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External Links and Resources Here you'll find links to various other websites containing information, photographs and videos on the amusement industry in Canada and abroad. While some this information is also available here, many of these sites offer a compelling different look or angle into the specific niche they fill. Access Niagara - A blog dedicated to the more day-to-day happenings in Niagara's tourism industry. While not dedicated specifically to attractions, they are often discussed here. Arcade Heroes - News site following updates in the classic arcade gaming world, including updates and closures to historic arcades and amusement centres. Best Edmonton Mall - A website dedicated to the history of Canada's largest shopping and amusement centre. Matthew Dutczak has done some incredible research to create this phenomenal site. Bill Tracy Project - Website dedicated to American dark ride legend Bill Tracy, which also chronicles some of his projects here in Canada. Tons of great information on his props and story can be found here. Canadian Coaster Enthusiasts - A great history and database website focusing on the history of roller coasters in Canada. Many of the rides and parks discussed on this site predate parks we talk about here at Canadian Amusement History, so if you're a history buff, be sure to give this site a visit. Classic Arcade Game Locations - This massive online database is a user-submitted list of locations of physically-playable classic arcade machines across North America. This site features not only arcades, but also one-off machines that have managed to hang on in the corners of pizza parlours and laundromats through the years. Dark Ride Archive - A Facebook page and YouTube channel documenting the history of both permanent haunted attractions and temporary Halloween haunts. Creator Adam Lee's incredible archival work covers both the U.S. and Canada, and was he was incredibly generous by providing images and media for Canadian Amusement History. Please consider supporting his project. Laff in the Dark - Named after the early mass-produced dark ride of the same name, this website features several articles and resources on dark ride history specifically. Niagara Falls Public Library - The Niagara Falls Public Library and their incredible archives have been by far one of the largest resources in the creation of this website, please consider browsing their collections, which date back much farther than the information you'll find discussed here, or donating if you're able. Pinball Map - A crowdsourced map of Pinball machines at a variety of locations across the world. It currently consists of over 40,000 machines across almost 10,000 locations. Retrontario - Archival website focused on preserving Ontario-specific media. This incredible website's creators have put an amazing amount of time and effort into it, with most of their content coming from tapes and materials they found themselves in the attics and storage rooms of donators. Roller Coaster Database - A global archive of former and current roller coasters, their histories, locations, and dates of opening/closure. ShowbizPizza.com - Named after the American chain of Family Entertainment Centres of the same name, this site is an archive of animatronic shows in various F.E.C.s, restaurants, amusement parks and more.

Lake Huron and Georgian Bay This is perhaps the loosest "region" on this site geographically speaking, however the shores of Lake Huron from Sarnia all the way up to Georgian Bay contain several beachside amusement/tourism districts of varying sizes, comprising a good chunk of Ontario's past and present amusement attractions. The largest of these is the town of Wasaga Beach, the world's longest freshwater beach, once home to a massive L-shaped main strip that ran along the water, then turned inland along Main St. While the town is still home to several attractions, the Main St. portion of Wasaga's main strip was lost in a massive 2007 fire that took out the entire block on both sides of the street, and had lasting effects on the industry throughout the entire town. Amusement and Theme Parks Castle Village Enchanted Kingdom - Balm Beach/Midland Dinosaur Valley - Wasaga Beach Grand Bend Amusement Park - Grand Bend Playland Park - Wasaga Beach Sauble Beach Fun World - Sauble Beach Arcades, Mini Golf and F.E.C.s Balm Beach Go Karts - Balm Beach Balm Beachway Golf Club Mini Putt - Balm Beachway Golf Club, Balm Beach Beachcomber Arcade - Sauble Beach Blue Mountain Go Karts - Collingwood Cedar Grove Mini Golf - Wasaga Beach Corner Convenience - Lions Head Georgian Grill - Balm Beach Gerry's Arcade - Sauble Beach Giggles