[Disclaimer: While the information contained in the blog post regarding Marineland’s attractions from 1960’s – Present day are based on facts established through research, all of my predictions for future developments/plans are simply that. Predictions. I have no authority that any of the predictions I make are true and should not be taken as fact in any way. I am not associated or affiliated with Marineland in any way nor am I formerly involved with or otherwise belonging to any opposition groups. I have tried my best to make this post as subjective as possible and free of bias as possible and do not intend this as a slanderous piece]
Marineland of Canada first opened in 1961, and has opened in May every year since – until this year. In the eve of its 64th season, the park has announced a delayed opening and a focus on “core attractions”. Most notably, when it opens this year, it will be under new ownership, and what this means for the park is yet to be seen.
In the 64 years that the park has been operating, many things have changed. I’d like to briefly summarise how the park has evolved over the decades that it has seen millions of guests come through its turnstiles. What did a visit to Marineland look like back then, and what will it look like going forward? As an avid proponent of the park for nearly twenty years, I have made some predictions and would like to share them. Marineland has announced that on May 1st, the website will be updated with information about the new changes. Whether this means the new owners will be announced is unknown, however, I wait with great trepidation for this announcement and for the first time in a very long time, I feel hope that we could finally see positive change for the marine mammals that call this park home.
The Beginnings: The 1960’s, An Immigrants Dream Imagined
When Marineland opened as Marine Wonderland and Game Farm, it was a humble affair consisting of two metal tanks welded together. John Holer acquired two sea lions and charged a quarter for admission, and another quarter to feed them. An underwater show featuring two female divers completed the act. Besides the marine acts, there were land animals such as deer and bison. What was a petting zoo during the summer, became a “Game Farm” in every sense of the word later in the year with visitors able to hunt the park’s animals rather than pet them. During the opening year, Jeff the Sea Lion made headlines by escaping his pool. With the park’s proximity so close to the Niagara River, the young animal trusted his instincts and found water. Jeff ended up taking a ride over the falls before being captured and returned a few days later. Taking note of the need for tourist attractions in the beautiful Niagara Falls region, John acted quickly, expanding his menagerie to include dolphins and then whales. In 1967, a female Pilot Whale named Baby Jane was captured off of the California coast and placed in the same 45 foot pool that now houses Penguins in the Aquarium building. Baby Jane was not long for Marineland, but she would not be the last whale. Around the end of the decade, Marineland purchased its first orcas.
Rapid Expansions: Swimming Into the 70 and 80’s
In the 1970’s, King Waldorf’s Stadium was added as a show pool to showcase the expanding collection of orcas and bottlenose dolphins. Not only were marine mammals part of the show, but also included was a circus-like performance featuring trained tigers, elephants and bears. John Holer was desperate for his Canadian park to compete with the likes of Disney across the border and few expenses were spared in his quest to grow the park larger and larger. This period also saw the expansion of attractions such as the Lady Bug Coaster, Zierer Magic Carpet and later the Huss Condor (Sky Hawk). These attractions remain favourites amongst guests to this day. In 1983, Dragon Mountain, a custom built Arrow Looper coaster was added with high hopes about future landscaping to include a working volcano and scale replica of Niagara Falls. Although these things never reached fruition, Dragon Mountain remains a focal point for the park and brings in coaster enthusiasts from around the continent in the years to follow.
By the end of the 80’s, the orca collection had expanded notably and even included the birth of their first calf, Katak. Riddled with many health problems, the young male calf was sent to Sea World San Diego and re-named Splash. At this time in the park, orcas could be seen outside at King Waldorf Stadium, along with indoors the Aquarium in the 45 foot pool that had once held the captive pilot whale Baby Jane. The indoor area hosted a show with elaborately choreographed animatronics in hot-air balloons floating above the water and beneath the ceiling. After the show, trainers put dolphins and a single orca through their paces in the guise that these animals were preparing to be exhibited in the main Waldorf stadium outside. (Source: Youtube video of this show from 1988) Of course, for Junior, who was part of this show, this would not come to be, as he was instead sent to the warehouse where he would languish until his death. At this time, it must have already been apparent that there was simply not enough space for the number of animals, but nevertheless, the park continued to breed and expand its marine mammal collection.
