My nephew has been visiting my parents in Oakville, without his parents, since he was three. His sister started coming along when she turned three. I usually planned my visits to my parents around the same time. Over the years, we have been taking my niece and nephew to various attractions around the GTA. Oddly, since my children were born, there are a few places we have not seen in a while, including the Lion African Safari near Guelph, and Marineland in Niagara Falls. For some reason, we have ended up at Ontario Place a few years in a row. Last year we hit the Toronto Zoo.
This year we went to Wonderland with the four kids. The following review is entirely my opinion, and if you have had different experiences with Wonderland, or any of the places described, feel free to tell me about it. I had not been to Wonderland since 2004, before my kids were born. My friends and I arrived when the gates opened, and in about eight or ten hours, we hit 8 rides. These were the big thrill rides. Usually we were in line for an hour. This was before smart phones. Tip: bring your smart phone, or some portable game to entertain your children, and yourself during long line waits.
This time, we arrived as the gates opened, and headed for the back of the park. I did The Rage with my daughter (big rocking boat). Somehow, we ended up in line for the Boo Blaster early on (you shoot "scary" things for points), but there was still quite a line. It ended up being a little disappointing. My kids can't shoot. Unfortunately, my five year old fell in the 44 to 40 inch category, and my three year old could only do stuff in Planet Snoopy, and a lot of that, not on his own.
My daughter was bored with the Planet Snoopy rides, and my son had to be accompanied on most rides. My nephew was too tall, and considered an adult. He would often not be allowed on a ride by himself. We should have given him one of our kids, he could have passed for 16. He is not adventurous when it comes to rides, so we could not just send him, and his sister, off to the bigger rides on their own. The only roller coaster my daughter could go on was the Ghoster Coaster. It was quite fun, and the lines were good. She was disappointed that there were no ghosts, though.
Splash Works was fun. The water was very cold. It didn't help it was a cooler, windier day. My kids loved the kiddy area. They were able to do the kiddy slides on their own, and there were many lifeguards helping them down the slide, and catching the kids at the bottom. The double tube was fun, and parents can go with their shorter children. My daughter and I went down the Plunge. Three people fit in one tube, and it is just a tall, straight slide. I ended up facing backward, and was too concerned my daughter would fly out to enjoy the ride. She loved it, and wanted to go again. She also wanted to try the Riptide Racers, but despite just being tall enough, I was worried because I could only be beside her on a crazy carpet. I did not trust her to not panic, although she probably would have been fine. There were life jackets everywhere in the park, for free. There was also a crazy number of lifeguards (much more than at Calypso). I liked that I didn't have to escort my kids to the top of the slide, and then rush down to catch them. If it had been warmer, we would have stayed longer. We lasted about two hours at the water park.
The rest of the day was spent in Kidsville, and Planet Snoopy. The kids loved the playground area, but I lost sight of them often. We were there while my husband and nephew waited 45 minutes to ride Silver Streak. It is a "family" ride, but my daughter was too short. Maybe next year. She was very disappointed she could not go on the bigger roller coasters. Even my three year old son still says, "When I can go on the tall roller coasters, I will be tall like my cousin." You get his meaning. The only roller coaster he could do was called Taxi Run, I think. It was whiplash crazy. Not enjoyable for adults, but you have to go with your smaller kids.
Some of the rides in the kids area were so slow, or very short. In comparison to similar rides at Santa's Village and Centreville, the Wonderland versions were a bit of a rip off.
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| Compare Blast Off at Wonderland |
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| to Jumping Stars at Santa's Village |
and Froghopper? (Centreville). I think a few more thrilling rides for the littler customers might make Wonderland more fun. It is an amusement park. You are going there with the intention of scaring yourself, just a little. Maybe my kids are short for their age, and the kiddy rides are catering to a younger clientele. Maybe my kids are just daredevils, for now.
We all had fun, but it is a pretty steep price to pay for one visit. We got discounted tickets for $39.99 plus tax (purchase three days in advance). My children had junior passes for $34.99 plus tax. I probably could have gotten away without paying for either, my son had just turned three days before. But, we had just listened to a radio show talking about why people cheat, and I did not feel like encouraging dishonesty in my children. It cost us around $300, and that did not include food.
We ate our cooler lunch outside the park because the only thing you are allowed to bring in is bottled water. My husband smuggled some granola bars in his shorts late afternoon. I guess we pick, and choose when we want to be honest, but the no food policy is so they can gouge us with outrageous prices in the park. This is where they make their money. We bought a pizza for supper and a small chocolate milk for $30. It fed six people, but my kids barely had a piece each. There is a coupon on the map for $2 off, but it is only good at the International alley Pizza Pizza.
If you are planning on visiting Wonderland more than once, it is in your best interest to buy a season's pass. When we went, there was a deal if you bought season's passes for next year, you get one free day this season. You just have to go one more time to make it worth your while.
We had thought Centreville was expensive, initially. The last time I had been there was with my nephew when he was four, and he refused to try any of the rides, except the swans. My dad recommended we buy 50 tickets, and see how it goes. My kids have no such fears. However, many of the rides require the parents come along, and we needed to give up tickets too. 50 tickets does not last long when you have to dispense 6 tickets for each person. The tickets cost just under $1. In hindsight, it would have cost us about the same if we had bought the kids all day play passes, and we got extra tickets for us for the bigger rides. Even the family play pass seems a deal, after Wonderland, at $96. So many of the rides were the same, or similar, and lasted longer. For now, I think I would be more likely to go back to Centreville with my kids than Wonderland. Plus, we took the train, and a ferry to get there.
A couple of rides the kids do solo.
This year was our third trip to Santa's Village. I find this place expensive too, but when we went before, we had a friend with season's passes, and she would have discount coupons. We usually got in for a good price, and the kids were younger (i.e. free). This year, the park was paired with our camping trip, and we decided to go on a Friday, when the price was two for one.
Last year, I was quite disappointed with Santa's Village because we had recently visited a superior park in Québec called Le Pays des Merveilles. I found Santa's Village small, and felt it did not have as many rides. However, this year, I liked it again. Maybe it was the variety, with the boat ride, and train, as well as the kids rides. Maybe it was because we had been there for a few days already, so we did not feel rushed, or pressured to do as much as possible. We went on the roller coaster quite a few times, and my son could join us. It was a great visit. The splash pad was a hit with my daughter.As I mentioned, many of the things at Wonderland are the same at the other two parks. Elf's Island is five times the size of the playground in Wonderland. The plane rides were almost identical. Even the baby carrousels are the same. But, my son could do a bigger roller coaster at Santa's Village.
Elf's Island, Santa's VillageSanta's Village
WonderlandIn conclusion, Wonderland is fun, but you should get a season's pass and go more than once for best value. Also, it is better for taller, and possibly older kids, even with the Planet Snoopy, and Kidzville areas. I think next time, we will try to hit some of the bigger rides first thing too, because by the time we left, at 7:30pm, there were still super long wait times for the thrill rides. The kid's area was clearing out though.
We will probably do Santa's Village again, with a camping trip, again. The kids still seem to enjoy it, and it is much more relaxing than doing a day trip to Bracebridge. Three hours from Sudbury, two and a half from Toronto. I think I would do Centreville again too. Some people claim the rides are dated, but I did not think they were any worse than Wonderland. Quite a few of them were more thrilling. Keep in mind, my kids are three and five this year, and little peanuts. You might have completely different experiences with your own children.
Maybe next year we'll check out the African Lion Safari. I haven't been there since I was pregnant with my daughter.
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