The Abandoned History of Ontario Place - A Troubled Futuristic Permanent World's Fair Theme Park
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- Опубликовано: 19 май 2024
- Join us on an Expedition Extinct as we look at Toronto's abandoned Theme Park & Water Park - Ontario Place. Designed as a showcase for Ontario and inspired by the 1967 Expo, an inspiration for EPCOT located just off the shore of downtown Toronto this unique place has many similarities to what would become EPCOT Centre. Sadly after a change of direction, this park was abandoned and still is.
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Special thank to www.retrontario.com & The Archives of Ontario
futureofontarioplace.org
ontarioplaceforall.com/
#abandoned #extinct #themepark
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Credits -
VEGA toronto - • TORONTO | ONTARIO PLAC...
NFB - • Impressions of Expo 67
NFB - • The Canadian Pavilion,...
ch.60 - • Expo 1967 [60FPS HD] P...
Pchermayeff - • Design for a Fair: The...
King Rose Archives - • The Montreal Worlds Fa...
archivesRC - • La Ronde, le parc d'a...
Sean Scally - • Canadian National Exhi...
CNEArchives - • CNE 1969 - Buildings
ArchivesOfOntario - • Promotional video for ...
Jeanie Lerman - • Ontario Place 1985 #1
OntarioPlaceTV - • Lucy Zilio - Wildernes...
Filmshows - • Super 8mm Ontario 1986
Retrontario - / retrontario
James Biakowski - • Canada's Wonderland Su...
phre3d - • Wilderness Adventure Ride
N49 - • Atlantis Pavilions at ...
proberry1 - • Onatrio place topsy tu...
Mahmoud Diab - • Ontario Place/ Trilliu...
Look Up - • Exploring an Abandoned...
Essence Media - • Ontario Place & Molson...
The Future Of Ontario Place Project - • Video 
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How about expedition six flags la Ronde?
@@wendyokoopa7048 I will in the future!
👌
I've been here as a kid back in the early 2000's, make the next video on Canada's Wonderland or Niagara falls attractions
Autoworld in Flint Michigan, someday, please! It was my favorite park as a kid....I was a weird child. or Canadian/Detroit Boblo Island! OR the Lost World of Sid and Marty Kroft park!
Yo that Ontario Place commercial jingle was a banger tho.
been on repeat for weeks for me!
Pretty sure it was written by a member of OPSEU, working in a government music factory funded by the Ontario ministry of cheesy jingles and funny walks. Lol.
Probably because it's just "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," which is already a banger, but re-worded.
Billboaed Top 50 for 678 weeks
Though* There's a "ugh" in the word.
28 year old from Oakville, Ontario, here
i cried
i cried a whole lot
thank you for giving this place the respect it deserves
Thank you for watching.
😢😭😭😢
I miss Ontario Place 😭😭😢
@@ExpeditionThemePark your content is excellent man
But yeah you really captured what a nostalgic place it was for us millennials and older, while being fair and objective that it ultimately had many many issues that lead to its eventual demise
Love the fact that you brought up how it was much cheaper too. Canada's wonderland has always been pricey and our family couldn't always afford it
@@RequiemDream We get your point dude. It's ok, all of us Ontarians that grew up in that era miss it as well
I have so many good memories of going here as a kid. My family didn't have the money for a trip to a big theme park, so having one so close by was a godsend. Sad to see what happened to it. :(
Yeah a real shame
Same! I was also poor but my dad took my sister and I here every year. Do you remember the mega maze? I’d give my left foot to be able to go through that maze just one last time
@@paigemcmaster5040 I really miss Ontario Place 😢😭😭
@@paigemcmaster5040 Ontario Place 😔😢🌹
Ummm . . . shouldn't you poor people quit wasting your time on the internet and get back to work? I mean, it's like you don't mind being poor and unwashed.
I was born in 77 and spent every summer at Ontario Place. Later, I went mostly for concerts. I think the last year I went as a child was 1994 before I saw Pink Floyd at the Exhibition. One of the best days of my life, spent with my father. I miss it. Thank you for making this. xo
I was there at a pink floyd concert in 87 I think. Learning to fly album. Incredible.
I grew up going to Ontario Place in the early 2000s, and desperately miss it. Sure it wasn't as big or crazy as Canada's Wonderland, but I feel it doesn't have to be. It would be nice to have that space back downtown, that's easier to get to for families and locals, rather than driving all the way up to Vaughan.
I agree, it is such a pain to get to CW
Another Torontonian here with tears to say thank you. Unfortunately there have been new developments to this land, as of this year the Ontario government decided to turn it into a bougie spa for rich tourists instead an accessible park for the communities who live here. Its a heartbreaking loss but it makes your coverage of this all the more meaningful, thank you.
Yep . I'm a northern girl who moved east to Ottawa ! Lol that's awesome to see many from Ontario here join together!
its true. :( even as a rundown place that was growing in nature, Ontario place was inviting to many
Toronto isn't a place for ordinary people anymore.
