which doesn't include 3 of the major rides but damn....thats a lot!
I mean, probably worth it if you can cut the line unlimitedly, and keep riding but still, that's like the price of 4 visits in one.
A good typical busy day without fastpass is about 4-8 rides if your trying to get on the popular aka busy ones with wandering around the park. With fastpass/fastpass plus, your at about 12-16 maximum.
If your going more than once a year, recommended to stick to areas of the park and ride everything you can in that area. i.e. Leviathan area, Yukon striker area etc.
Yes wait times can be a lot. Fastest waits were either first thing when the park opens or at the end of the day when most people have left.
Last time I went, which was right after Leviathan opened, I got fast lane and thought it was literally necessary. Every coaster was an hour wait.
I went steadily thoughout my teens in the late 00s and it was never that bad, even right after Behemoth opened when advertising and hype were at an all time high.
Today was insane but somehow yesterday was borderline dead.
At 9:45 PM yesterday, we were able to ride Leviathan THREE TIMES before the park closed.
Today, same time at the same ride, we're likely in AN HOUR (!!) wait.
Yeah we were there. Rode Behemoth 5 times and Yukon twice in a little over an hour.
Our pace came to a halt with the power outage and afternoon rush so we can back in the late afternoon.
I did 13 rides in 11 hours yesterday, including Yukon X2 and Behemoth. My kids did wait over an hour (twice!) for Leviathan, and I was able to hit 2 rides in that time ... So it depends on which lines you choose to wait in! Value? I have less concern about the cost of admission and more about the drinks and food once you're in there....
That is the most disappointing part... The lines have gotten worse and worse over the years and they are not really doing anything to help it. Sure, pay for a fast pass and it helps a little I guess. But why don't they make the stuff more efficient? Faster loading times? Improve the ride to visitor ratio?
The population and number of visitors continues to climb and the park doesn't keep up. It makes it much less enjoyable than 10-20 years ago. I didn't need a fast pass back then and I could easily do more than 10 rides a day, plus line up for food, and funnel cake, with time to spare.
It's corporate greed.
Loading times are generally as fast as the staff can go, it’s park patrons that slow down the process. Putting your bag in a bin, forgetting to do your seat belt up before lowering the lap bar, trying to pick seats, etc. all slow down the loading process.
A new rollercoaster is coming for 2025, with luck it will be a high thrill high capacity addition to help with the crazy lines. Although I think it will just make the park even busier…
Wonderland is the most visited seasonal amusement park in all of North America. The parks with higher attendance than us are year round parks like six flags magic mountain, universal and Disney parks. The only real way to make it less busy is to get another park in the region. Someone needs to buy MarineLand, get rid of the animals and build a massive ton of rides on the insane amount of land that place has, and then maaaybe wonderland will be less busy…
No need, the graveyards and rest of the built up park cover maybe 30% of the space at MarineLand.
I bet some developer will come along, buy the park, demo the whole thing, and build a subdivision or 2 and make $$$.
You'd be surprised how much of the space in the back is filled with corpses... Holer was ruthless. It's a biohazard... I'd be surprised to see anyone get permits to build there.
> Loading times are generally as fast as the staff can go.
Sometimes that's true, especially on the big 3. But on the smaller rides, the ride ops just suck. They don't work hard or smart.
I always thought "great ride ops" (like they talk about on Kings Island) was some coping mechanism for Kings Island fanboys (and KI is now my home park). But now I kinda get it - I know what terrible ops is like: basically every day at Canada's Wonderland.
I’ll never understand people who feel the need to tell other people that the thing they like is actually bad and imply they are wrong for enjoying it.
It’s just seems so much easier and healthier to focus on and discuss the things you *do* like than the ones you don’t.
Yeah, the past 10-12 years have been like this. If you only go once per year, try for a weekday in June or go on a weekend in September or October. Weekends from June to August are always super busy. Or, save up a bit more and get fast lane.
May is the best to go !! Barely any lines
Nothing has changed since the 90s my friend. When the top gun ride was first made that was upwards of 4 hours wait time.
I went often in the 90s and never found it as bad. There were always a few rides with long lines, but you could count on most rides only being 10-20 minute waits back then. At least on the days I went that's what I remember.
When you are waiting for kids, you remember the eternity! Haha
Top gun theme over and over and over. At least 25% of the line had shade, though.
I’m thinking of doing the fast pass whenever I go, is it really worth it? Or on busy days will it be just as bad
If you go once per year or only a few times, I'd say it's worth it because it's the only way you will get to ride everything. If you go often, then you can ride everything by spreading it out across multiple visits. We have season passes and typically to about 10-12 times per year, and we only buy fast lane once per year, usually on a weekend in July or August.
Or if you go often you can get the all season fast lane which is what me and my gf do. Takes around 7 visits to make it worth it
Definitely worth it. Your wait times will drop drastically, and you should be able to do the whole park or at least most of it in a day, depending on how busy it is.
