La Ronde Review | Is it Still the Worst Park Ever? Montreal, Canada Six Flags Theme Park
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- Опубликовано: 2 июн 2023
- In 2017 I visited La Ronde for the first time and called it the worst park I had ever been to. After returning in 2022, I had a very different experience. So what do I think about La Ronde now? Is it still a bad park? What's better? What's worse? Let's discuss!
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As a Montrealer I can get behind your complaints, but referring to poutine as "glorified french fries" is unforgiveable
Quebecois Salad - France fries drowned in st hubert sauce brun blanketed in salty curdled squeaksqueak
outsiders think it's an actual meal by itself smh ,
Whatchu you poutine is what you put out 🙉 😂
It's a seasonal park imo.. not like it's in Florida where it's year round making money.
Very true poutine is the best!
Can’t believe this guy has the audacity to come to Quebec and disrespect Poutine
I came on to say EXACTLY the same things.
Not everyday you get an amusement park located in a downtown of the 7th largest municipality in North America and one with a daytime population of more than 1 million people WITH access to transit. I wish Six Flags corporate would see the potential at this park, it's a gem of a location, just crappy management with no vision.
So true. Unreal location. It could be Cedar Point North
there broke
The thing is, they only have to invest what they know will draw people in since the park has plenty of crowded days. Plus the park isn’t exactly an easy one to invest attractions for since they don’t own the property.
A theme park with a good connection to public transportation?? WOAH
@@ItsSiebay They're leasing the land from Montreal until 2065, contract stipulates they have to invest in the park. I wish the city could break the contract and find another chain to operate it, but that will never happen....
The big problem with La Ronde, is that Six Flags is unwilling to invest in our park. The park's management wants to add new attractions but since we are unionized, this costs a lot of money to Six Flags. More than if we weren't. Because the worker's union of Montréal demands that Six Flags gives us 40-50 hours of work per week and 12 hours and 26 minutes long shifts. And they also demand that our salary increases every 1-2 years by about 0.80$. We have these conditions because of an agreement made by Six Flags and the workers union when they bought the park in 2001 because that's exactly how the conditions were when the park belonged to the city of Montréal.
So Six Flags hates this and they've been trying for years to lower our working conditions but since we dont want to comply to their demands, instead they barely invest in our park and they cancel every good project that gets planned by management.
Like we were supposed to get RMC Monstre for 2017, then it was delayed to 2022-2023, then it was delayed again to about 2025-2026, and then Selim Bassoul straight up cancelled the project for no reason. The plans were made and they are still at the park, but as long as Selim is the CEO, we will never get our RMC.
And this saddens us Montréalers and the workers of La Ronde because we love our park and we would hate to see it close down because of a lack of profits. And its a historic landmark in Canadian history since the park was built for Canada's 100th anniversary and Walt Disney even co-designed the park. But Six Flags treats it like if it was a parking lot carnival.
Well thought out reply and I would not have known this information otherwise, so thank you!
Was Six Flags the worst thing to happen to La Ronde? 🤔
@amazingdany not necessarily. The park was heavily getting neglected by the city of Montréal in the 90's. They weren't as neglected as today, but they weren't bringing the park in a good direction. When Six Flags bought the park in 2006, they invested quite a lot into the park in 2002-2006 and they greatly improved the overall look and feel of the park and they added 18 new rides in those 4 years. The two biggest additions were Vampire in 2002 and Goliath in 2006. Then from 2007 they started investing less into the park but the futur was still very promising with Six Flags planning on converting Monstre into an RMC for the park's 50th anniversary and annexing a Waterpark in the region to make it part of La Ronde. But then when covid hit, the park started doing really really bad financially and ever since Selim Bassoul became president he pretty much stopped all major investments into the park and he outright cancelled all projects that La Ronde had for its futur. So I wouldn't say that Six Flags is the worst thing to have happened to La Ronde but probably more the new Six Flags management who is unwilling to invest into the park.
I do think that either La Ronde or Six Flags realized that the park won't survive another 20 years if it continues down this path because this year they've renovated a few sections of the park and a lot of buildings but it still isn't enough to attract large crowds and raise the profitability of the park.
@@TitanLRV 🤝
The city wanted to guarantee the future of the park so they sold the park extremely cheap with the obligation to invest over $100M in x many years. That's how we got all the big improvements really quickly after the purchase. When that obligation ran out, so did all the wonderful improvements. The city sold the rides and park operations, but the land was leased for 99 years.
You're 100 % right. It's so sad, because La Ronde is a big part of Montreal history and it is one of the few remaining memorys of Expo 67. But since the city sold it to Six Flags, it''s just sad. Six Flags was suppost to invest. They didn't do it. Now we have a crappy attraction park.
Exactly what you said. It used to be quite good and I remember the 40 bucks all rides included fee with a n empty coke bottle. The good days in the 90's. With winnable games and decent affordable food. Now the food is crap, the games are rigged and the price is outlandish. I went to Canada Wonderland in Toronto, it was much better
City of Montreal recently contacted S.F to remind them of their priorities for the park. Not only historical preservation but to maintain it. Obviously, SF did not respond back, but the city is finally (but slowly) taking action.
True. I think a part of the problem is nostalgia. I don't think getting ride of the monster would go over well
did you know that six flags added goliath AND vampire
@@CoasterSwiftie Ok but they let all of the other attractions become crappy
They keep closing attractions, even small and more historic ones like la pitoune or the carroussel, but they aren’t replacing them by anything.