Not from Toronto, but we visited the science centre frequently enough as a kid, but only went to Ontario Place once. When I went to a concert at the Molson Amphitheater as an adult, there was nothing there that I remembered, and it was so depressing.
That sucks, I went there as a kid
I went to Ontario Place as kid in the mid 70s with my parents and really enjoyed Chlidrens Village and everything else it offered. Later in my teens and early 20s I used to bring girls I dated there and enjoyed the walks along the lake at Ontario Place and the bars/restaurants they had in a whole different view. Such great memories as I am now in my mid 50s. I was lucky enough to bring my son there when he was a baby to a whole of new set of memories. Sadly the place closed and its a shame the kids growing up today will never experience the joy I had there. They should never let this place be sold to developers or turned into a casino ..................................
Its amazing how this place resonates with so many and the nostalgia is the same. Thats amazing that you got to bring your kid there. The best memories are from the 1980s and 1990s especially when nintendo power pod was there
Some of the best visions for the future of the Baby Boomer generation have slowly crashed and burned over the decades, as a kid of the 70s I find I so sad.
It will soon be open again with all the details you remember and free access. The ducks and swans will once again be begging alongside the little pubs, the Cinesphere will again have lineups, the pods will have a real use, concerts will be year-round, and the spa will be open in cold weather months, too.
Extinct videos are honestly so bittersweet since I already know they'll end in abandonment or demolition, but i wont deny its interesting to see how they got there in the first place
I did see some of the rides. Mostly the kiddie rides but I think the water park area was closed or off in another part. I only saw the Molson amphitheater and a sea of ⛺s, a small stage and tables.
Right?!
@@ExpeditionThemePark might have seen the free fall as I snaked my way to Molson amphitheater. But I just remember a kiddie tower
I do this on and off all the time. There's so many things from my childhood that are terrible now or don't exist. Its very hard to find things like this anymore.
And it's become hard to accept that.
As someone who went here alot as a kid growing up in Toronto I can say this place was amazing. I was very sad when they shut it down 🙁. Awsome video as always
Thank you so much!
I know right!! I'm glad they posted this as a reminder❤
When I was a kid I had the chance to visit Ontario Place in 1974. I think I drove my parents insane on the long drive from Detroit with "Are we there yet?" I loved it so much.
ahaha classic
Lotro profile picture, nice!
@@sutterismine In all these years you are the first to recognize it!
@@myrany8407 I used to be mad addicted to that game lol, haven't played in a bit tho
I was first there in 1971 when entry was a $1 and concerts were free at The Forum. A few years earlier it was just open water. OP was built from nothing and became a wonderful space that captured the best of Expo 67, grew trees and great lawns, and brought visitors close to the water and wildlife. Then the Liberals and NDP messed it up and the political hacks they put on its boards made bad decisions from 1985 to 1995 and 2003 to 2018 -- those 25 years of mismanagement sunk Ontario Place and created the place shown in this video. Now, inspired govt decision-making is bringing Ontario Place back from the dead and once again it will be a jewel on the waterfront, this time year-round.
Me: Mom, can we go to EPCOT?
Mom: We have EPCOT at home.
EPCOT at home:
Aha it's true.
I don’t lol 😆
I loved epcot at home tho ;_;
Yeah I’d rather go back here to relive my childhood than go to Disney or Epcot
@@paigemcmaster5040 Not to mention that rework of "Let's go to the Hop", rofl. I remember that, it was just as cheesy then as it is now.
how dare you not linger on how cool the mega maze or bumper boats were! the highlight of any school field trip
Sadly I couldn't because I couldn't find any footage of inside the maze 😢
@@ExpeditionThemePark ah crap, makes sense. from what I can recall, it was a 10+ minute, multi-section, indoor/outdoor maze. classic mirrors, stone/hedge style, classic orange and yellow cafeteria table walls ... and like checkpoints in each area you had to find. we always compared our best time printouts on the bus back to school lol
@@LauraMuirhead yes there were like ten different maze sections including a mirror maze and optical illusion painted maze
@@LauraMuirhead the chair on the ceiling.. memories
I have such fond memories of the mega maze , fun fact :my brother was the lead sound tech for the final years of Ontario place and his office was in the silos where the mega maze was housed.
If they had added at least one iconic roller coaster or ride, maybe they would still be around. They were downtown right off the main highway, unbelievable how they messed this up!
Would of been cool!
Eh, I'm not so sure. This feels like a safer version of Action Park - an amusement park only in the literal definition of the word. Adding a rollercoaster to what was essentially a playground with restaurants and an outdoor theater would've seemed out of place (not to mention that people were complaining about waterslides and log flumes being added, so a rollercoaster would've caused even more complaints).
They were downtown, but not really downtown, if that makes sense.
The Ex actually cuts off Ontario Place from everything else. And the way public transit is designed in the area, you had to walk a bit just to get to the entrance.