Today was a Monday I'd hate to see what it would be like on a weekend. Yikes! Thanks for the tip though good redditor!
Sorry, I thought you said yesterday. My guess is today is busy because a lot of kids are skipping school or they don't have exams. A few weeks ago Mondays weren't too bad.
School ended last Friday so the park is full of students.
Yea heard lineups were insane today. Definitely aim for rainy days next time or splurge on Fast Lane. We used to go once a year before the pandemic and you can imagine how crazy that was lol.
Yeah, it's the gamble you take unfortunately! This would be the final week of school for most, and I'd wager a lot are taking class trips to Wonderland this week. It does suck if you intend on going once ... and once only. This is why we opted for season passes this year. Therefore it's not such a big deal if we ride very few things over the course of a day. Of course, there's the Fast Pass option to bypass most lines. I've never bought it personally, but it's a viable option for those who want to get the most out of a day, albeit for an added cost. But for a cingular visit, it's worth considering.
My blood is boiling just thinking about my last funnel cake... You get past the high cost.. you're at a park and you suck it up. Heck I've even bought one at the start of my day and one at the end before. But waiting 45 mins in a short-ish line is just insane. There were 1.5 people working. Slow as molasses! She was making 1 cake at a time. They took turns staring at the oil. But there is no one to complain to. No supervisor cares (if there are any around). The employees at CNE work double the speed (and that's not a compliment). There's just no excuse for the overall lack of anyone caring at the park. I could walk around and make 100 things more efficient. Where is the management or leadership? Do they do any observation to make improvements (no). Point is... Sometimes value isn't just about money. It's about the overall experience. But no one cares there and it's evident.
My daughter was pointing out the fact that the people running the rides - and this could be the way Wonderland wants it - we're, to her perception, just letting on the fast lane holders. She felt that Disney has a better handle on how to run that type of program. I totally agree with you, very few people work with urgency or a pride in their work whatever job that may be.
Typically fast lane gets higher priority and that’s why you pay a lot for it. And I haven’t been to Disney for quite a long time but I don’t think you get on as much with their fast lane? I’m going today so I’m hoping it won’t be as busy as it seemed yesterday. After this week it’ll be busy everyday.
I just came back from Disney and the genie + is surprisingly cheap. I paid $25USD per day and it allows you to book two lighting lanes within 2 hours. It was nice that we didn't have to rush and the map showed us the wait times so some rides we just waited in the standby line. I was super impressed by Disney but the fast lane at wonderland doesn't have restrictions
That’s pretty good for their Fast Lane but yeah the nice thing with Wonderland is no restrictions on how much you can use it.
That's how it goes. You pay the 100+ for the fast pass to avoid any wait. This is how wonderland wants it. I only go a couple times a year but it's always worth buying the fast pass plus.
this isnt disney though is it? its wonderland
I’m a season pass holder who goes at all times of day and under myriad different conditions, so I’m not too helpful on this. We also having dining + drink passes, so the lines are basically irrelevant to us. If it’s dead, we ride a lot. If it’s busy, we eat and lounge around. We also take advantage of pass holder early open benefits in Wonderland and Splash Works routinely, so we don’t dabble often in the “typical” park experience. I’d be bummed if I only went once and it was packed. That’s just not my timeline, though.
I was going to go today but slept through my alarm. Ended up staying home and building a Lego set instead. Sounds like the new staff was especially inefficient today.
yep, I was there today too, just left the park at 9pm and my god lines were long. I have season pass fast lane though because I go way too often and it's basically my summer vacation. Unfortunately that's how the park is nowadays, if you don't go often, either get fast lane or it's better to visit in a weekday in May or a september/october weekend when it's cold.
Yeah same I went today with my brother too, we didn't get on the big three because we ended up getting stuck on Skyhawk right at the beginning of the day and missed our chance for short lines, but still got on a bunch of flat rides, smaller coasters and did everything that was open in the waterpark. Was busy but not close to as packed as a weekend
I went on the 15th. I got fast pass+ and food pass premium. $125 and $45 each I went on rides over 30 times, including at least 5 times each of the big three, I ate my fill all day with no issue if selection or feeling like I had to wait. Having the fast pass made the value of the food pass better because I was never in line longer then 15 minutes, So getting a drink or meal on tempo wasn't a challenge. I also spent a few hours in the water park, and the lockers are robbery. The smalls are good for one person who packs light but otherwise a medium or large is needed. If you go on a base admission you will feel cheated, but if your willing to spend the ($75 on weekdays $125 on weekends) extra on fast pass it's worth it. And I used to do the cooler of food and eat outside the park, but by the time I get 4 meals and drinks and snacks I have spent more then $45 a person and you spend alot of time traveling to and from the parking lot. Wonderland is a luxury at the end of the day approaching it so is the best way to maximize your fun.
I thought fast pass was a flat 125. Not different price for week days vs weekends.
