Canada's Wonderland roller coaster known for rough ride is getting a big change

Just days remain before Canada's Wonderland opens for the year, but there are many big changes parkgoers should be aware of if attending the coaster haven during the early days 2025 season.

Most are probably well aware of the impending opening of the park's new flagship record-breaking launch coaster, AlpenFury, set to open at a yet-to-be-announced date, but there are a few other rides that will be absent from the park's roster on opening day.

Along with the yet-to-open AlpenFury and the recently-demolished Time Warp roller coaster, Canada's Wonderland will be without one of its original attractions for the initial weeks of the 2025 season.

The Mighty Canadian Minebuster — one of the park's 1981 opening day attractions — will not be open to riders when the park opens for the season on May 8.

The 44-year-old coaster holds the record of the longest single-track wooden coaster in Canada at over one kilometre in length, but it is also known for a particularly rough rider experience — one that has only worsened with age.

The coaster has even taken on the nickname "Mighty Canadian Spinebuster" over the years for its notoriously jerky ride.

A major overhaul began over the off-season to replace the majority of the Minebuster's track, and is expected to carry into the early weeks of operation for 2025.

Wonderland representative Grace Peacock tells blogTO that "As part of our ongoing rides maintenance program, we replaced 960 feet (276 metres) of track on our wooden roller coaster Mighty Canadian Minebuster and installed a vertical engineered track system."

"This innovative approach from The Gravity Group uses vertically stacked lumber instead of horizontal plywood under the layers of steel, promising a stronger track system, a smoother ride and better experience for our guests overall."

Peacock tells us that guests may have to wait a bit longer to ride the refurbished attraction, saying, "We're still working on Minebuster and are targeting late spring for its reopening."

Canada's Wonderland opens for the season on Thursday, May 8, 2025.