On Saturday, September 17, 2022, the American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) held their annual Roller Coasters Eh?!? event at Canada’s Wonderland for a day of exclusive rides, tours and behind-the-scenes access.
One of the highlights of attending the special events at parks is the ability to have a question and answer session with the park staff. During the Roller Coasters Eh event we had the attention of the Head of Maintenance & Construction, Peter Switzer.
Canada’s Wonderland opening up the brand new Lazy Bear Lodge restaurant on this day, so Peter had a fresh perspective on the experience. In addition, the 2023 capital expenditure will include two new rides: Tundra Twister & Snoopy’s Racing Railway, which will keep Peter and the team busy into the spring.
The following is a recap of the Q&A session.
Snoopy’s Racing Railway is a family launch coaster by ART Engineering. The roller coaster concept first debuted in 2021 at Fantasiana Strasswalchen Amusement Park in Austria. This will be the companies second installation of the ride.
Snoopy’s Racing Railway will have seven cars for a total of 14 riders per cycle (the original has six cars) and is currently planned to only perform one circuit per cycle to help with capacity (the original performs two circuits).
Tundra Twister is a new Mondial attraction.
Q: What is the timing of the two new attractions and will they be open for Winterfest this year?
A: While Tundra Twister can operate in the colder weather, a decision has not been made yet whether it will be included in Winterfest. Snoopy’s Racing Railway will not be ready for Winterfest and a decision has not been made whether it can operate.
Q: Will Snoopy’s Racing Railway have an on-ride photo?
A: Potentially, but it has not been purchased yet.
Q: Is ART Engineering designing the theming elements for Snoopy’s Racing Railway?
A: No. The park will be developing that portion of the ride internally and with other (local?) partner companies.
Q: Does Cedar Fair use Canada’s Wonderland as a test site for flat rides?
A: No. They have good success with an incredible flat ride collection, but no specific reason.
Q: When will Behemoth (and Vortex) be repainted?
A: Both are planned to be repainted because “they are in need,” but Peter could not confirm a start date. Unsure if this means those will be done this off-season or if they just plan to do it soon.
Canada’s Wonderland is a very highly utilized park, and they are playing catch up to meet the capacity in the food and beverage teams. The new Lazy Bear Lodge helps with a very high capacity kitchen to meet the demand of a lot of people. This also gives the park a lot of opportunity to introduce new menu items that guests may see at other parks like Cedar Point, Kings Island and Carowinds.
Q: What were some of the unexpected challenges with building Lazy Bear Lodge?
A: Supply chain issues were expected, but not to the degree the park ended up having to deal with. Delays with getting elements of the HVAC system (for example) meant the drywallers couldn’t start work until much later, which then meant painters couldn’t start work until after that.
Q: Is the canoe photo op depicted in the Lazy Bear Lodge concept art still planned?
A: No. There were safety concerns with children climbing it and there are enough (safer) photo ops around the restaurant already.
Q: What is the purpose behind the extra overhang on the south side of Lazy Bear Lodge?
A: It is currently being used as a condiment bar, but it was designed to be a potential live entertainment space for small bands. (For example, during WinterFest, though there’s nothing decided at this time.)
Q: Will Wonderland ever get a live cam to view on the website like some other Cedar Fair parks have?
A: The park currently has live camera feeds watching various areas of the park, but they are only intended for internal use and there is no intention to make them available to the public?
Q: Why are there only five Halloween Haunt mazes this year compared to the nine in 2019?
A: The event has grown so much that it has become difficult for guests to experience all the attractions with a line. The park is moving (some of) those elements from the indoor mazes out into the main pathways so more guests can experience them without having to wait in line.
Q: Will there be any additional rides open during this year’s WinterFest?
A: A decision has not been made yet, but they are considering opening Psyclone and Sledge Hammer during this year’s event. Once again, the park has not yet decided.
A special thanks goes out to Canada’s Wonderland for hosting another great Roller Coasters Eh event.
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