I previously reported on the new notches The DareDeviler has received as part of its transformation from Flight Deck. But this week\u2019s developments went far beyond \u201cnotches.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Several support columns have had sections removed and replaced with new steel, bending outward to allow for greater clearance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A construction crew was on site, welding in three different places at once. The park is clearly working as hard as it can to deliver a completely safe new experience as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The fact some supports have notches while others have completely new steel speaks volumes to the engineering involved in this project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This one support in particular (seen below, on the right), which combine two existing supports below where they used to connect, is very striking! Absolutely wild the lengths the park has had to go in engineering and fabricating these new support sections!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I really can\u2019t say how long it might be before The DareDeviler opens, but the signs still say \u201cTaking Flight This Summer,\u201d so I hope they\u2019ll move on to painting and testing soon. But obviously it takes as long as it needs to; with three sets of welders working at once, the park isn\u2019t cutting corners. (Well\u2026 I guess they are literally cutting new corners around the ride envelope, but you get my meaning.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Goats on the GOAT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Amazingly, two more goats have appeared around AlpenFest, taking residence on Wonder Mountain. One of them joins Sherman by AlpenFury\u2019s dive into Wonder Mountain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The other is way up on the precipice of this narrow peak, overlooking AlpenFest in a truly spectacular spot!<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is such a great surprise and I\u2019m marvelling at the one high above as it can\u2019t have been an easy task to get it up there! I\u2019m assuming these are the originals from Bayern Curve (removed a quarter-century ago), but I haven\u2019t asked for confirmation from the park yet. Regardless of whether they\u2019re originals or replicas, it\u2019s wonderful to see these goats on the GOAT of park centrepieces!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Mighty Canadian Restoration<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Minebuster now has a sign attached to its operator\u2019s booth, featuring the ride\u2019s name on a wooden board, a vintage Canada\u2019s Wonderland logo, some long rusty nails, and a few little plaques with information about the ride\u2019s multi-year restoration. All of this is attached to a theme-appropriate corrugated steel plate with the image of a maple leaf silhouetted by rust. The text reads\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since opening in 1981, The Mighty Canadian Minebuster has delivered thrills to millions of guests and remained one of Canada\u2019s Wonderland\u2019s most iconic attractions. Through the dedication and craftsmanship of Canada\u2019s Wonderland\u2019s carpenters, The Mighty Canadian Minebuster will continue creating memories for generations to come.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Another plaque reads \u201cPreserving a classic for future generations to enjoy.\u201d I absolutely love this whole sign and truly appreciate the entire team at Canada\u2019s Wonderland for keeping the park\u2019s classic attractions around for all of us to enjoy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The last section of plaques reads \u201c1981-Present,\u201d with a plaque for the names of people responsible for the 2024-2025 retracking project, one for the 2025-2026 work, and a third plaque left blank. Clearly this implies a third round of retracking is planned, though the park isn\u2019t confirming when that might happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 2025-2026 plaque actually has a few errors. Most obvious is the lack of a slash between the metric and imperial measurements for the amount of replaced track. Another error is having metres written as “meters” in both instances. The more subtle error is the measurements themselves. It lists 999\u2019 or 298m, but those numbers aren\u2019t equivalent. Based on a social post by the park, it\u2019s actually 980\u2019, which does equal 298m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If this is accurate, the park has replaced approximately 50.7 per cent of the total track (based on the 3,828\u2019 listed by RCDB). Of course the track length is likely slightly different now than before the track work began since there are two new hills, but regardless, the park still has nearly half the track left virtually untouched after the past two years. If there\u2019s only one more stage in this multi-year retracking project as the plaques indicate, I expect there will be some areas still left untouched after all is said and done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The remaining areas consist of everything from the brake run to the first drop, the flat turn at the far end of the ride, and the first part of the return trip. Based on the condition of the ride and the areas under the most stress, I\u2019m hoping the first turn out of the station and the first part of the return trip are in the plans, with anything else being a bonus. Time will tell, but it\u2019s good news to know there\u2019s more new track on the way!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other Updates<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sledge Hammer is now open! But I didn\u2019t get on it due to a temporary\/extended delay. Hopefully I\u2019ll have better luck next time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There were a couple carts close to the entrance to Planet Snoopy. I\u2019m not sure if this is just for fireworks nights, but it\u2019s a smart idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sweet Spot has some nice window displays. The giant jellybeans and classic candy jars are pretty cute. unfortunately the glare on the windows makes it very difficult to get even a half-decent photo of the display. It’s not the easiest thing to see even when just passing by either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This miniature carrousel is excellent. Having it move would have been the cherry on top!<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s just a shame the interior of Sweet Spot is still just as bland as when it first opened. This Pixie Stix dispenser isn\u2019t helping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At Castle Trader, there\u2019s now a Christmas in July sale. This is definitely a better use of the space than those claw machines. I\u2019m particularly impressed by the signs above each section indicating price ranges. Great move!<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s Entertainment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Major Mack was out greeting guests during my visit. You\u2019ll have to watch my video to hear how excited I was to see him. There\u2019s been a huge increase in character meet-and-greets in general including by Front Gate, but Major Mack outside of Celebration Canada really shocked me in the best way!<\/p>\n\n\n\n On that note, Character House has been doing indoor photo ops with the Peanuts gang for a while now but this is the first time I noticed signs on the outside indicating who\u2019s currently available. Honestly, another fantastic little change! I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if a more eye-catching sign appears in the future, but this is a great start!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I sat through RetroSpect. It\u2019s the show I\u2019ve been least looking forward to seeing this year and I really did not enjoy it. There\u2019s no story, no cohesive theme, and a very bland backdrop. After just eight minutes, I was ready to leave but I stuck it out to record the whole thing. The music is just random medleys of songs spanning several decades. I saw one person grooving to one song, but then it changed to a different song and they literally laid down on the bench.