Marineland Review, Niagara Falls Amusement & Animal Park | Weirdest Theme Park 

The park has a lot of potential, but those past wrongs are saddening.

I agree it's not quite in the main tourist stretch.

@@CanobieCoaster it also doesn’t help the public transit is how shall I say… bad. 1 ride an hour, that’s it. Compare this to my stay at universal studios and that was like every 10 minutes to the hotel and back. Apparently the city is supposed to be adding more bus lines in the future, but without frequency, the only people who’ll use them are the poor and the desperate. And for a tourist city, that’s not good

Japan has some weird parks too.

@@CanobieCoaster Ever seen the train at Greenland?

It's definitely annoying.

They should let us drive our cars down those pathways too.

Definitely a very North American way of thinking 😅

It was so much potential.

Bruh marine land is literally a graveyard of 1000+sea animals the abuse is disgusting they should shut down.

@@xjpnfanx who cares i hate animals I got to the dump and buy used batteries to throw them in the sea

Wonderland Canada

@@CanobieCoaster - Indeed, MarineLand was the default option for Toronto when it opened in 1961. But the opening of Canada’s Wonderland in 1981 took away the entire northern portion of its catchment area, restricting MarineLand to just the Niagara Falls/Western NY area. If the park had been built out to full potential then, it’s likely someone else buys the park well before the problems happened.

Oh that may explain it.

When I was young in the early 2000s they still had that deer petting area you saying this now I'm shocked they don't have it anymore I'm sad

some idiot father and son caused a stampede in the deer park in 2019 and that forced the park to close off the deer park to guests so now you can only stand at the fence and look.

we are still allowed to feed them tho i went this year

Yep i have pics of me petting the deer when i was 6 in 82, i have alot of pics but dont remember anything on here

I imagine an annihilation-style story, that is, the place is invaded by some kind of monsters and a group of explorers try to find out the reason for this I think it would be a very good premise for an episode of love death and robots

Nice!

It has the headlining rides. It just needs filler.

Switching to ride based entertainment like SeaWorld would be smart.

I agree. Great Escape in Queensbury, NY does a ton of business from non-locals on vacation at Lake George (as well as some from Saratoga although that’s about an hour away). MarineLand could aim to be more like that park with appeal to vacationers - eliminate the animal attractions (I would go to Niagara Aquarium on the US side for that anyway), add in rides to fill out their line-up and possibly add an outdoor waterpark. (Wouldn’t do an indoor waterpark since NF has numerous already). The target demo should be families with young kids, so Great Escape and Idlewild should be the general vibe they shoot for.

It worth the trip there for Magic. It’s like an Eyerly Monster but more floaty and swoopy since it is suspended from above. Plus it has 4 wide seating and quick loading. It’s a shame there aren’t more of these wonderful rides in North America. Star Shape looks amazing. Like a Top Scan with fantastic views. I like the program they run this one on where you get that pause in the middle to enjoy the scenery

The flats are really weird here.

I hope it can last, but the lack of crowds is concerning.

trust me, this family has very deep pockets. The sign it's on it's last legs is when they start selling the land around the park. The park isn't going anywhere. They may be trying to sell the park because that's been a rumour for a few years in Niagara.

@@bennyhonna8195 true. Do they own the land those two factories work on?

@@Kittyhat No they own everything that’s not developed behind the park 3 small parcels of land on the west side of Stanley ave. 2 are developed for admin buildings and one is an old trailer park they purchased and removed. They also own a campground along the river. Based on how much real estate is in the area, they are sitting on at least 100 million in undeveloped land alone. That doesn’t even touch the current parks land.

I've read many things about the mistreatment.

I have worked there and can confirm the old owner who died a few years ago did not care about the state of the animal enclosures. The new owners (his wife and family) are very different. I have personally talked to the wife and she is such a sweet lady and really wants to see the park become as popular as it was in the 80s and 90s. Even through COVID the difference she has made in the park is very evident! My buddy is also a maintenance worker there and he said the back log of work that needs to be done on the current rides is insane because the old owner would only let them do the bare minimum to keep the rides operating.

