This was our first experience passing through customs. The last time we visited Canada, there was no need for a passport. We had gotten passports in 2020 -- right before the pandemic was declared. So this was our first time using them. We passed through the checkpoint with no problem. The personnel were very friendly and efficient. I had never driven very far into Canada before. What surprised me was how (outside of the metric speed limit signs) we could have still been driving through upstate New York. Our surroundings seemed remarkably the same.

We arrived at our hotel in Vaughan, Ontario, at about 3:30 and checked into our Aloft hotel. The room was modern and comfortable. It did have one quirk: one of the walls in the shower was a floor-to-ceiling frosted window that looked out onto the main room.

Directly across the street from us was Vaughan Mills, a massive shopping mall. We decided to check it out and see if there were any restaurants there. In the U.S., many malls were dying and had multiple empty storefronts. But this mall was bustling, packed with people. I didn't see any vacant storefronts. It was also beautiful, with statues and artwork everywhere you looked. We walked through the busy food court and settled on a Shake Shack because they offered veggie burgers. We sat at one of the tables and ate our meal. We wandered around the mall a bit more. I spotted something I hadn't seen in decades: pay phones. Then we headed back to our hotel to rest up for the next day.

In the morning we went to a nearby McDonalds for breakfast, since our hotel offered only a "continental" breakfast at an upcharge. Then we traveled the short distance over to the park's entrance. The park was easy to see from all over Vaughan, with the lift hills of two of its largest coasters, Behemoth and Leviathan, facing opposite directions. It made for an iconic skyline. We arrived at the park at 9:30. Although we had Six Flags gold passes, we discovered that Canada's Wonderland didn't accept them for parking. So we had to pay the $44 charge. Hardly any cars were in the parking lot and we were able to pull up right next to the entrance gates. The security checkpoints were along a brick-lined path under shady trees. After passing through them we emerged onto the wide concourse outside the entry gates. Behind us, the tall blue track of the Leviathan coaster was already carrying screaming passengers. It turned out that was the coaster-du-jour for season passholders. Thankfully our passes worked at the gate and we entered onto International Street.

The park was built by the Taft Corporation and followed the designs of their other parks, Kings Island and Kings Dominion. Just inside the entrance was a large flower planting (here forming the Canadian maple leaf) fronting a large fountain running the entire length of International Street. But what really impressed me was Wonder Mountain just beyond the fountain. The other Taft parks had an Eiffel Tower replica there. But Wonder Mountain was a far more spectacular sight, rising 150 feet up and fronted by giant cascading waterfalls which also acted as a cooling system for the shops on International Street. It was the most stunning centerpiece I'd ever seen at a park. Something else I noticed was how all of the walkways were constructed with pavers, giving the park a warm rustic look. I didn't see asphalt or concrete paths anywhere in the park.

We initially were going to walk around the park in a clockwise direction, but the paths in those directions were blocked off until the park's official opening at 10:00. I asked a guard how to get to Leviathan and he directed us toward the Medieval Faire area. So we headed back in that direction. The park was divided into nine separate areas, but outside of the kiddie areas there wasn't a lot of visual distinction. But the architecture that was there was really well done. We entered the Medieval Faire area through a castle-like stone archway that opened onto a plaza with a large fountain in front of the huge Canterbury Theater, which was meticulously themed ... at least in the front. I was surprised to find that the sides showed it was just a giant beige metal Butler building. Because of its massive size it would have looked better if it had been painted or even hidden by trees.

A little further down the midway and on the right was the entrance to Leviathan, with a mean-looking sea creature atop a stone fountain. At that point it began lightly misting. There was nobody in line and I was able to walk over to the front seat. The seats and restraints were typical for a Bolliger & Mabillard coaster, nicely contoured and comfortable. The train circled around the station to the right and engaged with the steep 306-foot-high lift hill. The first drop was so precipitous it seemed to turn under itself. The wind blasted at my face as I was pelted with raindrops. My vision was almost completely obscured. There were some really powerful airtime hills, but mostly a lot of curving track with powerful G forces. The ride was surprisingly short and hit the brake run with a lot of energy remaining. I guess at the time Cedar Fair wanted a record-breaking coaster but didn't have a lot of room for it. IMO, the lift could have been 100 feet shorter and they would have had a better ride. They just wouldn't have had bragging rights.