Arcade- Sauble Beach Grand Bend Mini Golf - Grand Bend Holiday Plaza - Grand Bend Joyland Arcade - Wasaga Beach Joysticks Arcade - Wasaga Beach Jurassic Putt - Grand Bend Just Puttin' Around - Sauble Beach Lows Arcade - Sauble Beach Pedro's Mini Golf - Pedro's Gift Shop, Wasaga Beach Playland Arcade - Playland Park, Wasaga Beach Putterama Mini Golf - Sauble Beach Safari Golf - Dinosaur Valley, Wasaga Beach Sarnia's Rack 'N Roll Billiards - Sarnia Sunset Family Fun Centre - Port Elgin Terrace Mall Arcade - Wasaga Beach Wanda's Beach Hut - Balm Beach Wasaga Dairy - Wasaga Beach Wasaga 500 Go Karts - Wasaga Beach Wasaga Waterworld Arcade - Wasaga Waterworld, Wasaga Beach Wasaga Waterworld Mini Golf - Wasaga Waterworld, Wasaga Beach Wasaga Super Slides Mini Golf - Wasaga Super Slides, Wasaga Beach Wizard's Castle - Heritage Place, Owen Sound White's Mini Golf - Wasaga Beach Mini Golf (Name Unknown) - Mosley St., Wasaga Beach Dark Attractions, Wax Museums and Exhibits Chomps Shark Museum - Wasaga Beach Dracula's Dungeon/Escape the Dungeon - Castle Village Enchanted Kingdom, Balm Beach/Midland Phantom Express (Geister Express) Ghost Train - Playland Park, Wasaga Beach Scares 'n Dares/Nightmares - Wasaga Beach Specialty Hotels and Gift Shops Blue Mountain Resort - Blue Mountain (Collingwood) Georgian Inn Resort - Wasaga Beach Lakeview Motel - Wasaga Beach Miramar Motel - Wasaga Beach Osbourne's Castle of Gifts - Wasaga Beach Santa Fe Motel - Wasaga Beach Sauble Lodge Motor Inn - Sauble Beach Treasure Island/Sunsations - Wasaga Beach Villa Nova Motel - Wasaga Beach Theatres, Bowling Alleys and Miscellaneous Balm Beach Bowling Alley (and Tavern) - Balm Beach Bayshore Lanes - Midland The Bowling Alley - Owen Sound Centennial Theatre - Joyland Arcade, Wasaga Beach The Dardenella - Wasaga Beach Elmvale Drive-In - Wasaga Beach/Elmvale Georgian Bowl - Collingwood Gift Bowl - Sauble Beach Great Slide Ride - Blue Mountain Resort, Blue Mountain (Collingwood) Hiway Bowl - Sarnia Knight Haven Bowling Lanes - Penetang Little Bowl - Goderich Marcin Bowl - Sarnia Playland Park Bowling Alley - Playland Park, Wasaga Beach Starlite Drive-In - Grand Bend Giant Slide (Name Unknown) - Grand Bend Trampoline Attraction (Name Unknown) - Grand Bend Water Parks and Attractions Plunge! Aquatic Centre - Blue Mountain Resort, Blue Mountain (Collingwood) Slipper Dipper Water Slide - Blue Mountain Resort, Blue Mountain (Collingwood) Tube Ride - Blue Mountain Resort, Blue Mountain (Collingwood) Wasaga Super Slides - Wasaga Beach Wasaga Waterworld - Wasaga Beach Waterslide (Name Unknown) - Grand Bend

World a Million Years Ago Attraction Type: Exhibit Location: Skylon Tower, Niagara Falls, Ontario Year(s) Operational: Early 1970's-1990s? Designer(s): ? When discussing the most obscure attractions that have ever existed in Niagara Falls over the years, a handful come to mind. The Niagara Gun Museum on Clifton Hill which only lasted a few months. The Pirate's Cove Wax Museum only seen in old aerial photography of the Fallsview area. The Haunted Graveyard of Niagara who's exact location is even unknown and has only been discussed in passing by it's creator. The Canadian Wildlife Exhibit taxidermy museum who's sole legacy is newspaper ads (and articles about its eventual demise by arson...) But how about an attraction so lost to time that it only exists in the memories (and Facebook comments, hence this article being possible) of those who experienced it? That brings us to the World a Million Years Ago attraction in the Skylon Tower's base. The attraction existed beginning sometime in the early-70's, lasting until at least the 80's, but possibly slightly later. The three-level base of the Skylon Tower at that time was quite the sight to behold. The bottom level contained an indoor amusement park, a massive arcade, vendors, and a miniatures museum amongst other things. The second floor was home to a small mall of stores, as well as the main ticket counter for elevator rides to the top of the tower. The third floor housed a roller rink that was also used for concert space, as well as more vendors and the World a Million Years Ago attraction. Evidence points to it being added at the same time the amusement park, arcade, miniatures museum and roller rink all took over former convention spaces in the early-70's, as this is when people's earliest memories of it occur. The attraction consisted of several mechanical dinosaurs, prehistoric creatures, and cavemen presented in simple early animation, similar to that seen in a department store Christmas window. The figures however were apparently quite large and the cavemen life size. It's unknown if the attraction was a more museum-oriented educational