Guide to visiting Canada’s Wonderland with little kids

Canada’s Wonderland (or just “Wonderland”) is an amusement park and waterpark located in the suburb of Vaughn, about 25 kms away from Toronto’s downtown core. It is Canada’s biggest amusement park, and the most visited seasonal theme park in North America.

It is a great day trip for families who are lucky enough to live in the area, as well as visitors to the Greater Toronto Area.

Wonderland holds a lot of happy memories for those of us who grew up here. Memories of summer days, racing toward the most popular roller coasters first thing after we arrived, screaming ourselves hoarse, filling ourselves up with funnel cakes and Tiny Tim donuts and candy from the Sweets Shop. Every year or so, they add a new ride, to keep things interesting.

It’s a great place hang out with friends or as a couple.

But, as we discovered this past weekend, it’s also a great place for families and young children.

It was Big S and Lil S’s first time at Wonderland, and they had an absolute blast. Like most theme parks, Wonderland has a ton of attractions and can easily be a full dawn to dusk day (well, from open to close, anyway). It’s can be tiring and overwhelming for kids, and if you haven’t planned for it can quickly dissolve into cranky kids and meltdowns.

We wanted to share our experiences and recommendations (both from taking the kids and years of going ourselves, in our (ever more distant) youth) that might help make your trip to Canada’s Wonderland smooth and enjoyable for all.

What ages is Canada’s Wonderland appropriate for?

The nice thing about Wonderland is that it has dedicated kids zones.

Most rides at Wonderland are based on height restrictions. There are a few without restrictions, but even the gentlest rides are generally > 36 inches, and most are over 40. Most children are at least 3 to meet these requirements.

I don’t know of any rides that allow lap infants, and there are some rides in the kids areas that have a *maximum* height, which means the adult may not accompany the kid on those rides.

At 44 inches (Lil S, age almost-5), you can go on all of the attractions in the kids zones, and some of the roller coasters accompanied by an adult. By the time you hit 48 inches (around 7 years, if my 7 yo is anything to go by), you can ride most coasters, accompanied by an adult. The largest coasters require riders to be 54 inches (the average 10 years old).

Furthermore, it’s worth considering the child you’re bringing. Big S and Lil S are quite adventurous. We were able to ride some of the smaller coasters, and they are at the stage where they were a little scared, but after the fact wanted to ride again and again.

If an infant or toddler is accompanying a sibling, there are shows they can still see and a large playground they can play on. In the summer, they’ll be able to enjoy parts of the waterpark.

As for adults – well, anything is game as long as you can stomach it! 😛

When is the best time to visit Canada’s Wonderland?

Wonderland is seasonal, which means the park is only open at certain times of the year. This is usually end of April – end of October. It’s only open on the weekends for shoulder months, and all week long from end of May to September (in Canada, from Victoria Day long weekend to Labour Day long weekend). It hosts a special Halloween edition, as well as Winterfest in December, where you can skate and watch performances. Some of the water-based rides and shows do not open until the end of May.

Splash Works, Wonderland’s water park, opens during the high season from May to September. I feel this park often gets overlooked in light of the enormous roller coasters, but this is one of the best water parks I’ve been to! Cooling off in the water (or riding the adrenaline rush on the slides, if that’s more your thing) is a perfect way to end your trip to Wonderland during the summer.

There is no recommended day of the week to visit in the summer, as it’s busy all week long when the schools are out. Weekends are *always* busy, even right after opening. If you can swing it, choose to visit in May or June during the weekday, when most kids are still in school.

Some weekends have themes, such as Canada Day celebrations in July.

Wonderland need-to-know

Opening hours

Main park – 10am-8pm, 10am – 10pm (July and August)

Splash park – 11am – 6pm, 11am – 7pm (July and August)

How to get there

Driving is your most convenient option. Wonderland is located right off the 400 highway, off Rutherford Rd.

If you’re coming from Downtown Toronto, can you take the line 1 TTC subway up to Vaughn Metropolitan Centre and then take the route 20 YRT bus, which will take you to Wonderland (Get off Jane St/Avro Rd).

Ticket Options at Canada’s Wonderland

BUY YOUR TICKETS ONLINE

Tickets at the gate are 75.00 CAD for adults and juniors.

Tickets online are 44.99 CAD for adults and 39.99 for juniors.

If you live in the area and plan to visit more than once per year, the seasons pass, starting at 79.99, is definitely worth it.

Parking

Parking is an additional 22.00 CAD.