When they removed La Pitoune I was pissed. Now the Monorail, that's just plain wrong.
Now the gravitor is gone
Legend has it that the dad and his kids are still playing in the bathroom to this day.
Imagine that
Imagine if that was still going on😂
In spirit
Lmaoo
That comment gave me deja vu, no pun intended.
For more context though, it should be reminded that the season of the park is very short. It's not year-round so it's can't generate big profits the whole year. It gets so crowded because people all go at once (end of year school trips in June) and then people cramming in during their summer vacations (avoid last 2 weeks of July where about a third of Quebec is on 'construction vacation').
A tip to all the English people who complained to me they got non-smiling service while in Quebec: whenever someone tells me that, I ask them if they've even said even 1 word in French (Bonjour). They always say 'no'. Others who love their visits are from my French immersion students who say it's such a friendly place, even if they admit they felt too shy to speak a lot. Say a few French words, our bar is really low and Quebecers don't expect a lot more from Anglophones than a few tiny words (unlike Paris) and I swear the whole attitude will change completely. It's easy to say 'Bonjour' or 'merci'. ;)
Yeah, but I often don’t get smiling service in Quebec and I am a French Quebecer
They seem to have no problem supporting their province with English money, so they can slap a smile on their face when an Englishman comes to town.
@@DirtyDan77 You should go to school and learn how economy work... Clearly you have no clue.
@@DirtyDan77Bro stop bringing the equalization payments all the time, lol it's your only argument and it's not even true. Acting like we don't give out more to the federal than we receive.
If nothing else, Le Ronde is an excellent example of why competition is so important in business: if you don't have it, you can be complacement because its the only game in town.
Not for long. I'm ready to open a new coaster in my backyard
@@patatebanine4278 how small will it be?
@@patatebanine4278 😂😂😂😂🤣🤣
It’s also a good example of what happens when Americans get their greedy paws on something good. Eventually it gets ruined.
Bring back Parc Belmont.
Back in the 80s, La Ronde had the best water slide park and a huge indoor aquarium. They should bring it back !!
They took some of them down bc people kept falling off the sides
FYI - La Ronde's Galopant merry-go-round (built in 1885), the Spirale observation tower and the Minirail monorail, which have been at the park since Expo'67, have all been permanently retired. The latter was demolished in November 2022. At this point there are only 3 original rides still operating, and they're all in the children's section. I suspect they have their days numbered.
Here goes the few rides i enjoyed! (I'm no rollercoaster fan)
The Galopant was so beautiful despite being so obviously outdated and painfully slow, it was a wonder to think so many people enjoyed it throughout more than 100 years. The Spirale gave a great view especially at night but the windows were sadly so dirty! And getting rid of the Minirail instead of revamping it is the most outrageous decision la Ronde made (aside taking down La Pitoune water ride), the minirail an easy way to travel the park, see the rides from an advantageous point of view, plus it wasn't scary at all and offered a pause from bigger rides lol
Disney should have bought the thing instead but i heard they didn't offer enough money to the city... Look, having Disney characters around, beautiful rides to try, and it would have had a wider audience than it currently has (most ppl are in their teens or twenties there), it would have been great! oh well!
@@missquark_ - Demolishing the Minirail killed the soul of the park, and the final nail in the coffin as far as I'm concerned. Haven't been there in decades, but from watching videos and reading reviews, it doesn't look or feel like La Ronde anymore. More like one of these traveling carnival that set up temporary rides in a parking lot. And sadly, they're all extreme thrill rides geared towards teens (e.g. Titan). The mild rides are all restricted to pre-schoolers, you cannot even ride the kid coaster if you're 12 years old or up! It's sad, I don't see it getting better, just more classic rides closing (what little remains) and less care and maintenance put into the park.
It sad that the minirail has closed. We used it to relax between rides.
As someone from the west coast of Canada in Vancouver, I would literally kill to have a park like La Ronde anywhere near here. We’re stuck with Playland which is complete joke, and nothing even remotely decent short of driving 24 hours straight 😭
PlayLand was supposed to gat a big renovation that would have made the park way better
Galaxy Land used to be decent and was only 12 hours away
@@dustmybroom288 even when mindbender was open, that was still a 14 hour drive from me 😭
I don't know what flights from Vancouver are like, but back when I lived in the Seattle area I used to say that Disneyland was Seattle's "home park" because Wild Waves is a joke, but LA was only a relatively inexpensive 2 hour flight away from there so people just went there.
Playland is getting that relocated Intamin from Italy eventually, should be better than the old Corkscrew thing
I think is a fair review. I’m glad you were able to highlight the upsides and be honest on the negative parts of the park. I agree that some love and investment from Six Flags can change the outlook for this place
Six Flags almost destroyed one of our parks in the past. Luckily it got sold to a new and better firm about a decade ago and now it's thriving.
why would they invest more... ? they dont own the land... They know montreal will probably just switch them up in 2065... would you invest thousand in an apartment if you were renting? Well neither do they...
I think that the crowd problem comes from a pretty simple explanation: we don’t have amusement park at every corner around here compares to the US or other countries. La Ronde is the only one of that importance in Quebec, people just don’t have the choice unless you are willing to travel witch I personnaly cannot permit myself. But I agree with most of your comment, especially the lack of new attraction and old ones being taking down and the appearance of the park witch is not the best.
