Rolling with Sarah

What better way to get ready for Halloween than a trip to Halloween Haunt at Canada’s Wonderland? I went with one of my best friends, Chris (you may know him as this website’s awesome designer). We drove up this past weekend. We got really lucky with the weather. Though it poured on the way there, once we arrived, we just had to wait a little and it stopped. The rest of the night it just drizzled a little on and off, enough that the park wasn’t too busy but not enough to ruin the night. Once again, very lucky.

Upon arrival, one thing we found odd was the location of the disability parking. It wasn’t anywhere near the entrance which made it a bit of a hike to get to the front gate. It was closer to the exit, which I guess I can see the benefit of, but I think an option in the middle would have been a better placement.

The first thing we did when we got into the park was go to guest services for a disability pass. We had to complete a questionnaire to demonstrate why we needed the pass, but the chair made it pretty obvious. The pass allowed us to use the accessible entrance to each of the rides and mazes so that we could get the chair where it needed to go without obstacles. It is very important to remember that these passes are so people with disabilities can participate and not be impeded by various barriers including steps. We also stopped and grabbed our special bracelets for the Halloween attractions.

Once we had our paperwork, we were off to the attractions. We did a lap of the park to get the lay of the land. Of course, we had to stop and play a few midway games. I was able to roll right up to them and fully participate. Chris beat me in Wack-a-Mole by one hit, but I owned it in balloon darts. I may be tiny, but my aim is wicked! Next came a quick stop for what I consider one of the best food groups: funnel cake. I swear it was the size of my head.

We decided to try a few rides before it got dark enough for the Halloween festivities. This is the one part of our night that would be hard for a wheelchair user to do independently. We were able to enter through the accessible entrance (often the exit) and bring the chair as close as we could to the ride. Chris then lifted me onto the ride. Not everyone is comfortable being lifted, but I trust Chris with my life. Once I was secure in the ride, they took my chair away to where the attendant could take care of it. When the ride was over, Chris went and got it and lifted me back into my chair. We did a total of three rides. Nothing too crazy, the swings, one similar to a very intense scrambler, and a very calm roller coaster (as far as roller coasters go lol). The stuff I let him talk me into, I swear :P. We did try to be mindful of the fact that both of us are rather fragile, so we didn’t go too far and do something that we would live to regret the next day.

By the time we finished the rides we wanted to try, it was time for the mazes. The mazes are basically haunted houses. They each had a theme and a path to follow as you go through. There are plenty of actors dressed up to scare you if the spooky décor and atmosphere wasn’t enough. Not gonna lie, they got me a few times. Our favourite hands down was the under-the-sea themed one called Demons of the Deep. In total there were 6 mazes, but the corn maze was closed for the night due to mud from the rain. All of the mazes were wheelchair accessible. If there was a step, there was a ramp. I was very impressed. It was a little hard to manoeuvrer in the dark, but the actors helped guide you in the right direction.

In between mazes, they had a few of what they called “scare zones”. Think fog machines, creepy displays, and zombies coming at you from every direction. Check out some of the videos below for a peak at them.

All in all, I was very impressed with the accessibility of the park. The disability pass allowed us to take the chair everywhere we wanted to go. We went through each of the mazes with no problems. What I loved most was that the ramps were integrated into the pathway for everyone to use, so I didn’t have to do anything special to feel included. I had a great night with a great friend. I would go again in a heartbeat.