Canada's Wonderland Stabbing

[The Interpreter]

Put another way, the parking lot is a no man's land where you are on your own? Really?

And they charge, too?

[Gplez90]

I feel like this is an incident that unfortunately could occur anywhere at anytime. I think the only thing that the park can do is increase security across the property. Anything else wont hinder any type of crime from happening outside the parks gates.

[shark6495]

Put another way, the parking lot is a no man's land where you are in your own? Really?

And they charge, too?

Well, if my car gets busted into while on KI's property, I am on my own.....

[KI Guy]

There's a much different scale there shark, a stolen car stereo vs. a man losing his life. If you're being facetious, my mistake.

As far as my take on the situation goes, I don't know how responsible or not responsible the park is at this point. We don't know if this person engaged the attacker or was a bystander or anything. I think that the PR statement was in poor taste and an example of C.Y.A. at an inappropriate time. It's almost like they don't realize the seriousness of this. The details are not out yet. Sometimes it's best not to speculate as you can catch "foot in mouth disease" quite easily. Ultimately, if something happens on your property you have to consider that you may be held at least somewhat responsible.

[upstop]

^{What if it was one of these...}

^{http://www.ijreview.com/2014/10/190416-isiss-call-lone-wolf-attacks-hits-canada-jihadist-just-ran-two-soldiers/}

^{or one of these}

^{http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/24/us/new-york-police-attacked/index.html}

[KI Guy]

MantisMan,

I hope you don't really mean what you said earlier. If I take your first post literally, it means you have no sympathy unless the two who were stabbed were completely innocent. I ask you if the deceased called the attacker a name does that justify the killing? If the deceased punched the person, does that justify the killing? Please don't paint such a broad stroke over something that none of us know about. Even if it is somehow likely that the people stabbed pulled a weapon themselves, we just don't know. You could very well be right, but you very well could be wrong. I understand your outrage of this happening at what is supposed to be among the safest of places. Remember you're speculating on a homicide, just be careful. Everything is not always so black and white.

[upstop]

um no. I mean it is possible that it could have been an unprovoked terroristict act. We don't know.

[KI Guy]

Exactly, which is why I think that speculating on this case is irresponsible at this point. Just because something is typical does not mean it is always the case.

I'm sorry about that late edit upstop. Post #36 was not directed at you.

[upstop]

No problem. The whole stabbing was reprehensible no matter who exacted it and the perpetrator of the act should be punished heavily.

[homestar92]

^ Unless, of course, it turns out that the alleged attacker's life was in danger from these people and he or she was acting in self defense.

We just don't have all the facts yet. There are so many different scenarios that all seem equally likely. I'm sure local law enforcement will do everything in their power to uncover the facts, but as it is right now, we know almost nothing for sure, and speculation isn't prudent.

On a lighter note, I love the word "prudent" and like to find ways to inject it into conversation.

[coasterfanatic83]

Does anybody who has been to Canada's Wonderland care to describe their parking lot situation/setup? The article on the Toronto Sun website says that it was near Jane St. and Rutherford Rd. so where would that be?

I haven't been there, so I am trying to understand the area a little bit.

[homestar92]

Jane Street is more or less the main road in the commercial area of Vaughan. As far as I know, it is the only entrance to the park. You have one lane that turns in to the lot itself, which branches out to several lanes to get you to the tolls. You're basically already in the lot when you get to the tolls, which is a difference from the layout of Kings Island's lot. Otherwise, the lot itself is very similar to the one at KI, it runs the length of the park from North to South, with the entrance to the park in the center. There is a pick-up/drop-off area on Jane Street directly across from the park entrance.

With the exception of the placement of the parking tolls, the lot is structured very similarly to the Kings Island lot.

Rutherford Road is about a block south of the park's actual entrance. So I would assume this means the south side of the lot. If this did actually occur near the intersection of Jane Street and Rutherford Road, then that would place the occurrence well off of the park's property.

[vortexfan]

Jane Street is more or less the main road in the commercial area of Vaughan. As far as I know, it is the only entrance to the park.

There is also an entrance off of Rutherford which filters cars to the same toll booths as the Jane St entrance.

[homestar92]

^looking at Google Earth, I can see that now. From Rutherford, you can turn onto Canada's Wonderland Drive, which runs over toward the park, down along the side of it parallel to Behemoth, and into the tolls.

Rutherford Road itself is still a good distance from the park though, which still raises some questions about what the article meant. Maybe it'll become more apparent when/if more details are released.

[vortexfan]

The way the article reads, it seems like it was simply trying to give a general sense of the parking lot's location within the city. The Sun is the worst newspaper in Toronto, though, so bad writing and ambiguity don't surprise me.

[The Interpreter]

More:

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2014/10/26/22031396.html

Note the change in tone from the park spokesman.

[RollerNut]

Max capacity at Carowinds in 2006 was right around 45,000 people if I remember correctly. Rarly does Carowinds ever hit that number. A normal Saturday was 18,000

[bkroz]

Haunt does feel crowded. I'm always astounded by wait times at Kings Island on Saturdays during the fall. Doesn't mean that the park is at its determined capacity, which is often below the capacity set by the fire marshal anyway, right?

[Oldiesmann]

From what I've read/heard, Saturday was a very busy day for amusement parks in general. There were reports of large crowds and long lines at many parks - Kings Dominion, Kings Island, Cedar Point, Six Flags Great America, Canada's Wonderland... I'm guessing a large part of that is due to the fact that it was the last Saturday before Halloween.

[APE]

Parks crowded, better stab someone!

That woman's logic was way off base. I love when they interview these fools that don't know anything.

