page_title: Canada's Wonderland
section_title: Construction and opening
hierarchical_section_title: Canada's Wonderland / Park history / Construction and opening
caption_attribution_description: The Alpine Building at Canada's Wonderland, in May 1981.
context_page_description: Canada's Wonderland is a 134-hectare theme park located in Vaughan, Ontario, a suburb approximately 25 kilometres north of Downtown Toronto. Opened in 1981 by the Taft Broadcasting Company and The Great-West Life Assurance Company as the first major theme park in Canada, it remains the country's largest. The park, currently owned by Cedar Fair, has been the most visited seasonal amusement park in North America for several consecutive years. As a seasonal park, Canada's Wonderland is open daily from May to Labour Day, with weekend openings in late April and after Labour Day until end of October or early November due to the transition between Halloween Haunt. Halloween Haunt is open until October 31 at midnight. With seventeen roller coasters, Canada's Wonderland is ranked second in the world by number of roller coasters, after Six Flags Magic Mountain, and tied with Cedar Point. The 134-hectare park includes an 8-hectare water park named Splash Works. The park holds Halloween Haunt, a Halloween-themed event, each fall, as well as special events throughout the season, including various food festivals, as well as "Celebration Canada", a month-long Canada Day festival, among others.
context_section_description: On 13 June 1979, Ontario Premier Bill Davis depressed the plunger on an electronic detonating device at St. Lawrence Hall in downtown Toronto, triggering an explosion on the site. Construction began immediately and continued on to early 1981. Canadian companies were partners on the preliminary design and engineering of the project. Construction of the mountain alone involved a dozen local companies under Cincinnati engineer Curtis D. Summers.
  Two years later on 23 May 1981, Davis and Taft Broadcasting President Dudley Taft officially opened Canada's Wonderland to the public. The spectacular opening ceremony included 10,000 helium balloons, 13 parachutists, 350 white doves, and a pipe band. Four children, representing the Arctic, Pacific, Atlantic, and Great Lakes regions of Canada, each poured a vial of water from their home regions into the park's fountain. Hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky also appeared as a special guest, helping to raise the Canadian flag. 12,000 guests were welcomed into the park for the first time. The park cost $120 million ($323 million in 2018 dollars) to build.
caption: Canada's Wonderland was opened to the public in May 1981.
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