Discover 15 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Vaughan (Canada). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: WindSeeker, Leviathan Roller Coaster, and Ghoster Coaster. Also, be sure to include Dragon Fyre in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Vaughan (Ontario).
Table of Contents
WindSeeker
WindSeeker is a 301-foot-tall swing ride at several Cedar Fair parks. The rides are Wind Seeker models manufactured by Mondial. They opened for the 2011 season at Canada's Wonderland in Ontario, Cedar Point and Kings Island in Ohio, and Knott's Berry Farm in California. Carowinds in North Carolina and Kings Dominion in Virginia opened their WindSeekers in 2012. The first four each cost US$5 million, and the next two each cost $6.5 million. Cedar Fair relocated the Knott's Berry Farm WindSeeker to Worlds of Fun in 2014, where it is known as SteelHawk.
The three-minute ride features 32 suspended twin seats (64 seats altogether) spinning around a central tower. A lighting package was installed on all four WindSeekers, consisting of strips of LED lights mounted on the arms that support the swings and (except at Knott's Berry Farm) colored floodlights to illuminate towers from above.
Canada's Wonderland was the first of the four parks to open its WindSeeker in 2011. On May 24, 2011, the ride was only open for a brief time before problems caused it to be closed for repairs; it reopened the week of June 10. The second WindSeeker was opened to the public at Cedar Point on June 14, 2011, the third on June 21, 2011, at Kings Island, the fourth in mid-August 2011 at Knott's Berry Farm, the fifth WindSeeker to open was Carowinds' model which soft-opened on March 30, 2012 and officially opened to the public on March 31, 2012 and the latest one to open was the sixth WindSeeker at Kings Dominion which officially opened to the public on April 6, 2012.
On September 21, 2012, Cedar Fair announced the temporary closure of all WindSeekers in response to two incidents at Knott's Berry Farm. All the installations, excluding Knott's Berry Farm, later reopened. The Knott's Berry Farm installation remained closed for 11 months until it was announced it would be relocated to Worlds of Fun.[1]
Address: Canada's Wonderland, Vaughan
Leviathan Roller Coaster
Roller coaster in Vaughan, Ontario. Leviathan is a steel roller coaster at Canada's Wonderland in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. Located in the Medieval Faire section of the park, the Hyper Coaster model from Swiss firm Bolliger & Mabillard is the first roller coaster manufactured by the company to exceed a height of 91.5 metres, putting it in a class of roller coasters commonly referred to as giga. At 1,672 metres long, 93.3 metres tall, and with a top speed of 148 kilometres per hour, Leviathan is the tallest and fastest roller coaster in Canada, taking the records previously held by Behemoth on the opposite side of the park. As of July 2020, Leviathan is ranked as the eighth-tallest roller coaster in the world and the fourth-tallest traditional lift-style coaster in the world.
Leviathan was the 16th roller coaster to be built at Canada's Wonderland. The ride was announced in August 2011, its track was completed in February 2012, and the first test run was completed on 15 March 2012. The coaster opened to season pass holders on 27 April 2012, and to the general public on 6 May 2012.[2]
Address: 9580 Jane St, L6A 1S6 Vaughan
Ghoster Coaster
Coaster. Ghoster Coaster, is a junior wooden coaster located at Canada's Wonderland whose name was shortened to just "Ghoster Coaster" for the 2010 season, as part of the transition to Planet Snoopy.
Ghoster Coaster opened, along with the entire park, on May 23, 1981, as one of the four original roller coasters to open with the park. The other three were Dragon Fyre, the Wilde Beast, and the Mighty Canadian Minebuster. All three wooden coasters were designed by Curtis D. Summers and built in-house by the Taft Broadcasting Company. Some sources claim Philadelphia Toboggan Company (PTC) built these coasters, but PTC stopped building coasters in 1979.
Ghoster Coaster was awarded ACE Coaster Classic status, but that status has since been rescinded as a result of recent changes to the coaster.[3]
Address: 9580 Jane St, L6A 1S6 Vaughan
Dragon Fyre
Roller coaster in Vaughan, Ontario. Dragon Fyre is a steel roller coaster located at Canada's Wonderland in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. It was manufactured in 1980 but opened when the park made its debut in 1981. It operated under the name Dragon Fyre from 1981 to 1997, when it was respelled to Dragon Fire. The name was quietly reverted to the original name in 2019. It was one of the four original coasters at Canada's Wonderland.
The ride is built at the east end of the park in the Medieval Faire section. It is located adjacent to the parking lot, so it is one of the first coasters that is seen. The coaster has a green and yellow track with purple support poles. Since the removal of Drachen Fire from Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Dragon Fyre is also the only Arrow Dynamics coaster in existence to have counterclockwise-turning corkscrews.