We headed back for International Street just as the Canadian National Anthem began playing, signaling the opening of the park. We passed by a large pool with a medieval-looking tower in the center. Diving boards were attached to either side and a sign announced that the diving shows would begin at the end of June. We made our way to the Grande World Expo area, heading south. We walked under the towering twisted track of Alpen Fury and continued on past The Daredeviler, a rebranded stock Vekoma suspended looping coaster that was still being renovated. We passed through a sort of garden area at the center of which was a vintage 1928 Philadelphia Toboggan Company carousel, similar to the Holyoke Merry-Go-Round. That brought us to the next area of the park, the Action Zone, and the coaster I was most anticipating: Behemoth. This coaster was to Leviathan what Diamondback was to Orion at Kings Island. Both were giant B&M coasters, but while Leviathan and Orion had layouts that were more like a twister with many rapid changes of direction, Behemoth and Diamondback (one of my all-time favorite rides) were more like out-and-back wooden coasters. In other words, they were designed to mainly provide extreme airtime. And that's what I loved. When I entered the station, it was nearly empty. Riders had just boarded the train. I headed for the front seat. A guy was seated there by himself and asked if I wanted to join him, so I eagerly climbed aboard. Leviathan sat four people across; Behemoth sat two. He visited the park a lot and liked this coaster. We chatted amiably and were sent on our way up the lift hill. Even though it was 76 feet shorter than Leviathan, it still felt plenty high enough. The first drop was just as steep and we went flying up into the second hill and were pinned up into our lap bars. We then soared up into a typical B&M tightly banked turnaround. Heading back toward the station we blasted over one camelback hill after another alongside a pond. It was a lot of fun. The ending featured another signature B&M design, a figure 8 section of track that turned us back toward the station and into the brakes. Now THAT was a great coaster. It didn't need extreme height and delivered one airtime punch after another. Diamondback's splashdown ending gave it a few more points in my book. But Behemoth was a close second.

The other coaster in the park that I really wanted to ride was their classic wood coaster The Mighty Canadian Minebuster. It was next to Behemoth. But I found its entrance chained off with a sign that read, "Our apologies. This ride is closed". I knew the park had been doing a lot of retracking of the ride in the off-season, and I assumed it was ongoing. That was a disappointment, but we continued on toward the Frontier Canada section of the park. The big coaster in this area was Yukon Striker, a B&M dive coaster. (The park really did seem to like B&M rides.) I had been on several of those type of coasters before and they didn't do much for me, so I passed on this one. Next to Yukon Striker was Tundra Twister, a spin-and-barf ride that was the only one of its kind.

The next coaster I was interested in riding was Vortex, one of the last of the Arrow suspended coasters. It was the first coaster in the park to utilize Wonder Mountain, which unfortunately ended the mountain's previous function as an observation tower. Eventually the park had four coasters utilizing the mountain. To get to Vortex, we followed a path back toward the mountain through the Frontier Canada section. Along the way we passed under Alpen Fury. Vortex had the longest line we encountered all day. Even so, it took me only about 20 minutes to be seated. I didn't wait for the front and instead sat in the third seat. The train was dispatched and slowly climbed the side of Wonder Mountain. At the top, it turned about 180 degrees and then plunged down toward a marshy area intertwining with the track of Yukon Striker. The entire course was taken at breakneck speed. Usually an Arrow suspended coaster had a second mid-course lift hill. But not this one. It was the speediest of this type of coaster that I had ever ridden and it was really disorienting. The entire ride was probably a little over a minute. It was the first Arrow suspended that made me dizzy.

We passed by the station of Yukon Striker. The queue line spilled out on to the midway, making the ride at least a 2 hour wait. We followed a path to the north and ended up on a colorful bridge flanked by a rainbow arch leading to Planet Snoopy, one of two kiddie areas in the park. To the right of the bridge was a swan boat ride with a fascinating mechanism. The swans were pulled along a submerged track that had pegs sticking up out of it, sort of like the system used for the Doom Buggies at Disney's Haunted Mansion. I'd never seen anything like that used on a water ride. On the opposite side of the bridge we could see a cute kiddie train ride, much like the old 99 rides that were popular at parks in the 1960s. Planet Snoopy contained the usual assortment of kiddie rides themed to Peanuts characters. We saw a meet-and-greet with Snoopy and Charlie Brown, and it seemed to be pretty popular.

The winding path led us into the park's second kiddie section, KidZville. This was home to Silver Streak, a family suspended roller coaster hidden in a wooded area. There were two other coasters in this area that we missed on our first time through (both of which were in Planet Snoopy): Ghoster Coaster, a junior wood coaster identical to the ones at Kings Island and Kings Dominion, and Snoopy's Racing Railway, a junior steel coaster. We found KidZville Station, where the little trains were. Next to that was Jokey's Jalopies, an antique car ride. So we took a relaxing spin on that. Unlike most other antique car rides, there was no gas pedal; it was electric and all automatic, which provided a much better guest experience. Parents no longer had to worry whether their kids could reach the pedals. On the other hand, kids didn't really get the full experience of driving.

By that point we were getting hungry. So we headed back toward the center of the park and to the Lazy Bear Lodge, one of the park's larger eateries. It was similar to Cedar Point's Grand Pavilion, a cafeteria style setup with better-than-average park food. Fortunately we got a slight discount with our season passes. It was really crowded, but that gave us time to look over the menu. Oddly, what was listed on the signs wasn't quite what was being served. We were delighted to see that they served veggie meatballs (on a skewer). So I ordered that with "smashed spiced potatoes". It also came with a small brioche roll. Karen got the same but with the rice pilaf. I also got a lemon square for dessert. Even with our discount, the total came to $76. It took us a while to find a place to sit. The food was very tasty, much better than what you usually find in parks. But unfortunately it was lukewarm. By the time we finished it, it was cold. I think the park can turn up their warmers a bit more. The lemon square was exceptionally good.

