An hour north of Toronto lies what some say is Canada’s answer to Disney World. The sprawling park features more than 200 attractions, including 70 rides, a water park, two play areas for tots (KidZville and Planet Snoopy), and live shows. Because the park relies on a local audience for most of its business, there are new attractions each year. Some of the most popular have been the Leviathan, Canada’s biggest, fastest, and tallest roller coaster; the Fly, a roller coaster designed to make every seat feel as though it’s in the front car (the faint of heart can’t hide at the back on this one!); Sledge Hammer, a “menacing mechanical giant” that stands 24m (80 ft.) tall and hurls riders through accelerated jumps and free-falls; Riptide, a giant swing that executes 360-degree turns and makes riders feel immune to gravity (on hot days, water shoots up from the ground, soaking riders midair); and the Xtreme Skyflyer, a hang-gliding and skydiving hybrid that plunges riders 46m (153 ft.) in a freefall. The roller coasters range from the looping, inverted Flight Deck to the suspended Vortex.

The Splash Works water park offers a huge wave pool and water rides spread over 8.1 hectares (20 acres), from speed slides and tube rides to special scaled-down slides and a kids’ play area.