exhibit or a more Disney-esque attraction focused more on theming than historical accuracy. Either way, no photos, videos, brochures, mentions of it in other Skylon or city brochures, mentions of it in newspaper articles, or copyright/business records seem to exist. All three levels in their heyday can be seen in this 1970's promotional shot of the park's Ferris Wheel. The third floor's many vendors are visible. This strange undated image comes up when searching "Niagara Falls 1970's" on Facebook, but has no caption or description. Could this be the only photo of this lost attraction? This archeological internet discovery certainly fits all the subject matter... Who designed the figures is also a mystery. Even the mysterious "Ocean World" attraction listed in Enter-Tech (formerly Waxattract's) portfolio of completed projects in an early-80's brochure was obviously designed by them. Despite that being the only shred of evidence of that attraction (making it World a Million Years Ago's only competition for title of Niagara's most obscure attraction), we at least know who produced it, just like all the other obscure attractions listed at the beginning of this page. With World a Million Years Ago we have nothing, not even a confirmed glimpse on how the figures looked to use as a reference, which brings us to our next subject: the Pterodactyl. The mysterious Pterodactyl can be faintly seen on the lefthand side of this image, perched on the cave above the staff-only doors. Could these doors have been a former entrance to a relocated version of the attraction on the bottom level? The Adventure Into the Unknown dark ride which debuted in the amusement park on the first floor of the Skylon in 1975, had a Pterodactyl animatronic placed outside at least as early as the 1990's, above a set of employee-only doors. It's theorized this prop may have been recycled from World a Million Years Ago after it's closure, however it's also possible the Pterodactyl was a separate piece original to the dark ride. Armando's Tamignini, the Italian artist who created the ride's figures which were ordered from overseas, was known to create similar pieces to the Pterodactyl, offering some conflicting evidence that it may have actually been outside the dark ride since day one and unrelated to World a Million Years Ago. Dinosaurs were also part of the park's miniature golf course by the mid 90's, and could have possibly been relocated from the attraction, however also may have been there prior or come from another source. A Dilophosaurus inhabits the park's mini golf in the late 1990's, adding to the theory that props from the attraction may have been strewn about the park after the exhibit's closure. After World a Million Years Ago was long gone, the vendors had all vanished, and the roller rink closed at some point in the 90's/early 2000's (possibly at the same time as the amusement park) the escalators to the third floor were turned off, along with the majority of the lights up there. Battle of the Titans, an educational animatronic dinosaur attraction which was located in the former roller rink space and unrelated to World a Million Years Ago (and not located exactly where it was either), opened in 2014. The dinosaurs were designed by Hall Train, and the attraction explored ecology through dinosaurs using some great technology. It was a great example of a more modern attraction utilizing technology while still retaining the spirit of attractions past, and was (perhaps unknowingly) an extremely ironic attraction to be located next to the former World a Million Years Ago. However, it was unfortunately only open for a year, and after it closed the escalators to the third floor were once again shut off, now blocked outright with signage so curious guests couldn't even traverse them. The entire third floor is now completely abandoned, including where World a Million Years Ago was located, which offers even less insight into unraveling the mystery of this obscure attraction which now seems prehistoric. The breathtaking yet sadly short-lived "Battle of the Titans" in 2014.

Cont ac t Submissions Welcome Have an old box of family vacation photos you've been meaning to scan? A dusty VHS tape with footage of an obscure attraction? Maybe you worked at, frequented, or even owned a place discussed on this site and have some info to share. Much of our information, content and inspiration comes from those who have been kind enough to share it with us. If you have any submissions, questions, or comments, please fill out the contact form below and we'll get back to you soon as we're able. Contact/Submissions - Let's Chat! Social Media First Name Last Name Email Message Send Thanks for submitting!

