Marineland Vs PCW

Hey I am going to Niagra Falls this weekend and I am wondering which park is worth more. I understand that PCW has more coasters, but is it worth paying that much more to go? Plus how far apart are the two parks? Any help in my dilemia would be apprecitated. Thanks :)

Wonderland is definately better.. Marineland doesn't really have that many rides, and only one coaster. Marineland's emphasis is more on the animals such as the whales and the deer.... If that's your thing- go for it. Marineland probably won't last you a whole day, whereas Canada's Wonderland will. Marineland is $29.95, where as Wonderland is $46.99 (adult price)... So if you think that Marineland is worth it for the price go for it.. just don't expect a ride-filled experience.

The parks are just over 2 hours away.

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CANADA ROCKS!
Why do people line up for bad movies, simply for the fact that the words 'STAR WARS' are in the title?????

I don't believe he/she meant for this to be a deabate in which case it is not really a "vs" thread. They are asking which to visit.

You should definelty visit PCW they have a much better variety of rides than Marineland....Marineland on the other has One large but very cool rollercoaster Dragon mountain that u cant miss.But Its still worth the money to go to PCW with all the rollercoasters.Its worth the money.

Go to PCW... Marineland is more of a tourist trap IMO. Marineland does not rely on repeat business. Once you're threw the gates I think you would regret not going to PCW.

How good is Dragon Mountain? Is there really a coaster at PCW that is great? What is the deal with PCW's tickets the website said something about different tickets for what you want to do? Also, sorry about any confusion on the title, I am wondering which is better.

Dragon Mountain is a very unique coaster. It has two of the longest tunnels I can think of. But, at PCW, The Might Canadian Minebuster, Wild Beast and Vortex are all pretty good rides. Also if you didn't get a chance to ride King Cobra (PKI) there is a clone. When you add a great Wild Mouse, a pretty smooth SLC and one of the best modern flat ride collections in the world - PCW is definitely a better choice. Think about it, 12 coasters at PCW, or 2 at Marineland. I think you would be hard pressed to find something to do for an entire day at Marineland.

I think that MarineLand is better than PCW. First of all, the season pass for Marineland costs $50 less than the PCW season pass. Parking at MarineLand is free, but PCW parking costs $7.50! If you plan to go to PCW on the GO bus, a one-way trip costs $4.50! MarineLand wait lines are 3-10 minutes long. Sky Screamer and Dragon Mountain are the 2 big thrill rides at MarineLand. Sky Screamer was a comfortable ride for me, even though I am 6.2 feet tall. The PCW Drop Zone restraints were killing my shoulders, and the wait was 30-40 minutes. I once almost got sick from the PCW Drop Zone. Sky Screamer blasts riders up, and because of that, the downward drop wasn't as intense as on the PCW Drop Zone. Dragon Mountain is the best steel roller coaster in Canada, and the wait for it is under 10 minutes. I waited for the front seat for 6 minutes! At PCW, I had to wait 15 minutes for the front seat, plus the queue time. Dragon Mountain's wait is only in the individual seat wait. On my latest MarineLand visit, the back seats had a longer wait than the seats to the front. The station on this coaster is the best themed station I have ever seen. Another good thing about MarineLand is while you wait in line, you can sit on the hand rails. When I sat on the PCW queue rails, the ride operator said," For those guests waiting in line, there is no sitting or standing on the handrails. If you are sitting or standing on the hand rails, please step down". Because guests at PCW weren't allowed to sit on the hand rails, my feet were in pain by the time I finally got on the rides. PCW has metal detectors too. You aren't allowed to bring drinks in pop cans or glass bottles into the park. I had 4 pop cans, but the security guard made me drink all of the drinks before I entered the park. One Coca Cola bottle at PCW costs $2.75! The food here is outrageous. Just a pepperoni pizza slice costs $4.27! PCW is a ripoff. I regret for not living close to MarineLand. After I rode the Dragon Mountain and Sky Screamer, I lost my taste for half of PCW's rides. The only reason why I would even consider visiting PCW is its' Vortex and SkyRider roller coasters. Also, PCW has some of the weirdest names for its' restaurants and shops. Here are some of them: Thrills are Paramount, You Go Grill. What the hell is that? 3 PCW coasters have the attendants assigning seats, instead of you choosing. They are: The Bat, Thunder Run, and Italian Job : Stunt Track. Sometimes the Drop Zone attendant assigns seats. The PCW wait lines are outrageous. Even for the GO bus, there is a queue line, which is outside the park. Not only PCW tries to make a guest's experience bad, but the park also tries to make the guest wait to get home! My latest PCW visit was horrible. Dragon Fire, the park's least popular coaster, had a 35 minute wait. Sledge Hammer, which usually covers 1 section of the queue, covered 4. Drop Zone broke down at least 2 times that day. If you want a good experience in an amusement park, go to MarineLand, not PCW. Even though MarineLand doesn't have a lot of thrill rides, you will get to ride those thrill machines at least 10 times in 1 day! Sky Screamer is worth the climb to the top of the mountain. Dragon Mountain is worth the trip to the park. Have a great time at MarineLand, the park with Canada's best steel roller coaster and the world's tallest triple drop tower ride.

Find your "L" key and go three to the right. The "enter" key REALLY makes things more readable!

Never been to Marineland, but have been to PCW. And from what I've read here now, and from what I've heard in the past...go to PCW! Much more to do for your money. Went there last in '99 with my wife, and we had a blast.

I've eyed the park ever since then, and it blows me away how much money Paramount is putting into PCW...and that's good thing.

I hope to yet hit PCW again, and I do want to go to ML too, but I'll be waiting most likely until the other new park/resort opens up around Niagra Falls.