After that refreshing meal. I filmed a walk-thru of the park. Then we checked out some of the gift shops. As with Cedar Point, the park sold a lot of quality merchandise. I made a note of items for later. One of the shops, True North Gifts, was appropriately fronted by a large moose and a bear. We then walked over to the Medieval Faire section of the park. There was another coaster I wanted to try, the park's second big wood coaster, Wilde Beast, a double out-and-back coaster built in 1981 at the same time as the Mighty Canadian Minebuster. This queue also spilled out onto the midway. Fortunately the park was running two trains, so the line moved fairly quickly. When I got to the station, I discovered that the ride attendants were assigning seats. That surprised me as the wait wasn't all that long. The attendant told me to take the very last seat of the train. I apologized and said I couldn't ride in the back seat. So instead he assigned me the third seat. The coaster rolled out of the station, around the corner and up to the lift. I knew immediately it was going to be a rough ride; the train felt like it was repeatedly going over speed bumps. The lift hill was fairly slow. As we crested the top, the track curved left and dropped away. We sped down and at the bottom the train was jackhammering. There was a bit of relief as we slowed into the turnaround. Then we went down the second drop and the jackhammering resumed. It was like that on every hill. I got off the ride with a mild headache.

By that time is was after 3:00. The temperature had warmed up into the low 60s, but we decided to call it a day and head back to the hotel. We still had one more day in the park and we wanted to rest up.

The next morning we arrived at the park about 9:30. Only a handful of cars were in the parking lot. The forecast was for rain all day, becoming heavier later on. Even so, the park was planning to open. Karen and I both brought raincoats and umbrellas. The temperature again was in the low 50s, and if felt colder than that. I dressed in several layers to keep warm. By 10:00, members from WNYCC had gathered on the concourse. We entered the park and first stopped off at Guest Relations to get our Fast Lane pass that was included with our club admission. It would have been handy on a warm sunny day, but it was rather pointless with such low attendance. Then we made our way over to Leviathan. The group queued up but Karen and I passed on riding it, instead opting to wait in the comfort of the gift shop. The park wouldn't permit rain ponchos on the ride, so when the group returned from their ride they were pretty soaked.

Since it was nearby, the group next took a ride on Wilde Beast. Given my previous experience, I again took a pass. Since no one else was in line, the ride operators gave them two rides in a row. Next, since it would normally have the longest queue in the park, everyone headed over to Alpen Fury. It again was a rare walk-on. Afterward they all agreed that it was a phenomenal coaster. Just down the hill was Vortex, so that was the next coaster they rode. When they disembarked, some in the group wanted to experience Soaring Timbers, a spin-and-barf ride that was next door. The rest of us waiting in the shelter of a nearby pavilion. I suggested next heading to Thunder Run, a powered mine train that was inside Wonder Mountain. So we regrouped and headed into the mountain. The train was surprisingly long. I sat in the third seat. Unlike a standard coaster, this ride had tires under the train that drove it along the track at a fairly constant speed. After we were all secured, the train launched out of the station and negotiated two helixes through the mountain. Then it dove into darkness at high speed and wove through a twisting course, eventually bringing us back to the station where we were sent through at full speed and through the course a second time. The coaster was a lot of fun and surprisingly disorienting.

At that point it was noon, so we all made our way over to the Lazy Bear Lodge for our complimentary meal. The park had started to fill up with guests, and it seemed that most of them decided to head for the Lodge. The restaurant was packed, mostly with schoolkids who weren't eating anything but simply wanted to be out of the rain. That made it a challenge to find a seat. Karen and I chose the same thing, the veggie meatballs but this time with the spiced corn as a side. Once again, the food was lukewarm. After we finished, we bid farewell to the rest of the group. The rain was getting heavier and the wind was picking up. Karen and I stopped by a few of the gift shops. I purchased a really nice mug and a t-shirt. And then we said goodbye to Canada's Wonderland.

I really liked this park. I wish the weather had been better on our second day, but I'm really glad we arrived a day early. Even so, there was still a lot we hadn't explored. I was really impressed by the park's design. Behemoth became one of my favorite coasters. Some of the quirks we encountered (like the lukewarm food) I'll chalk up to it being so early in the season and the park not being fully staffed. I was impressed that the park remained operational in the rain, but I'm glad we left when we did; the weather took a turn for the worst after that. The severe weather caused trains on Leviathan and Behemoth to valley. In other words, the trains couldn't make it up one of their hills and crews had to wait for the trains to stop rolling back and forth between the hills before they could be unloaded. But this was definitely a park to which I'd return. It truly was a wonderland.