Winterfest at Canada's Wonderland: Tips and Nostalgia

If you know me, you probably know that I've literally been waiting for Canada's Wonderland to host a Winter/Christmas event since the 80's. Canada's Wonderland for me is special. Growing up as child I always had an annual pass. My parents regularly took my brother and I to the park during the Spring, Summer and Fall and that is where several of our weekly family memories were made. I remember the excitement we had when Splash Works first open and the excitement when Halloween Haunt first open, and pretty much the excitement every time there was a new ride or attraction at the park. I vividly remember our car rides home when leaving the park, the four of us would sit and chat about how nice it would be if Canada's Wonderland was open during the Winter... fast forward over 25 years later and now I am not the child in the back seat, I'm the mama in the front seat taking my two little ones to experience an event that I've literally been waiting for my whole life.

We visited Winterfest at Canada's Wonderland last weekend and to be totally honest my expectations were high. Watching television commericals and online promos for Winterfest, I really was hoping that it was going to be exactly what it was made out to be.

To be completely honest, it totally surpassed my expectations. From the moment we walked up to the entrance gates, to the second we passed through the ticket attendant, it was absolute magic. I felt a sense of happiness and nostalgia with my first look inside the park. My first look was at the beautifully lit Swan Lake directly in front of the entrance gates. Watching skaters skate and hearing my favourite Christmas carols playing within the park when I first walked in was incredible. The park was completely transformed into a gorgeous Winter Wonderland and it was just perfect.

Continuing through the park and strolling along Candy Cane Lane with an array of sparkling lights while hearing the Christmas carollers sing and sipping on hot chocolate gave me all the Christmas feels. The kids absolutely loved every second of it and never once complained about the cold weather. They loved the fact that Planet Snoopy was open and we could go on all their favourite rides in the Winter. Seeing the joy in their eyes when they spotted the sparkling lights and fun props throughout the park was just amazing. My husband was on stroller duty and pushed our double stroller around the event to keep the kids nice and warm and to avoid any little legs from getting tired. We brought my parents and sister in-law with us and they also absolutely loved their first time experience at Winterfest and my father kept repeating "remember I used to tell you guys that Wonderland should be open during the Winter?". (Told ya!) We even had an outdoor pizza party for dinner, and believe it or not the fun and magic of Winterfest made us totally not pay any attention to the fact that the weather was cold and we enjoyed the pizza the same way we do in the Summer.

I really hope you are able to attend Winterfest and experience this all for yourself, but I also hope to help make your visit easy, so I've hooked you up with 5 tips to help make your visit smooth, fun and as enjoyable as possible:

1. Go early. The hours of operation are can be found here. Try to get the park right at opening time to avoid as much of the line ups as possible. It's a very popular event, so be mindful if you do experience line-ups.

2. Dress warm. Even if you think you won't be cold, you will be. Bundle up and put the kids in snow suits, even if it's not snowy. Wear winter boots and gloves and keep those toes and fingers nice and toasty.

3. Buy a Gold Pass. If you plan on visiting the park more than once in 2020, it's more affordable and cost effective for you to purchase a Gold pass which allows you to receive unlimited visits in 2019 and 2020, including Halloween Haunt and WinterFest. This means you can use your 2020 Gold pass to enter the park and attend Winterfest this year.

4. Skating. If you plan on skating, bring your own skates and book your session as soon as you enter the park. It gets very busy, so you may want to pre-book your session online prior to attending the event, however this requires a fee whereas inside the park during the day of your visit does not require a booking fee.

5. Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony. Be sure to be at the front of the park at 5:30pm for the Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony. It's a super fun joyful song-and-dance spectacular and you'll be able to witness two huge 50 ft. tall trees get LIT!

I know our Canadian Winters are cold, but Winterfest is a MUST- DO for every age. It's an absolute perfect Christmas experience and truly is an event like no other.... trust me, you are gonna love it and it's totally gonna be your new Holiday family tradition.

For more information on Winterfest at Canada's Wonderland click here.

XOXO

Mia