Ohhh. Who am I kidding!? The next time I head toward Toronto I'll be stopping at ML too. The wife will love that, (oozing sarcasm). But hey, just tell the kids they have dolphins, whales, ect. and we'll be there quick!

Best steel coaster in Canada? Humm... for me that title goes to either Vampire at La Ronde (can't go wrong with a B&M), Vortex at PCW or Mindbender at West Edmonton Mall.

I'm sueing denis12345 for making me cross eyed. ;)

What's with opening old threads about ML?

denis12345 = Troll.

*** Edited 8/12/2005 3:57:02 AM UTC by dexter***

I was just about to mention the Cloneman, I mean Batman clone at La Ronde. Seriously though Wonderland is the better choice hands down. In my opinion not being able to sit on the hand rails is not a valid complaint, you obviously have'ent attended many if any other amusement parks if that is one of your primary issues.

Actually, except for Italian Job, none of those rides have assigned seats. They just let one train load in the flush gates at a time. And if you're *really* that desperate for a certain seats, just let people go ahead of you.

And you missed Silver Streak. And Action FX Theatre. And Taxi Jam.

And with Drop Zone, if you look up at the station, you'll see what number line you're getting into. You have a choice. And aside from its first season, I've never seen an attendant assign seats.

The ONLY time Dragon Fire has anything NEAR a 35 minute wait is if you came on Fairchild Day. And, well, NEVER go to PCW on Fairchild Day.

And, well, maybe there's a good reason Marineland is always emptier...

As far as Marineland goes.........

Like mentioned, it doesn't have a ton of rides and only has one coaster, but that coaster is very special IMO and that coaster is worth the trip there if you like "nice" coasters. It's not the biggest or fastest or most intense, but its very re-rideable, and has the best tunnel ever on a coaster. It lives up to its name as it goes up, down, around and through the real "mountain" (it is an actual hillside made from earth, not just a facade). My first ride on that coaster left me with a big smile and all i could keep saying is that is was NICE!

The ride is really mine train like, except it has 4 inversions. As good as the ride is, it could have been even better if the theming had been completed. The back section of the ride is like riding through a construction site.

They have some nice flat rides. It is the only park that i have seen with a Huss Magic..........its not super fast or intense, its just nice.

The park is very spread out, but again unless you are adverse to walking, its another nice aspect. It never seems too crowded.

PCW, even though I've never been there, I have no intrest in going back to Marineland. As stated before, not a park for rides. Seaworld in Ohio which had no rides was better. Marineland is too spead out and won't keep you entertained for the whole day.

Did you ever notice the headbanging on the roller coaster just by watching the comercials?

K well marineland is good for little kids.. its such a big park and its sooo far to walk to everything.. in my opinion marineland is only good for 2 things.. skyscreamer and dragon mountain.. now... i say GO TO PCW!!! reason for this theres a variety of costers... im sure you kno what most of them are if not look up pcw on rcdb.com anyways tickets might be 49.99 for wonderland i think.. but.. what u can do to get them for 34 dollars is buy them at a blockbuster video store, sears department store, or CAA. that being said pcw is canadas priemeir theme park, largest and the most rides in canada. pcw is worth it..but its said to rain this weekend here soo hopefully it doesnt its like 30% chance maybee the lines will be dead. goodluck and have fun.. go to pcw. and also to answer ur question PCW is about 1.5 hours away from the falls... just take the highway or look up a map on map quest.. i could give u directions if u need it. *** Edited 8/12/2005 2:19:38 PM UTC by j_o_e_y__***

It really depends on what you are looking for.

PCW has the coasters (although they are all mediocre IMHO except for IJST). They have an insane selection of flats, though. Can't beat that!

Marineland is more beautiful, laid back.....more emphasis on the sealife and the deer. They have a few cool flats including the S&S Tower (be prepared to walk your BUTT off!) as well as a kiddy coaster and a sucky Arrow that isn't worth more than the credit.

The two parks about about an hour and half to 2 hours apart (depending on traffic).

I would take 2 days and do them both. We did Niagara Falls and Marineland in one day, and PCW the next. You REALLY need a whole day to do PCW.

-Tina

Tina just doesn't like intense wood...;)

Personally, the coasters I thought were "above average" at PCW were the stand-up (Skyrider), the suspended Vortex, Minebuster, and IJ:ST. None of them are exceptional by any means but all are good solid rides...

The best "coaster" isn't even really a coaster, but a powered Mack Blauer-Enzian model, Thunder Run....and it kicks butt in a serious way...

PCW has as good a collection of flats as any other two parks combined....amazing! :)

Marineland is a *really sweet* animal park. If you want a marine-park/zoo, it's highly recommendable....and The flats are nice, but DM is too long and boring for its own good....even WITH the tunnels, LOL...Sky Screamer is *the* thrill ride at the park, and has gorgeous views of the falls, if you get the right seats... ;)

PCW, even without any "stand-out" coasters, has got to be one of my top *big parks*....the flats, the staff, the operations. Best operations in the chain IMO...even though I know I'm probably alone on that, LOL.

Um, I don't like PAINFUL wood. Intense is good. ;-)

PCW is the "prettiest" out of the chain (I haven't been to the NorCal park yet but I take Bill's word for it...lol.)

Ah yes, Thunder Run was very fun indeed, as well as Vortex. The rest were meh, Tomb Raider is just WRONG!

Sledgehammer was my favorite ride at the park. Nuts!

PCW was awesome and I think highly of the park but personally I liked Marineland better......overall better experience. I guess it depends on the mood. :-)

-Tina