I just dropped over $800 for a day at Canada’s Wonderland

[Madame]

… and I’m not even phased . We are all finally fully vaxxed and my boys will have the +14 days from dose 2 by this upcoming Wednesday.

we need some fun before we get shutdown again. 4/5 of us are in schools with capacity and masking rules which would never be allowed outside of an education setting so a day at a park seems low risk We haven’t been *anywhere* (not even out to eat) since early Jan 2020.

We snagged Fast Lane for all 5 of us bc we are not doing lines on our only day out in almost 2 years - we only have 1 full day as it’s a 4 hr drive there & back. Nearby suite (fam of 5 over here *le sigh*) over $500 for 2 nights . The best part though? We have over $1400 in TD Visa travel points (I mean where would we have spent them lately ), so other than gas & food, it’s all « free »

I haven’t been to CWL since high school in the early 90s! Any advice from vets out there to maximize our day? TIA!!

 

[pigletto]

… and I’m not even phased . We are all finally fully vaxxed and my boys will have the +14 days from dose 2 by this upcoming Wednesday.

we need some fun before we get shutdown again. 4/5 of us are in schools with capacity and masking rules which would never be allowed outside of an education setting so a day at a park seems low risk We haven’t been *anywhere* (not even out to eat) since early Jan 2020.

We snagged Fast Lane for all 5 of us bc we are not doing lines on our only day out in almost 2 years - we only have 1 full day as it’s a 4 hr drive there & back. Nearby suite (fam of 5 over here *le sigh*) over $500 for 2 nights . The best part though? We have over $1400 in TD Visa travel points (I mean where would we have spent them lately ), so other than gas & food, it’s all « free »

I haven’t been to CWL since high school in the early 90s! Any advice from vets out there to maximize our day? TIA!!

No advice to offer because we haven’t been since the 90’s ourselves . But I did want to say I hope you have an absolute blast and enjoy the great weather and being out again .

 

[badiggio]

Love Td First Class Infinite Travel Visa;it has paid for many flights,including a week's stay in vegas,over the years

 

[alohamom]

My daughter and her BF went in August and they had a blast.
They went mid-week and did almost every ride (except the waterpark)
I know the weekends are much busier but she said in general people were very good at social distancing and mask wearing.
I am sure you guys will have a fantastic time.

 

[GreatGoofini]

We just went as well last week before school started. My kids are smaller so we spent all of our time in the kids area of the park (kidsville, etc).

Last week it was really busy at the entry. They added a checkpoint before allowing you to go into the entry plaza in order to keep the ticket scanning lines manageable. That means there are long lines snaking out into the parking lot sidewalks. If you are walking towards the entrance and see a long line and are wondering if you should be in it, the answer is yes.

This checkpoint is just for crowd control at the entrance. Security stops the line for a few minutes to let the lineups at the ticket scanners get smaller then they let a couple hundred people at a time into the plaza. The line moves quick even though it looks long. Same deal with the actual ticket lines, they look long but move quick.

In my experience this entry will the worst crowding and distancing problem for the day. Inside you can spread out and people generally respected the rules to wear masks in the lines and on rides.

By far the best advise for visiting in my experience is that the food lineups will be the worst experience of the day so manage your day so you are not eating at peak lunch hour.

 

[Jrb1979]

Now with it only weekends and school being back in I don't think it will be that busy. You should be able to re ride the big 3 coasters multiple times.

 

[Madame]

No advice to offer because we haven’t been since the 90’s ourselves . But I did want to say I hope you have an absolute blast and enjoy the great weather and being out again .

Thx @pigletto! Weather looks a bit iffy for next Sat when we’re there, but we’ll pack our WDW ponchos in case. My kids are going to be so excited. DH asked after I booked it if we were keeping it a surprise. My answer: « Have you met me? » So nice to have a secret vacation again

 

[Madame]

We just went as well last week before school started. My kids are smaller so we spent all of our time in the kids area of the park (kidsville, etc).