(There are also lockers to rent, but I’ve never figure out what kind of stuff people bring to put in these! You can also rent lockers in the waterpark.)

Meal plans

There’s the option to purchase a 16.99 meal deal, which includes an entree and a drink. However, unless you’re planning to sit down for a real meal, this likely isn’t worth it. The most common participating kiosks are Pizza Pizza and Subway, and there are a number (eg. Poutines, etc) that are not covered at all.

There are options to purchase all day meal/snack plans (42.99) and drink plans (16.99). The all day meal/snack plan *may* be worth it, as it also includes many ice cream and snack places, which is key for a happy day out.

Fast Lane passes

This is a tricky one.

Canada’s Wonderland offers two fast pass options, to bypass the rollercoaster lines. The regular (75.00, or 95.00 during July and Aug), and the Plus (85.00, 105.00 during July and Aug). The difference between the two is that the Plus lets you bypass the lines for the most exclusive/popular roller coasters (Leviathan, Behemoth, Yukon Striker).

I would say that if you’re coming on the weekend and plan to ride the coasters, the Fast Pass is worth it. Even first thing in the morning when we visited, the popular rides had a 45 min wait time. Later on in the day, the lines can easily be 1.5-2 hours! This means you’d only be riding a couple coasters for the day and the rest of your time is spent waiting.

If you’re coming during the May/June weekdays, the lines are much shorter. However, July/Aug weekdays can get quite busy as well. If this is your only trip to Canada’s Wonderland, I feel the Fast Pass is worthwhile.

(If you are NOT using the Fast Lane passes, I would recommended you arrive at opening time, then hit: Leviathan (in the Medieval section), then Behemoth and Yukon Striker (both at the other side of the park). These are the most popular coasters, and the most thrilling! On the flip side, if you can last until nighttime, the lines become shorter, too.)

There are a limited number of Fast Lane passes a day. There is a separate Fast Lane line, and there is NO wait time. It’s great if you want to do a ride more than once (or even just sample them all).

As a visiting couple, we have used the fast passes options once, and it was *amazing*! You feel like VIPs. As a family, most of the kids rides did not qualify for the Fast Pass, so it wasn’t worth us getting them.

FunPix

(Wow, it’s not until I write all this out does the cost of a day trip to Wonderland really rack up!)

At some rollercoasters, there will be cameras that automatically snap shots of you (usually during the steepest descent). There are also Wonderland employees that will take photos of you by the entrance. You can choose to buy the FunPix, where you’ll have access to all the photos of you, for 19.99. Alternatively, you can buy one photo for 17.99 (hard copy 6×8 or digital).

You are not allowed to take photos on the rides, so if you want the memories, buying a FunPix is the way to go. The quality isn’t the greatest, but hey, you can’t have everything. 😛

Recommended Canada’s Wonderland route for young kids

The entire idea of planning a route is to hit the busy rides first, in order to minimize wait times. This is obviously not applicable to older kids who can ride all the attractions (in that case, I would splurge on the Fast Lane pass).

I would try to arrive at the park for opening time (most kids are up early, anyway!) Once you get in, I would head straight up “International Street” (the main boulevard in the centre, flanking the waterfalls) to Thunder Run.

On your way, you will pass the “height station“. Employees will measure your child, and given them wristbands corresponding to their height. (Lil S’s band was “42 inches, 44 with shoes” – not sure why they have that particular category, but she got away with being 44 inches!)

Kid-friendly coasters

Thunder Run is the roller coaster that runs through the “Wonderland Mountain” itself. If your kids do one roller coaster, this is the classic one. It goes in circles around the mountain, and is very much like a train, weaving in and out of tunnels. Big S was a little startled by the darkness and strobe lights, but it is an easy (and popular) roller coaster introduction.

After that, consider the Fly (ht requirement 44 inches if accompanied). This has a real roller coaster drop, but is small and appropriate for kids.

Then, make your way to the kids zones.

Kidzville and Planet Snoopy

If your children are over 46 inches and the water attractions are open, head up through Frontiers Canada (clockwise), where you can ride Timberland Falls (a boat “slide” into water), and White Water Canyon. (Both these attractions get busy.)

From here, head on to Kidzville (first kids area) and Planet Snoopy (second kids area). I would hit the roller coasters first, as they tend to get the busiest. The ones here are Silver Streak (a mini version of “Flight Deck”), and Ghoster Coaster (modelled on “Canadian Minebusters”). Boo Blasters is also a good one to hit – it’s a ride through a haunted mansion where kids can shoot lasers at ghosts!