Ps. Don’t ever disrespect Poutine like that again 😂
I grew up in Montreal, but moved away in the late 90's. I loved La Ronde when I was a teen and young adult. I excitedly went back with my family while visiting Montreal in summer 2022, and could not believe how bad La Ronde had become. It was very sad to see....the park was run down....food choices were limited and blah......and several rides were closed. On top of that, the cost was outrageous, relative to what we got for our money (and we go to Disney world all the time, so don't mind paying out for a good experience)
I remember going at La Ronde as an 8 year old. That day, I did 62 rides with a Platinum Flash Pass, which allowed me to have 2 turns instead of 1. In some queues, like at the Super Manège one, people were furious when I immediately went in the Flash Pass queue once I was done with my second turn. Without knowing it, I might be the reason behind why the park stopped giving an extra turn if you have the Platinum Flash Pass lol.
You little devil you!
Definitely one of your best vids. Love the brutal honesty. Montreal really deserves better. Like yea, not even good enough for a free spin? seriously Six Flags? They really do let it decay.
The free spin was actually cancelled because our new park president believed we deserved much better. But in return, Six Flags refused to invest for a new ride and even worse, they cancelled every project that was previously in the works 🤦🏾
I live nearby La Ronde and been there about 20-25 times now. La Ronde was doing fine until Six Flags got it under their flag. Couple rides were added then nothing. I can't agree more with all the points that have been mentioned. You had a good day (pure luck tbh), most of the time it's terrible lines and the sun is a killer in many of those.
Something to note here : Le monstre is the ''highest'' wooden roller coaster if I remember correctly and it's part of the history of La Ronde, that's why it's still there (it needs a huge facelift though) The ride is very shaky and unconfortable to the point that I suggest noone with any muscular or joint pains to ride Le Monstre... it hurts lol
Le galopant will get dismantled since it's engine doesn't work anymore ... and so many other useless/ not fun rides (countless really) should also be replaced,.... but I doubt it will happen.
Good overall review, right on money...
edit : Le Monstre (French for "The Monster") is a wooden roller coaster at La Ronde amusement park in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Le Monstre is the largest wooden roller coaster in Canada and is also the tallest two-track wooden roller coaster in the world.
La Ronde was doing poorly before Six Flags bought it. It was on the path of bankrupcy. It's why it was sold to Six Flags to begin with.
@@arakwar bankruptcy has nothing to do with experience at the park, but ok, I get your point in term of ''financial state'' which is true. They were doing poorly on the money side, but the experience was much better than my 2022 experiences (went there 5 times last year...)
I'm from Montreal and use to spend many many days at La Ronde!
But you're absolutely right... since well before 6 flags bought the park, it has pretty much been like a ghost town in the sense that nothing is really taken care of, and updates to the park are still outdated by the time they're live. I have to imagine the park is basically just some way for 6flags to write off a lot expenses. There's no way this park pulls in a profit worthy of staying open on it's own.
It could be FANTASTIC if they did give a crap and would properly architecture the park and landscape
As it’s been already said in the comments, the Minirail has been removed during the off season. The Skycoaster, La Catapulte, is operating this year; it was closed in the past few years due to covid restriction/uncertainties in the past few seasons (my guess).
The fireworks by themselves make this park worth it. If you are lucky and get to see one of the winner shows you will be WOWED. I ve seen the best fireworks ever there too. Crazy stuff
I am glad to hear you had a much better experience at La Ronde this time than you had previously. I'd be interested to see how your view of Michigan's Adventure could change if you revisit that park in the future.
I didn’t really get “much better” from this video. I got “marginally better in some respects but still bad.”
@@StamfordBridge It's still good enough for me.
@@mitchellries256 Fair enough. It’s actually the only chain park left in North America that I haven’t been to, so I have no opinion on it now but I’m eager to get a chance to visit.
MA is a real shitty park
Im a ride operator at la ronde this year and here are a few things I noticed : the monorail is GONE, catapult is back open, the sign for le monstre has been redone, le monstre has been retracked, the sitting area where you ate your poutine is being redone !
Are you guys under staffed?
Will you be here this friday?
when is Le Monstre retiring?
@@MattArn nope
@@quarantedouze3277 no I have school this friday
I went to the park opening day this year, the only changes are that green lanterns track is now gone from the site(There was some behind vampire as well), and the monorail has been removed entirely, the supports for it near monstre have been replaced by wooden family spaces that provide some shade. Also the monster from Monstre's entrance has been removed.
I was there for the opening day too lol, waited 1 hour to get in the park from the front entrance lmao
If Six Flags puts the effort in, this could be one of the best parks in the world. But I think they should just hand it over to Cedar Fair because they happen to run a much better amusement park on an island.
If cedar fair considersthe park a loser....it will do worst than SF and it will close. CF is good for parks it finds worthwhile
Well actually CF was in the run to get the deal back in early 2000, but finally the city took the offer from SF... Big mistake, there is something to do with this park, but you just see years and years of people working there and having no vision of any sorts... Probably because SF people just don't care.
They closed way too many of the smaller cool rides like Mont Blanc for example. And those smaller rides used to have short wait times and were perfect fillers in-between the bigger coasters
Well you said it at the end... The biggest problem is that SF uses this park mostly as a dumpster for all of what other parks don't want anymore... They are not willing to spend any money in maintenance (just see all these historic rides rotting SBNO), park touch ups or anything to help out customer experience. There's so much potential for this park but so much lack of vision, I feel CF should've get the deal back in early 2000... 😅
The quality of La Ronde went into the firework show
In facts firework aren’t la ronde funded. It’s mostly the company who make the firework and show
And that even a more outrageous facts they is barely no cost to laronde to host fireworks.
