The first time I went there, I got there when the park opened, rode every ride in the park, had a reasonably good time but with the place pretty much all to myself (though with a dozen rides crammed into 1,000 acres, it probably always feels like that) and I think I found my favorite Arrow looper. Animals? Did that park even have animals (Yes, but I kind of ignored that facet...).
Anyway, I had comfortably enjoyed the park, so I went back out to my car and tried to navigate the parking lot. Got on the right path, but as I was heading down the main driveway in the opposite direction from everyone else, the parking lot attendant who was directing traffic helpfully stopped me.
ATTENDANT: "Where are you going?" (implying I was in the wrong place and going the wrong way)
ME: "Toronto!"
ATTENDANT: "Oh. That way, then!" (pointing in the direction I was heading)
I love the way this hobby lends itself to creating odd stories.
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
/X\ _ *** Respect rides. They do not respect you. ***
/XXX\ /X\ /X\_ _ /X\__ _ _ _____
/XXXXX\ /XXX\ /XXXX\_ /X\ /XXXXX\ /X\ /X\ /XXXXX
_/XXXXXXX\__/XXXXX\/XXXXXXXX\_/XXX\_/XXXXXXX\__/XXX\_/XXX\_/\_/XXXXXX
This story has been going around Twitter, but I've yet to see it confirmed on a reputable news source.
I develop Superior Solitaire when not riding coasters.
I think this part went a long way toward harming the reputation of ethical, AZA-accredited aquariums and zoos. I doubt anyone in that business will feel bad about it closing.
Jeff - Editor - CoasterBuzz.com - My Blog
Guess we'll never get that Niagara Falls replica at the far end of Dragon Mountain that was originally planned. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
There were some cool things about Marineland. I thought the little queue areas they had for each ride were nicely done and looked slightly fancy. Dragon Mountain's entrance was one of the best looking stations in North America (seriously, walking through that dragon's mouth into a pitch black cave was pretty impressive). And their oddly-placed S&S tower had one of the best views from the top of any drop tower in the world if you were facing the Falls. I am struggling to think of anything else that was good, so I'll just end it there because the rest of the park and its "exhibits" were simply not good.
I've always wondered if this location would be a profitable one for a well-managed and maintained theme park. Yes, there is North America's most attended seasonal theme park, Canada's Wonderland, an hour or so north. And sure, I guess we can say Six Flags Darien Lake would be competition also. But summer crowds in the Falls the past 2 seasons seem to have been huge and they usually were before the pandemic also. I believe a theme park that is different enough from Wonderland and DL could be a success, but that's just my 2 cents (or 3 cents CAD, buddy!)
Something I found cool about the park is that John Holer the founder of the park created it from scratch with his own money. Obvioulsly he was pretty whealthy. He wanted to have the largest steel coaster in the world at the time and went to Arrow (probably the best company back then) and asked them to build it! The land was flat. They created a mountain for the new coaster, Dragon Mountain. John loved animals. I was at the park 2 days after he passed and one employeeIwas talking to only had good things to say about him.
Schwarzkopf76:
I hope Cedar flags gets it.
There's no way they (or any reputable company) would want it given the baggage associated with it.
If the closing news is in fact true, I can't imagine a scenario where it remains an amusement/marine park of any kind. Between the earned bad reputation for animal welfare and the classic amusement park scenario of "the land is more valuable as anything except for an amusement park" I don't see an outcome where it remains as a park.
Rick77:
John loved animals.
He definitely loved them enough to illegally capture wild animals back in the 70s and fail to provide adequate care for the animals at his park for decades
Vater:
We always knew that the Canadian side of Niagara Falls was a trashy craphole
I'm of the opinion that Canadian Niagara Falls is way better than the American side.
CNF>USNF>RRR
I was only at Marineland once and it was in the 80s, so over 20 years ago. I remember Dragon Mountain, the Flying Carpet, and that an animal gave birth as we were looking at it, and it was yucky.
Hi
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