Canada's Wonderland

Canada's Wonderland
Previously known as Paramount Canada's Wonderland (1993–2006)
LocationVaughan, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates43°50′30″N 79°32′35″W / 43.84167°N 79.54306°W / 43.84167; -79.54306
Opened23 May 1981 (1981-05-23)
OwnerCedar Fair
Former owners
General managerPhill Liggett[1]
SloganFOR THE FUN OF IT
Operating seasonMay–December
Attendance3,768,000 (2022)[2]
Area134 hectares (330 acres)
Attractions
Total69
Roller coasters18
Water rides17
Websitewww.canadaswonderland.com

Canada's Wonderland, formerly known as Paramount Canada's Wonderland, is a 134-hectare (330-acre) amusement park located in Vaughan, Ontario, a municipality within the Greater Toronto Area. Opened in 1981 by the Taft Broadcasting Company and the Great-West Life Assurance Company, it was the first major theme park in Canada and remains the country's largest.[3][4] Cedar Fair purchased the park from Paramount Parks in 2006, and they have owned and operated the park since then. In 2019, it was the most-visited seasonal amusement park in North America with an estimated 3.9 million guests. The park still retains this record, with an estimated 3.8 million guests in 2022 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]

Canada's Wonderland normally operates from late April or early May to Labour Day, and then on weekends until October 31st at 11:59 pm. Special events are held throughout the season, including Halloween Haunt and various festivals such as Celebration Canada, a month-long Canada Day festival. Beginning in 2019, the park also hosts WinterFest, a holiday-themed event that extends the park's operating season to late December or early January.

With eighteen roller coasters, Canada's Wonderland has the second most of any theme park, behind future sister park Six Flags Magic Mountain in California, which has twenty, given the merger between Cedar Fair and Six Flags to take into effect during the first half of 2024. Eight hectares (20 acres) of the park houses a water park named Splash Works.

Since the closure of Crystal Beach Park in Fort Erie in 1989, Canada's Wonderland is the only amusement park in Ontario with wooden roller coasters in operation.

  1. ^ "zero gravity water slide coming to canadas wonderland". Good Life Mississauga. August 2023. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  2. ^ a b AECOM (2023). Theme Index 2022 – Global Attractions Attendance Report (PDF) (Report). p. 29.
  3. ^ Malcolm, Andrew H. (24 May 1981). "A Theme Park Called Wonderland Opens Near Toronto". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  4. ^ "Top 10 Theme Parks is Canada". Worldweb.com. Archived from the original on 11 September 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2011.