Ontario Place is on the shore of Lake Ontario and western part of downtown Toronto. It is an amusement park that only opens from May to September. The place was built for families and children. It has bridges and walkways that connect the three (3) man made islands.
The islands concept was from the ‘barrier reefs’ of the Caribbean and it has became an important part of the Ontario place. The size of the park is of 360,000 square meters (96 acres) and 206,000 square meters (51.4 acres) of land fill. It was opened May 22, 1971, there is a five (5) pavilion complex, The Molson Amphitheater, pedal boats, the center – marina village, restaurants and the Cinesphere, the world’s first permanent IMAX theater. The Ontario Place offers rides, entertainment and attractions especially for families and as well as for everybody.
The Cinesphere is a spherical dome theater which can accommodate eight hundred (800) seats. The Molson Amphitheater has a capacity of sixteen thousand (16) seats unlike the Forum that can only accommodate eight thousand (8,000) seats, was also and open-air place for events and concerts. The Forum was torn down in the nineties replacing it with the Molson Amphitheater. Major concerts such as Judas Priest, R.E.M., Dave Matthews Band, Coldplay and Bryan Adams last May 2005 were performed there for the park’s opening.
There are lots of rides, attractions and sights to see. At the part of East Island, there is the Market Square and the Soak City. Some of the rides at the Market Square are the Mini Bumper Boats, Cyclone, Super Slide, and Power Wheels Track and at the Soak City, has pools and slides, such as the Rush River, Waterplay, and Pink Twister and so on; it is the water park part of the Ontario Place.
You can find the Cinesphere, the restaurant Antlantis and the Bumper Boats at the Center Island, the Marina Village. On the West Island of the park are the Go Zone and the Adventure Island. At the Go Zone, Pedal Boats and the largest outdoor climbing structure in Canada, the H20 General Station and at the Adventure Island you can enjoy the log ride and the Megamaze.
The park is only open from May to September and the Cinesphere is open all year round. To get to Ontario Place, there is a free shuttle going to Ontario place from the Union Station, it is from 8:30 in the morning to 8:30 in the afternoon and it is daily.
