Paramount Canada's Wonderland
Coaster 3:16's Weekend at PCW - 06/10/00
Day 1 in a nutshell:
Flew to Toronto, was met by Kevin Reid and family, spent the night at their
place. Now, Part 2...I had slept much better than I expected in Nolan’s bed.
Thanks again to Nolan for giving up his room for a weekend. Saturday started
with a great conversation with Nanny (Kevin’s mother). It was a real pleasure
meeting her. I felt so welcomed the entire weekend from the entire family.
After a quick juice and a talk, Kevin and I headed to Paramount Canada’s Wonderland. We were expecting large crowds and decided to be there when the ropes dropped to get on as much as we could.
Personally, I prefer the Eiffel Tower to the Mountain, but PCW’s fountains are spectacular and the Mountain does look awesome there. We decided to go to the Fly first, since that would have the longest line. As we approached the station we saw a "Joseph" name plate and figured it was URC’s own Joe(PCW). And it was. We said hi and boarded for what would be a great ride. No brakes until the second to last hairpin, when the brakes were needed, quite frankly. The Fly is an outstanding addition to the park and is one of the better examples of a Mouse (one of my favorite coaster styles) that I have ever personally ridden. We wanted to talk to Joe after the ride, but he snubbed us. No, not really. He was busy and doing his job. I was very impressed with Joe’s dedication to work rather than to slow down boarding to talk to us. A well deserved hats off to Joe. Unfortunately, that means we didn’t get to talk as long as I would have wanted, but there is always another time and place.
Next, we headed over to Vortex. Since there aren’t many suspended coasters out there and none at any of the parks I visit regularly, it is always a special occasion when I get to get on one. I remembered liking Vortex quite a bit last year and it was even better than I had remembered. The jolt that bothered me last year was unnoticeable this year and the speed was more intense than I remembered, too. The final turn over the water offers as stunning a visual/physical sensation as Big Bad Wolf’s ending, as far as I am concerned. This would turn into the ride I would most want to ride again and again on this trip.
After Vortex, we went to Wild Beast. PKD’s Grizzly has been my favorite coaster since it opened, so obviously the Beast is a coaster I enjoy. Except for the slight shuffle at the bottom of the first drop, this thing was running very well. I was flying in the air and side to side and both at the same time for nearly the entire ride. Now, for me the visuals are what puts Grizzly on top of my list and PCW’s visuals on the first turnaround are nearly impressive as PKD’s for me. If only they would build a wooden coaster right next to it to remind me of Hurler they’d have me hooked! Seriously, Wild Beast runs so well and is definitely one world class coaster in my book.
Next up was supposed to be Mighty Canadian Minebuster but there was a Togo standup sitting right next to it with no line, so Skyrider it was. If you like Togo standup’s you’ll like Skyrider. I do. The "horizontal loop" and the bunny hops keep you busy on this thing. I really do enjoy these Togo standups.
That side stop out of the way, it was time for MCM. This had been my favorite ride at the park during last year’s visit and Kevin had mentioned that it had been smoothed out. The Out portion still needs some time to break in, but the Back part was as great as ever. Plus, the Out improved through the day so the greatness is still there. Two world class coasters in one park? Must be a Paramount thing…with one obvious exception. OK, I’m talking about PGA for those who can’t figure it out.
Being a true "park enthusiast" I forced Kevin to ride the carousel. PTC #84 (was this the last PTC?) it is in great condition and runs excellently. Music I won’t comment on, but the horses look beautiful. Plus it’s in a great section of the park. I don’t know if it’s the landscaping or the lack of crowds, but I just love hanging out in that section.
We checked Top Gun’s line but it was longer than either of us wanted to wait at that point we grabbed lunch. I only like "good" hot dogs, so I was nervous about getting PCW’s foot-long dogs. When I was done I wanted another. Second best hot dog I’ve ever had in my life. Ranchwagon in Dallas, PA still takes top honors.
Next was a trip to Dragon Fire. But, again we were sidelined enough to watch the new for 2000 Cliffhanger. I’m mixed on Top Spins, but find most to be boring. This certainly did not look boring. Take away the water and you were left with what actually looked like an awesome program. Add the water and you get a ride I’ll stay off of. It was a shame because I really wanted to ride but just wasn’t in the mood to get wet. The ride op was having fun with the guests and as long as it doesn’t get in the way of efficiency, this is a great thing. It made for a better overall attraction for both those who were riding and those who were watching (and there were a lot of both).
We did eventually make it to Dragon Fire. Good first drop (like most earlier Arrow’s), two pretty intense loops and a slightly faster than I would like double corkscrew later and we were off the ride. I like the Arrow loopers and this is no exception.
I have the oddest feeling I’m forgetting something here, but for the life of me can’t remember. I know we re-rode a coaster or two at this point and skipped Drop Zone for now. Anyway, it was 2:00 and we were expected back at the Reid household within an hour and a half or so, so we decided to walk around the kids area to check it out. It so happened that we got to the back just in time for the sea lion show. Pretty fun. I actually have a question about this show but will make that another post.
So, there we were. Nearly 3:30PM and the crowds were pretty darn big. I had a terrific time at the park, but there would be more rides ahead of me that day as we would be returning with Donna and Nolan that night. For now, though, it was off to Kevin’s and time to type Part One of the trip report.