At least the people weren’t disrespectful like the last time. No more weird fathers and sons in the bathrooms
I live 10min away from the park and haven’t been in years because of how bad it is. It needs love and it needed it 10 years ago. I’m honestly surprised the park is still open. Hopefully one day SixFlag will pour some money into it
Great job with this review. You were very fair with nearly every point you brought up in the original and the comparisons were handled well. Your original review was not bad, it just happened to influence a lot of people, and I think this one will have a similar impact in a more positive way.
The issue for us montrealers is that there's basically no other game in town. If you want a them park in Quebec, this is it. We got several water parks that actually have a few "sort of" coasters too, just because La Ronde is so terrible.
If you're in Montreal to visit, just don't go to La Ronde. Spare yourself the pain and go visit our other many attractions, landmarks and cultural events. They're much, much better and maybe the management of La Ronde will finally get the message. I personally haven't been since like 2014, that's just how bad it's been along the years.
Good video. Except for the "glorified french fries" comment (how dare you :P ).
I feel like both cedar fair and six flags have that one thing in common. If it doesn’t do good one singular year you completely forget about it and spend no time on it to make it better.
I hope I get to a point were I can afford to go to a place worse than my home park because right now I definitely can’t.
What's your home park?
@@IIISPKIII kings island
@@JJJJ-he8bz lucky mfer xD
@NJKLetsPlayYou clearly didn't understand his comment.
@NJKLetsPlay He is talking about how Taylor knowingly goes to the worst parks to make reviews because of the money he makes off RUclips. He is stating that he would love to go to parks worse than his home park (KI) if he had the money.
I used to work at La Ronde in the 80"s it was so much better, you could buy a day pass for cheap just to walk around and have access to the kids rides, we could go relax and watch, take a beer and eat also, was so much fun, since Six Flag is there, you need to pay full price to go in, what a bummer.
The monster is still a thing?! that ride was OLD 25 years ago... kind of structure you wonder when it's gonna crumble sp old it is.
But yeah, the international fireworks shows are just a spectacle to see. They were great 25 years ago, and I suspect they still are. I just don't have the ability to go to Longueuil to get to my usual observation spot anymore.
I think the most important key here.... Investments.
When La Ronde was owned by the city of Montreal (La Ronde was created with the Expo 67, in Montreal), it was a fun little park with new rides...
Then La Ronde was sold to Six Flags with conditions...
1) Spent 100$M in 5 years
2) Keep the Quebec/Montreal vibes (entrances etc...)
So for the first 4 yrs, SixFlags added cheap rides and then on year 5, Goliath ($$$) was created.
Since, not much... like Six Flags doesn't care much...
BUT yeah, LA Ronde's Fireworks ARE the thing... BEST and most important contest in the world. That contest is 35+yrs old... And you can see the fireworks from La Ronde but also from Mtl... Such a fun thing!
Once Jeffrey Siebert gets Fiesta Texas an Out & Back mega Coaster, he needs to fly out to La Ronde and clean that place.
Very entertaining and fun to watch. Thanks for posting this.
I think the entrance style is super super cool and obviously fits Montreal perfectly. I think they should take that style and apply it more to the rest of the park where it would make sense.
The major problem When I went back in the days am not sure if it's still the same, food is too expensive for what you get! I know you don't want a buffet type and then people go on a coaster and puke their guts out but food is too expensive! A simple big mac trio back then was like double the regular prices and you can no longer bring your food! I remember when I went like 20 years ago, people would bring their lunch like sandwiches and drink and would still buy there and there was more to do!
You should have experienced it before Six-Flags. It was always clean and family oriented. It had only few big attractions but they were very well maintained. Six-Flags removed the sky ride, the flume log, the minirail, the spiral, and now the antique galloping carousel which they botched the refurbishment in early 2000. Shame! As for the monster, Six-Flags replaced the original trains with these heavier ones. They had to remove one wagon for this reason. The ride was a lot more smooth and fun than it is now. Yes Six-Flags are often operating their coasters with only one train even when the park is full. They suck! I wish Montreal could buy it back!
What I miss the most from the 80-90s La Ronde are the incredible arcade games that I played there. Now its all gone...
I remember actually playing an extremely early video game at La Ronde called "Sea Wolf" (from Midway, 1976). It was B&W, and you looked through an actual periscope at ship targets! My dad had to lift me up! I couldn't have been more than 3 or 4 years old at the time, and probably the first arcade game I ever played! More fondness of arcade games in the 80's and 90's though. So they got rid of the arcade completely?
Are you talking about Le Mégadome Nintendo? I loved it!!
@@coffiekittie The megadome Nintendo was in the late 90s and yes it was cool. But before that in the 80s early 90s there were arcades
@@Apple2gs I remember that game! I remember seeing the star wars arcade game where you "sat in a x wing" there was also the return of the jedi game on the speeder bikes! Last time I went to la ronde there was a little "arcade" but nothing interesting.
@@mikeodd883 - I likely saw Sea Wolf when it was a brand new game! Though my first real golden age video arcade experience was in '83, when I played Tron, Ms.Pac-Man, Pac-Man, Frogger, Moon Patrol, Popeye, Pooyan, Nibbler, etc. I do remember playing Star Wars too (vector graphics!) and later seeing the Return of the Jedi game. Sadly all the arcades in Montreal have vanished. If you do find one, it's just racing and dancing games.
