Another week of having company at the park, this time consisting of Meghan (my girlfriend), Julia (Meghan’s sister), and Aiden (Julia’s fiancé). We went on a few rides, played some games, and then left fairly early. It was a short four hour visit which was fine by me since I still hadn’t fully recovered from my cold.
Stakes
I got to the park a little before them so I took the opportunity to check on Time Warp’s land. There have been some major updates to the site just over the past couple weeks, with a brand new solid wooden fence replacing the chain link with scrim.
Nevertheless, I took a peek over the fence to spot some orange stakes in the ground all over the site.
You all should know by now that I prefer to stay out of pure speculation, but…
Stakes with orange paint have historically been used to mark where support columns will end up, or more specifically where the footings for those supports need to be installed.
These stakes have codes on them, all of which start with the letter C, implying they stand for column numbers.
Some of them are placed outside the fence line so they’re close enough to read.
I noticed a faded C16
and a clear C18
C17, C17A, and C17B are appropriately placed in between, which suggests this could be a tripod support. I think it’s odd they didn’t use A, B, and C instead of having one without a letter at the end, though.
And right after C18, we have…
C134A? Very curious.
The park seems to be using flags between the pavers in this area since wooden stakes wouldn’t fit.
This one right after C134A appears to be labelled C145. Again, very curious.
I’ll try to get a better look at these stakes by the Kingswood building next time I have my big camera, but they seem to go in a more or less straight line.
Heading back toward the former Fightertown Funnel Cakes, I’m shocked by how close some of these stakes are to The DareDeviler’s lift.
From The DareDeviler’s queue, I spotted six or more stakes on the hill between the queue and Kingswood’s external gate.
Unfortunately I couldn’t get a good enough look to read any codes on them.
And while going up the lift hill, I noticed several stakes lining Time Warp’s former queue. But I don’t have a way to get footage while riding so you’ll have to take a look next time you ride The DareDeviler.
Speculation
I don’t want to speculate too much, but it seems like an obvious assumption these markings are for a new ride set to begin construction in the coming months. Based on the most recent survey from the park featuring three potential new attractions, I’d say a MACK Xtreme Spinning Coaster is the most likely. I feel the codes on the stakes and the grouping/spacing of them don’t imply a log flume, nor a wooden support structure. However the park could be pursuing some other ride type not mentioned in that survey.
Although I couldn’t see a C1 stake, the placement of other stakes has me thinking Time Warp’s former station will likely be at least part of the new ride’s station. I couldn’t see any markings on Kingswood’s land itself which makes me wonder if the ride may head towards the parking lot and use very little of the former concert venue. It’s also possible the park simply needs to do some earthmoving before more flags/stakes are put in place. 145 columns sounds like a lot, but seeing how close 16-18 are to each other, it may just be from a manufacturer which uses a lot of support columns. (So I’m guessing this will not be a Bolliger & Mabillard coaster.) The proximity of C145 and C134A to C18 is very curious though, and my guess would be track passing under/around the lift hill from the east to perform an element or two before returning under the lift hill very soon after. This may be toward the end of the ride’s layout, or it may be somewhere in the middle.
The currently visible stakes suggest this new attraction won’t impact The DareDeviler’s queue too much, but they are very close by so we may have a decent view of the construction once it starts in full force. (Or at least once it goes vertical since I imagine there will be a wooden fence or scrim blocking our view of the groundwork.)
With The DareDeviler reigniting The Grande World Exposition of 1890, I expect this next new attraction will continue to build out the area’s theme. But there are a lot of potential avenues the park could approach for this new era of the Expo so it’s tough to speculate with any degree of confidence.
I may be wrong about any of these claims, but that’s the fun of speculation. I know there are other theories out there, and I’m glad people are enjoying this stage of development! Just please remember to take everything (including what I think) with a grain of salt. In my opinion, it’s simply too early to say anything definitive and we’re all just guessing at this point.
Other Updates
The ICEE stand on International Street has updated its menu to a screen inside the building. If it looks hard to read in this photo, that’s because it’s hard to see in person too. If we’re going to have screen-based menus, they really have to be done on the outside of the building like Cookie Cafe.
Sledge Hammer has reopened for guests!
The Christmas in July Sale sign has been taken down, though Castle Trader is still keeping the sale going for now.
Rides
Before we met up, I took some solo rides on The DareDeviler and Dragon Fyre. I was in the back row of The DareDeviler’s orange train and it was the roughest ride I’ve had on it this year. Dragon Fyre was only running one train with the other seemingly being serviced in the station’s basement.
Meghan and them went on Wonder Mountain’s Guardian and Yukon Striker before we met up. I would have liked to witness Julia and Aiden’s shock at Guardian’s finale, but I’m glad they experienced it regardless.
Together we went on Behemoth, Backlot Stunt Coaster, and Thunder Run. Julia and Aiden had considered going on AlpenFury, but I think it was a bit too intimidating. Plus they were pretty much done with rides by this point, not wanting to wait for anything else.
Games
Together we played Schlag Zeit, which is essentially Whack-A-Mole updated to be… bopping the fire and ice elements for some reason? Aiden won, but he gave the Psyduck prize to Julia.
We headed to Arcadium and spent about an hour playing games. It was $50 for the four of us to share which worked out well.
There are some great games at the park!
And some I still find questionable, but I guess it’s eye-catching.
I find the ICEE game funny as it’s essentially an employee training simulator. But I have to admit, it’s a fun and addictive game.
I usually don’t pay much attention to the games in Arcadium (nor Crystal Palace Arcade) so this was a fun experience of seeing the park through a different lens.
Until Next Time…
Over the past four visits, I’ve experienced a lot of variety by visiting with others, each group/individual having their own preferences of what most interested them about Canada’s Wonderland. Phil, Anna, and Emma experienced KidZfest including some live entertainment; Amanda and David mainly wanted to visit Splash Works; Nathan wanted to get on as many rides as possible; and now Julia and Aiden wanted to play games. It’s a testament to the variety of the park’s lineup that everyone found something they wanted to do, all with a single price for admission.
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