As for driving, trying to get to Ontario Place or the Ex off the Gardiner was a bit inconvenient if you were coming from the DVP. Although I suppose there's nothing new about linking "Gardiner" with "a bit inconvenient".
But don't let these travel complaints fool you - I still loved going to Ontario Place every year when I was a kid.
@@kevwwong and the government is committed to building the Ontario subway line that runs to this place. Like the author of this video stated, there is some unspoken incentive going on behind the scenes with the government for making some money off this land, somehow.
@@lutesjay Kathleen closed it .
when lurking on youtube pays off
The dream!
Such fond memories of Ontario Place. Went as a kid with the Brownies. Later, as an adult there were so many concerts at the forum. Sometimes my friends and I would go to 2 or 3 shows a week. The rotating stage was just amazing! The IMAX theater was incredible, and we would go to movies there every chance we got. There were a few concerts once it became the Budwiser stage, but the magic wasn't the same, without the rotating stage. It felt like the things that made Ontario Place so special were replaced with the same old stuff that you could experience everywhere else. That was the death of it.
grew up going to Ontario Place, happy times with my family. there weren't many. saw concerts there in my 20s and my last memory was seeing the premiere of Trainspotting, 1996 in the IMAX Theatre. thank you, Bill Davis for opening this - Rest in Peace.
I use to go to the iMac at science north in Sudbury all the time !! I grew up up north in that area .. visited Toronto plenty
There and Crystal Beach.
Trainspotting in IMAX??‽!!! What in the worrrrrrld
Knowing the current government, it's basically a guarantee that it's getting turned into condos that are unaffordable to anyone actually living in Toroto, and instead, sit empty owned by foreign investors.
As someone who moved from England to Toronto I was so shocked by apartment prices
i don't know about that. ontario place was in part a vision of it's premiere of the time. bill davis - a conservative. who also started TVO and was instrumental in advancing ontario's colleges and universities. lest we forget about ontarios dark period with mcguinty and wynn.... but i digress as mike harris was just as bad. i think the video though is on the money. lack of vision at the top. they all forgot what ontario place was. wonderland was a theme park.... ontario wasn't.
@@ExpeditionThemePark Now that is saying something!
@David Davison ford is as bad as wynn and the rest. perhaps even worse, as liberals act like liberals, but we expect conservatives to act at least a bit conservatives, but ford et al also act liberal. the worst thing is it will be either a conservative or liberal or ndp government for ontario next election and more of the same as before
Aged like milk
Just imagine, this was a place where people WENT. LIKE WENT TO AND HAD FUN. It still blows my mind that these things are gone and like were at one point sprawling.
Yep!
I grew up going to Ontario Place every other weekend as a kid (I'm 48 this year) to watch this video and see what happened to it afterwards breaks my damn heart.. If i ever won the lottery, I'd buy a piece of that property just to save whats left of it. Thank you for showing the respect that it deserved. The information through out this video was great too. Informed me of a lot of things i didn't even know. i hope one day it comes back to life and not in a residential way.
It's under re-construction right now. Happy Days will be here again. And when the Ontario Line is complete there will be subway service, too!
Growing up in the 70's and 80's I guess we took for granted that Ontario Place would always be there and never change... That's how it felt back then! It was such a staple part of our landscape... AND! It was free to get in during the Ex!!
Growing up on the low end of middle class in rural Ontario i gotta say.... an ambitious project abandoned over confusion and shady circumstances is a perfect metaphor for Ontario.
Well how do you feel now?
@@jjmarz1001 About life in general or ontario place? My life is ok but i had to move to Nova Scotia. Only time i went to Ontario Place was long after it was a Bud venue and the experience was miserable. The performance was good and the acoustic worked, but i had to navigate a sort of capitalist funnel to get there.
@@zachweyrauch2988 Well I'm glad you at least enjoyed the band. I went to many many shows there, even back when it was the Forum. Always made a day of it with the family and enjoyed all the family attractions as well. REM, Sarah McLaughlin, Blue Rodeo, Great Big Sea, Gowan, Brain Adams, Tom Petty (one of my all-time favorite shows). I'm very happy that Ontario Place is going to be revitalized and look forward to being able to return.
@@jjmarz1001 Its cool you got the chance to do that. By the time i was old enough to try and go see music played live for myself ticket master had already outpriced me.
With any luck when things start back up again live music will be more accessible and common. Ontario Place though is still prohibitively difficult to get to for anyone outside the GO bus range.
@@zachweyrauch2988 They're building a subway line to Exhibition Place. There will also be several free attractions there. Trails and Parks. I've always enjoyed bike riding there.
If you come visit, Niagara Falls has some decent bands at reasonable prices at Fallsview Avalon Theater. I've seen Styx, Roger Hodgson (Supertramp), Boston, The Temptations, and Art Garfunkel there.
I hope to make it out to Nova Scotia someday. I've been to New Brunswick, but not Nova Scotia.