Also, monstre’s operations are limited by its structural issues, which prevents both tracks to send trains at the same time
They should uuhhhh try to fix that
Another reason to RMC it.
@@Nick_J_ replace the trains with lighter ones and there's the fix! The PTC trains are too heavy...
@@Nick_J_ thats SF budget for 10 years kniwng SF
To be fair, some new trains from Gci or Gravity group would be great
OMG, I remember your follow up trip, as those fireworks were absolutely nuts, as I couldn't believe how mazing they were and how long they kept shooting them off. I can't remember anything else from your video, but those fireworks were next level and it seemed worth a trip for that alone.
Yep, I'm a boomer and that's the only reason I visit this park.
I sincerely doubt La Monster would ever be RMC'd. The city of Montreal still has a significant say in how the park runs, (Note the lack of DC theming), and La Monster is a historic artifact to theme. What they could do is have Gravity Group refurbish the thing. A reprofiling to improve smoothness and make the trains less dependent on a full load would help a great deal.
Plus American companies are not allowed to build in Canada so a NON RMC team would have to RMC Monstre and I don't think the RMC company goes for that.
@@jimthar17 Yeah, I think that is also the issue for Canada's Wonderland.
@@jimthar17 - And Quebec is even more restrictive and backwards, in that ONLY Quebec construction workers are permitted to do work in this province, you cannot even bring in workers from other Canadian provinces (i.e. Ontario, BC, New Brunswick, etc), let alone the States. I don't think there's a Quebec based RMC company.
Ever since 6 flags took the park they dismantle most of the rides they did not like. The old part of the park is nicer then the newer part that is kind of weird and letting the monorail die is a travesty.
I just wanna point out that there is kind of a workaround the issue of the park not “looping” towards the edges. There is a monorail, a kind of suspended mini train tack which I think you talked about in your other video. Sure, it’s kinda slow, but the good thing about it is that it has a stop at the very end of the park, between the Goliath and the ferris wheel. Hopping at that stop, it goes right over the fireworks dock, over the lake, goes under a loop of the “Vampire” (which is quite funny as you can see the people squirming in the ride) and brings you to the next stop, which is right beside the other La Ronde entrance. So it’s basically a shortcut between the two edges of the park, saves a long walk back.
So you can basically just hop in at the edge of the park you mentioned (ferris wheel) and get out at the other edge. The only issue is that it must be operational in order to use it as a shortcut… which I think it has a time it stops around the evenings, though I think it only does so later like 8 pm or so. The other issue is that, at least a year I remember having the seasonal pass when younger, the monorail was frequently out of service due to some problem or maintenance, it wasn’t as properly maintained as other rides I though. But that might have changed nowadays. When it works properly, it passes quite frequently enough I thought, like every 15~20 minutes or so, just have to time it.
The other issue is that, even if it is quite long, on days where it is crowded with a lot of families and people, you are not sure to find a place on it, and there might even be a line. Which makes it not worth it for the time you want to save by going over the lake.
Other than that, I think you gave a fair and balanced review! I agree about Goliath and the fireworks being the best stuff. La Ronde loses a lot of its magic when one isn’t a child anymore lol, I think it’s fun as a teen as well, but when becoming a young adult and get to travel to other places, you see how much potential it had and how that potential got squandered in many ways by bad management, bad urban planning, bad investment decisions on infrastructure, etc. Compared to other big parks. Though, it still retains its charm for me and others I know, simply due to nostalgia and having memories there with others in our teenage years, dates gone right (or wrong), etc. Crappy rides can still make a place endearing in a strange way.
Fireworks competition can also be seen quite well on other locations like: on the Jacques Cartier Bridge right behind, they sometimes block a part of it on fireworks events so that people can walk up there and watch it from there, one of the best views. Also there is oftentimes plenty of people on the shore right across the other side of the river from La Ronde, under the bridge, it gets packed full every weekend. And finally on the artificial beach beside the clock tower, on the old port, you can see it from afar yet still well. And there’s always some old dude that used to bring a big *ss boombox and blasted the radio while the show was going on, to hear the music it was supposed to be themed to. I don’t know if he’s still alive today but it was good times.
La Ronde had been left unchanged for many years before 6th flags bought it. They are doing improvements every years but I believe there is so much to do that they are doing maintenances before adding new stuffs. Let say La Ronde needed a lot of love. But it gets better every years. I may return some day but now, it's so expensive that Iprefer to wait that my daugther gets older to appreciate it.
My reasons why it's the Worst 6 Flags Park:
1-The Bumper Cars are not as fun as the old ones (its hovercars now that move slowly)
2-Many rides were dismantled like the Cobra and Super manège, but weren't replaced by new rides.
3-The Pitoune was destroyed... It was my favorite (check my video on my channel if you're curious)
4-No permanent haunted house attraction anymore like the Moulin de la Sorcière that was there in the 90s
(and yes I love haunted rides)
5-There's always 2 broken rides at anytime like they don't know how to properly repare them. It's very disappointing (last time I've been there, it was the Monstre that was shutdown)
6-The food is so overpriced it's ridiculous
7-Lack of themes in the rides. If you compare it to other parks, there's always a cool theme around every ride. I think the most thematic you have is Ednor now... And it's the bare minimum I would say
8-Where are the mascots???
9-Being searched with X-rays at the entrance like you're a terrorist at an airport is no fun at all... It wasn't like this 5 years ago...
