{"id":1258,"date":"2026-09-11T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wonderlandweekly.ca\/?p=1258"},"modified":"2026-09-11T15:06:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T19:06:09","slug":"end-of-summer-expo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wonderlandweekly.ca\/index.php\/2026\/09\/11\/end-of-summer-expo\/","title":{"rendered":"End of Summer Expo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Labour Day marks the unofficial end of summer, with Splash Works closing for the year and Canada\u2019s Wonderland going to weekend-only operations. I visited the park the Sunday before to catch the last fireworks display in a year full of spectacular entertainment. Since I had to drop a couple people off at the airport, I didn\u2019t get to the park until around 4:00 p.m. and spent almost the entire pre-fireworks time in The Grande World Exposition of 1890.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expo Updates?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Necropolis is taking shape in front of Time Warp\u2019s plot of land again this year so construction fences have created some distance from the mysterious stakes around the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Fencing<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Even so, I noticed some new stakes closer to Kingswood Music Theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Aerial<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While waiting in a 100 minute line, I got a decent look at the stakes on the strip of nature between Kingswood’s external gate and The DareDeviler\u2019s queue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Stakes<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Looking through my big camera and zooming in as much as possible, this one closest to The DareDeviler\u2019s queue seems to read C206. (Zoomed in and rotated below.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"C206<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Previously I thought C145 (by Kingswood\u2019s internal gate) may have been close to the end of the ride, but now I\u2019ll have to rethink potential layouts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Aerial<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The new Pizza Pizza location no longer offers \u201cpickle-roni with cotton candy,\u201d which is probably best. I\u2019ll be trying the three-cheese variety on a future visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Updated<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve heard Grande World Eatery was closed the past couple weeks but it reopened for at least a couple days with a special Labour Day Weekend Special, serving burrito bowls!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Labour<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Or, nacho bowls? The only way you could get chips was with them as your base. The inconsistent signage makes me shake my head, but at least they tried to clarify about chicken bites and fries not being part of the nacho\/burrito bowls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Nacho<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Food<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Burrito Bowl<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Burrito<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I got a rice base with beef, complete with all the fixings. I asked for extra beans and only a couple jalape\u00f1os, but they gave me more peppers than I could comfortably handle. It was a good portion and quite tasty, with a bit of spice outside of the jalape\u00f1os. It would have been nice to have some chips on the side like the park used to offer, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toronto Ty Taste Tier: B<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Before I knew Grande World Eatery would be open, I ventured to King\u2019s Feast for my first meal. King\u2019s Feast has added the hand breaded fish from Mess Hall and the pesto chicken sandwich from Grande World Eatery. I\u2019m glad these options are still available in the park, but I\u2019m a little sad the sliders are gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Pesto<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The chicken sandwich was as good (and messy) as I\u2019ve come to expect. Although I miss the pasta, salad was a refreshing side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toronto Ty Taste Tier: A<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is the Expo Over?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m so incredibly pleased to see The DareDeviler characters making repeat appearances! Obviously I have a lot of fun chatting with them during my visits, but they also entertain so many other guests! They encourage guests to take flight, ask for thoughts on the new experience from those brave enough to soar on the steel track, and create a fun atmosphere guests will remember for years to come! As happy as I am about the new theme, it\u2019s these characters who really bring it to life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Vivienne<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I could see them being retired after The DareDeviler\u2019s debut season, but I also thought they\u2019d only be around for the ride\u2019s first day\/weekend so who knows how long the park will keep this style of entertainment going? With total earnestness, I humbly ask the park to make sure this isn\u2019t the last we see of these characters. Incorporate them into future ride announcements! Admittedly Clara \u201cHawk\u201d Redmond may be difficult to fit, but Etienne can be responsible for more innovations shown at the Exposition. The news reporter (Tommy) and the face of the exposition (Vivienne) should be on site for every new attraction, building excitement and covering the story as it develops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My goal isn\u2019t to get lazy, but to build on the world the park\u2019s established. If there\u2019s something new being teased, send out newspapers with articles written by Tommy, featuring quotes from Vivienne and Etienne. Or feature them on teaser posts\/videos displayed on fences or the midway screens in the park! Maybe Etienne has a rival innovator developing something to tower over The DareDeviler? I\u2019m sure Etienne will continue to extol the greatness of The DareDeviler while welcoming anyone to try and topple its thrilling nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"All<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Basically any new characters should be connected in some way to these four characters the park has already introduced, whether that be friends, fans, rivals, relatives\/ancestors (if we\u2019d like to bring it back to 1890 as it should be), or anyone who can suitably step into this Grande World the park and these performers have begun to build.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2026\u2019s Final Fireworks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The park seemed especially busy even for a fireworks night and I didn\u2019t manage to get my second meal until about 9:00 p.m., so by the time I got to the Heather Hill (by Lazy Bear Lodge), it was already at capacity. The other hill (between Skyhawk and SlingShot) also seemed pretty packed so I stood on the pathway (as directed by staff) for the show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Labour<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I knew I had to get better footage of fireworks off Yukon Striker\u2019s lift hill this time around, but I didn\u2019t expect them to come at the end of the show this time. I think this works better as a finale so I appreciate the change, though I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if the park continues to mix it up every now and then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a great show as usual and the Yukon Striker fireworks were even better than last time! Truly a phenomenal way to end the 2026 summer season!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Fireworks<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Before the fireworks, I only got on The DareDeviler. After the fireworks, I got on Wilde Beast (twice), Drop Tower, and Shockwave, all with little to no wait! I really love this bonus hour of ride time on fireworks nights!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until Next Time<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m looking forward to getting some German food at Oktoberfest over the next two weekends, plus checking in on any scare zone preparations. And of course I\u2019ll also be keeping an eye on Kingswood and Time Warp\u2019s land for any more developments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Labour Day marks the unofficial end of summer, with Splash Works closing for the year and Canada\u2019s Wonderland going to weekend-only operations. I visited the park the Sunday before to catch the last fireworks display in a year full of spectacular entertainment. Since I had to drop a couple people off at the airport, I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[18,33,28],"class_list":["post-1258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trip-reports","tag-18","tag-construction","tag-trip-report"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wonderlandweekly.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wonderlandweekly.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wonderlandweekly.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wonderlandweekly.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wonderlandweekly.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1258"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.wonderlandweekly.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1258\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1287,"href":"https:\/\/www.wonderlandweekly.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1258\/revisions\/1287"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wonderlandweekly.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wonderlandweekly.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wonderlandweekly.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wonderlandweekly.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}