Fun fact about the Cinesphere: while it was closed between 2012 and 2017, IMAX used the theater to test out their new dual-laser projection system
such a cool place!
Man, this was my theme park growing up! My day camp had one day a week where we went on trips, and some summers I went to Ontario Place twice. The Wilderness Adventure ride was the most iconic ride for all of us. My dad lost his hat on the drop, so we needed to tell them to get it. xD Also, it was a rite of passage when you were tall enough to go on it. Especially because of the lack of seat belts, the fact that you felt like you were going to fall out, and the creepy animatronics in that dark uphill tunnel before the drop. Same with Soak City. If Ontario Place was still around, I'd go to that water park at least 2 times in the summer because the water slides were fun. It saddens me what happened here.
Me too
It's been nearly closed for almost 10 years now?!
I didn't think it had been closed that long... and the song is still stuck in my head all these years later.
I definitely have memories of the maze.
Yep! NEarly 10 now
i only went once as a child in the mid-80s but i remember the play structures/water zone to be absolutely amazing. it blew my mind. i have the most clear memory of lots of really tall twisty tube slides. it was a child’s dream.
Ontario Place is such a special spot. There is so much wildlife and great birdwatching. The threat of re-development looms large. I hope the area remains what it is today and know that there are lots of people willing to fight for it to stay wild.
I loved Ontario Place as a kid! Loved watching the Symphony of Fire in the summer - happy memories of summers in Canada.
Symphony of Fire! Yes! I dont know if this was a regular thing or just a special event one year (I'm from 2 hours away and didn't get to Toronto regularly) but we went to that one year and they also had grounded hot air balloons shooting their propane flames in time with the music. It was awesome! I was really young and that is literally the only thing I remember about that trip. I do not remember the rest of Ontario Place at all.
That song....just hit nostalgia I didn't know I have.
They used to air infomercials for this place, and that song would play intermittently throughout.
I'm 65. Our family visited both Expo '67 and Ontario Place. We rode the monorail through the US pavilion.
We went to the CNE quite often. The CNE still had early 20th century wooden peep show boxes in the sixties! Thank you for this walk down memory lane.
As someone who saw Ontario place in the distance as a kid when going to the CNE but never going in before it completely shut down, this was a really interesting expedition for me. It's so strange to have heard of this place only in the terms of it shutting down, so it's nice to actually know what it was all about. Thanks again for covering something from Canada!
Of course! Gotta support my home city 🥰
@@ExpeditionThemePark you're canadian?
@@wendyokoopa7048 I'm not Canadian but until recently I lived in Toronto.
@@ExpeditionThemePark oh cool. I am Canadian but I'm in between la Ronde and a fair place.
@@ExpeditionThemePark I'm in between Ottawa and Toronto
My Senior Class trip was to EXPO 67. I still remember it as one of the best times of my life. La Ronde was state of the art at the time. Too bad it has fallen into hard times. Thanks for bringing back some fun memories in the Intro.
That is amazing!!
La Ronde was great as long as it was owned by the city of Montreal. It turned to crap when they sold it to Six Flags. I had a great time there in the 70's and early 80's.
@@ve2vfd EXACTLY - Six Flags totally ruined it.
What did Six Flags do to Laronde? Add a few new rides? Most of the changes from the 70s to today took place under the city's watch, as they slowly stopped funding the park.
La Ronde was way better in the 90’s b4 six flags bought the park! Six flags only ships leftover rides to La Ronde that other parks don’t want anymore and gave the park the reputation of worst six flags park ever!
I was someone who frequented Ontario Place A LOT in the 70's and 80's. In this heyday, you paid $12.00 admission which gave you full access to the children's area, Cinesphere (movie theatre), The Forum, shops and restaurants. The park was packed and exciting - a real destination. I saw so many performances there, from Ella Fitzgerald to Mikhail Baryshnikov - not to mention many great Canadian bands The park's downfall came when they closed The Forum and replaced it with the Molson Amphitheatre. The admission rose (by the 90's it cost $29.00 - try taking a family in at that price), the attractions dwindled, shops closed, and the food offerings deteriorated. People just came for the concerts which now cost in the region of $100 pp. They made the mistake of trying to compete with Canada's Wonderland (which is a good 45 minute drive north of Toronto) instead of elaborating on the uniqueness of what was already a very cool venue. As for Toronto, the city is now controlled by developers who don't care about culture or uniqueness, they only care about profits. I'm sure they've been salivating over this property for decades. So sad, so short-sighted.
You're right about the price increases killing it. From $1 a day in 1971 up to $12 up to $29, etc. It stopped being value for money. Now with the re-development -- no condos, no developers involved -- access will be free for most spaces at OP and the spirit will return!
I dont know why but this made me cry. its such a shame seeing a place that so many people loved be failed by our government yet again
That Ontario Place theme song is Catchy AF 🔥😎
Right?!