Special Articles These articles are special features on various attractions, artists, developers, locations, stories, and more which are separate from the main History pages. Rather than tell the cohesive history of a subject, these special features are meant to be spin-off articles of the main pages. Recent 1971 Guided Tour Button All Special Feature Articles "Sculpting Memories: The Waxattract Story" The story of perhaps the most important design in firm in Canadian amusement history is finally told. Learn about the Niagara Falls company and family responsible for some of the most iconic attractions in The Falls, such as Castle Dracula, Circus World, The House of Frankenstein, and Waltzing Waters, as well as legendary attractions abroad and innovations that changed the global amusement industry forever. The House of Frankenstein 1971 Virtual Guided "Tour" Experience the iconic Clifton Hill haunted attraction as it would have been on opening day! This tour takes you through the technological marvel that revolutionized Clifton Hill and the wider amusement industry. "Come in...and 'kill a little time' with us..."

Castle Dracula Wax Museum/Dracula's Haunted Castle Attraction Type: Haunted Attraction Location: Niagara Falls, Ontario Years Operational: 1974-1976 (Victoria Ave. location), 1977-Present (Clifton Hill location) Designer(s): Waxattract , Gianfranco Avignoni Cover of the original fold-out brochure for the attraction, mid-70's. Castle Dracula needs no introduction. It's been an icon of the Niagara Falls tourism landscape for generations, but while it's impact in Niagara Falls is clear, it's impact on the greater amusement industry worldwide has been completely overlooked, until now. In 1974, after the massive success of the House of Frankenstein locations, Robert Dunham, the creative genius behind the Waxattract company, wanted to do something much more scary than he already had: Castle Dracula. This attraction he would own, and to set it apart, it would have to be even more thematic and technologically advanced than Dunham's previous attractions. To say the least, it delivered. It was originally located on Victoria Ave. in an old Bell Telephone office building, which had since become a Canadian Corps building, and then been abandoned. This is the building Nightmares Fear Factory now occupies. Nightmares would have you believe the building used to be the "Cataract Coffin Factory", which (while great storytelling), isn't true, however being the former home of Dracula is the next best thing, and a pretty good story itself. It opened on June 1st, 1974, to rave reviews. Very little was documented about this original location, but most of what was comes from a thankfully very detailed newspaper clipping about its opening week. According to the article, Castle Dracula was quite a spectacle to behold when it opened, and took the House of Frankenstein concept, and (to quote Spinal Tap), turned it up to 11. Castle Dracula was themed floor to ceiling. The halls were covered in stucco rock, made to look like twisting caves between castle archways, and blacklight stalagmites hung from the ceilings. It would use many of the same sculpts as the figures in the House of Frankenstein locations, and while containing many of the same scenes such as all the classic movie monsters, "The Room of Rats", "The Attic Ghost", the Medieval Torture Chamber, and more, the overall list of scenes would vary even more than the two House of Frankenstein locations varied from each other. The scenes were also usually presented in a much scarier way than in the House of Frankenstein locations. For example, The Room of Rats in both House of Frankenstein locations depicted a man lying in bed being devoured by rats, his chest slowly rising up and down. The Room of Rats scene in Castle Dracula however was an even more gruesome depiction: a dying man chained to the floor of a cell, being devoured by rats crawling up his body and on the the walls around him. Former Bell Telephone building later home to the original Castle Dracula, early-70s. The "Room of Rats" as it appeared in The House of Frankenstein (left), and as it appeared in Castle Dracula (right) at the later Panama City Beach, Florida location. While neither appear to be enjoying themselves, the victim in Castle Dracula doesn't have accommodations quite as nice as the one in The House of Frankenstein, and certainly isn't there of his volition. In addition to scarier scenes and storytelling, it was also even more technologically advanced. The Seance room now had a projected recording of a talking face inside the crystal ball instead of a simple glowing light, but the projection technology wouldn't stop there. Many peoples' fondest memory of the Castle Dracula locations is the Lightshow room with Quadraphonic Surround Sound. The newspaper article interviews Dunham who talks about the Lightshow, which required an operator to control. He says that 50 projectors throw special effects on a 96 foot screen, the finale of the attraction. It was a massive room with a horseshoe shaped screen around three of the walls, with the pathway guests would walk along being akin to a line across the top of the horseshoe. Behind the screen was a lighting rig of various spotlights, projectors, moving lights (like fire or falling snowflake effects), and silhouettes. The operator would talk into a mic to the guests in horror characters' voices, able to actually interact with the guests in real time, and