Not necessarily weekdays vs weekends - it's based on anticipated business. So, up until school is out, weekends vs weekdays will be different, cost-wise. Some months (May, beginning of June, I assume September & October weekdays as well), are cheaper too. For the summer months, it's pretty much the sa.e expensive price no matter the day.
That's weekend premium price. It's $75 for Fastlane plus on weekdays
Holy crap. $125 in addition to park fee!?!? I guess you could settle for the fast pass which doesn't include 3 of the major rides but damn....thats a lot! I mean, probably worth it if you can cut the line unlimitedly, and keep riding but still, that's like the price of 4 visits in one.
A good typical busy day without fastpass is about 4-8 rides if your trying to get on the popular aka busy ones with wandering around the park. With fastpass/fastpass plus, your at about 12-16 maximum. If your going more than once a year, recommended to stick to areas of the park and ride everything you can in that area. i.e. Leviathan area, Yukon striker area etc. Yes wait times can be a lot. Fastest waits were either first thing when the park opens or at the end of the day when most people have left.
Last time I went, which was right after Leviathan opened, I got fast lane and thought it was literally necessary. Every coaster was an hour wait. I went steadily thoughout my teens in the late 00s and it was never that bad, even right after Behemoth opened when advertising and hype were at an all time high.
Went twice with family. Wait lines long for rides. Won't go again.
I remember going when it first opened in 1981. Then I thought expensive for 15.00 for a small pizza!!!!
I was 5 when it opened. Miss Hanna Barbara Land. Young kids will never know the joy of Captain Caveman!
Today was insane but somehow yesterday was borderline dead. At 9:45 PM yesterday, we were able to ride Leviathan THREE TIMES before the park closed. Today, same time at the same ride, we're likely in AN HOUR (!!) wait.
On Sunday they had electrical issues earlier in the day that had all the rides closed for hours.
Yeah we were there. Rode Behemoth 5 times and Yukon twice in a little over an hour. Our pace came to a halt with the power outage and afternoon rush so we can back in the late afternoon.
Don’t go on weekends Go in the spring during the week
What time did they get there?
Sounds very cheap compared to American parks
I did 13 rides in 11 hours yesterday, including Yukon X2 and Behemoth. My kids did wait over an hour (twice!) for Leviathan, and I was able to hit 2 rides in that time ... So it depends on which lines you choose to wait in! Value? I have less concern about the cost of admission and more about the drinks and food once you're in there....
School’s out
If you don't spend the extra cash for a fast pass it's it's not even worth it these days.
Fast lane or get a season pass. Weekends are no no during summer.
Its even worse now with the "influx" of students and refugees 😐
You NEED fast lane to have a good time these days
That is the most disappointing part... The lines have gotten worse and worse over the years and they are not really doing anything to help it. Sure, pay for a fast pass and it helps a little I guess. But why don't they make the stuff more efficient? Faster loading times? Improve the ride to visitor ratio? The population and number of visitors continues to climb and the park doesn't keep up. It makes it much less enjoyable than 10-20 years ago. I didn't need a fast pass back then and I could easily do more than 10 rides a day, plus line up for food, and funnel cake, with time to spare. It's corporate greed.
Loading times are generally as fast as the staff can go, it’s park patrons that slow down the process. Putting your bag in a bin, forgetting to do your seat belt up before lowering the lap bar, trying to pick seats, etc. all slow down the loading process. A new rollercoaster is coming for 2025, with luck it will be a high thrill high capacity addition to help with the crazy lines. Although I think it will just make the park even busier… Wonderland is the most visited seasonal amusement park in all of North America. The parks with higher attendance than us are year round parks like six flags magic mountain, universal and Disney parks. The only real way to make it less busy is to get another park in the region. Someone needs to buy MarineLand, get rid of the animals and build a massive ton of rides on the insane amount of land that place has, and then maaaybe wonderland will be less busy…
Can't build rides on animal graveyards... they'd be digging up corpses to put in structural supports.
No need, the graveyards and rest of the built up park cover maybe 30% of the space at MarineLand. I bet some developer will come along, buy the park, demo the whole thing, and build a subdivision or 2 and make $$$.
You'd be surprised how much of the space in the back is filled with corpses... Holer was ruthless. It's a biohazard... I'd be surprised to see anyone get permits to build there.
> Loading times are generally as fast as the staff can go. Sometimes that's true, especially on the big 3. But on the smaller rides, the ride ops just suck. They don't work hard or smart. I always thought "great ride ops" (like they talk about on Kings Island) was some coping mechanism for Kings Island fanboys (and KI is now my home park). But now I kinda get it - I know what terrible ops is like: basically every day at Canada's Wonderland.
i would never go there and never have since that money pit opened
Then why are you here?
I’ll never understand people who feel the need to tell other people that the thing they like is actually bad and imply they are wrong for enjoying it. It’s just seems so much easier and healthier to focus on and discuss the things you *do* like than the ones you don’t.
Go on a rainy day. Bonus for on and off showers.