Donna warned that cooking isn’t her specialty, but she is darn good at it. Excellent meal. Of course, I eat out of cartons so anything would taste good. Just kidding. I also took this time to listen to some of the Reid’s stories from their big Midwest trip. I now have tons of ammunition if I ever decide to flame Shaggy!!!! ###insert evil laugh here###
Adam was tired from the big birthday party the night before, so he and Nanny stayed behind while Kevin, Donna, Nolan and myself went back to the park for 2 or 3 more hours Saturday night. We got several rides in on some of the coasters Kevin and I had done earlier and had another blast. It is pretty much impossible not to have a great time there. Nolan makes an excellent ride partner…although I would find out differently on Sunday. :)
Upon arrival back at the Reid's Kevin dug up a video tape of the Reverend Jim Taxi episode we had discussed the night before. "What does a yellow light mean?"
Now, Day 3:
Woke up to the wonderful sound of rain on a Sunday morning. I thought to myself
there would be no lines today. By the time the Reid’s and I arrived at PCW,
though, the rain was gone and the sun was out. Darn.
First ride of the day was to be the new interactive Scooby dark ride. This was much more fun and impressive than I was expecting. Kevin scored more points by hitting more targets than I, but I think I held my own pretty well considering it was my first time riding. Definitely a must ride for future visits as long as I have a kid with me.
We hit a few more rides before checking out Klockwerks. Ironic side note: Kevin asked me if I have ever seen any of these rides before. I said that I couldn’t remember seeing any (I still don’t know the industry name), but I would later find out that my home park has one. D’oh! Dorney’s Apollo 2000. I wonder what they are going to call it next year?
Anyway, I made sure that anytime I had a choice we rode Vortex. I love that ride!
For those who didn’t read part 2 I’ll sum up my thoughts on PCW’s coasters very simply: I like them all and especially love Wild Beast, Vortex, MCM and the awesome Fly.
All of a sudden there was a drastic drop in temperature and Donna headed to the car for the coats. This "Macho American", as I would later be called, opted to be a man and not wear a coat. We wanted to ride MCM but we were stopped on the way by short lines at Top Gun. Kevin and I rode and I must admit that it is a bit rougher than last year, but I still like Vekoma SLC’s. They have more attitude than some B&M’s.
Finally, we had made it to MCM but by the time we got in the now short line it started to rain. Again, I chose the manly route and hopped on board despite the now cold temps and heavy rains. As they released the train from the station it began to downpour and this became far and away the heaviest rains I had ever ridden a coaster in. I was prepared for the cold but had completely forgotten that riding a good coaster in heavy rains hurts. It didn’t take long for me to remember!
With me now soaked, cold and in modest pain, the Reids decided to head back home where Donna and the kids would head their separate ways and Kevin and I would return to the park for one last visit.
The last visit saw Kevin and I finally get on Drop Zone (after missing it the day before) and several more rides on Wild Beast. Reluctantly, I knew my flight was approaching and it was time for me to say good-bye to Paramount Canada’s Wonderland.
Kevin dropped me off at the Toronto Airport shortly after 6:30…I figured this was plenty of time for an 8:10 flight. The line for check in turned into the longest line of the day as several flights to upstate New York and New England had been cancelled and people were frantically trying to find alternate routes home. I checked the departures board to see that my flight to Allentown had been delayed just 5 minutes and would take off at 8:15. I had dodged a bullet.
But not quite…the check in line was long and slow as Air Canada only had three people working the ticket counter. Or should I say Air Premier? As I was just 3 away from being next each of the booths had people with problems who took an additional 10 minutes. Finally, I got checked in and headed to customs. To find the same people in front of me as the line I had just waited in!
Finally get through customs and to the shuttle that would take me to the terminal and it is now slightly after 8:00. Some lady assures me that the shuttle would be leaving for the terminal shortly and I take my seat, hoping that the plane didn’t board early, knowing that if there were a ton of stand bys due to the cancellations I might be left behind. The shuttle takes off and I arrive at the terminal at 8:12. Three minutes to spare.
I run into the terminal and check the board to see which door my Allentown flight would take off from. It would be Door B…at 9:45. Crap, I went from 3 minutes to spare to an hour and a half to wait.
The American terminal at the Toronto airport is exactly how I imagined hell to be…. Plenty of screaming babies and drunk businessmen surround me as the air conditioning dies and all that is on tv is the NBA finals. I decide to watch the game to pass the time (I don’t really care for the NBA) and after what seems like 4 hours…and with just 2 minutes to go in the game…my flight is ready to board.
I think I fell asleep within 20 seconds of sitting in the plane. The next thing I remember was the boost from us taking off. I checked my watch and it was now nearly 10:30. We must have sat on the runway for another 45 minutes, but luckily I slept through it. I slept again until the captain announced we were approaching Allentown. At Midnight we landed and my journey to Canada had come to an end. My luggage’s journey would end two days later. not really, but I’m going to use artistic license here)
I would once again like to thank Kevin, Donna, Adam, Nolan and Nanny for their exceptional hospitality. You guys are incredible and I had an absolutely fantastic time staying with you all. PCW is one of the best parks I have ever visited, but you 5 made the trip special. Thank you.
Coaster 3:16
Jeff Mokychic
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