Day 7

As we near the end of the trip, it’s been quite obvious that we’re slowing down.  Despite all that, we managed the ridiculous drive from La Ronde to Canada’s Wonderland, arriving around noon today.  Canada’s Wonderland is my first repeat park (my first visit coming in 2008) with one notable exception: Leviathan.  I’ve written about my feelings on this coaster before, especially in regards to why the ride is even here in the first place with another B&M hyper already towering over the park.

The entrance to the park got a lot more exciting this year.

Once again we elected to put larger ride counts over morals and bought the ‘Fast Track’ ticket, allowing us to have a shorter wait for many of the coasters and flat rides.  This proved to be an absolute necessity for the park as it was jam packed.  Lines for most coasters stretched nearly to the queue entrances.  Paying the extra amount for the convenience of being able to ride faster and still choose which row we experienced was a good move with our limited schedule and limited likelihood of another visit anytime soon.

As it turns out, Leviathan would be my 300^th individual coaster, a feat that just shows how coaster riding has gone beyond just a hobby for me.  From miles away, the coaster’s teal track is visible, an absolutely massive structure above the rest of the park.  Taking a cue from Goliath at Six Flags over Georgia, the coaster actually runs outside the park’s entrance gate.  This makes for spectacular visuals, both on and off ride.  The coaster uses the traditional 4 across B&M trains unlike the tiered rows Cedar Fair’s purchased on their last three airtime coasters from the company.  There are only 8 rows to each train which is strange because any other tall B&M runs 9.  Thankfully, Cedar Fair park ride operators are some of the speediest around and can have a train in and out in about 40 seconds.  This keeps the three trains moving and lines at their minimum.  The coaster itself exceeded my expectations.  While the back seat is incredible, the front is even more so.  A long, but fast lift hill leads to a drop with incredible floating airtime.  The rest of the course alternates with great moments of floating airtime and huge overbanked corners.  Perhaps my only complaint with the ride is length.  While it’s longer than anything else at Canada’s Wonderland (over a mile in fact), the coaster has such big sweeping elements that the coaster is over before it seems to really get going.  Coupled with the fact that the brake run actually starts higher than Dragon Fire’s (the Arrow coaster) lift hill, I wished the coaster could’ve had one or two more airtime hills.  But with all that said, it’s hard to complain about a coaster when it’s as good as Leviathan.

The train looks tiny as it ascends the lift hill into the distance. 306 ft. up!

Huge hills and big overbanks are lots of fun.

The major question after Leviathan is how does it compare to Behemoth?  Personally I will take Leviathan just for the sheer speed of the ride.  Behemoth has developed quite a rattle from my 2008 rides, though the coaster still produces the strongest airtime I’ve ever had on a B&M coaster.  Behemoth also feels like a more complete coaster with lots of airtime hills, a midcourse brake run and a not insignificant section of corners and hills afterwards.  I’d have to put these two coasters one after the other in my rankings list, though Leviathan gets the edge this time.  Still, it’s weird having two of essentially the same type of coaster within one park.  No complaints though, when they’re both fantastic.

Behemoth is slightly less so now with Leviathan. But 230ft. is still pretty big.

This has what Leviathan lacks: an ending.

After the two stars of the park, the coaster quality drops off dramatically.  Coming in at a distant third is Vortex, the Arrow suspended coaster.  These are getting harder to find, so it’s good to see the park still operating theirs.  The ride seems to suffer from some serious pumping of the back car as it shuffles around in relation to the train.  It’s awfully noticeable on the ride, though it doesn’t detract terribly much from the experience—the coaster is a lot of fun with some great swinging.  After Vortex, the quality drops off even further.  Backlot Stunt Coaster is the former Italian Job ride when the park was operated by Paramount parks.  Now it’s been stripped of some theming and many of the effects have been turned off or aren’t working.  It’s a fun family coaster, but that’s about all that can be said.  More can be said about SkyRider, the park’s Togo stand up coaster, but not much of it is good.  The ride suffers from some seriously bad transitions and uncomfortable restraints that add up to a very unpleasant ride experience.  Slightly better, but still rough are the park’s two wooden coasters.  Thankfully they  both have some pretty decent airtime.  At the bottom of the barrel is yet another Zamperla flying coaster (the roughest of the 3 so far) and one of the worst SLCs in the world.

