Archive for the 'Niagara Falls Attractions' Category

Recent Marineland trip observations (including new baby Beluga whale)

Published
by
Graham
on July 24, 2008
in Niagara Falls Attractions
. 1 Comment

This past Monday we went to Marineland. While we were there, I picked up my season’s pass, and we will definitely be going back.

General Observations

  • All of the water was a lot cleaner than previous visits. This includes the water in the aquarium, the Orca tanks, and the Beluga tanks
  • The show in the aquarium are very short and are hardly worth doing. They had three pacific walruses (two females and one male). They were fed and did a couple of small tricks. The whole thing only lasted a couple of minutes. However, I did learn something. The announcer claimed that tusks are like wisdom teeth. Sometimes they are removed if they will cause a problem. Out of the three walruses, only one female had tusks
  • There used to be a gift shop right next to aquarium in the same building. Obviously the space is still there, but it isn’t a gift shop anymore. That is now the place where you rent strollers and things
  • We watched the 5:15 stadium show on a Monday. The crowd was very small, so there wasn’t much “electricity” in the air. It had rained a bit earlier in the day, so I’m sure the park cleared out.
  • During the part of the show where the dolphin’s perform, there are normally four of them together. All four came out, but one of the dolphins wouldn’t do anything. The trainer was very patient and touched the dolphin a lot (obviously trying to coax it into performing), but it just wouldn’t do anything. It just didn’t seem interested at all
  • There were 16 belugas in one tank, and only 6 in others. There was someone sitting there with a clipboard and you could see two smaller Belugas swimming. Apparently there was a baby born two weeks ago. The other baby is actually the one that was born last year.

Ride Observations

  • I was technically within the height limit of the Orca Screamer, but realistically I was too big to go on. I didn’t fit well into the seat and hurt my back a bit. My 5-year-old son just loved the right, though
  • We went on Orca Screamer, Viking Adventure, Lady Bug Coaster, and Space Avenger
  • There were spider webs everywhere! I’m sure all of the heat, moisture, humidity makes it difficult to control. My sons kept pointing them out
  • all sorts of languages, always one of the interesting things about Niagara Falls
  • Pretty well everything seemed to be in working order. The only thing I noticed was that one of the “spaceships” on the Space Avenger wasn’t working

I didn’t take enough good pictures to put up a new gallery, so I’ve just posted a few below. You can click on the picture to see a larger version


The Viking Adventure


An Orca Whale


A Dolphin


A Beluga whale mother with its new baby (only 2 weeks old)


A Pacfic Walrus

Impressions of new Table Rock Place development

Published
by
Graham
on July 23, 2008
in Niagara Falls Attractions, Niagara Falls Developments, Niagara Falls Dining and Niagara Falls Shopping
. 2 Comments

On Saturday I walked down to Table Rock Place to get my first good look at the completed construction and take some pictures (with my cellphone, so they pictures aren’t the best). I was very impressed. I started on the opposite side of the road so I could walk across the new walkway. As you can see by the picture, they are still doing some work, but it is essentially done.

You enter the building in a big room that has several kiosks selling various souvenirs.

On your left is Niagara’s Fury. When I first got there, the attraction was in progress, and you could faintly hear/feel the vibration. It’s obviously pretty loud in there! After it was done, a lot of people came out, and many of them were quite wet. Almost everyone was smiling. It must be a hit!

As you continue through that first big room, the next thing you come to is the Pop & Lolly candy store. I was surprised at how “dead” the store was. There were half a dozen people working, and very few customers in the store.

At the back of the building (the side closest to the Falls) there is a viewing area. The view is very nice, but the mist dries on the windows, and then leaves watermarks, so it isn’t exactly a clear view.

I didn’t get a picture of it, but beside the viewing area (and also with a great view of the Falls) is the Elements on the Falls restaurant. The food is very expensive, but even with the prices, it was packed!

Overall, the end result of the building is gorgeous. The Niagara Parks Commission and their contractors did an amazing job!

Marineland “Terrors of the Sea” shark exhibit update!