So yeah I wouldn't pay 40$ to visit a place where there's no innovation anymore and where 6 Flags let the rides rot to the ground.
The fun you have on The Monster honestly depends on which TRACK you ride. Number one is definitely superior to number two, specifically for one design reason which may have been entirely coincidental: near the start of the ride, you go down very quickly and the track lines up as if it's about to dump the entire train *right into the st-laurent river...* and then sharply turns right and the ride continues! This is most likely a happy accident of construction as the entire thing was probably built by an engineer at their desk and the blueprints sent to the construction team, that one turn on track number one lining up to give that specific effect.
Also, when I was a kid a few decades ago, people would stick their gum on the wooden fence surrounding the waiting lines, is "the wall of gum" still a thing?
Both give me a headache. I am aware that the carousel was not like this before. It seems they changed the ride trains which didn't fit with the company's recommendation. These horrible new trains would be the cause of the pains and headhashes that people have.
the Monster was elected as the best six flags wooden coaster in 2012, before the change the trains
@@patatebanine4278heavier trains means higher G force, hence why you are so tighten and surrended by coating while the older train had much more room
As for the safety part, older train still had seat belt but the bum on track 1 would make you bounce no matter what and that was the fun of it
I live in Montreal, and they used to invest in the park when it was owned by the city. They sold it in 2001 and the pay got worse for the employees, six flags jacked all the prices and they did minimal maintenance and scant improvement.
It wasn't as bad when it was a public good, and it is comfortably an argument against privatization.
youre completely insane...
city still owns it, six flags rents it... it is comfortably an argument in favor of privatization...
and if you think privitization means heavily regulated by government, taxed at every level by government, under multiple conditional rules from government, with land owned by the government, i think you need to read up on what privitization really is...
The park was poorly managed and going to close before it was sold to Six Flags. Six Flags invested in the park, then realised it was not going to pay off so they stopped.
@@arakwar yup i agree
I went to La Ronde before Six Flags took over, and my friend and I had a fantastic time.
As a Montrealer and a La Ronde ride operator employee, yeah. Six Flags has never really cared. Le Monstre actually used to be a lot of fun before they changed the cars! It wasn’t as shaky and harsh, and it was also a racing coaster. It was one of the best rides there imo. Truthfully, Six Flags needs to look here and fix it up. We are however getting an area of the kiddie park being given a thematic dinosaur thing.
''Long wait to get in'' is not resolved at all. Average time to get IN the park is 1h30 minutes at opening...
I see a twisted colossus 2.0 potential here. A ride that would bring international guests for decades.
I meaaaaaan, the entire video is right. But if you're like me ( A Québécois who has never been to another attraction park in his life ). You just think that all of this is normal and just live with it. Because I haven't seen better, I don't know better. Funnily enough, I think the Kid's side is better ( the one you to have to be 12 and under or accompaning a 12yrs old and under to go ) since they're all mini versions of the big attractions that they can't have access too and it's just a beautiful cozy place with other kids that are there to have fun. There's a good chunk of security so kidnapping doesn't happen or stuff like that.
My favourite portion of the La Ronde was when back in the time they had a Nintendo stand kinda hidden in one of the buildings and people who knew, knew. You could play so many games and even games that were about to release or JUST got released... That's how I got my first taste of Mario Kart 7, Luigi's Mansion 2, Super Mario 3D World and other stuff. Sadly I think it closed down like 10 years ago and it's truly sad because a good chunk of people were hanging there and wanted to play with other people to chat and have fun...
You can see the fireworks perfectly well from Old Montreal, then you can hit the restaurants etc after.
I arrived early in the morning, the queues at la ronde’s entrance was too long. Because I had afternoon plans outside of Montreal, I turned around, albeit I have an active season pass for 2023 bought before, which I can’t use anymore for the rest of the season (left Canada). Maybe next time. Another issue: Opening times. Then I would rather recommend Canada’s Wonderland in when in the Vaughan Ontario area.
As a roller coaster and pyrotechnics enthusiast, honestly, the only reason I'll be going to La Ronde if given the chance is to watch the fireworks competition. Nothing more unfortunately...
I loved the original review but I like that you decided to revise it
i worked at the concession games in La ronde one summer and the state of the buildings and the games and everything else is just so bad... our break room was super small and the walls werent even finished and the buildings are in horrible condition. i saw videos of other parks in the us and all the games look very well maintained
The fact that you can park your boat or land your plane on water next to it is pretty nice too
Please never delete your og la ronde review. It’s really funny
It’s staying up!
Love the video mate! In defense of Monstre, Parkour 2 is wildly worse then the first one and the new trains made it even worse. Back in the day Parkour 1 with original trains Monstre was a real gem 💎😓 Cheers from Montréal Coaster Studios! 🙌
I thought I was just getting older. It was the train change in 2013!
@@MadWhack187 Yes 🥲
La Ronde was much better maintained back when the park was still owned by the city of Montreal! Ever since they sold it to Six Flags, it's been doing nothing but going downhill
Look at old maps of La Ronde and you'll see there used to be many more rides
Plenty of the rides were on the smaller side but still, was better than what's there now
And most of the rides were open!
This is pretty accurate. We were there in 2017 and we loved Goliath (and yeah, sorry to say we did love Le Monstre too, but I'd still welcome an RMC on that!)
the monster's line is always so brutal
The issue is Six Flags current CEO doesn’t believe in adding any new rides to any parks
problem with laronde is it's the only local park we have, so six flags will do nothing because they know people will still go there. Also they don't wanna redo Le Monstre because it's the oldest ride in the park.