provide a customized show to each guest using the switchboard. The operator booth was behind a two-way mirror located behind the guests, facing out into the room so the operator could see how the show they were putting on looked, and adapt to guests' reactions better. Lightshow operator Jesse Dodd at the switchboard of the Lightshow in the later Florida location, 1977. The Lightshow in the original Niagara Falls location would have used similar equipment. Notice the reel-to-reel tape at top left. The technological improvements wouldn't stop at lighting and audio technology however, as the attraction featured yet another first, this time in the world of animatronics; the Monster Mash. The Monster Mash was a fully animatronic band of monsters singing Bobby Pickett's song "Monster Mash", with Frankenstein's Monster on vocals, The Wolfman on guitar, The Mummy on drums, and Dracula at the piano. It was also incredibly advanced in movement for the time, capable of movements not seen in other animatronics until the end of the decade. Unfortunately, it was in the dark hallways of the actual attraction, not the lobby or window, so photos or video have yet to surface of this historic band, and given camera quality at the time, likely never will. Former location of the original Castle Dracula across Victoria Ave. from Maple Leaf Village, early-80's. The Dracula building is circled here in red. See the shorter building expansion next door to the right with "Frank's" painted on the roof. The attraction was three floors. The building itself is located on a slight hill, so at the front along Victoria Ave., the first floor is level with the ground, whereas around the back of the building, the first floor would be a sort of underground basement, and the second floor would be level with the ground. The front half of the first floor was occupied by Frank's Steakhouse, a popular local restaurant (that would later expand out the side of the building), and the back half of the first floor was home to the lower level of Castle Dracula. You see, while you entered Castle Dracula through a door on Victoria Ave., you were immediately greeted with a stairs up to the lobby, gift shop and arcade on the second floor. An actor in a Dracula mask roamed on the sidewalk outside, a tried-and-true technique that had been drawing major crowds to Dunham's House of Frankenstein. Just like the House of Frankenstein locations, the gift shop would be mostly horror themed selling Aurora Monster Models, monster merchandise, toys, collectables, and plenty of custom Castle Dracula merchandise. This included T-shirts, cups, pins, mugs, postcards, goblets, statues, coin banks and more. These items, especially the banks, fetch a high price now from both vintage monster memorabilia collectors and vintage amusement memorabilia collectors. Waxattract would also sell their masks and latex hands at the Castle Dracula locations, just as they had at the House of Frankenstein(s). These were made from the same molds as the figures in the attraction, meaning you could go home dressed as an authentic Castle Dracula monster. A souvenir Dracula coin bank purchased from the attraction's gift shop in the mid-70's. After you bought your ticket and started on your actual journey into the attraction, you immediately went down to the lower level behind the steakhouse. This lower level was an incredible feat of design that still hasn't been done in another haunted attraction to this day, not even the subsequent Castle Draculas. A pool company was brought in to reinforce all the walls of the foundation with sealed concrete, turning the entire basement into "The Swamp"; a massive watertight fish tank with a twisting hallway running through the middle. Along this hallway were huge windows into various underwater horror scenes, such as the Creature from the Black Lagoon and Davey Jones Locker. All the scenes in The Swamp were connected between each other, for the room's large fish population to freely swim around, including 3-foot long Carp. "The Exorcist" scene after the attraction later moved to Clifton Hill. This image was taken in 2022 after the scene's animation and effects had long since been shut off, and the scene marker placed directly on the bed. After guests' journey through The Swamp they would come back upstairs to the level at which they began, where most of the attraction was located (including The Monster Mash), and from there head up to the top floor containing a handful of scenes as well as the Lightshow. Afterwards they would come down a staircase into the lobby. Some of the new scenes not present in the previous House of Frankenstein locations would include "The Black Hole of Calcutta", "The Human Fly", "Dracula's Wine Cellar" (where a circulating pump poured fake blood out of a draining corpse into one of Dracula's wine barrels), and "The Exorcist", where a young girl would appear to sit up and begin levitating above her bed while a priest waved a cross in the air chanting "The power of Christ compells you!" to no avail. The face of the little girl was actually a cast of Dunham's youngest daughter Debbie's face, who was 8 years old at the time. The attraction was ahead of it's time and spectacular at every turn. The newspaper article also says that the opening weekend saw 500 visitors, and that the attraction took almost an hour to fully experience. An article discussing the opening of the later Myrtle Beach location in 1975 claims Dunham's Niagara location drew 