Right off the bat I would like to say having 1 park with thrill rides and attractions for all of southern ontario sucks big time and I know for sure it ain't my fault. If you live in the GTA, drive 1 hour south to Buffalo and enjoy the Six Flags on Lake Erie. Why on earth would you subject yourself and your family to 1-2 hour wait in line in the heat of the summer for 1-2 min of ride time? If you have little ones, I truly pity you for exposing them to sun strokes and dehydration and you should be ashamed of yourself. My two experiences at Darien Lake next to Buffalo have been amazing..cheap parking, cheap food, and no lines for most of their rides. Only their most popular one had a 10 min wait time. On a saturday in the summer. Case closed.

You can argue which one is cooler all you want, but both basically offer the same thrills for adults, rides for little ones, and everything in between. Their version of Top Gun inverted coaster had no lines at 3pm on saturday, vs 2 hour waits at Wonderland.

Anyway, back to Wonderland, because I'm sure you will still go there with your family or loved ones, because, hey it's Canada and it's our park and I'm just that lazy and skeptical of trying new things. So here some advice. Bring sunscreen as it's much cheaper than overpaying by buying it there (you will need it), skip the water bottles (drinking fountains next to every washroom) and ladies grab a bikini under your things if you want to go on the water rides. And believe me, nothing is more welcomed that a splash on a water ride in 35C weather.

Also arrive early at 9:45 preferably. By 10:30 it's already jammed (park opens at 10am). Expect the traffic jam to last until past 6pm. Go on the most popular rides first if you wish, before the lines fill up. Luckly the new ones were designed with queues in mind, so Behemoth for example is moving faster than the rest (and has 3 cars running at once).

The most important money tip is the admission price. As play all day ticket prices have gone up every year, whereas in Buffalo and the states are actually going down, (if people are lazy enough to keep coming back and wait in queues, why not rob their ass while at it), this year I believe is close to $60. Lol. Anywho, at the gate ask for a grounds access ticket. This is unadvertised, and you won't see it on the pricing list board. That means you can access the park, just not go on any rides (in theory). It's almost half price and you can still have all access pass by reading this. People with all access get a stamp on their hand, people with grounds only pass get a stamp on their ticket. Those with a stamp on their hand are checked by the ride operators. After entry, stick your freshly stamped ticket on the back of your hand and voila...you just paid half price and are stamped like the rest of the full paying customers. This is like pulling a gun on the robber who just emptied your pockets (or tried to) and saying, "ok, now you give me all you have".

Seriously, still go to the Buffalo one though.

Cost: $40.00 - $100.00