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I hate to criticize the performers, but I also saw nothing spectacular on stage. The dancers didn\u2019t seem to be doing much and the singers\u2019 voices weren\u2019t coming across very well (though that may be more of the sound system). At one point the singers said they wanted to see everyone get up and dance, but I only counted six people who stood up. This was almost certainly the worst show I\u2019ve ever seen at the park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It feels like something Kings Island would have (and yes, that park had a version of RetroSpect), but not even to that quality. Part of why I think this type of show works better at Kings Island is because people notice it as they pass by and decide to watch more because they hear a song they like. And because the stage has no seating, people may start actually dancing on their own. But at International Showplace, guests need to plan in advance to see the show, and then sit down to watch it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a show that was never going to be my favourite, but unlike Cool Yule (which I personally don\u2019t enjoy), RetroSpect doesn\u2019t even seem to be well produced. A show like this needs a lot more dancers, a lot more colour, and some kind of unifying theme. Then, put the show out in a plaza where guests will be drawn in by the showy flashes of light off the dancers\u2019 costumes and the singers\u2019 voices. Somehow we got the opposite, with flashy costumes for the singers and flat costumes for the dancers. But personally, I just don\u2019t think it\u2019s worth \u201cfixing\u201d this show when Wonderland\u2019s previous entertainment offerings have been so much better. (Yes, even if that means hiring outside companies to produce the shows).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking of which, there was a juggler and a couple fire dancers in the park just before the fireworks! Earlier in the day, there was also some live entertainment on the festival stage. Absolutely awesome to have some extra live entertainment to just stumble upon!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moving on to the fireworks, I had a great time enjoying this week\u2019s show! The crowd level was lower than a usual holiday fireworks display which made for a better experience overall. I still think the audio needs to be adjusted somehow. My latest idea is putting large speakers on Lazy Bear Lodge\u2019s roof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s More!?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes, Medieval Faire now stays open until 11:00 p.m. on fireworks nights! This is excellent for multiple reasons, not least of which is helping with traffic flow leaving the parking lot! Instead of everyone leaving at 10:15, some guests are staying until 11:00. Obviously this also means more time for night rides and Medieval Faire offers the best balance of thrills and family rides so there\u2019s something for (almost) everyone!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Based on this one experience, not many people have found out about this extra hour yet. While this is great for those who do know about it (because they can get several rides in with short waits), I hope the park does more to promote this new policy. I had both a guest and an employee confused about why the rides were open later, where to find out this is now a thing, and the employee didn\u2019t even realize Medieval Faire is the only section that stays open this late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Clearly communication needs to be improved, both internally and externally. Since some rides already have custom signs about early closures for the fireworks, perhaps the park can add signs to indicate the rides that stay open late on these nights? Or have a spiel after the fireworks along the lines of \u201cplease join us in Medieval Faire for rides until 11:00 p.m.\u201d Crucially, the park should be using the screens throughout the park to inform guests Medieval Faire stays open after the fireworks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rides<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On this day, I rode\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n Viking\u2019s Rage has a better program now, delivering a more intense and possibly longer experience! It\u2019s not too intense for little ones, but gives a bit more of that feeling in your stomach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wilde Beast was pretty rough earlier in the day, but it was running really well at night! Maybe it\u2019s because I didn\u2019t have someone next to me, or maybe it was the seat\/train I was in, but the difference was literally night and day!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Food<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Pesto Chicken Caprese Sandwich & Capellini Pasta<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This was a perfect first meal at Grande World Eatery. It was very filling, tasted great, and had enough variety in flavours to stand above almost anything at the park! The noodles weren\u2019t my favourite, but pasta is always good in my opinion. The sandwich was larger than I\u2019ve come to expect which is a very good thing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Toronto Ty Taste Tier: S<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Beef Meatballs & Vegetable Rice Biryani<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Three meatballs is not a meal. They were good, but I think five or six would be a more reasonable portion even by Wonderland\u2019s standards. The rice had spices, but still seemed very bland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Toronto Ty Taste Tier: Three out of five meatballs. (Solid C)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n TL;DR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It was a wonderful day thanks to the extra live entertainment (minus RetroSpect), good food, excellent fireworks, new theming in AlpenFest, major activity around The DareDeviler, and bonus ride time in Medieval Faire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Celebration Canada behind us, I thought this would be a pretty straight forward visit with few updates. But as the week went on, I saw others posting about the progress on The DareDeviler and knew I had to make another video. Of course being a Saturday visit in July, there were also fireworks so […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":896,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[18,28],"class_list":["post-892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trip-reports","tag-18","tag-trip-report"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wonderlandweekly.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892","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=892"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.wonderlandweekly.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":925,"href":"https:\/\/www.wonderlandweekly.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892\/revisions\/925"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wonderlandweekly.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wonderlandweekly.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wonderlandweekly.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wonderlandweekly.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Modified](\"https:\/\/www.wonderlandweekly.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_7480-1024x768.jpg\")
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nNext week will be a bit different as Meghan and I are joined by our friends Phil and Anna, plus their daughter Emma for her first non-WinterFest visit to the park.<\/s> [Due to the weather forecast and air quality from the wildfires, we postponed our joint visit so I won’t be back at the park until Thursday, July 23.] We won\u2019t be staying for fireworks, but I hope all of you make plans to see them if you\u2019re able. Even if you\u2019re more of a ride person, you now have bonus time for Leviathan rides if you make on a fireworks night!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"