Castle Fun Park reopens after November 2021 floods

Despite needing major repairs due to last year’s floods, Castle Fun Park has reopened, just in time for the rest of the summer season.

The popular amusement park in Abbotsford began welcoming people back on July 1.

Castle Fun Park was virtually under water after a catastrophic atmospheric river last November brought record rains to the area and swelled waterways.

Video posted in January shows just some of what the amusement park had to deal with, with extensive damage both inside and outside the building.

At the time, it was aiming for a late-spring, early-summer reopening.

“We are saddened by the struggles in our community and province at this time,” the Wiebe family, which has owned the park for three decades, said in a statement in November 2019.

“We have been feeling all the emotions the past days, including heartbreak, but we keep coming back to faith, optimism and even moments of laughter. We have three underwater mini golf courses now!” the family added in the previous statement, trying to bring some levity to the difficult situation.

The November floods have been deemed the most costly weather event in B.C.’s history, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada. It said in June that the latest cost estimate for insured damage was tallied at around $675 million.

The bureau notes many residents were located in high-risk flood areas, where insurance coverage isn’t available. Those damages could cost the government “well into the billions of dollars.”

Castle Fun Park is open daily from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m.