If not doing Frontiers Canada, head on after the Fly (counterclockwise) directly to Planet Snoopy.

(The only other ride I would recommend is the Viking Rage, a giant rocking viking ship on the way to Planet Snoopy. Big S and Lil S *adored* it. This ride seats a ton of people per go, so the line ups are never really long. I would hit this one at any time later in the day.)

After you get these kid-friendly coasters out of the way, you can slow down and enjoy some lunch, and some of the other rides in the kids areas. These tend to have much shorter line-ups. The larger-than-life treehouse playground (Maple Park Treehouse) is also a hit with the kids. It’s a great place for adults to relax – there are benches and lots of large Muskoka chairs scattered about – while the kids play. (By 2-3pm, the lines to everything are looooong, so a good place to hang out!)

Splash Works

If the water park is open, I would head on over thataway and play until you drop! There is something here for everyone, from a pool (the “lagoon”), to splash areas and playgrounds, to the lazy river, and all sorts of water slides for all heights and ages.

Live shows

There are a few live shows going on at Wonderland. The two most worth seeing are the diving ones – the Victoria Falls divers (diving from the Wonderland mountain), and the Fall Out Stunt Dive (in the Medieval zone by the Viking Rage ride). These shows run during summer (end of June to beginning of Sept), with a few shows every afternoon. These might even be good to hit on the way out.

There is also a show for young children in the Planet Snoopy area, featuring the Snoopy characters, in a tented pavilion. This would be a good break from the afternoon heat and lineups, especially if the water park is not open.

?Arcade and fair games

Scattered around the park are a number of arcade and fairground games, like ring-toss and go fish. Unless you or your kids really love these, I would skip them. They cost extra (do you really want to spend extra after all that money you’ve already spent?), and – key – do you really want to be toting around a giant stuffy prize for the entire day?

Tips for a successful Canada’s Wonderland trip with kids

Get there early

No matter how old the kids are, the park is much quieter (relatively speaking, of course) until about noon or so. You can get a lot done in those few hours!

Download the Canada’s Wonderland App

There is a Wonderland App that we found pretty useful. There’s an interactive map, with a bunch of handy info. It shows all the rides with supposed wait-times, although we found these were not always accurate. It also shows all the food places and shops, and which ones accept meal and snack passes. The live shows and showtimes are also listed.

Bring a stroller or a wagon

We debated about whether to bring our wagon (which the kids haven’t used in over a year). And we were SO glad we did. All the line waiting and excitement of the rides really tired them out, and I’m sure we would have had to call it several hours early with lots of complaining if they were walking the whole time. It’s also a good place to store gear. There is no dedicated stroller/wagon parking by the rides, so don’t leave any valuables, of course.

Bring ALL THE SNACKS

I overpacked the snacks for our day… and Big S and Lil S ate ALL of it. Sure, we stopped for treats (the park has so many candy shops, ice cream stands, donuts and beaver tail spots), but I’m fairly sure the kids cheerfully ate their way through all the lines they had to wait through. It totally increased their patience and decreased the complaining. (Plus, it allowed us to sneak in a few “healthier snacks”, such as fruits and cheese.)

Bring an extra change of clothes in the summer

(Probably all parents know this and do this anyway!) The water rides – eg. Timberwolf falls – can make a big splash. You can just let the sun do the drying if it’s scorching hot out, but always better to be prepared.

Attach a carabiner or two to your day pack, for hats!

This is something we found super useful. We normally leave a few carabiners on our backpack to attach the kids’ water bottles and such, for easy access. In the case of Wonderland, it’s a great little trick to hold hats. Wonderland is pretty exposed, so you want to wear hats, but you certainly don’t want them blowing off on a ride. You can take them off before the ride, attach it to your carabiner, and then easily retrieve it afterward. Saves the hassle of unzipping/unpacking the hats a dozen times over the day.

If a line is too long, it’s not worth it

Waiting in line for a particularly popular ride is more for parents than kids, I feel. Your kids won’t remember NOT going on a ride. There are so many things to see and different attractions in Wonderland it’s guaranteed they’ll have a better time doing something else than waiting in line! Always better (in our experience doing anything with the kids) to go at the child’s pace.

**Edit: Canada’s Wonderland also has a Winterfest event, which runs from mid-November to December. This event is fairly new, and they’ve only just brought it back post-COVID era in 2022. We absolutely *loved* Winterfest – be sure to check it out here!

Have questions about Canada’s Wonderland? Drop us a message!