Speeding toward a summer of thrills at Canada's Wonderland, Disney Parks and the CN Tower

   One-Tank Trip for May 4/13

   (c) By Jim Fox

   It will be a summer of thrills as Canada’s Wonderland roars back to life this weekend while U.S. Disney parks will kick off the season by rocking around the clock.

   Or, hang out at the top of the CN Tower in Toronto.

 Behemoth is among the 16 roller coasters at Canada’s Wonderland.

   Coasters, thrills and dinos

   With the country’s largest collection of thrill machines, Canada’s Wonderland opens on Sunday (May 5) for the season.

   The park north of Toronto unleashed Leviathan, called Canada’s biggest and tallest roller coaster, and Dinosaurs Alive, an animatronic park, last year.

   As its 16th roller coaster, riders on Leviathan race to “breathtaking heights and speeds never experienced before” at Wonderland, said publicist Dineen Beaven.

   It climbs to a record-breaking height of 93.3 metres (306 feet) followed by an exhilarating 80-degree drop and then reaches a top speed of 148 kilometers an hour over 1,672 metres (5,486 feet) of track and giant camelback hills.

   Hang on to your hats for an “astonishing overbanked hammerhead turn” at 115 degrees crossing above the front gate at 44.8-metres (146-feet) high.

   Other coasters include the wooden Mighty Canadian Minebuster and the inverted Flight Deck.

   For thrill rides, try spinning 360 degrees on Riptide, soaring 91.7-metres (301-feet) above the park on Windseeker and catching some 36-metre (120-foot) hang time on Psyclone.

   There’s a new 11-minute underwater 3D adventure, Monsters of the Deep, to encounter the prehistoric sea creatures that ruled during the dinosaur era.

Dinosaurs Alive! with about 40 life-sized animatronic creatures returns to Canada’s Wonderland.

   Returning is the interactive Dinosaurs Alive! with some 40 life-sized animatronic creatures set in an outdoor Jurassic-themed environment.

   Also for children are Planet Snoopy and KidZville rides and attractions while Splash Works waterpark is open from June through Labour Day.

   Look up in the sky on Victoria Day, Canada Day and Labour Day weekend for a huge fireworks’ display choreographed to music.

   Canada’s Wonderland is at 9580 Jane. St. in Vaughan (off Highway 400).   For details about attractions, hours, admission prices and more: canadaswonderland.com; (905) 832-8131

   Pulling an all-nighter

   There will be 24 hours of non-stop fun at the Disney resorts in Florida and California to kick off a “monstrous summer.”

Spaceship Earth in Epcot transforms into Monsters University star Mike Wazowski to announce all-night parties for Disney Parks.  (Disney photo by David Roark)

   It happens at the start of the U.S. Memorial Day holiday weekend on this traditional start of the family travel season.

   This involves the Magic Kingdom Park in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. and Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim, Calif. that will be open from 6 a.m. on May 24 to 6 a.m. on May 25.

   It will mark the “beginning of a summer of fun inspired by the upcoming Disney Pixar comedy adventure Monsters University,” said Joyce Richards of the Walt Disney Co. (Canada) Ltd., Parks & Resorts.

   In Florida, the Magic Kingdom will feature a Monsters University theme, characters in their pajamas in Town Square and late-night dance parties around Cinderella Castle.

A new fireworks’ spectacular called "Wishes" bursts above and around Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World Resort. (Disney photo by Kent Phillips)

   California guests can party the night away with special entertainment including a Monsters University dance club, Star Wars characters in Tomorrowland, a parade and a late-night character pajama party. Details: disneyparks.com/MonstrousSummer

   Hanging around

   EdgeWalk is known as Toronto’s “most extreme attraction” to live life on the edge.

Living life on the edge at EdgeWalk at Toronto’s CN Tower. (CN Tower photo)

   Thrill-seekers can again walk on the edge of the CN Tower, one of the world’s tallest structures at 356-metres (1,168 feet) tall or 116 storeys above the ground.

   This “full-circle, hands-free walk” is on a 1.5-metre wide (5-foot) ledge encircling the top of the tower’s main pod, said Irene Knight, manager of public relations.

   Adventurers walk in groups of six while attached to an overhead safety rail via a trolley and harness system.

   “Guides encourage participants to push their personal limits, allowing them to lean back over Toronto with nothing but air and breathtaking views of Lake Ontario beneath them,” Knight said.

   Walkers ranging in age from 13 to 90 have experienced EdgeWalk and there have been marriage proposals, birthday and anniversary celebrations, corporate team building and client appreciation walks.

   The event lasts 1.5 hours including preparation, with the outdoor walk itself taking about 30 minutes.

   Tickets are $175 and include a keepsake video, photos and certificate of achievement.

   It has received the Guinness World Record for the “highest external walk on a building.” edgewalkcntower.ca; 1-855-553-3833

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Jim Fox can be reached at onetanktrips@hotmail.com

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