It totally was. I remember the commercials on tv !!
My Mom use to live in Ontario when she was younger so I asked her if she ever went to this amusement park and she said she did. She told me she had a lot of memories there when her dad use to take her there.
I watched a different channel cover this amusement park a while back. When I told her it was abandoned she was shocked.
That's awesome!
So THIS is how the Roller Coaster Tycoon cinema design came to be. Interesting!
Dang I completely forgot about that!
Whoa! Good catch! Funny now seeing my 10yr old nephew playing Fortnite from sun up to sun down I’d catch myself beginning to nag him before I stop and realize I used to be just like him except my childhood game addiction was Roller Coaster Tycoon 1 & 2. I forgot what I was watching but it was about some European amusement park and I was able to spot a few things that looked very similar to a few assets from the game. Very cool.
Thought that immediately! I
used the cinema in that game as “Spaceship Earth” when I made my Epcot recreation so many years ago, wow.
:O I didn't know that
A lot of Rollercoaster Tycoon's iconic pre-set stalls originate from Canobie Lake in New Hampshire. The original 'Wipeout', the seastar-themed Chance Trabant from Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 was also here until it's removal in 2020.
I miss the Children's Village. So many memories!
So amazing
@@ExpeditionThemePark did you ever have the chance to go?
One of the big challenges with Ontario Place was always access. Despite being downtown, there was only distant or sparse transit access. For an urban amusement and recreation park, it was a pretty big barrier to overcome.
@@EvDelen Yeah, when I lived near Bloor and Dundas W Toronto it was a pretty quick walk for me! I always struggled getting to Canada's Wonderland as I didn't have a car.
@@ExpeditionThemePark that's a good walk! A little tougher to do with a stroller or a little one in tow. Closest Streetcar stop is the CNE loop, and even walking from there when I was young I thought it was the longest walk in the world!
You could go wild as a kid!!!
As a child of the 80s/90s ,Ontario Place will always hold an incredibly fond and special in my heart. With the warm weather upon us I have been riding my down through there every so often and it brings back great memories every time. Its so sad thats its future is still so uncertain, for many of us it was a big part of our childhood .
Lots of happy memories of Ontario Place as a kid back in the 1970's. The Cine-Sphere was epic, especially when un-suspecting patrons fell victim to dry-land sea sickness the big screen caused.
I feel like there's one huge element that gets overlooked when talking about Ontario Place. Toronto saw a massive evolution from a predominantly suburban, car-centric city into a high-density, pedestrian centric one thanks to the hundreds of new condo towers. Not only did Ontario Place become a lot more difficult to reach for suburbanites due to the increased traffic, but virtually zero housing or retail was built within a large radius from it, making it a mysterious distant land for the tens of thousands of new downtowners without a car. Without a single coffee shop, bar or restaurant in sight, downtowners just don't make the committment to go anywhere near Ontario Place.
You could easily get there from using the TTC...what are you talking about. There was/is a go train stop in Exhibition Place which is a short walk to Ontario place even with the EX going on and all the people there.
@@cliffitir the point is that it took a freefall down the list of things to do in the city, mainly because hundreds of restaurants, shops and bars opened in the core while nothing got developed anywhere near Ontario Place. It's a 90's American style car centric attraction, in a city where everyone dreams of a European city core lifestyle.
Downtowners are too busy trying to make their over-inflated mortgage/rent payments to worry about minor things like entertainment.
@@nevarmaor Clearly you don't live downtown
@@cosmocalisse Not any more. I'm priced out of that market.
I grew up being involved with Ontario Place through my dad and eventually went on to work there for 10 years before basically being fired over news of its closure through cp24. I could write a novel based on the experiences through the years, and I miss OP deeply to this day. Expectations are extremely low for what it will likely become. Rest in peace dear friend, thank you for all that you gave to so many.
Gawd, I miss Ontario Place. Went there so often as a child. Got to visit with my oldest son one last time the year before it closed. I'm sure safety standards would never allow most of the climbers and activities in the Children's Village now. But it was a place of pure adventure and skinned knees when I was a kid.
yes!
Ontarionian here. I was present for all of this. OP was just a symbol of a huge remaking of the province by visionary leaders. It worked brilliantly and they have nothing to regret
This place was so special to me. We went most summers when I was a kid, usually during the CNE, and then I went again many times as an adult, including during the final season in the traditional form. I don't take my last turn on the wilderness adventure ride for granted. Thanks for this!
Thank you for watching !
It's so funny, Ontario Place and the Ex are such a normal thing in my life that it's fascinating to watch videos on it from those that aren't familiar. Also, as soon as that Ontario Place commercial song came on my entire childhood/young adult life smacked me in the face. 😂 Thanks for the awesome video and nostalgia!!
That music. Dont even have to think about it. It's so 70s. Haha. This was a great expedition.
