Vaughan families hopeful Canada's Wonderland opens soon

No date yet, but Wonderland releases reopening guidelines

Yorkregion.com
July 31, 2020
Simone Joseph

Tali Schwartz’s Facebook account continually regales her with family photos from Canada’s Wonderland in years past.

“Did I ever do anything other than Wonderland?” she jokes.

Each summer, Schwartz has made it a point of taking her two children to Wonderland -- last year, she estimates her family made at least 40 visits in a season.

Her children love the food there, which she describes as “super oily and delicious.”

Schwartz lives in Thornhill Woods and misses the thrill and convenience of going to the park on a whim. Getting to Wonderland usually meant a mere 15-minute car ride. This summer, because of COVID restrictions and closures, she’s been looking further afield for fun.

Recently, she drove an hour and 15 minutes for a day at an Orillia beach.

Schwartz and her family have had Wonderland season’s passes for about 12 years since her children were around one year old.

Another Vaughan resident, Rebecca Younger, has a son who is excited to attend the park. He won a season pass in a youth program raffle at Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto (BAYT), a Thornhill Orthodox synagogue.

The eldest of four boys, he is 11 and has never been on a roller-coaster before or been to Wonderland. The closest he has come to the experience was going to Disney World when he was five.

His best friend gets a season pass annually and he was hoping to join his friend for a visit. He would have preferred to experience the park this summer, but knows that if that doesn’t happen, he can always use the pass for summer 2021.

His enthusiasm is obvious.

“This would be my first time going on a roller-coaster, a humongous water park and crazy slides,” he said.

Another Vaughan resident, Brooke Sanchez, was excited for daughter Capri, who is ten months old, to experience the park. She moved in across the street from Wonderland on April 1. At the time, Sanchez was just grateful she found a place to live during the pandemic. She’s tried bringing her daughter to other fun places like splash pads or walking at Vaughan Mills.

“It gets redundant -- some of the splash pads,” she said. “Wonderland can be a lot more stimulating because it is ‘larger than life’.”

On a positive note, she suspects her Wonderland-adjacent neighbourhood is much quieter than it normally is over the summer -- no fireworks or concerts and parking is not heavy on her street.

But she was hoping to spend almost the whole summer at Wonderland and was excited to show her daughter the characters and rides.

“We can make a day of Wonderland. We were going to get a season’s pass and the family would walk there every day.”

She thinks the park’s guidelines for when and if it reopens are “great” but believes you can’t really evaluate them until you have lived them. For example, what will it be like to wear a mask all day outside in the heat? (One of the park’s guidelines).

This restriction wouldn’t turn Sanchez off from going.

“We are hanging on, hoping it will open for August for a couple of weeks.”

Of course, many more pressing, serious COVID-related issues exist.

But for families who rely on Wonderland as a major source of entertainment, its closure is a big deal.

While no reopening date has been announced, Wonderland has released guidelines for what to expect if it reopens.

Wonderland will require:

• You to schedule your visit to the park online in advance
• At least one person in your group needs to have the park’s mobile app on their phone
• Face coverings need to be worn by guests two years and older.
• Health screenings and temperature checks for all guests and associates.

 

For the full guidelines, visit www.canadaswonderland.com.