Huge lines and tech issues plague debut of new coaster at Canada's Wonderland
Thrillseekers flocked to Canada's Wonderland on Saturday for the debut of the park's new record-breaking launch coaster, AlpenFury — but the first day for the hotly anticipated ride didn't come without a little bit of chaos.
Wonderland's new flagship attraction is proving a massive draw for park attendance on its first day, debuting to overwhelming demand on Saturday, July 12.
But, in a familiar turn of events for a hot ticket event in the Greater Toronto Area, the hyped-up attraction has already devolved into a day-one crowd scene.
@canadaswonderland 🎥 It’s here. The AlpenFury POV you’ve been waiting for. 🤯 And today, it’s not just a video...AlpenFury officially open! Experience the rush as you launch straight through Wonder Mountain, hit 115 km/h, and tear through nine mind-bending inversions. Are you brave enough to face nature’s wrath? *Filmed with park-approved mounted devices. #AlpenFury #CanadasWonderland #RollerCoaster #LaunchCoaster #Toronto #Thingstodo #Nowopen ♬ original sound - 🎢Canadas Wonderland
Crowds queued ahead of the park's 10 a.m. opening on Saturday in hopes of being among the first to ride the record-breaking launch coaster.
However, upon opening, the sheer masses of hopeful riders racing to AlpenFury's queue entrance quickly turned into a continuous line stretching across the entire park.
@blogto Would you wait in this line? 👀 #toronto #ontario #canadaswonderland #alpenfury #vaughan #rollercoaster #fyp ♬ Assumptions - Sam Gellaitry
Photos of the queue shared with blogTO at 11 a.m. — a mere hour after the park's opening — show the magnitude of the crowd scene.
The reader, who wishes to remain anonymous, described the line for AlpenFury simply as "f***ed," adding that the queue stretched all the way to the park's front gate at the time.
Including time spent at the gate, the rider blogTO spoke with said he spent three hours in line. However, this estimate included time spent waiting at the park entrance, and may even be shorter than most waits on Saturday, thanks to the visitor's use of the attraction's single-rider line.
One social media user even cautioned visitors to not bother seeking out the ride entrance, and instead suggested hopeful AlpenFury riders join the queue directly next to the park's main fountain.
Making matters worse, the already lengthy queue — with no available shade and temperatures feeling as high as 40C with humidex — was forced to wait it out during an apparent ride stoppage on Saturday morning that briefly stalled the flow of riders.
Wonderland spokesperson Grace Peacock tells blogTO that, on Saturday morning, "the ride experienced a minor delay that temporarily paused its operation."
"Our operations and maintenance team conducted a thorough review and AlpenFury resumed its operation shortly thereafter."
Despite these hiccups, the rider we spoke to had a positive experience with AlpenFury and described the ride as "so intense," rating it a 9.5 out of 10 and declaring it is the "best [ride] in the park for sure."
Peacock says other guests have echoed this sentiment, explaining that "I had the chance to speak with a number of guests about their first ride and reactions to AlpenFury are highly positive."
"It's an exciting day, we're thrilled the coaster is finally open!"
Supplied