Thank you! Some really good songs in this one 🤣
Ontario Place will always hold a special place in my heart, I went there every year until 1997. Not knowing it had closed, I recently went to visit and was notably upset when I found it abandoned. It used to be a great place to just walk around and enjoy.
Ontario Place was a huge part of my childhood.
Every summer we'd get season passes and go almost every day.
Was really upset that we shut it down for condos, especially after we spent all that money putting in the new jungle gym.
Hope whatever they're planning on rebuilding there will be great.
I grew up in the 80s in Toronto, and I remember these jingles and all the memories of the time I spent there with family. I also remember the values, demographics, and overall hope that existed at the time. That Canada is dead now, but I remember
Im in Hamilton and when I heard it I swore I heard it on tv yesterday!
That's the thing, isn't it. After Expo 67 we were all looking forward to the future. Ontario Place was built on that hope for the future, along with a lot of things in Toronto at the time. Unfortunately by the time we got to "the future," it wasn't anything like what we hoped for. And no one seems to have much future-hope anymore. The condo vandals (I won't call them "developers") have wrecked so much...even the Big Slice fell to their greed. And Ford wants to end the Science Centre now.
Excellent! I have such fond memories of Ontario Place. Concerts, kids place and drinks before the Blue Jays games at the Ex!
Yesss
We used to have such fun there when it opened. We were young and enjoyed the waterfront, having a beer or 3. Having fun with friends. Watching Ben Hur on the big screen, also 2001 a space odyssey, was fortunate enough to be asked to tour the facility before it opened to the Public. Lots of good memories.
I have such vauge yet nostalgic memories of this place
I need that Ontario Place sweater at 6:47
Right?!
Another well researched and produced video Sam. Thanks as always.
I live about 2hrs east of Toronto and have fond memories of visiting Ontario Place in the 70s and 80s.
As of July 2023 the plan is to redevelop Ontario Place into a new waterpark and Spa resort.
I went to Expo '67 and Ontario Place shortly after it opened; I was also lucky enough to see the CN Tower being topped off by the Sworsky helicopter. Those were fantastic times to be in Canada; a time when work/jobs were aplenty and home ownership easily attained. All gone now, unfortunately; very sad.
Ouch, right in the feels dude! The mega maze in the solo's was my favorite!! The water park there was insane! You definitely nailed it when you said every one has fond childhood memories of the place. Before cellphones were the norm
I am sad i couldn't find any footage of the Mega Maze
The Children's Village, Wilderness Ride and Water Park were absolute core memories for me. I recently paddled through the inner waters of the islands and it truly is a shell of what it once was. There's another redevelopment project in talks, we'll see what comes of it.
Very well done video, so much context, thank you!
My journey at Ontario Place started with school trips & visits with the CNE double admissions that later offered complimentary IMAX films. Then there was Benson & Hedges Symphony of Fire. I even worked a summer at the Wilderness Adventure ride as a mechanics assistant. With pride, it was also the season with the fewest breakdown days, a couple of which were used to install new huge water pumps. Even celebrated the last day with the mechanic over wings & beer. Shout to Chris, Matthew, Fernando, and Joe. As you get older, you realize that you need to stop & smell the roses as nothing lasts forever. Thanks for the memories.
Too many developers drooling over this land and too many politicians with their hands out for kickbacks for this place every to remain a place for the people of Ontario.
So very happy to be proven wrong!!! Can't wait for the revitalization.
As someone who worked on the Future of Ontario Place, this is a fantastic video! Well researched, well edited and correct in pretty much everything. Amazing stuff
I love it how they used the giant EPCOT Golf Ball for the opening of Ontario Place in 1971! Sadly it was extinct! But I still wish it was there!
Epcot wasn't first !
Epcot copied the Ontario one, not the other way around.
I rode those concrete water slides many times in 1979 and 1980 (we didn't return to Ontario Place or CNE once Canada's Wonderland opened).
I can tell you if you lost the mat going down the slide, your elbows and knees would get shredded by the rough concrete slide, even though it was painted, you would suffer all the way down. I remember the water being stained red around me as I was going down with no mat, from my bleeding elbows and knees. Another thing that was crazy was the ending of the slide. Since this was a rather new thing, they hadn't realized it would be better to *drop into a pool with the slide slightly elevated above the water surface,* instead of running into a "wall" of water. The splashdown pool had so much water in it, the flume had about a foot of water in it at the end.
Also have memories of rides in the pedal boats in the lagoon under the pods, and the rollerskating rink which seem to like playing "Echo Beach" by Martha and the Muffins.
I grew up in Ontario... These commercials are bringing back so many memories...
My parents lived in Montreal during Expo 67... They said it was the best atmosphere in the city.
I want to visit the remains of this place with my girlfriend so bad the next time I'm up in Ontario to visit her. Ever since Jake Williams went to it, I've always wanted to walk around a park that is still walkable and open to the public in some form. Hopefully, we can at one point before anything happens to the remains of the park.