200,000 guests it's first year, but apparently it wasn't enough. You see despite being incredibly well received, it wasn't without its issues, as the attraction's complexity would be a double-edged sword. The pool company who poured the concrete for The Swamp did a less than stellar job, and leaks were an issue from day one. This would cause the water (and fish) to eventually be removed halfway through the location's lifespan, being replaced with shimmering light effects to simulate water. The Monster Mash was also problematic, requiring constant maintenance due to the amount of moving components and servos. Robert Dunham's son Fred was usually the one to do the painstaking maintenance on the band to keep it running to its full potential. There was also an issue with the attraction's location. Victoria Ave. between Clifton Hill and the Fallsview district is somewhat highly trafficked, but Victoria Ave. in the other direction, while still considered part of the Clifton Hill district until Bender St., gets much less foot traffic, even to this day. It still swells with people on a Summer weekend, but nowhere near the levels of the rest of the Clifton Hill area. With a fairly simple exterior and lack of visibility from down the street, the original Castle Dracula simply failed to pull tourists away from the other areas, despite the positive press and lasting effect on the wider amusement industry. Photo of the City of Niagara Falls taken from atop the Oneida Tower in 1975, with the top of "Castle Dracula Museum" and Frank's Steakhouse visible along Victoria Ave. at the bottom left. After the American locations of Castle Dracula were open and running smoothly by 1977, Dunham would move on from opening new Castle Dracula locations to work on other projects. Back in Niagara Falls, despite the version of the attraction there being the most advanced, it was still failing to pull people in the same way that the U.S. locations were due to it's distance from the Hill. Dunham sold the attraction in 1977, and it moved to its current home on Clifton Hill. This took up the entire plot of land formerly occupied by the historic Darling Motel, which contained the doomed Tower of London Wax Museum that had suffered a massive fire the previous year. What remained of the Motel's cabins were demolished, so all that was left was the two story circa-1950's motel building running along the back of the property, and the former wax museum, gift shop and offices building at the front of the property facing Clifton Hill. The front building was severely burnt out by the wax museum fire, and had sat abandoned for several months. It's unknown what the extent of the damage inside was, but the circa 1925 structure (which originally served as the offices, gift shop and restaurant of the motel) was apparently saveable. The same building in the 1930's as the Darling Cabins (left), 1960's as the Darling Motel (center), and 2023 as Castle Dracula (right). A new structure was built connecting the two in the middle, to create one long building running from the front to the back of the property. The charred castle turrets of the Tower of London Wax Museum were repurposed from the Queen's to Dracula's. Red glowing windows and gothic peaks were added to the towers, and the castle was now painted bright white. The top floor of this rebuilt and now conjoined structure became the actual walk through museum, with the first floor being the large gift shop and game room. The basement seems to have become some sort of additional gift shop/game room space. Its also not known if the attraction followed the same path in the building it does today, as it may have used part of the main floor or basement, or let out in either place. Currently, the whole attraction is upstairs with the exit being right next to the entrance in the lobby. Newspaper clippings from the Niagara Falls Review showing the castle turrets being constructed around the pre-existing Darling Motel building for the Tower of London Wax Museum (left,1975), and the towers being remodeled into castle peaks for Castle Dracula (right,1977). The fact that Castle Dracula is the bare bones of the old Darling Motel (and Reinhart's Riverhurst Inn before that) makes it the oldest structure on the Hill, dating to 1925, which much to my surprise is a fact seen nowhere on the internet. Looking at old construction photos or even the building on Google Maps however absolutely confirms this, as from above you can clearly see the shells of the old buildings at the front and back, connected by new structure in the middle. Take a ride on the Skywheel and look down, and this is even more apparent. Shot of Clifton Hill taken from the Skywheel showing the Castle Dracula building. The former office/restaurant building of the Darling Motel is highlighted in red, with the former motel room block at the back of the property highlighted in blue. Newer structure built in 1977 connects the two. The castle design of the new building obviously took heavy inspiration from the U.S. locations despite Waxattract having no involvement. It's unknown what was brought over from the Victoria Ave. location, but it's likely that the Lightshow and The Monster Mash never made the transition, as their mentions were dropped from subsequent brochures. It's also not known what happened to the figures and scenery not included in the sale. One Redditor remarked on one of my history posts there that they were employed at the Victoria Ave. Days Inn in