Aside from Leviathan and Behemoth, Vortex is the park’s best coaster.

This cool mountain is the centerpiece of the park. It has a powered coaster running through it.

“Trick track is a great idea on a stand up coaster” ~said by no one, ever.

This is one of the more painful SLC’s we’ve ridden.

Oddly enough, many of the park’s flat rides outshine the coasters.  They have an impressive collection including an Intamin drop tower, Huss giant enterprise, a Huss Jump II (only one in the world), a Mondial frsibee, a Mondial Top Scan, and a Mondial Splash Over (wet top spin).  Along with lots of other rides, the park has quite an impressive collection to handle the crowds.  The newest flat ride is a Mondial Windseeker, a 301ft. tall swing ride.  The ride features great lap bar restraints and a smooth and comfortable ride up to the top.  To me, it was more relaxing than anything and offered a great view of the sprawling park.

A great collection of flat rides. Sadly the Jump 2 looks more fun than it really is.

Windseeker is very relaxing.

 

Because of the sheer number of rides, cleanliness, and incredible speed of operations, Canada’s Wonderland is the park favorite of the trip thus far and will probably stay that way.  Leviathan is an incredible coaster and there was nothing like finishing the park with two night rides in the front seat.  For anyone visiting Niagara Falls or Toronto, Canada’s Wonderland is a great add-on day to the trip.  I will happily come back though it seems likely I will continue to purchase the Fast Track pass if the lines stay as long as they were today.

Up next:  Tomorrow is the last full day of the trip, but it might be too ambitious.  The hope is to do 3 parks in a day, Marineland Canada, Martin’s Fantasy Island just across the border into the US, and Seabreeze in Rochester.  If we’re not able to complete it all, Seabreeze can start the day on Sunday.

Coaster List So Far:

1. Dragon, Wisdom Rides Kiddie Coaster, Bowcraft
2. Sea Serpent, Miler Kiddie Coaster, Keansburg
3. Wildcat, Schwarzkopf Wildcat, Keansburg
4. Cyclone, Keenan Wooden Coaster, Astroland
5. Sea Serpent, Miler Kiddie Coaster, Deno’s Wonder Wheel
6. Soarin’ Eagle, Zamperla Flying Coaster, Scream Zone
7. Steeplechase, Zamperla Motorbike Coaster, Scream Zone
8. Tickler, Zamperla Spinning Wild Mouse, Luna Park
9. Circus Coaster, Zamperla Family Coaster, Luna Park
10. Ladybug Coaster, Zierer Family Coaster, Adventureland
11. Hurricane, S.D.C. Sitdown, Adventureland
12. Dragon Coaster, Church Wooden Coaster, Playland
13. Crazy Mouse, Zamperla Wild Mouse, Playland
14. Super Flight, Zamperla Flying Coaster, Playland
15. Family Flyer, Zamperla Kiddie Coaster, Playland
16. Wooden Warrior, Gravity Group Wooden, Quassy
17. Little Dipper, Allan Herschell Kiddie, Quassy
18. Yankee Cannonball, Schmeck Wooden Coaster, Canobie
19. Untamed, Gerstlauer Eurofighter, Canobie
20. Canobie Corkscrew, Arrow Corkscrew, Canobie
21. Goliath, Vekoma Giant Inverted Boomerang, SFNE
22. Flashback, Vekoma Boomerang, SFNE
23. Pandemonium, Gerstlauer Spinning Coaster, SFNE
24. Great Chase, Miler Family Coaster, SFNE
25. Thunderbolt, Traver/Baker Wooden Coaster, SFNE
26. Bizarro, Intamin Mega Coaster, SFNE
27. Gotham City Gauntlet Escape from Arkham Asylum, Mack Wild Mouse, SFNE
28. Catwoman’s Whip, Zierer Family Coaster, SFNE
29. Mind Eraser, Vekoma SLC, SFNE
30. Batman: The Dark Knight, B&M Floorless Coaster, SFNE
31. Cyclone, Cobb Wooden Coaster, SFNE
32. Alpine Bobsled, Intamin Bobsled, Great Escape
33. Comet, Schmeck/Allen Wooden, Great Escape
34. Canyon Blaster, Arrow Mine Train, Great Escape
35. Steamin’ Demon, Arrow Looping Coaster, Great Escape
36. Cobra, Intamin Stand Up Coaster, La Ronde
37. Vampire, B&M Inverted Coaster, La Ronde
38. Le Boomerang, Vekoma Boomerang, La Ronde
39. Super Menage, Vekoma Corkscrew, La Ronde
40. Monstre (Track 2), Cobb Double Wooden Coaster, La Ronde
41. Dragon, Intamin Indoor Coaster, La Ronde
42. Goliath, B&M hyper coaster, La Ronde
43. Toboggan Nordique, Zamperla Wild Mouse, La Ronde
44.  Monstre (Track 1), Cobb Double Wooden Coaster, La Ronde
45. Leviathan, B&M Giga Coaster, Canada’s Wonderland
46. Dragon Fire, Arrow Loop & Cork, Canada’s Wonderland
47. Vortex, Arrow Suspended Coaster, Canada’s Wonderland
48. Behemoth, B&M hyper coaster, Canada’s Wonderland
49. Backlot Stunt Coaster, Premier launched coaster, Canada’s Wonderland
50. Wild Beast, Summers Wooden Coaster, Canada’s Wonderland
51. Sky Rider, Togo Stand Up Coaster, Canada’s Wonderland
52. Mighty Canadian Minebuster, Summers Wooden Coaster, Canada’s Wonderland
53. Time Warp, Zamperla Flying Coaster, Canada’s Wonderland