I went a few times and it is so interesting to walk around and see the remnants
This and the CNE were things I remeber form my childhood, I recall they said they wanted a all year round theme place and yet still didnt do anything.
yeah
Holy shit 30 seconds in and I suddenly got blasted back to being 6 yrs old in the back of my dad's civic. I've never been to Ontario Place as going downtown was a luxury for my family, but I remember hearing that ad all the time on the radio. The city has a lot more money now but it's lost a lot.
Ontario Place was awesome for kids in the 70s and 80s. The architecture was futuristic but also bright and welcoming, unlike the vast majority of modern buildings in Toronto. The Cinesphere was cool, the screen was huge.
Today, parts of the park are flooded and rust is everywhere.
But still, great summer days spent on the lake at Ontario Place.
Checked youtube on a whim. Feel like I won the lottery. Never been this early to an expedition lol
Haha good timing !
lol same
Exactly
I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS
Seriously though, this was a huge part of my childhood. The water park, the giant freaking maze run, Legoland and the log flume. damn lotsa memories^^
hope you enjoyed
Although I have lived within 30 minutes of Toronto my whole life, I only have incredibly vague memories of going to Ontario Place with my family when I was very young in the early 2000s. Thanks for covering it, and finally giving me the chance to see what I remember more clearly. For a while, I thought I was just imagining it!
It was real!
I visited as a child in the 1980's, and then only for concerts at Budweiser Stage since. But I've been on that waterslide at Canada's Wonderland so many times - I had no idea it was originally at Ontario Place!! Thanks for the factoid! I love all your videos.
I remember this mostly from when Jake Williams and his friend visited this abandoned park.
It always breaks my heart when theme parks close down.
Remember my dad taking me to Ontario Place as a kid. We would sit on the grass at the forum and watch concerts into the night. 😊😢
I spent so much time in that IMAX theater, what a great place to hang out.
This brings back memories of the first time I visited Ontario in 2011. My parents and now wife visited Ontario Place and went to the water park, and we obviously had no idea it would all be closed the next year. The next I time I was at Ontario Place was for a concert in 2018, and it was certainly different! Thanks for this video, and for bringing up some fun memories!
Thanks for watching!
Ah this brings back memories, went there a few times as a kid and it's too bad it's gone.
Yeah a real shame
As a Canadian it's rare enough to see my country featured in this genre. Your excellent summary of Expo '67 has me yearning for a similar video about Expo '86 in Vancouver BC and the lasting impact it had on the city (e.g. the launch of SkyTrain and yet another 'golf ball' structure).
At this point I'm very knowledgeable about theme parks and events all over the USA and around the world but to date I've found only one short video about a single ride from the place I grew up. It would be really cool to learn more from creators I admire and respect.
Keep up the great work! 👍🍍
went to this as a kid only once but i still think about the Maze they had, was the coolest thing ever and left a big impression on me to this day. it was a bunch of different style mazes like a hedge maze, a mirror maze, a circular maze, and black and white one, one with little stairs that go up and down etc, and you had to tap on special goal points with this thing they gave you. each new area felt like a different world, and the entrance was a dark hallway filled with lasers and smoke which was frickin sweet. man wish it was still around so i could go to it now and see if it really was as awesome as i remember it
Dude thank you so much for making this. I grew up in Toronto in the 90s and had a pretty shitty childhood, but the one positive childhood memory I have is my dad taking my sister and I here every summer. It may have been a rip off theme park, but it was as loved as much as Disney World by poor Canadian kids everywhere.
I’ve always wanted to see an abandoned them park channel take up Ontario place but this is the first time I’ve seen it! I guess most channels are American and only focus on American parks
As a Toronto Native, first and foremost, big respect for shining some light on Ontario Place. Growing up in the City, I found that Ontario place somehow became a forgotten place to the majority of people in not just Toronto but for the whole of Canada. Personally I think much of this has to do with a poor marketing strategy and somehow not connecting with its community as effective as they should have. When you ask people about Ontario place, they cannot properly define what it exactly is, is it a place where Tourists can go for a walk, enjoy the scenery, and great food? is it a place for family's with young children? is it a place where the Arts and Entertainment can display acts for all ages and demographics? Is it where locals and tourists alike can shop and buy things? The truth is , its simply bad marketing, back in the 80's I remembered commercials for Ontario place was always playing on popular Tv channels and sports channels. Even on popular radio stations, they made sure they let everyone be reminded about coming out to Ontario Place.
Personally, moving forward, I hope they focus on recreating Ontario Place as somewhere where anyone can go there to have the ultimate hangout, filled with great places to eat, places to see live music, places to Shop, places to play games and park activities, a pool and splashpad , a revamped imax theatre, a sportsbar hangout. A town square like Stage where Live Acts, can perform music, comedy, plays etc. Maybe keep a waterslide or two, add some Zip Lining, Some water activities being its right at a waterfront sort of thing. Tons of ideas, that can really show its an attraction, but also needs an enormous amount of Marketing ....