Someone needs to bring back "Le Parc Belmont" with the "big laughing lady" and all! ;)
The monster is really old, I remember doing it like in 1986. It was supposed to have a lifespan of 40 years. I still like it, but man it's rough now, it was so smooth at the beginning.
for safety reasons there is absolutely no way in hell they'd be able to open that path close to the display dates when there are that many fireworks there, however i agree that they definitely should open it during times of the year when there aren't any displays and there are zero fireworks there
I mean that is already what’s happening. The areas around Vampire and the ferris wheel get closed early during fireworks nights anyway
What's so wrong about Le Monstre? It's always been my favourite ride 😢
It’s mine, too. Only people who aren’t born in Quebec will never understand the excitement of Le Monstre.
When poutine, the gravy-laden, cheese curd gift from the Great White North, is a positive point, it’s always a win!
That observation tower's been there since 1967, it was part of the Canadian pavillon of Expo 67. I'm pretty sure they're thinking of tearing it down. And considering they put ads on the monorail I don't think they'll ever get that thing moving again. It's basically decor.
I was there the same day, and I can assure you that waiting 2 hours to get in was definitely still a con. 😅
I can recall riding Le Monstre a lot the year it opened (track 1 - 1985) and then the following year after Track 2 opened. Back in those days with the original trains it was an awesome coaster, and even today I still put it as one of my top 10, even though it has seen better days and many don't like it. The original trains were better and back in the day track 2 was the better track. Maybe I'm just nostalgic for the coaster, but I would hate to see it RMC'd. I've always preferred the classic wooden coasters.
As for making the park a full circle, I'd agree that would help. Back in the day the monorail helped with getting around the park. As you've mentioned they've officially retired the monorail, which is actually a little sad to see as it was one of the original attractions from when the park opened in 1967 as a part of Expo 67 (the world's fair). There also used to be a gondola / skyride which took guests from one side of the lake to the other and gave some great views of the park. I can't recall when the gondola was removed but with the loss of those 2 attractions there is now no easy easy way to get across the park without walking around the lake.
@lornetyndale7974 - The Sky Ride closed in 1996 (it was only finally removed/demolished in 2000). Did it actually have have two stations? The original boarding station still exists at the park today, but I don't remember if there was a exiting station on the other side of the lake.
@@Apple2gswas between Dragon coaster and the ferry wheel
@@michaelbouillon1241 - Ah yes, there it is, # 540 on the official Expo 67 site map, "Dolphin Lake station"! Did the ride stop for people to board and exit, or was it like a ski lift....where you hop on and off as it slowly moves?
@@Apple2gs it was a full station. The gondolas detached from the haul rope and slowed down. You could get on or off at either station.
Good news, they finally dismantled the minirail.
Also, I heard that they are going to FINALLY invest into the park's landscaping and infrastructure.
When the city of Montreal owned the park, it was 100 times better. There were actual restaurants like McDonald's ect...and it was very well maintained with long operating hours.
Since 6 Flags purchased it, every single year it's gotten worst and worst, very very sad
Its just honestly more a nostalgic place now since I am a quebecer and we know its probably not the best but its like what we know and what weve always loved so I think wee see it differently because we dont have anything to compare it too but I prefer the halloween months it is so much more fun and dynamic because of the actors going around.
Also they finally removed the monorail this season. Also the ops are pretty good now. I went a couple of times these past weeks and they were rolling trains while doing 2 train ops on Goliath. It's pleasantly surprising considering that before, they were always staking trains like crazy. But if le monstre ever gets rmced, it will make this park so much better, considering that le monstre is a piece of junk.
I’m living in Montreal and I don’t go to La Ronde for about same reasons. The Monster. Since they replaced the trains,the ride are worst and way less comfortable as the seats are narrower than the ancient trains.
The Boomerang,Dragon and many other coaster as Ednor and Vanpire,waiting line are very long and expect to wait a good 2 hours,unless you have the flash pass but still long before getting access to the rides. We really need better coaster.
The Chaos are looking brand new but the concept are very old.
Guess are enjoying the rides cause for most,they didn’t even went to another attraction park.
Food are very expensive,as the poutine,the portions that you shown are 18,99$
Restaurant like Subway doesn’t apply any promotion,there were a Mc Donald in La Ronde and they closed it for this exact issue,Subway stands could know the same thing one of these days.
Entry for a day are almost the Sam price than a season pass. If you get there at Least twice in a season,getting the season pass will make you saving money.
It’s a good part of the answer of why they don’t invest anything on the rides. Almost everyone get the season pass.
Don’t expect bringing your own lunch,they will ask you to throw it out,even if you have a water bottle and do not expect to find a water fountain,there’s none,the only few we can see are always out of order,they prefer you to buy a water bottle for 6$.
And it’s most of time overcrowded,if ever and emergency evacuation have to happen,for sure we will learn about,very high risks of injuries or death if a sudden crowd movement occur.
The real safe capacity of the park should be 3500 peoples in a same period in the park,but we can easily see up to 10000 of peoples and on fireworks days,it can go up to 35000 of persons in this park.
I have to say the few times I have gone to La Ronde, I had a blast. The one major gripe I had was getting there. Canada's Wonderland was fun too,not perfect by any imagination but I left having a good visit.