 

It’s Just Like Before

I like to think I know a lot about the theme park industry.  Sure, that sounds a little arrogant, but I think any enthusiast who’s been in and around the industry for more than a decade could probably make that claim.  Things follow expected logic and we can usually see things coming whether it be from past history or through the rumor mill.

On August 18^th, Canada’s Wonderland introduced Leviathan.  It will be the biggest and fastest coaster in Canada and brings with it the notable title of being B&Ms first coaster over 300ft.  A few years ago a giga from B&M would be unheard of—unless you had 50 million dollars and were somewhat crazy.  But now we see this hyper coaster, topping out at 306ft. with a long sweeping out and back layout with airtime hills.  At most any park this would be an incredible addition—dominating the skyline and offering the newest and biggest thrills in the park.  But this isn’t most any park.. it’s Canada’s Wonderland.

In 2008, Canada’s Wonderland made the huge announcement for Behemoth.  Canada had never seen anything like it.  230 ft., 77 mph, 5318 ft. long—it broke all the records in Canada.  The skyline of the park which had been dominated by the likes of such wonders as an SLC and an Arrow suspended coaster now had a giant B&M hyper coaster towering over the rest of the attractions.  With incredible amounts of airtime and a new stadium style setback seating, Behemoth opened to rave reviews.  And all was well in the world.

Did these two paragraphs seem similar?  Well let’s compare:

	Behemoth	Leviathan
Manufacturer	Bolliger & Mabillard	Bolliger & Mabillard
Height	230ft.	306 ft.
Speed	77 mph	92 mph
Length	5318 ft.	5486 ft.
Drop Style	Straight, 75 degrees	Straight, 80 degrees
Seating / Restraint	4 across, clamshell restraints	4 across, clamshell restraints

The stats alone show how similar these rides are, but let’s take a look at the layouts:

Behemoth has a nice out and back design—straight drop, far turnaround, midcourse brakes, twists, brakes.  And lots and lots of airtime in between.   Leviathan is like the first half of Carowind’s Intimidator took some steroids.  The layout is nearly the same in terms of overall flow.  But comparing Wonderland’s two layouts together side by side, it’s startlingly similar.  You have to imagine a bunch of guys sitting around in design meetings pointing at a picture of Behemoth and going “that, just bigger.”  Now there’s nothing wrong with that.. but usually when you do that you’re looking at another park.