It was quiet even in my 2010 visit.

I heard It was busier post 2012

I intention focus mostly on the rides. While I've never witnessed any abuse personally there, I know it has happened.

The animals are treated better than many humans are. Have you seen the homeless and drug addicts in Niagara?

Lol sftu u don't know what your talking about John holers dead there's no more animal abuse

I'll agree there was Animal abuse when John holer was still owner but that was year ago

I want SeaWorld to buy it.

That would make headlines.

That would be wild

@COAST34 falcon’s flight

You gotta wonder if that’s actually what they’re going to name 500+ ft coasters lol

Nice!

Such catchy commercials!

TLC and filler rides are what they really need.

The song is so good.

Wow!

I can dream!

They should keep the SeaWorld name off it. SeaWorld spent years rebranding away from orcas to thrill rides. Busch Gardens Canada sounds really good to me though.

Meh, I don't see the point. It's competing against Niagara Falls, Clifton Hill, Canada's Wonder Land and Six flags on the American side. To get investment you need potential.

if they bought it, it would be for the aanimals, an if they are in as poor of health as ppl assume, then thats a waste as well. the real estate though is probably valued at insane prices givin its location. u cant get any better than that really for a big money investor. can u imagine a sky tower where that drop ride is? going up 3 times as high, n the view of the falls! man your talkin huge potential outside of the marine life, they should really just fully rebrand, n with all this crap goin on about them, im sure they are planning an looking for investors, or planning on selling, i cant see this being very sustainable AT ALL. 2 reasons why the rides are throttled like they are, is A to try an save as much power as possible, n the 2nd n least likely reason, is to drive traffic too the animal sections as well

@@CanobieCoaster We sure can dream! Also and yeah I think you all are missing the point, all though you all make good points but i don’t necessarily agree heres why. I think by Sea World buying the park they can make it more non Marine, it has the attraction foundation to give it less of a Marine feel and more of a theme park. I also don’t think competition wouldn’t really be that big of a problem sure you got Six Flags Darien Lake and Six Flags Great Escape but there not really massive parks to cause big time competition. Also sure Canadas Wonderland is only an hour away it’s just there’s not really anything in the Niagara Falls area witch I don’t think they would really need to complete. I also think it should be for both animals,theming and coasters kinda like a Bush Gardens Tampa style of park, because I think those Animals need better care yeah sure Sea World doesn’t have a very good history Ik. Maybe what I was thinking of is that Sea world can sell it to like an organization that is great with animals or hire them to help redeem there image even more. I don’t know how that would work but I guess y’all might get the picture. I don’t know if they make Sky towers anymore but I agree I think an observation of some kind would be perfect for that park. Lastly I think Sea World would bring in a lot more people because of how the name just sticks it would be great for business and great for the park but aye that’s just my thoughts.

Not sure!

Sorry you didn't like it!

Yikes, that sounds terrible.

Was that a thing?

@@CanobieCoaster yes the owner at the time would let us pick the deers we wanted and they would slaughter them and sell the carcasses to us for our competition feeds the scraps we didn’t use to the whales and seals this place has a very dark history believe it or not and a lot of bad things happened here

I wish!

I'd love to see SeaWorld buy them. Cedar Fair may not make sense with Wonderland nearby.

I completely understand, especially given their past.

1 day is plenty

I wish the animals had better care.

@@CanobieCoaster I’m not vegan but still

It will be interesting.

That would be nice.

I did make it to that park. It was charming.

@@CanobieCoaster that's great

They need to improve or their rating will fall below 600.

It's such a strange park.

That's odd.

Nice!

This park definitely has a weird feel.

It's a different one.

Yes

That's fair.

I did spend most of my time in the back half.

Such big paths.

I bet it'll be purchased.

Said what?