[The Interpreter]

From what I've read/heard, Saturday was a very busy day for amusement parks in general. There were reports of large crowds and long lines at many parks - Kings Dominion, Kings Island, Cedar Point, Six Flags Great America, Canada's Wonderland... I'm guessing a large part of that is due to the fact that it was the last Saturday before Halloween.

Six Flags America was virtually empty, I am told....

[MisterSG1]

As a person from the GTA, who has been a Wonderland fan on and off in my life. I wanted to join the site CWMania, but no one there wants to seem to activate my account, let me explain some things. I was not at Wonderland the night this happened but was there the very next day due to a free pass I had when I went to Haunt for the first time in my life the previous Sunday. Also, I did visit Kings Island in 2004....and rode the infamous Son of Beast.

First thing, reading many accounts on Trip Advisor of the horrible experience many people had on Saturday, October 25, there seems to be a common theme. While I got easily into all the mazes at Wonderland on the Sunday I went into, (I could probably do them all again with the crowds they had) many were complaining of horrendous crowds, worse than they had ever seen. People on CWMania are also complaining about it. Could this have been a large powder keg that allowed someone to go off on the deep end and kill someone?

As for me, I had a free visit during the day time for yesterday. Let me clarify a few things, the police tape was around the area where the toll booths are. Wonderland actually had it's employees standing outside the toll booth area collecting their money. Also, the Jane Street entrance is NOT the main entrance. The main entrance is off Rutherford and furthermore off Hwy 400. In much the same way you enter Kings Island from I-71. This roadway from Highway 400, which appears as "Canada's Wonderland Dr" on maps, takes you from Rutherford/400 to the parking lot, incidentally, and I always thought unusually, there is a way to "bail" going in and go to Jane Street.Similarly, you can't go to Jane Street when you exit the parking lot, unless you U-turn. You can easily see what I'm talking about on Satellite view. There is an exit onto Major Mack on the other side of the parking lot but as I understand, you can't enter the parking lot from there anymore. That big spot where those ramps are north of Major Mack is where a hospital is being built.

I think Wonderland myself has blood on their hands from what has happened. They refuse to acknowledge it had anything to do with their park, but if the place was that crowded and the level of disorder that many have been talking about on TripAdvisor, it wouldn't surprise me. Even in a small crowd, I particularly didn't enjoy Halloween Haunt, as the park is no longer a fun family park, but a place full of negativity. In a sense, it kind of felt like Pinocchio's Pleasure Island in a way when I went. Considering that even the very next day, the park security and staff still didn't monitor the metal detectors very seriously. My keys and change set the metal detector off on Sunday, and they told me to go through still. To please them further, I took everything out from my pocket and walked back through the metal detector and said "This is what you should be doing to every guest, there was a fatal incident in the parking lot last night". That's not to mention that on Haunt night, I also smelled cannabis, I don't care what your opinion on that drug is, but it is in my opinion unacceptable. When people who are fans of Wonderland claim that it took them 15 minutes to walk halfway down International Street (which is around the same length as the one at Kings Island), there is something seriously wrong.

This is my rant on this situation, and like many, unless Wonderland really steps up to the plate and acknowledges that Haunt operations on Oct 25 was a total disaster, I do not think I will be going back again for a long time. On Sunday, other than parking, I did not spend a cent in Wonderland.

[bkroz]

From what I've read/heard, Saturday was a very busy day for amusement parks in general. There were reports of large crowds and long lines at many parks - Kings Dominion, Kings Island, Cedar Point, Six Flags Great America, Canada's Wonderland... I'm guessing a large part of that is due to the fact that it was the last Saturday before Halloween.

Six Flags America was virtually empty, I am told....

And just think, if they didn't have a local amusement park, those youths might be out vandalizing cars and stealing.

GYK, cross-threading, cross-parking.

[The Interpreter]

http://m.torontosun.com/2014/10/27/victim-idd-in-fatal-canadas-wonderland-stabbing

Oh, my.

[BoddaH1994]

^ It appears as though the altercation did, in fact, have direct tie-ins with the park's Haunt event, despite what the park said.

[silver2005]

What is it with parks like this and SFA having these huge incidents then not owning up to them? Are they just being blindsided by them and, therefore, aren't prepared to issue proper statements?

[KI Guy]

Clearly events such as these are not in the protocols, or if they are, they need to be seriously overhauled. You do not wash your hands of something without carefully evaluating the situation. That wasn't proper PR. Anyone could have done that.

[faeriewench]

From what I've read/heard, Saturday was a very busy day for amusement parks in general. There were reports of large crowds and long lines at many parks - Kings Dominion, Kings Island, Cedar Point, Six Flags Great America, Canada's Wonderland... I'm guessing a large part of that is due to the fact that it was the last Saturday before Halloween.

Knott's been insane too the last couple Saturdays. Most recent one I needed a "body guard" to protect me from drunk guests o_o y'all would not have liked Xcelerator's line...slow loader, one train operation, Saturday Haunt night crowds...yeah it was not pretty. Of course I dunno exactly how long the line was since I don't waste my time on the coasters during Haunt but most of the mazes had nearly 2 hour waits so there's that.

[The Interpreter]

I said it before and I'll say it again. It's even more so now:

At the end of the season, parks might want to carefully consider to whom and how they are marketing their BooFests.

If these events become associated with gangs, parking lot fights, and hoodlums, the October cash cow dries up.

[Italian Job 2005]

I mean I think CF knows their haunt events attract a rougher crowd. There is a reason that they use metal detectors and wands during their Halloween events.

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