Canadas Wonderland - Assignment Example

 Canada’s Wonderland Canada’s Wonderland is found in Vaughan, Canada. It is a theme park. Vaughan is a suburb area located to the North of Toronto (Williams, 2007, p. 96). The Taft Broadcasting Company opened the theme park in 1981. The Great West Life Assurance Company also played a role in the opening of the park. Immediately after its opening, from 1994 to 2006, the park was a property of the Paramount Parks. As a result, the park was called Paramount Canada’s Wonderland. However, since 206, the park is under the control and ownership of Cedar Fair. In Canada, Canada’s Wonderland is the largest theme park. It is also the major theme park in the country (Williams, 2007, p 102). Canada’s Wonderland consists of beautiful sceneries, for instance the Medieval Faire and the International Street, that are marketed for tourism by the country’s travel agencies hence earning foreign exchange for the nation. With the leadership of Kelly Robinson, the Taft Broadcasting Company suggested the construction of the theme park on a 33 acre of land. The land was located in a small village that was known as Maple. The village was a part of Vaughan, Ontario. Many other locations for the construction of Canada’s Wonderland in Ontario were considered. These areas included Cambridge, Milton and Niagara Falls. Maple, however, became the final selection as the construction site of the theme park (Williams, 2007, p. 127). This is because the village was located near the city of Toronto. It was also located near the 400 highway series. Other individuals like the Conklin family considered the Greater Toronto Area as the best location of Canada’s Wonderland. Other people like Walt Disney suggested that the theme park be constructed in Florida (Braithwaite, 2000, p. 218). Disney rejected Toronto because of the cold climate found in the region. He claimed that this kind of weather would shorten the operation period of the park, thereby, reducing profits. Many organizations opposed the construction of the theme park in Toronto. For instance, Toronto’s multicultural institutions like the Royal Museum of Toronto, Ontario Place and Canadian National Exhibition operators argued that Toronto market was too small to accommodate more competition (Braithwaite, 2000, p. 231). Other groups like the Vaughan residential association fought against the construction of Canada’s Wonderland claiming that the increased traffic that would be brought about by the theme park could reduce the value of properties in the region. Taft Company became concerned of the great number of oppositions that were being raised against the construction of the theme park. The company, therefore, send the regional councilors in the company of some opponents to Cincinnati. In Cincinnati, the group taught about the benefits that would be brought to the local community by the construction of the theme park (Braithwaite, 2000, p. 302). The construction of Canada’s Wonderland contributed to the change in the master development plan that was set for the Ontario province. The provincial government of Ontario wanted to add on the commercial and residential development of the region, especially the eastern part of Toronto (Braithwaite, 2000, p. 352). The development was aimed at Durham Regional Municipality which consists of Oshawa and Pickering. This project focused on keeping the agricultural lands that were located in the northern parts of Toronto as a Greenbelt. The promoters behind the construction of Canada’s Wonderland succeeded in convincing the province to change the region’s planning policy. The theme park, therefore, secured infrastructure improvements. The improvements included sewage systems and a highway overpass which were built out and expanded to the site of construction of the theme park. The development of infrastructure in the province of Ontario allowed for increased development in the region. Several concerns came up concerning the cultural implications behind opening an American theme park in Canada. Some people termed the opening of the theme park as a Trojan Horse of the culture of American people. Consequently, Taft had a plan of opening a Frontier Canada. This was a portion of the park that would contain a Canadian history. A steam passenger train was also included in the construction of the theme park. The idea of its construction was raised by Taft Company. The Frontier Canada was, however, never constructed. Nevertheless, many themes that are original are still found in the area. The designers of Canada’s Wonderland constructed a big mountain on top of the International Street. The mountain is called Wonder Mountain. The mountain has a huge waterfall. Its interior also contains pathways which direct tourists to a look-out point. There are some planned elements which were, however, never constructed. Such elements include a conference centre and a hotel. Initially, they were to be built on the northern part of the theme park. Canada’s Wonderland has a number of themed areas. There are four major sections. They include Medieval Faire, International Street, Happyland of Hanna-Barbera and the Action zone (initially known as the 1890 Grenade World Exposition). The current areas that are offered by the travel agency include Splash Works, the children’s area and the White Water Canyon. The children’s area consists of the Zoom Zone, Planet Snoopy and the Kidzville. The international street is the entry area of the park. It serves the same purpose as the Main Street of the Walt Disney Resorts and Parks in the US. The two sides of the International Street are lined with clothing stores, candy stores and shops (souvenir shops included). The Wonder Mountain is located at the street end. The mountain is the centerpiece of the mountain. The stores at the sides of the International Street used to sell imported goods that were of high quality. The restaurants offered food for the theme park (Lee & Lovekin, 2009, p. 112). The foods included paella, smoked sausage and shrimp. Originally, the Action zone was known as the 1890 Grenade World Exposition. It is a major themed area at the Canada’s Wonderland. It resembles the ancient world’s fair. The action zone has expositions focusing on Asian and African themes. The bathrooms and restaurants found in the area go in line with the exposition themes. The Backlot Cafe, formally referred to as the Ginza Gardens, is one of the restaurants in Action Zone (Lee & Lovekin, 2009, p. 137). It has a Japanese façade as well as a Japanese theme. The Action Zone also consists of a Crystal Palace Arcade. The Medieval Faire is a section of the Canada’s Wonderland with European medieval theme. The theme exists both in rides and in setting (Lee & Lovekin, 2009, 213). Rides like the Speed City Raceway and Drop Tower do not have a medieval theme. Before 1997, Dragon Fire and Wild Beast had old English spellings. The restaurants and stores have a medieval theme. The castle theatre also has a medieval theme. Starting 2006 to 2011, the ice shows were held at the Wonderland Theatre. The theatre also hosted the Cirque Ambiente during the 2012 and 2013 summer. The White Water Canyon is a section of the park that is surrounded by thick trees. The White Water Canyon was introduced in 1984. This is the area in which the Frontier Canada was themed to be constructed. The children’s area of the theme park started as Hanna-Barbera Happyland. The area consists of jumping jets and small rides (Throgmorton, 2009, p. 23). Kidzville was originally known as the Kids Kingdom ride. Currently, Planet Snoopy and KidZville are the remaining children’s area. Splash Works was opened in 1992. This is a water park that covers a 20 acre of land. The water park harbors the White Bay. This is Canada’s most extensive outdoor wave pool. It consists of 16 water slides. The White Bay is opened only during the summer months. References Braithwaite, M. (2000). Canada: wonderland of surprises. New York, NY: Dodd, Mead. Lee, P., & Lovekin, H. (2009). The rough guide to Toronto. London, US: Rough Guides. Throgmorton, T. H. (2009). Roller coasters: United States and Canada. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co. Williams, D. (2007). Shania Twain: On my way. Toronto, OT.: ECW Press. Read More