Sunday marks the end of more than a month of Olympic and Paralympic revelry in Vancouver. After that, the banners come down, the athletes pack up and the pavilions close their doors for good. But beautiful weather promises to make Sunday a perfect time to get your last Olympic kicks at attractions in and around the city.
Just one word of advice. Set your alarm clock.
I checked out the downtown scene today and discovered the city nearly as bustling as during February’s Olympic action. Sidewalks were clogged with visitors from Vancouver and beyond determined to squeeze every last drop out of these Games. All of that translated into some truly impressive queues at the free pavilions and exhibits. Tomorrow promises to be no different. So to facilitate your planning, allow me to present the official Inside Vancouver Queue Forecast for Sunday’s closing of the Paralympic Games.
1) LiveCity Downtown: Vancouver’s official party zone is a good bet for visitors looking to experience Olympic excitement tomorrow without long line-ups. Today, at the 2 p.m. peak hour, a modest queue stretched outside the gates, with predicted wait times of 30-45 minutes. Expect slightly longer waits tomorrow, when LiveCity will be open from 1 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Inside, you’ll find the Canada Pavilion, live music in the beer tent, a big screen for all the Closing Ceremony excitement and Centreplace Manitoba.
Modest queues await visitors to LiveCity Downtown.
2) The Royal Canadian Mint Pavilion: Today, visitors hungry for a chance to touch Olympic gold began lining up in the predawn hours outside of the mint’s temporary home in the Vancouver Public Library. By the 10 a.m. opening of the exhibit, which has both Olympic and Paralympic medals to see and touch, the line was several hundred people long, prompting officials to turn away any more fans. The word from a source on the inside is that anyone hoping for a glimpse of the medals tomorrow, when the Pavilion is open from noon to 5 p.m., should be in line by 6 a.m. Even early birds should steel themselves for four- to six-hour waits.
Expect mega lines for the Royal Canadian Mint in the Vancouver Public Library.
3) The Vancouver Art Gallery: The VAG’s free exhibit of Leonardo da Vinci sketches has been one of the big hits of the Games. This afternoon, the queue extended out the side door of the museum and down the length of Howe Street, ending at the intersection with Georgia Street. Despite the intimidating line, wait times were estimated at only 45 minutes to one hour. Tomorrow’s line-up at the museum, which is open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., should be comparable.
The free VAG exhibits have drawn long but swift-moving lines.
4) The GE Plaza at Robson Square: Another good option for queue-averse fans is Robson Square, which features free ice skating and free performances throughout the day. The GE ice rink, which is open from noon to 9 p.m., had only a sprinkling of skaters on it today, with no wait at all to lace up and get on the ice. On the adjacent performance stage, the U.S.-Japan men’s sledgehockey final was being shown on the big screen. Tomorrow, the stage will feature live music from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
GE Plaza and Ice Rink in Robson Square are pleasantly crowd free.
5) The Zipline at Robson Square: Unless you’re a real glutton for punishment, you might want to steer clear of the free Ziptrek ride over Robson Square tomorrow. Eight hour queues were commonplace during the Olympics and have hardly abated since then. Today, signs alongside the queue marked out the anticipated wait times. The last sign read 5.5 hours, but the line snaked well beyond that. Ziptrek is open from 10 a.m.-9 p.m., but anyone seriously hoping to fly over Robson Square is advised to arrive bright and early on Sunday.
If you're hoping to Ziptrek over Vancouver, plan for a long wait on line.
Got any queue stories from the Olympics or Paralympics? I’d love to hear them – Please leave a comment below. A CentrePlace Manitoba polar bear stress ball (see this post for a picture) goes to the person who leaves the best (or should I say worst) queue story.