Last week it was really busy at the entry. They added a checkpoint before allowing you to go into the entry plaza in order to keep the ticket scanning lines manageable. That means there are long lines snaking out into the parking lot sidewalks. If you are walking towards the entrance and see a long line and are wondering if you should be in it, the answer is yes.

This checkpoint is just for crowd control at the entrance. Security stops the line for a few minutes to let the lineups at the ticket scanners get smaller then they let a couple hundred people at a time into the plaza. The line moves quick even though it looks long. Same deal with the actual ticket lines, they look long but move quick.

In my experience this entry will the worst crowding and distancing problem for the day. Inside you can spread out and people generally respected the rules to wear masks in the lines and on rides.

By far the best advise for visiting in my experience is that the food lineups will be the worst experience of the day so manage your day so you are not eating at peak lunch hour.

Thx so much! Definitely helpful tips!

 

[Disneylover99]

We've been there a few times this summer. There is no social distancing in the regular line queues and most of the time you're packed in like sardines, especially on the more popular rides.
The good news is, with the Fast Lane you should be able to avoid all that. So have fun!

I agree with another poster, food lines are terrible. Even at off hours. Not all of the food locations were open when we were there. Maybe bring some snacks.

 

[Madame]

Love Td First Class Infinite Travel Visa;it has paid for many flights,including a week's stay in vegas,over the years

It really is great. We use it like cash so we get points for everything! Easily earn $600-$1000 per year!

 

[Madame]

We've been there a few times this summer. There is no social distancing in the regular line queues and most of the time you're packed in like sardines, especially on the more popular rides.
The good news is, with the Fast Lane you should be able to avoid all that. So have fun!

I agree with another poster, food lines are terrible. Even at off hours. Not all of the food locations were open when we were there. Maybe bring some snacks.

Thx! Definitely going to keep an eye on any convenient times to eat - I get quite hangry…. It’s never good when that happens
I was definitely thinking of distancing as well as time when paying for FL. Definitely think I made a good (if expensive) call there.

 

[Madame]

My daughter and her BF went in August and they had a blast.
They went mid-week and did almost every ride (except the waterpark)
I know the weekends are much busier but she said in general people were very good at social distancing and mask wearing.
I am sure you guys will have a fantastic time.

That’s good to know about the distance & masking. Thx!

 

[Madame]

Now with it only weekends and school being back in I don't think it will be that busy. You should be able to re ride the big 3 coasters multiple times.

Awesome! DH & DD are huge thrill riders. Cedar Point is mire their style than WDW so CWL will be right up their alley. Being the WDW crazy planner that I am I’ve already made a mental note of the « tamer » rides for the boys & I. Pleasantly surprised at the nice mix of thrill & family coasters.

 

[alohamom]

Awesome! DH & DD are huge thrill riders. Cedar Point is mire their style than WDW so CWL will be right up their alley. Being the WDW crazy planner that I am I’ve already made a mental note of the « tamer » rides for the boys & I. Pleasantly surprised at the nice mix of thrill & family coasters.

Ohhh, well if that is the case you guys are going to LOVE it!
One thing I will say is that the vending machines are (and have always been) soooo expensive!
Last time I went was about 5 years ago and I think a bottle of cold water was around $3.50.
I remember this because I commented about how this was more expensive than Disney LOL.
I do think they offer a refillable drink cup for a day purchase that might be worth while if you are planning to stay open to close.

As far as the rides go, my favorite tame-ish ride is the Backlot stunt coaster. It is more about speed than hills with no big drops so I really do not consider it a coaster.
There is a fun small family coaster in the kids section called Silver Streak. It is (or was) very smooth with the cars hanging from the top of the track. It has one mid size hill but no where near any of the big coasters and I find I can ride this over and over.
The wooden roller coaster in the kids area is good too but pretty bumpy, it really knocks you around.
Timberwolf Falls and White Water rapids are fun but I have always gotten super wet on Timber Wolf Falls and if it is even slightly cold outside it might not be the best idea.

