Leviathan was the prototype Bolliger & Mabillard giga coaster. Located at Canada’s Wonderland in
Vaughan, Ontario, this giant roller coaster offers a different layout than the B&M mega coasters that
preceded it. I remember there were some concerns that this attraction would be too similar to
Behemoth when it was announced, but those fears were quelled the second this attraction opened.
Find out why this is Canada’s Wonderland’s best attraction in this review!
Canada’s Wonderland is the highest attended seasonal park in North America, even beating
parks like Cedar Point and Hersheypark. After the success of Behemoth in 2008,
Canada’s Wonderland’s attendance warranted and needed another large scale coaster. So Cedar Fair
returned to Bolliger & Mabillard wanting a giga coaster. For many years, it was rumored B&M would
never break the 300 foot or 91 meter barrier, but that fallacy was squashed in 2012 with Leviathan.
But there was concern from coaster enthusiasts that Leviathan would be too similar to Behemoth.
While both were the hyper coaster model from B&M, the two rides have radically different layouts.
Behemoth is an airtime machine. It’s an endless series of camelbacks loaded with floater airtime.
Leviathan is more of a speed demon. The ride has some airtime-filled camelbacks, but Leviathan
charges through its turns faster and there are these low hills accentuating the ride’s speed.
I think the rides compliment each other perfectly…and so didn’t Cedar Fair. The
success of this attraction is why Carowinds and Kings Island also received their own B&M
giga coasters despite already having B&M hypers. It’s possible Fury 325 and Orion
would not have been built had Leviathan not been as well-received as it was.
Leviathan would forever change Canada’s Wonderland’s skyline. The coaster would
stand 306 feet or 93 meters tall. The ride could be seen from miles away. And it looks
imposing from the parking lot. Many cars will park along this ride’s layout and the entry
plaza is located underneath the attraction. It really gets guests hyped for their day.
So understandably, most guests want to make this coaster their first stop. Leviathan has
incredible capacity, regularly running 3 trains each seating up to 32 riders, but it often has
the longest line in the park. It’s not uncommon to see this ride hovering around the hour mark.
If you aren’t one of the first people in line for this coaster, it’s more efficient to hit the
other rides with short waits in the morning and return to Leviathan later in the day.
Or you can purchase a Fast Lane skip-the-line pass if you want to lap this coaster all-day long.
I talked about this coaster’s size, but I like it’s visual look too. The cyan track
looks beautiful, particularly on a sunny day. And the ride’s entry plaza has a 3D version of the
ride’s logo with the mythical beast situated above a fountain. Cedar Fair always seems to
nail the presentation for their signature rides. When you reach the station, there’s a grouper who
will assign you a row. From my experience over the years, they are more than happy to honor
seating requests if you ask nicely. My favorite row by a slim margin is the back to experience
the drop to the fullest. However, the front is awesome too since you get to feel this ride’s
blistering 92 mph or 148 kph speed more. But trust me, this ride feels mighty fast wherever you sit.
If you’ve ridden other B&M hypers, the restraints are familiar. You have a comfortable clamshell
restraint that rests against your thighs. Like the others in the Cedar Fair chain,
Leviathan does have seatbelts, but they don’t impact the ride experience for me. They just
slow down the loading ever-so-slightly. But in general, this crew keeps the three trains
moving at a steady rate. And that’s even with guests storing things on the ride platform.
Once dispatched, you turn out of the station and ascend the giant lift hill.
It’s a fairly fast ascent given its size. And you get good views on the way up. To your right,
you get a full birds-eye view of the theme park. Then in the distance, you can see Toronto’s
skyline. But don’t get lost in that view too long because the thrills are about to commence.
Leviathan begins with one of the best drops in the world. This 80 degree plunge is
brilliantly designed to offer one of the most sustained moments of airtime in the world.
You levitate out of your seat for a good 4-5 seconds, which is downright thrilling.
It’s floater airtime, but it’s strong floater airtime and it’s incredible how long it lasts.
If you’ve ridden Fury 325 or Orion, this drop feels nearly identical, and that’s a good thing.
The pullout takes place in a short tunnel with the monster’s face on it. This section does
have a rattle to it. Thankfully that is the only shaky section on Leviathan. The rest of
the coaster is extremely smooth, which is what you typically expect from a B&M hyper or giga.
This pullout also piles on the positive Gs. Leviathan hits a max of 4.5 Gs and it’s a
guaranteed greyout for me. Those forces are maintained through the second hill,
which is a giant turn that banks 90 degrees to the right,
so I often lose my vision for 4-5 seconds. It reminds me of the start on Millennium Force.
I usually come to before the first speed hill. This is a small but drawn out bunny
hill. And you fly over this hill, so you get great floater airtime. It isn’t
as sustained as a larger camelback, but that airtime combined with the speed is blissful.
Especially since the exit of the bunny hill subtly turns left, so you get some nice laterals while
still levitated out of your seat. Plus there’s a nice headchopper with a support column too.
Next is a giant camelback, one of the largest in the world. It does have a trim on it. You’ll hear
it hit and the train will lose a tiny amount of speed, but the resultant hill is still fantastic
so I don’t mind. You get some wonderful and very sustained floater airtime no matter where you’re
sitting. It’s one of the best camelbacks on any B&M between the airtime power and duration.
I’m surprised more people don’t talk about this hill like the first camelback on Mako.
You then cruise through the far turnaround, which is another large element. It doesn’t
have much force to it, but the train is really whipped through the second half of
it as you’re pulled back down to the ground. Next is another speed hill, but this one lacks
the punch of the first one. There’s no airtime or laterals. It just showcases the ride’s speed
as it zips past the picnic pavilions. Next is another camelback that you take
with considerable speed. The trim on this hill doesn’t usually hit and the resultant airtime
is good and sustained floater airtime on par with the camelbacks on a lot of B&M hypers.
But Leviathan suddenly seems to start losing speed for the finale.
You then have another large turn that hugging the first one. This element offers a pinch of
laterals, but not much else. It more or less is just lining you up with the brake run.
Speaking of which, you then hop into Leviathan’s infamous final brake run.
It’s so high off the ground. It’s taller than the adjacent Dragon Fyre roller coaster!
But the entry into the brakes does offer some decent floater airtime up front and a
pinch of airtime towards the back. This ends the 5486 foot or 1672 meter long coaster.
That’s a pretty significant amount of track, but Leviathan does feel an element or two short
because of how quickly it navigates its course. What about this ride’s pacing? I think Leviathan’s
first half is perfect between the speed, power, and airtime. The second half has some elements
that don’t quite hit such as the second speed hill and final turn, but I’d equate the experience to
Mako where the first half is so good that it can overcome a second half that does drop off.
So what would I rate Leviathan? I would give the original B&M giga coaster an 8.5 out of 10. I
really like Leviathan, but this rating reflects how it compares to some of the other gigas.
I love the first drop, airtime hills, speed, and smoothness. This is such a satisfying coaster.
I just wish a few of the final elements were superior or there was an extra few
hills like Fury 325. That is what would push this coaster higher up my list.
Still, this is a really good coaster that compares favorably to Orion in my opinion.
I think this is the best steel coaster in Canada and a worthy
top attraction at this Cedar Fair park. So those are my thoughts on Leviathan at
Canada’s Wonderland? How do you think this coaster compares to the other giga coasters out there?
Let me know what you think in the comments. If you enjoyed this review, I’d appreciate it
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coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!