Marineland Canada is a strange hybrid that combines shows and attractions with sea creatures, zoo exhibits with land animals and attractions in amusement parks. Opened in the early 1960s, the park has an old-school, slightly funky vibe.
Unlike most theme parks, which fit their features into a compact footprint, Marineland has a lot of undeveloped land and open space. Instead of the constant cacophony of screaming riders and a hyper-stimulating environment, there are plenty of picnic areas and plenty of shade to find respite.
While SeaWorld parks give their attractions a relatively sophisticated multimedia sheen, Marineland uses a low-tech approach. The King Waldorf Stadium Show, the park’s flagship performance, features sea lions, walruses and dolphins along with some of the world’s dumbest jokes. You might suspect that kids addicted to computer games, video game experts and addicted to video games would quickly tire of the retro trick. You would be wrong. They seemed to love every minute of it.
Arctic Cove, which features Beluga whales, and Friendship Cove, which features killer whales, offer guests the opportunity to get up close and personal with the majestic animals. Some of Marineland’s older facilities, like the aquarium dome, appear to be long overdue for some TLC.
Amusement park attractions, some of which have little to do with animal and marine life exhibits, include the usual collection of twists and turns, such as the Wave Swinger and a teacup ride. The huge ride on the park’s Sky Screamer tower is quite exciting and a real hoot. The park uses misleading advertising to claim that at 450 feet, it is the tallest triple tower ride in the world. The tower is actually 320 feet tall (which is quite tall, but there are taller attractions like the Falcon’s Fury at Busch Gardens Tampa), but it is perched on a 130-foot hill.
Most misleading advertising: Marineland declares its Dragon Mountain coaster to be the largest steel coaster in the world. Wait a second. Since it is nowhere near the highest, it does not have the longest runway nor does it offer the longest duration of the loop, I have no idea which base the park uses to make the claim. The roller coaster seems to have a dubious distinction: the slowest line in the world. On the day I visited, only one of the three trains on the trip was in use, the ride operators were taking their sweet time loading and unloading the trip, and they kept sending the train with three or four empty seats.
Marineland has courted the controversy
The park has had its share of controversy. He has been accused of animal cruelty against him by animal welfare agencies. Former employees have come out with accusations of animal abuse. As one of the few places in the world that keeps orcas in captivity, animal activists have spoken out against the park.
Admission information
Admission includes all shows and attractions. Discounted prices are available for children under the age of 10. Children under 4 years old are free. Parking is free. Discount coupons are widely available in brochures, tourist directories, and at other locations in Niagara Falls. The park offers a fun card season pass for a few dollars above the cost of a day ticket. For an additional fee, guests can purchase tickets to feed and touch the beluga whales.
Location, phone and directions
Niagara Falls, Ontario. The address is 8375 Stanley Avenue.
905-356-9565
From Toronto / Hamilton – Follow QEW Niagara and QEW Fort Erie to the McLeod Road exit. At the end of the McLeod Road exit ramp, turn left and follow signs for ‘Marineland’.
From Rainbow Bridge: Follow Highway. 420 to Stanley Ave. Turn left at the traffic lights and continue to the end. Turn left at the traffic lights and follow the signs for ‘Marineland’.
From Peace Bridge – Follow QEW Niagara to the McLeod Road Exit and turn right. Follow the signs for ‘Marineland’.
Official Web site
Marineland