Dragon Fyre was designed to operate with three trains, which is made evident by the fact that the ride has a set of safety brakes following the corkscrews and before the helix. However, due to the ride's short duration, it would be very difficult for the ride staff to load a train in the station without having one train stop in the middle of the ride. Because of this, Dragon Fyre never used its third train. In 1987, the third train was modified for use on The Bat.[4]
Address: 9580 Jane St, L6A 1S6 Vaughan
Psyclone
Amusement ride. Psyclone is a 23 metres ride at Canada's Wonderland. On May 5, 2002, this Mondial ride was opened to the public at the park. The 1 minute and 54 second ride features 40 seats facing outwards which rotate from a central pendulum as the ride reaches its maximum arc angle of 120 degrees. Even though the ride height is 23 metres, when the ride reaches the top of its swing, the height becomes 37 metres high.[5]
Riptide
Amusement ride. Riptide is a thrill ride at Canada's Wonderland manufactured by Mondial. The ride is similar to the park's Shockwave ride in terms of how the riders are spun. At the base of the ride there are a number of fountains that shoot up towards the riders as they are spinning and soak them. When the weather is cool, the fountains shoot up but go back down before the water hit the riders. Over the past couple of years, the ride cycle has been cut down and riders don't get as wet as they did in the past. Unlike the 'Topspins' made by Huss which feature one gondola, Riptide features two gondolas.[6]
Address: 9580 Jane St, L6A 1S6 Vaughan
Thunder Run
Roller coaster. Thunder Run is a powered roller coaster, themed after a runaway mine train, founded at Canada's Wonderland, in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. Rather than having a traditional chain lift hill, the train has an electric motor on board. The train flies directly into the Wonder Mountain, the artificial mountain that is a trademark of the park. The coaster opened on May 23, 1981, and operated until 1985 as Blauer Enzian, but in 1986 it was relocated, extended, and incorporated into the Wonder Mountain.
The ride occupies the interior of the Wonder Mountain, which was initially supposed to hold a "Bavarian Market". Instead, mechanical equipment was placed inside, which was later relocated to the "roof" of the mountain to make room for the ride. The relocation of mechanical equipment also resulted in the Wonder Mountain walkway to be closed. Riders on Vortex can still see remnants of the look-out terrace before they reach the first drop.[7]
Address: 9580 Jane St, L6A 1S6 Vaughan
The Rage
Amusement ride. Viking's Rage is a swinging ship ride at Canada's Wonderland. Viking's Rage was the first of three swinging pendulum rides that operated at the park. Today, there are only two pendulum rides at the park after Jet Scream was removed to make room for WindSeeker. The ride is also very similar to Jet Scream with the only difference of The Rage not going upside down. The ride opened in 1981 s Viking's Rage, but was renamed The Rage in 1997. This name change lasted up until 2019, in which the park reverted it back to Viking's Rage.[8]
Orbiter
Amusement park ride in Vaughan, Ontario. Orbiter was a HUSS SkyLab at Canada's Wonderland in Ontario, Canada. The ride opened in 1981 for the park's first operating season. The ride closed in 2006 and was partially dismantled but was re-built and re-opened later that season following the sale of Paramount's amusement park chain to Cedar Fair. The ride last operated during the 2018 season and has been completely dismantled and removed as of February 2019.[9]
Address: 9580 Jane St, L6A 1S6 Vaughan
Wilde Beast
Roller coaster in Vaughan, Ontario. Wilde Beast is a wooden roller coaster located at Canada's Wonderland, in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. It was originally named "Wilde Beast", from 1981 to 1996, when it was renamed to "Wild Beast" in 1997. The ride was reverted to its original name in 2019. It is one of the five roller coasters that debuted with the park in 1981, and is one of two wooden coasters at Canada's Wonderland modeled after a ride at Coney Island amusement park in Cincinnati, Ohio; the other is the Mighty Canadian Minebuster. The ride's fan curve was rebuilt in 1998.[10]
Address: 9580 Jane St., L6A 1S6 Vaughan
White Water Canyon
Amusement ride. White Water Canyon is a river rapids ride in the Cedar Fair parks of Canada's Wonderland, Kings Dominion, and Kings Island. The attraction features six seat raft-styled boats. It is the one of the three rides at Canada's Wonderland manufactured by Intamin.[11]
Drop Tower
Amusement ride. Drop Tower, formerly known as Drop Zone: Stunt Tower, is the name of five drop tower amusement rides located at Cedar Fair amusement parks in the United States and Canada. Each installation varies in size and capacity.[12]
Address: 9850 Jane St, L6A 1S6 Vaughan
Shockwave
Amusement park ride in Vaughan, Ontario. Shockwave is a Top Scan ride at Canada's Wonderland. The Mondial ride opened to the public in May 2001 and continues to operate today. The ride spins around on an angle while guests are spun around on almost every possible angle the ride operates on. Also, during the first season of operation, Shockwave earned many different nicknames such as 'Protein Spill 2001'.[13]
Address: 9850 Jane St, L6A 1S6 Vaughan
Reptilia
Zoo in Vaughan, Ontario. Reptilia is Canada's largest indoor reptile zoo, with 25,000 square feet of indoor exhibits featuring over 250 reptiles, amphibians and arachnids. It is accredited by CAZA.
Currently there are two Ontario locations, one in Vaughan and one in Whitby.[14]
Address: 2501 Rutherford Rd, L4K 2N6 Concord
Baitul Islam Mosque
Mosque in Vaughan, Ontario. The Baitul Ahmaddiya is a mosque in Vaughan north of Toronto run by the Ahmadiyya k Jama'at in Canada. It was inaugurated on October, 17th 1992 in the presence of the Khalifatul Masih IV and many Members of Parliament.[15]