Future Ontario Place adventure park to cost around $13 to $14 an hour

The new “adventure park” set to be built at Ontario Place will likely cost around $13 to $14 an hour once it opens, says the co-owner of the company the province has tapped as part of the waterfront attraction’s redevelopment process.

Future Ontario Place to feature water and adventure parks, revamped concert venue

Jean-Philippe Duchesneau, co-owner of Quebec outdoor recreation firm Écorécréo, told CBC Radio’s Metro Morning Tuesday that exactly how much it will cost to enter the park will depend on exactly what people want to do — but it will likely cost around $13 to $14 an hour.

“We’re looking to be in that range,” he said, adding that the group’s goal will be to have free access to the park, and then fees on top of that to use different amenities.

Duchesneau said the park will include activities like aerial obstacle courses, ziplines, an outdoor climbing park, escape games, and immersive theatre. He said he expects the park to open sometime between 2024 and 2026.

Many Ontarians have expressed fond memories of Ontario Place through the province’s consultations, he said.

“Throughout the process, everybody had their own stories about what they remember when they were kids, and that’s what we’re looking to bring back to Ontario Place,” Duchesneau said.

The province announced last Friday that on top of the adventure park, a revitalized Ontario Place will also include an indoor water park and spa, as well as a revamped concert venue.

The other two companies selected for the redevelopment include Austrian company Therme — which specializes in waterparks and spas — as well as Live Nation, which already operates the existing music venues on site.

Specific designs and plans for each of the amenities are still being finalized and will depend on a series of forthcoming assessments and public consultations, the province says. The 155-acre waterfront attraction first opened in 1971, but was closed in 2012 after years of declining attendance.

The province said last week it will be preserving many of the “key heritage and recreational features” of Ontario Place, including the Cinesphere, pod complex, the marina, Trillium Park and the William G. Davis Trail.

The government also said it is committed to working with the Ontario Science Centre to have science-related tourism and educational programming at the Cinesphere and pods.

Duchesneau said his company wants to recapture the feelings people hang on to about Ontario Place from the past.

“Our goal is to bring back that magic, and create new memories for the new generation.”

CBC