Along with the animals, there are also a fair amount of rides. Among the 16 currently in operation, there are several different kinds and sizes that should suit all ages.
The first area that we went to after the show at King Waldorf’s Stadium was the Family Rides section. They have several rides that are aimed at the kids. All of the rides in the entire park were operational other than the Orca Screamer, a kid’s dropzone-type ride. We didn’t go on all the rides, but did manage to get on several of them. Both of my sons went on the Boat Carousel ride with my wife and one of my sisters. We then waited in line for quite a while so my oldest son could go on the Lady Bug Coaster with another one of my sisters. It was a very popular ride, and my son said it was his favourite. Later on yet another sister went on the Tivoli Wheel with both sons.
As we walked around the park, various members of our group also went on the Sky Hawk, Wave Swinger, Hurricane Cove, and Kandu’s Twister. I’ not really one for rides (I only went on Kandu’s Twister), but my sisters are, and they really enjoyed them. Tow of my sisters went on Dragon Mountain a couple of times. They said it wasn’t the longest or the fastest roller coaster they’ve ever been on, but they still liked it.
Even though my son said the Lady Bug Coaster was his favourite, he seemed the happiest while he was on the Wave Swinger. He seemed so thrilled to be up in the air, flying around.
One of the newest rides is the Sky Screamer. It is a 3-sided dropzone ride. My sisters (the ones who went on the roller coaster) wanted to go on it, but we ran out of time. You could hear it all over the park as it is up on a hill, and they hydraulics that make it work can be quite loud. The next new ride will be a Topple Tower. It is under construction and should be ready for next spring.
Read more of the series on Marineland Canada, or learn more from other sites:
- Niagara Falls Blog - Trip to Marineland Canada - Introduction and Observations
- Niagara Falls Blog - Trip to Marineland Canada - The Marine Animals
- Niagara Falls Blog - Trip to Marineland Canada - The Other Animals
- Niagara Falls Blog - Trip to Marineland Canada - The Rides
- View pictures from my visit in the Marineland Canada section of the Niagara Falls Image Gallery
- Official Marineland Canada web site
- Read the Wikipedia entry on Marineland (Ontario)
Along with the marine life, there are also other animals. The Deer Park is an area where you can walk in and touch them. I certainly couldn’t count all of them, but there must have been a hundred or more. My two young sons loved them, but I couldn’t help but think they could have been in a more natural environment as there are no trees or grass. That being said, they did all look healthy. I’m not sure if there were different kinds of deer, but it looked like it. There were deer that looked like Santa’s reindeer, and there were some that were very dark. I also saw one that was so light you couldn’t see any spots.
At both the deer and bear exhibits, you could pay $2 for some food and feed the animals. You could hand feed the deer in the Deer Park, but you had to toss the food towards the bears. While visiting Bear Country there were two bears sitting catching the food directly in their mouth like it was popcorn.
When we first arrived, a show was just starting in King Waldorf’s Stadium. We ran up the ramp so that we wouldn’t miss anything. The stadium is quite large and must seat well over 1,000 people. We sat near the top and although we were probably at the furthest seat in the theatre, we still had a good view.
The last 10 minutes or so of the show were of the dolphins. They were fantastic! There were 5 dolphins that came out of one of the side tanks to perform. They “walked” on water, swam around fast, and did lots of flips. A luck little girl got to feed one of the dolphins, too. After the show the dolphins stayed in the big tank so that we could see them. My 4-year-old son and I went down to see them up close. The show runs several times a day, so make sure you leave time to see it.
There are currently only 3 killer whales at Marineland. The male, female, and baby are housed in Friendship Cove. When we were visiting, the male was on his own in one section. He kept bobbing up and down in the water. Just before he would go back in, he’d squirt water out of his mouth. The mother and baby were in a different section. They stayed mostly underwater and were rarely seen at the surface.
The best place to view the whales is at the underwater viewing area. It’s eerily cool as there are no artificial lights. The blue-painted tank glows through the glass to provide the lighting. From here you get a much better view of the whales. The mother and baby swam around perfectly synchronized. They never touched, but as the mother swam around, the baby stayed a couple of feet above her and swam in perfect unison.
The beluga whales are a much new exhibit and are housed in Arctic Cove. It is laid out in a similar way, with several different sections for the whales. The biggest difference between the belugas and the orcas is the number of them. There are over 20 of them (I’m not sure the exact number), and they seem to have a distinct personality. You could pay $8 to feed them. The belugas would crowd around the edge waiting for food. They almost seemed like dogs begging, and they seemed just as friendly. The view from beneath was quite funny. Instead of seeing them swimming around, they were almost leaning up against the viewing window vertically.
While you are feeding the whales (they also have limited feeding of the killer whales), there is a photographer taking picture. They are quickly transmitted back to a booth where you can view them and purchase various packages.
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