(video of Marineland 1974: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–f0UJhsbfk)
(video of Marineland 1988 featuring orca in Aquarium Dome pool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZemBHAOShs)
The 90’s and 2000’s: Everyone Loves Marineland (Right?)
During what was considered the “peak years” for Marineland, it was impossible to turn on the television or radio for thirty minutes and not hear the ear worm of a jingle that had become synonymous with the park. At the height of its popularity, guest attendance was averaging 300,000 a year and the attraction was known as a top-tier tourist destination. The show was one of the main attractions, three times daily at King Waldorf Stadium. Orcas, dolphins, sea lions, seals and walruses were all on display to guests delight. Splashed around the park were large signs that boasted future expansions (most of which would never materialize) and it was obvious that Holer’s vision of the park was ambitious, to say the least. The midway continued to expand, with favourites such as the Huss Magic Experience being added in the early 90’s and the Sky Screamer tower in 2004 which has become a well known part of the Niagara skyline. Another popular attraction in the 90’s was the arcade, full of both retro favourites and modern games as well. When it felt like Marineland was at its height of popularity,, they announced further major expansions with the development of the large Friendship Cove and Arctic cove pools, along with the addition of beluga whales.
(article about planned expansion: https://buffalonews.com/news/marineland-plans-big-aquarium-complex-first-attraction-part-of-144-million-renovation-to-feature-worlds/article_09fe0b76-5868-57ec-93ec-2d655afefe5c.html)
(article about expansion of arctic cove: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/marineland-expands/article18427979/)
And then the tides changed: 2010’s – Present Day
Originally built to house the growing collection of orca whales, Friendship Cove’s pod dwindled to just Kiska and Ikaika, after Kiska’s last calf Athena passed away in May of 2009. A young male on loan from SeaWorld, Ikaika had a lot of energy and often found himself separated from the much older Kiska because the two whales’ personalities were largely incompatible. When Ikaika’s health came into question, SeaWorld entered a legal battle to regain custody and ultimately won. This left Kiska alone and without the company of any other whales. She remained this way until her death in 2023. Meanwhile, the beluga population was growing at a rapid number and filling the Arctic Cove pool. King Waldorf Stadium now featured shows with dolphins, seals, sea lions, walruses and belugas. Later, federal legislation and laws would change the way that these animals could be used in shows for entertainment and the presentation changed dramatically. As recently as 2023, what had once been a thirty minute or more action packed show with music and choreography had become a ten minute script read delivery of facts about the wild counterparts of the animals who meanwhile, swam listlessly around the cloudy water of the pool. In more recent years, the once booming beluga population is now declining at a rapid rate. The exact cause is undetermined with Marineland being nil with details and things such as a broken or insufficient filtration system causing long-term illnesses being a long time rumour. On numerous occasions, the park has been accused of animal cruelty but charges rarely laid (only most recently in 2024 when the park pleaded guilty in a case involving it’s black bears). As the number of guests dwindled from once booming crowds to barren pathways and a lack of staff, people have wondered, how does it hold on?
(articles about Ikaika: https://financialpost.com/legal-post/ike-the-killer-whale-returns-to-sea-world-after-marineland-loses-custody-battle
Where are we now?
Earlier this year (2024), a rumour ran rampant through social media, fueled by an activist named Phil Demers that the park had laid off all of its staff and operations were going to cease. Days later, Marineland rebutted this claim, however, many remained sceptical of what was to come with no information about an opening date available in the month ahead of the usual date in May. The park announced that it was seeking a new buyer in early 2023, something that had been rumoured for the years leading up to. Although this change loomed, it also felt quite distant, at least to myself, as so much had remained stagnant for so long. With the lack of updates from the website, something about this year did feel decidedly different, and my intuition was correct, with Marineland announcing that it would open at the end of June, instead of May, and under new ownership.
I have been watching the website for Marineland very closely, and noticed on Friday April 26th, it was under maintenance. One of the first changes I noticed that was made, was a summary at the bottom of the page. I used WayBackMachine to capture a screenshot of the change between the first image showing it as seen on April 19th and then on April 26th. As of now, the website has been updated to remove this summary entirely and just has a splash page that says that it is being rebuilt.
I would like to make three major predictions and provide a brief summary of why I believe this to be the case.