@@CanobieCoaster Marineland turning into a zoo

Sadly

I didn't know that was where the song came from.

@@CanobieCoaster I don't think it came from that "Christmas carol" but it sounds like it was influenced by it.

It has some good rides.

I want a big chain with resources to take over.

For the animals?

@@CanobieCoaster CUZ THE PARK LOOKS ABANDONED

I went for the rides. It's unfortunate what has happened to the animals in the past.

I hope the animal abuse of the past doesn't reoccur.

I didn't hear they were closing.

They are not closing, their rides though are closed for the 2024 season

I wish the past transgressions hadn't happened.

It could be better.

I'd love for SeaWorld to buy them.

It would mean an influx of things like coasters for sure but the Canadian view on Marine mammal parks is quite poor, most of my friends cringe why I say that I've ridden Mako, Kraken and Manta because that means I've been to SWO and they don't like that so I would expect that move to not add much to the public perception of the park.

Yes it does.

Pretty much.

They could fit a clone of the Beast here if they wanted to.

Yes it was.

Lol

I wish they took better care of the animals.

I wish the animals had better treatment in the past.

It is sort of creepy.

@@CanobieCoaster someone needs to film a horror movie there!

It sounds like the park will open with just animals this year and no rides.

That's fair. Their animal treatment is less than ideal.

They're one of the few parks where land will never be an issue.

I had to.

Several parks are still thriving like Wonderland, but this one isn't.

I can see why one may say that.

Nah, this place is bare-bones but it at least has good rides. La Ronde is probably the worst.

@@lucasmcdonald6847 I agree. It’s definitely not the worst park. It’s nice and laid back. No waits for rides. Unique rides. Nice scenic park. Many Six Flags parks are so much worse.

@@superd4611 Really? Which ones?

It has some redeeming qualities.

I hope the animals get good care too.

The animals are treated very well. Why would you think otherwise?

@@IainHendry I am just going by what he said in the video

@@IainHendry what’s your source? Just the fact they’ve kept their only orca in solitary confinement for years suggests otherwise.

@@rileym8370 what’s your source on anything contrary? Mine is what I see with my eyes in the park. If yours is nothing but sensationalist news and the lies spread by the detractors then you have nothing to go by. Have a great day

That would be cool.

If this park even has enough money to build anything like that. I'm surprised they're still open.

If anything, I think the park would want to skew more towards rides due to the controversies around this place.

Great song.

I hope they reopen as well.

You're welcome!

They are?

It's a flawed park, but it has potential.

So much land here.

There are rumors it may be closing, but I'll wait to see how it sorts out.

That would have made sense.

@@CanobieCoaster it’s also kinda behind the entrance of the ride and on the other side of the mountain so you may not have went around

Also, apparently this year Marineland has been sold and will be opening around a month late this year and possibly lower ticket prices with them only doing "core attractions" but they said their gonna make a announcement on May 1st about exactly whats gonna be happening. Still haven't announced who bought it. Theres quite a few rumors going around but they have been quite about it and it hasn't gotten leaked yet though hopefully all those details will be posted within the next few days.

I'd love for SeaWorld to buy them.

@@CanobieCoaster that would be the dream option, John Holers wife cares alot more for the animals then him but she's done nothing for the park beside add the the 2 new attraction with barley any advertisement they have 2 buyers for the park I forget which companies but sadly it's not seaworld.

Yes still running.

Those are good points.

all lawsuits have been dropped its a clean record now

I don't, sorry.

Dragon Mountain is worth it for the uniqueness.

Such a weird park.

They're similar looking rides, but I thought Magic was a variant on that.

@@CanobieCoaster That's actually a common misconception.

They didn't.

Ok thanks!

Good to know!

Yeah Canada's Wonderland isn't moving.

It is a forceful little ride.

I can't get on Taxi Jam without a kid, but they look comparable.

I wish!

I know it has happened in the past, but I haven't personally seen it.

That would be amazing.

It was land animals that escaped. Just didn't have much video of them.