In my experience this entry will the worst crowding and distancing problem for the day.

Yup, don't get discouraged by the entrance, it has always been a bit of a bottle neck.

 

[Madame]

Ohhh, well if that is the case you guys are going to LOVE it!
One thing I will say is that the vending machines are (and have always been) soooo expensive!
Last time I went was about 5 years ago and I think a bottle of cold water was around $3.50.
I remember this because I commented about how this was more expensive than Disney LOL.
I do think they offer a refillable drink cup for a day purchase that might be worth while if you are planning to stay open to close.

As far as the rides go, my favorite tame-ish ride is the Backlot stunt coaster. It is more about speed than hills with no big drops so I really do not consider it a coaster.
There is a fun small family coaster in the kids section called Silver Streak. It is (or was) very smooth with the cars hanging from the top of the track. It has one mid size hill but no where near any of the big coasters and I find I can ride this over and over.
The wooden roller coaster in the kids area is good too but pretty bumpy, it really knocks you around.
Timberwolf Falls and White Water rapids are fun but I have always gotten super wet on Timber Wolf Falls and if it is even slightly cold outside it might not be the best idea.



Yup, don't get discouraged by the entrance, it has always been a bit of a bottle neck.

Awesome! Yes, I watched some first person pov videos & have backlot & Silver Streak as well as the wooden coasters on our list! Thx for the tip about the water. I hesitated to purchase the drinks add on, but it might be worth it for us. Thx again

 

[Pinkgurlshubby]

We haven't been in a few years but pre kids DW and I would grab a footlong and pop from a cart and keep riding all day. Last few times we went we packed a cooler and brought some folding lawn chairs and had a good picnic in the parking lot. With wonderland it was fairly easy to get to your car and back.
Again before kids, DW and I went to Ceder Point for the day which was a 4 hour drive and we were so beat we had to leave before the park closed. Hotels were so expensive and we were too tired to drive the 4 hours to come home we ended up an hour away at an affordable hotel. Depending on where you are coming from you could look around out of Toronto area.

 

[badiggio]

It really is great. We use it like cash so we get points for everything! Easily earn $600-$1000 per year!

Easily.We charge just about everything on it and then transfer money from our chequeings acc. to our visa acc. immediately to cover it.One year it paid for flights for my wife and i and 3 of our grandchildren to disneyworld and back from yow,another year to london and back.You can also use your points to shop Amazon,but your greatest value is travel dollars with expedia for Td

 

[hdrolfe]

When I went this summer we stayed at a suite hotel nearby and used Airmiles to pay for that. It was really nice to get away. There are two rides in the middle part that get long lines as the day goes on and no fastlane so I would suggest doing those first. I can't remember the names of them but hopefully someone else will say.

 

[Madame]

We haven't been in a few years but pre kids DW and I would grab a footlong and pop from a cart and keep riding all day. Last few times we went we packed a cooler and brought some folding lawn chairs and had a good picnic in the parking lot. With wonderland it was fairly easy to get to your car and back.
Again before kids, DW and I went to Ceder Point for the day which was a 4 hour drive and we were so beat we had to leave before the park closed. Hotels were so expensive and we were too tired to drive the 4 hours to come home we ended up an hour away at an affordable hotel. Depending on where you are coming from you could look around out of Toronto area.

A cooler is a great idea!!! I think we’ll pack a ton of snacks (I’m gluten-free so I was thinking of how to navigate that) and fold down the seats in the back of the van at lunch. Thx!

 

[Madame]

Easily.We charge just about everything on it and then transfer money from our chequeings acc. to our visa acc. immediately to cover it.One year it paid for flights for my wife and i and 3 of our grandchildren to disneyworld and back from yow,another year to london and back.You can also use your points to shop Amazon,but your greatest value is travel dollars with expedia for Td

We’ve never used expedia before but now it’s on my radar! Thx