We visited La Ronde on a weekend in October, during their Halloween festivities. Having been to many theme parks around North America, it’s sad to see how badly Six Flags takes care of its only theme park in Canada.
Almost every ride is old. Very old. As in 20-30 years. And it shows. What’s more, it doesn’t look like the basic upkeep to maintain appearance has been done. Paint has all but chipped away on many surfaces, flags & canvas is torn, full of holes, or missing entirely. Door handles are loose, metal is rusted beyond belief, cement is cracked and uneven.... everything just looks OLD, poorly taken care of, and on the verge of falling apart.
What’s more, we visited on a fall weekend, which as most Canadians expect, will be chilly. We dressed for the weather, but after 3-4 hours of queue lines and cold wind on rides, we searched for a place to warm up. We were disappointed to find only one place in the whole park (Saloon) that was indoors and heated. The Subway was indoors but almost as cold as outside (the staff we wearing winter jackets!), and almost everywhere else is counter service with outdoor seating - fine for summer, horrible for a park that also operates in the fall.
I’m not asking for major new buildings to be constructed, but there aren’t even any portable heaters out ANYWHERE. Not in the queues, not in the eating areas, not even in the entrances. It would be a small investment to set up banks of heaters ima few places to give their guests (and staff) a place to quickly warm up as they enjoy their day.
All in all, likely won’t return when I come back to Montreal, and definitely not after mid September. Six flags needs to do some upkeep to bring La Ronde in line with the rest of its portfolio.