Published
by
Graham
on July 22, 2008
in Niagara Falls Attractions and Niagara Falls Developments
. 5 Comments

How was that for a headline?!

:-)

Well, yesterday I went to Marineland. Here is the update (click on the picture to see a larger version):

To no one’s great surprise, there has been no progress.

I’ll post a few more pictures and a video from our visit later in the week…

Travelodge At the Falls News (July 2008)

Published
by
Graham
on July 22, 2008
in Niagara Falls Attractions and Niagara Falls Hotels
. 0 Comments

On Sunday I received the latest newsletter from the Niagara Clifton Group (the Travelodge, Fun House, Brick City, etc group). They are promoting various packages and their fun pass.

To sign up for the newsletter, click on the Join our FREE Email Mailing List link on the side of any of the pages at Falls.com

Avaia Practice and off stage - a set on Flickr

Published
by
Graham
on July 21, 2008
in Niagara Falls Attractions
. 0 Comments

I recently came across a Flickr gallery with some behind-the-scenes pictures of Avaia. I know it’s gone, but they are still interesting to see…

Zooz Newsletter July 16, 2008

Published
by
Graham
on July 18, 2008
in Niagara Falls Attractions
. 2 Comments

On Wednesday I received the latest newsletter from Zooz. They are promoting this weekend’s movie.

To subscribe to the Zooz newsletter, click on the Zooz News page and register.

Behind the Falls: Maid of the Mist

Published
by
Graham
on July 15, 2008
in Niagara Falls Attractions and Niagara Falls News
. 0 Comments

From the Niagara Falls Review:

As the steel boat chugs towards the 52-metre wall of rushing water, the passengers begin a steady chant of cheers.

In unison, they pull the hoods of the blue raincoats over their heads.

As the boat came within 75 metres of the mighty Horseshoe Falls, the raincoats didn’t offer much protection from the driving spray.

With 748,000 gallons of water rushing over falls every second, remaining dry was not an option for these folks.

“They have a riot out there,” said Gary English, a captain with the Maid of the Mist, as the crowd erupted in another loud cheer as the boat slowly turned sideways.

“As long as they get wet, everyone’s happy.”

Note: There is a video that accompanies this article on the Review site.

Ripley’s wants chance at Maid of the Mist

Published
by
Graham
on July 11, 2008
in Niagara Falls Attractions and Niagara Falls News
. 0 Comments

From the Niagara Falls Review:

The Niagara Parks Commission missed the boat by automatically renewing its lease with the Maid of the Mist Steamboat Co., says the manager of another company interested in taking over the fabled boat tours.

Ripley’s Entertainment wanted to discuss taking over the lease for the Maid of the Mist property but felt rebuffed by the commission’s reluctance to negotiate, said Tim Parker, manager of Ripley’s attractions in Niagara Falls.

“This is a private business on government property that has been operating far before the government got there. When the lease comes up … there should be an opportunity for other people (to bid on it),” Parker said in an interview about correspondence he had with Liberal MPP Kim Craitor on the issue.

Parker was “very disappointed” the commission apparently renewed the lease with the steamboat company that has operated the tours since 1846 despite the interest Ripley’s expressed in it.

“We would have thought that having two options, rather than just one, would benefit the Niagara Parks Commission and tourism in Niagara Falls,” Parker wrote in a letter to Craitor, a copy of which was obtained by The Niagara Falls Review.

Zooz Newsletter July 8, 2008

Published
by
Graham
on July 9, 2008
in Niagara Falls Attractions
. 0 Comments

Yesterday I received the latest newsletter from Zooz. They are promoting their summer concert series.

To subscribe to the Zooz newsletter, click on the Zooz News page and register.

News from Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours

Published
by
Graham
on July 8, 2008
in Niagara Falls Attractions
. 0 Comments

Last Thursday I received the latest newsletter from Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours. This is their first newsletter.

For now, the only way I am aware of signing up for the newsletter is by visiting the web site of the company that provides the newsletter service.