the early 90s, which happens to be next door to the location of the original Castle Dracula location. They said a basement storage room just off the parking garage contained a bunch of figures from "some old horror attraction" that the hotel owners had acquired at some point, but never did anything with. It's unknown if these were infact the unnaccounted for Castle Dracula figures who didn't make it to Clifton Hill, but it's a likely possibility. With the vast amount of horror attractions or wax museum chambers of horror that have existed in The Falls over the years however, there's also a variety of other places they could have come from, including the "Haunted House" attraction that repurposed the Boris Karloff Wax Museum, or possibly Tussaud's, the House of Frankenstein, or Movieland, all of which underwent major renovations around that time Entrance of the Clifton Hill location, 1979. The mystery display was located under the word "Chilling" on the sign above. The newer Clifton Hill location also originally featured a small windowed area with windows on three sides. It faced Clifton Hill and contained a scene, although what exactly (an old news article about the attraction simply calls it a "window corpse") or if it was previously in a window facing Victoria Ave. in the original location, is unknown. There was also a lobby display of some sort above a bench near the attraction's entrance. A new scene remains there today, but the original display or if it too was displayed in the Victoria Ave. lobby is also a mystery. Outside the attraction, Bach's "Toccata and Fugue", known much better as Dracula's theme, played over loudspeaker, alternating between that and Bobby Pickett's "Monster's Mash Party", the B-side track to "Monster Mash". These may have been in place at the original location as well, and evidence points to at least "Toccata and Fugue" being played outside there, due to it also being played outside Dunham's other locations in the U.S. While significantly less impressive than the original, the attraction performed much better thanks to it's new Clifton Hill location, where it remains to this day. The original exterior of the Clifton Hill location, 1977. It was originally brought to Clifton Hill by three brothers named Mario, Victor and Cosmo Menechella, who purchased the attraction from Dunham. The Menechellas gave the attraction plenty of love, completing a $60,000 facade remodel in 1982 that saw the addition of the giant, iconic, vampire skull mouth in front of the lobby's entrance, the front display window area next to it being removed at this time (this is the open space to the right of the face today). It was designed by artist Gianfranco Avignoni, as were many of the other new monsters incorporated into the facade above. The original gift shop and games room was also replaced with The Hill Family Restaurant. They opened up the basement (whatever it contained) right to the street (instead of being accessed from inside), and the original staircase downstairs to the former Darling Motel's gift shop could now be entered from just outside the attraction's lobby. They also painted a stained glass window of Dracula on one of the castle towers. The updated castle exterior in 1983. Notice the blood running down the walls, dripping out of the windows, along with the creature coming out of the wall above the former location of the window display. Both these short-lived features were removed the following year. The original face entrance was much scarier than the current one. It seems it may have been scaring more people away than bringing them in, as just two years later in 1984, the face was completely overhauled by Avignoni to be less scary, as it remains today. It was when the face was remodeled that many more changes would come to the castle. A plywood box containing a light inside with the letters "Thriller" and Michael Jackson's face cut out of it was placed on the outside of the castle, covering the old stained glass painting. A Michael Jackson figure ended up being placed in one of the pre-existing scenes to create a "Thriller" scene. The entire castle was repainted dark grey, and the twisting tree trunks of the giant face now extended up the walls with twisting vines. A variety of fiberglass skeletons, skulls, and heads protruded from the facade (replacing the monsters), and a new, small exterior window was added up high on the wall, although what it contained (if anything) isn't clear. The Hill Family Restaurant was also replaced with a Howard Johnson's Restaurant franchise. Around this time, in the mid-late 80s, local voice actor Lyall Cousins provided a new dialogue recording dubbed over Bach's "Toccatta and Fugue" that had already played outside the attraction. Scans of a 1980 brochure used for the majority of the Menechella years. Updated, dark-grey facade in the late-80s. A skeleton sitting on the branch of the tree has replaced the monster coming out of the wall. The lobby scene as seen in 1991. A large number of figures from elesewhere in the attraction seem to have already been displaced and dismembered shortly prior to this photograph. The Menechellas went on to become big in the hotel industry in Niagara Falls, and shifting their focus, the attraction changed hands to its current owners sometime around 1991. At that time the lobby scene was a hunchbacked man leaning over a woman in a stockade vomiting recirculating water into a barrel. The figures definitely appear to be Waxattract