I do enjoy your channel. And now I encounter my own life as Film Star. In 1971, then a Toronto schoolboy, I was one of thousands of children used in a promotional film for the opening of Ontario Place - in unexplained and inexplicable scenes of massed children running about - I seem to recall, on top of those pod pavilions. What a tragic fate this once spectacular new amenity "for the people of Ontario" has suffered since then.
34 Year old . I went once in 99 . didn't expect to tear up watching this .
Ontario Place holds a lot of nostalgia for me. Had my prom there, actually.
Went there with my kids a couple of years before it shut down for good. It was still a nice area, albeit a bit of a pain to get to from north of the city.
I do hope that the government can do something with the property outside of the Domestic Beer Theatre. Open it up as a location for festivals and such (once we're no longer in a pandemic of course).
Yeah I hope so also
Loved it! As someone who grew up in Buffalo we went to Toronto often, and I loved Ontario Place. That playground was EPIC, even if you always got a bloody nose when you went in the forest of punching bags
That place was rough ha
ah man I love that place.
Actually my favourite theatre is the cinesphere in Ontario place. I’ve had awesome experiences there. They never show the latest movies but catalog imax movies so anything Nolan used to always be playing.
It’s been closed for years now.
I remember padding in the Padding Boats back in the 70's .Such a wonderful, beautiful place. Such a shame it is now going to be a Luxury Spa 😢They need places like " Ontario Place ". Ty for posting. 2024 now but...Great Memories. 🇨🇦❤
Everything fun eventually just turns into condos. Just like prudhommes landing wet n wild in vineland. ( you should do a video on that place )
There's a few construction equipment there now..
Guess not.
Only found your channel a few weeks ago, love it! Thanks for all of this.
Thank you so much
I grew up going to Ontario Place during the summers and it was honestly a highlight of my childhood with my siblings. Awesome video!
In complete honesty, I had no idea Ontario Place was gone. I'd heard about it as a kid, but theme parks weren't something I ever had any real interest in until I reached my 20s. That explains why I haven't heard about it in a while-
RIP :')
Ahhh my childhood! I loved Ontario Place so much as a kid. Truly the highlights of my summers
Ontario Place was sooo awesome, I remember running through the hanging cylinders made of foam, sometimes you hit one at the same time as someone else and you both bounced off! It was an awesome kids park and the Forum was great too. Saw BB King there every summer for several years, again such a great place.
Been to Ontario place many times. fond memories a child. This video is pure nostalgia! Its a sad sight to see when walking along the shores of Toronto during a summer visit. These were the peak years of Canada. Everything has gone downhill since then... :(
YET ANOTHER AMAZING VIDEO.
SAD TO SEE THESE PLACES ROTTING AWAY.
KEEP THESE AWESOME VIDEOS COMING.
Thank you so much!
Thanks for the history; this one hits home... I used to go to this every year! Sad I won't be able to take my kids to enjoy these rides now but the Amphitheater is still open, and they have Echo Beach as well, so I still find myself going there. I loved the Lego pavilion and the log flume (one of the only rides my mom would go on lol). I also had the chance to try the Nintendo Virtual Boy once when it came out (first and last time though haha). The maze was awesome too.
I did read Nintendo did a thing here! Ispent alot of time walking around after I moved to Toronto. Such a faciniating history
Omg I'm so glad I found this! I love it when channels talk about local stuff to Toronto. I just watched your video on Sledgehammer in Wonderland and thank you for highlighting this childhood gem! That "kids just Anna have fun" commercial is one I remember as a kid. I'm really sad they want to make it into an expensive spa resort 😢
I'm 32 and I remember going there a couple times as a kid, I loved it. Part I remember the most was the mirror maze. I actually had no idea it even died and I still live in Toronto. Very sad.
I've grown up along side with Ontario Place. I've seen it change over the years. Some were good and some were bad. The Children's Village was an amazing place for kids, but all of the stuff under the red tent was removed. Prior to Canada's Wonderland, there was very little competition unless if you were to include Centreville. Admission to Ontario Place was included with your admission to the CNE, but you still had to pay for the attractions. There was one year where your CNE admission included the attractions of Ontario Place. More water parks, such as Wild Waterworks in Hamilton and Wild Water Kingdom (now Wet N' Wild) in northwest Toronto. The killer was when Canada's Wonderland added in their waterpark. Ontario Place tried to add things which didn't help. One year they added amusement rides to the grounds. The rides were booked in from one of the local carnival operators. I really did like Mega Maze. You were given a swipe card and had to find the card reader in each of the seven mazes. They also kept track of your time. Unfortunately that was removed. It was sad to see that Ontario Place had closed. The park sat dormant for a number of years. The reopening of the Cinesphere has been a huge success. The Cinesphere was also used by IMAX as a test lab for their new dual laser projector prior to reopening. There's been the Winterlight Festival for the past few years with lighting displays around the West Island along with ice skating and fire pits.