- No land animals
I predict that the new owners have re-homed the land animals which include the bears, deer, bison and elk. I believe this to be true based on recent aerial footage of the park that shows a distinct lack of deer and other land in the enclosures. While there may be indoor accommodations in the warehouse, I know the the enclosures have shelters and I was under the assumption that the land animals (at least the deer, bison and elk) spent the winters outside. I assumed the bears hibernated in the dens provided or perhaps had caging inside. With recent charges from the SPCA, keeping the bears would be controversial and there would be a much closer scrutinization from the public. I can understand the new owners seeing an easy out of a significant amount of financial obligation (food and veterinary costs for the land animals) along with freeing up significant space for expansion of other attractions, and reducing some negative opinion by removing the bears in which charges were laid over. Lastly, a recent summary of the park that called it an “Aquarium and splash pad.” — It used to be referred to as a “Aquarium, zoo and amusement park.” By removing the land animals, they are no longer considered a “zoo”.
(Article about charges in relation to the bears: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/ont-marineland-1.7136751)
- No rides
Again, I look at the summary that had been updated and notice how “amusement park” had been removed. The other reason that I predict that there may be no rides operating is because another amusement park writer stated the same thing, speculating that the park hadn’t received it’s safety licensing for the rides for the season. I don’t see any benefit to not operating the rides, in fact, quite the opposite, as a number of guests travel to this park specifically for Dragon Mountain. The park also announced a steep discount on admission, and this would fall in line with a discount being needed if this main part of the attraction was not going to be on offer. (The source for this speculation is discussed in this video: https://youtu.be/GVbnZsm_6wk?si=9Jx55vd-veq-oPn9)
- No show at King Waldorf Stadium
This prediction is the one that I have the least amount of “backing” for and is sort of just a gut feeling. When I looked at videos of the show last year, it was hardly anything that could be called a show. Federal legislation in regards to how cetaceans can be used in entertainment severely restricted the ways that Marineland could operate a show in King Waldorf Stadium. What was once quite the spectacle of choreographed leaps and tricks to pulsing pop hits had been dwindled down to something unrecognisable. Countless google reviews lament that their children had been bored senseless while trainers read lifelessly off of a page for a few minutes while, if at best, a couple dolphins swam lazy laps around cloudy water. I found a Youtube video that was a slideshow of photos from someone’s recent trip to Niagara Falls, which included some photos of Marineland. The park is not yet open, however, the shots that the creator got were likely taken from just outside of the park. I noticed that there was a large sign, visibly removed from in front of King Waldorf Stadium. Upon further investigation, it was the sign that posted the thrice daily show times. The times have been the same for years and years, so it’s unlikely that the park has removed the sign to change them, but of course, not impossible that the sign is just being refinished or repaired. I would not be surprised, however, if new owners chose not to host a show this season as they stepped away from the park using the marine mammals for entertainment in any way. I speculate that the dolphins will be on display in this tank, but that there will be no formal “show” or “educational presentation” as they have come to call it in recent years. (Youtube video that I mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GddhJktwN18)
In conclusion, one big question looms unknown. Who bought Marineland? I hope that we will know tomorrow, and I hope even more fervently, that this could mark a season of change for the park and for the animals who live in it. While Marineland had been reluctant to relocate any of its animals to sanctuaries from the best that we can understand, it can not be dismissed that a new owner may have a different outlook. Marineland has been run by one family for over fifty years, and for so long, it has felt stagnant and impossible to hope for change. There are so many reasons to be negative about the past history of this park, but I want to be optimistic that perhaps this will be a good change, and that things can finally improve. What that looks like, it’s impossible to say, as there are so many unknowns. There are two groups working on seaside sanctuaries in North America (The Whale Sanctuary Project and The Deep Blue Foundation.) and this sale is just in time to move forward with the prospect that these whales could find homes there. I think that the new owners could gain a lot of positive public recognition by simply acknowledging the idea of retiring even some of the whales to places such as these. I think any new owner would have to be a fool to not consider it, as the tides have changed so drastically and shifted the public’s opinion of viewing these animals in captivity. The 2024 season could be the last for Marineland as we’ve known it and I hope that as one chapter of cruelty at a shadowy park in Niagara Falls comes to a close, a new chapter can begin, full of change and hope.
For The Whales 