I think based on review that Le Monstre should get a RMC treatment. But also removing a lower clone coaster and replace the lane with something cool like Mack multi-launch or even Mack extreme spinner that launch could do well for this park.
Why would Six Flags invest in something that is attracting a decent crowd anyway? I suspect the management sees no return on such an investment.
Also, I think the Monster is a sacred cow. Suggesting any change other than repair would attract strong criticism from a lot of people who really shouldn't care, no matter how good the proposed change would be.
Closing down the most iconic rides, even if they were a bit outdated, was a big mistake. La Ronde is just a shadow of what it used to be.
"The last coaster La Ronde added was a relocated Vekoma SLC... And that was in 2010."
Laughs (cries) looking at Michigan's Adventure with our 2008 relocated SLC being the only coaster we've gotten since the turn of the century. And why the hell do they have a batman clone AND an SLC?
Le monstre was an amazing coaster back in the days. I remember it being way smoother when i first started riding it in the 90's, and then they changed the trains... ☹
Six Flags selling this park to Herschend would be the best thing to ever happen. So much potential just absolutely down the drain. Would love to see what could happen in this park with ownership who cares
The issue with ops is not understaffing. The monster only can do one train per ride.
skytower is kept as decoration for now bécasse it's not comming back.
Biggest problem with La Ronde is that it’s located on a man-made island that has a weight capacity. Also considering the park can only be open for 3 months full time because of Canadian winter, I can understand why Six Flags isn’t investing as much as they should. Wish they would though, La Ronde sucks…
A lot of Montreal's remaining history is at La Ronde, and I wish they would understand that and do it for the folks who live there and/or in Canada. I mean, I get Americans don’t really care about those outside the country all that much, but this is going a bit far… I don’t even think the original founder would let this slide.
All about investment, you're right. with location near a metro (subway) station, layout and amazing views this park has amazing potential. So sad when six flags took over and not much changed.
Seeing this review makes me wonder what the top 10 worst parks you’ve visited are, or at least your worst park experiences
Did anyone else notice how much Monstre was swaying in one of those shots? Yeah, I'd be a bit hesitant to ride that thing.
Wooden coasters flex and sway. They would crack and snap if they were rigid.
Its normal for wooden coasters
One of the main problem of Laronde in my opinion is the Administration management. They are slow when it comes about to improve the landscape, add more tree of bench, they let things go downhill. they destroyed a coaster 3 years ago, do you know what they replaced for? A parking. Horrible how the management is actually. No vision at all.
Le Monstre was one of the best wooden coaster in north america, they decided to change the Morgan train and now the coaster is painful & horrible
I doubt that's the local management's fault. They do what they can with the budget they are given.
@@clempocap Yeah, At the same time, I am aware that LaRonde's budget is limited. The park is open for less time than the other parks, the Canadian dollar is worth less than the American and Six Flags is currently in deficit
I am a Montrealers, bought a year pass for the last 5 years. I am ashamed of what 6 flags as done, or not done, at laronde. My family will not buy another pass this year and never if they is no improvements.
I agree with everything you said. Though I haven’t been to this park yet their coaster collection does seem odd. Like they have a B&M Invert and Vekoma SLC?! Choose one or the other lol
I never even noticed that before lol wtf. an awesome coaster and then an incredibly sh*tty wannabe version of that coaster. literally makes no sense 😂
Actually… just choose the b&m!
Not the only thing that is odd with this place, it's just literally the SF dumpster or ride cemetery, both standing and dismantled... You can see pieces of old rides when you ride some coasters 😂
Honestly, Goliath is a good enough reason to visit at least if you are in the area.
I grew up in the Montreal area, so it's a place dear to my heart. I also have some of my best summer memories in recent years there. It was 2012 or 2013 I think when one of my best friends paid me a season pass. We had weird schedules compared to the rest of the world so we often went on days where there weren't much people. We had the best summer ever. And it was I who made her try big roller coasters for the first time, she was very scared but then she became even more of a fan than I am.
One day I'll try the only thing I was too scared to try : the slingshot. Sadly it's one you need to pay for, but also, I've never found anyone willing to go with me. So i guess I'll go alone, lol.
My faves are Le Boomrang, Le Goliath and Le Vampire. I love the Boomrang, I know it's old and all, but I can't help but loving it. Le Monstre also is a fave (and it's always extremely crowded there when it's not closed lol). I hate Cobra and Édnor, because i always am so uncomfortable in these two, and end up hurting my head or something.
The sun when waiting for Goliath, I feel it SO MUCH. And the food is bad, so I remember we rented a locker outside the park and brought our lunch most of the time.
I haven't gotten to a lot of other parks in my life and I have rose tinted glasses from nostalgia so take my opinion with a grain of salt lol.
It's funny that you say the island isn't a circle because La Ronde literally means "Round" in French.
La Ronde means making the rounds which does not imply going in circles but does imply a closed circuit. I always thought it referred to kiddy rides going in circles, never thought of the park not forming a closed circle before.
Can you imagine if they rmc'ed La Monstre? It has almost 8000 ft of track to work with. That could be epic.
I Hope sf would do it but they are broke 💀
@@CANADIANCOASTERENTHUSISATS Are they? they've been investing in some of their parks
The monster is coming to the end of its lifespan. I remember when I was a teen in 1986, they said it had a lifespan of 40 years. It's only a matter of time.
I wish they had opened Green Lantern. It would have been epic to have 2 coasters that bad in the same park.