All this is said not to put down these coasters—Behemoth is wonderful and I’m sure Leviathan will be as well.  The purpose of this is just to wonder where the creativity went.  Essentially to ask “what were you thinking!?”  Canada’s Wonderland spent $28 million on this coaster.  That’s easily pushing the upper end of coaster prices.  At that price we can pretty much say that they could’ve had anything they wanted.  So rather than getting another big airtime coaster focused on speed it seems to me like there’s plenty of other things 28 million could have bought:

•          B&M Dive Machine
•          Intamin Giga Coaster like I305 that does something different than Behemoth
•          Intamin or B&M wing coaster
•          Anything at all that has a launch stronger than Stunt Coaster [hint: that’s everything]
•          Any large looping coaster: floorless, sitdown, etc.
•          2 or 3 more SLCs scattered around the park

For a park with a great mix of flat rides, their coaster selection has always come off as something of a mystery considering they were all decidedly average.  Until Behemoth.  Now, it seems like there ought to be some variety for the next big purchase.  But apparently there’s something to be said about sticking with what works.  Until then, we enjoy the coaster while lamenting about all the cool, unique other rides we could have had.

Of course, we can’t just pick on Canada’s Wonderland… we can pick on Canada as a whole instead!

It seems head-scratching coaster choices aren’t limited to Toronto.  In 2010, La Ronde debuted Ednor: L’Attaque.  This coaster came via a field at the Great Escape and before that from the sadly defunct Six Flags AstroWorld.  But one has to wonder who said “Yes, we’ll take your used SLC.”  Unless you’re desperate or a small park, that’s a phrase you’ll rarely hear.  I can’t speak for desperate, but La Ronde is not a small park.  In fact, they’re big enough to already have an inverted coaster… a better inverted coaster.  La Ronde already had a B&M mirror image Batman clone.  You could possible see starting with an SLC and then later upgrading to the B&M with the SLC removed, but two at once is just strange.

But our maple syrup soaked neighbors aren’t the only ones making questionable ride additions.  Take Holiday World, home of free soda, great wooden coasters, and some of the friendliest owners you’ll ever meet.  Next year they’ll debut Mammoth, a massive up and down water coaster 6 person circular rafts.  It starts with a lift and features drops and inclines going in and out of enclosed tubes, all built into the hillside.  Oh, and it’s also the longest water coaster out there.  This is a fantastic addition… unless you look to the left and see Wildebeest.  Wildebeest opened only one year ago as the longest water coaster out there.  It does essentially the same thing—lift, hills, turns, enclosed tubes, tunnels—just with 2 person rafts rather than 6.  While it’s nice to cater to different party sizes, Mammoth essentially makes Wildebeest obsolete.

Going back to Cedar Fair parks, we can take a look at Dorney Park which likes to make a habit of repeating itself.  Rather than send Cedar Point’s old Intamin first generation drop tower to a Cedar Fair park that has no drop tower, it winds up at Dorney Park… which already has a double S&S shot and drop tower (with a 3^rd tower all set to get an air canister).  It’s like turning back the clock to get an older version of the ride when there’s already something that beats it in every category.  Of course, something can always be said for the classics—it just seems like Demon Drop could have been far better served elsewhere.  And while not necessarily the same thing, it’s worth noting their newest attraction- the Vekoma invertigo from California’s greatest adventure.  And while it is notable for being the best of the three types of boomerangs, it’s also coming to a park that has 2 inverted coasters, including a forwards/backwards impulse coaster.  Still, there’s some variety there, though it is a shame they continue to get used rides.

There’s undoubtedly more examples out there—feel free to send in some others in the comments!  In summary: we’re asking Canada’s Wonderland whhhhhyyyy????  But still.. thanks for the coaster!