originals, however if they were original to the lobby or relocated from elsewhere in the museum like the bits and pieces of other characters surrounding them is unknown. The owners who purchased the attraction from the Menechellas wouldn't update a thing for the entire tenure of their ownership from 1991-2023, but on the other hand, didn't maintain the original scenes either, leaving them to fall into disrepair. Noticeable problems began essentially immediately in the mid-90s, when the words "Wax Museum" on the sign were painted over and replaced with the words "Haunted Castle", as some of the scenes inside had been turned off or removed by that point. At that time the Howard Johnson's was replaced with a jewelry store named "Colonade", and the entrance to whatever was in the basement was sealed off and replaced with signage. The basement remains abandoned to this day. Eventually in 1997, the jewelry store became a generic gift shop, and the attraction's original sign would be replaced entirely with the one that remains today, renaming the attraction to "Dracula's Haunted Castle." The voiceover remained as well, but the other song that originally played outside, "Monsters' Mash Party", was replaced with a medley of horror movie themes. When the 1997 updates occurred, it seems things inside really started to go downhill, and by the 2010's, the attraction was quite literally a shell of it's former self. Some of the few lit scenes which remained in the museum by the 2010's. Clockwise from bottom: "The Druids" although their victim's still-beating heart they once held has been replaced with a baseball bat, "Rosemary's Baby" (sans-rocking effect and dialogue), and "Dracula's Wine Cellar" with the circulating blood shut off. Only 7 to 13 (depends which day you went) of the original 40 or so that made the move to Clifton Hill were still lit by the 2020's, and none of them were still functional. A majority of the old scenes were still sitting in complete darkness, and remained full of artwork, props, and usually the figures and animatronics. Some figures were relocated to the backgrounds of the few scenes that remained lit as well as to the lobby, with a female vampire in a coffin replacing the woman in the stockade in the early 2000's. Most of the scenes that were emptied out were repurposed for the attraction's one scare actor (plainclothes guy with a clapperboard, sometimes sitting in a Lazyboy) to jump out from. Since the attraction was in a similar state since consumer cameras became higher quality and readily available on smartphones in the late 2000's, it's made it very hard to document what the attraction would have looked like in its incredible glory days. No guide book for the Castle Dracula locations has surfaced like the one for the House of Frankenstein, and also unlike that attraction, the American counterparts to use as a reference are long gone. "The Wax Workshop" (above) that was a bit of a running joke in the Waxattract attractions, as it appeared under flash photography in the early-90s. (Right) The same scene in 2023, the wax maker now missing his head like his victim. Michael Jackson haunts a graveyard once home to an unkown scene amongst several other displaced ghouls from elsewhere in the attractiion. Could "B.F.D." on the old tombstone prop seen in the bottom-right be the initials of a member of the Dunham family? This was tragic considering the amount of artwork and history still contained within the building, not to mention the countless secrets behind what was originally where, how things worked or were constructed. These were all important parts of Niagara's amusement history as well as wider amusement history as a whole. These deserved to be seen and enjoyed by regular guests and enthusiasts alike, not to mention experienced as they were meant to. Worst of all, by 2023, there were spots where you could see through the wall to the daylight and leaks in the roof, especially in the nearly century old front section of the structure that was formerly the Darling Motel offices. Using a flashlight it was easy to see open backstage areas formerly used for the animatronic control centres, and unlit former scenes full of garbage with signs of mold. Without a flashlight, it was actually hard not to stumble into these areas in the pitch darkness. The building was becoming a serious hazard not just to guests, but to itself, as it was becoming a major fire risk. A figure dressed as Santa Claus that somehow wound up inhabiting the attraction's first scene by the late 90's. (Above): An old scene, walled off on one of it's two sides, decayed beyond recognition and full of garbage. The artwork to the right is where the scene was walled off on one side using an old artwork panel from another scene flipped to face inward. It's unknown if all these figures were original to this scene or moved here for storage. This was located directly after the small set of steps where you leave then section housed in the former Darling Motel offices and enter the structure built in 1977. (Top right): an emptied out former scene featuring a never-ending hallway background. (Bottom right): The former Mummy scene emptied out and home to nothing but a mop bucket. Notice the old employee access connection to the former never-ending hallway scene on the left. These scenes were located in the hallway running along the side of building adjacent to the Thriftlodge. And then, miraculously, eagle-eyed visitors to Clifton Hill in 2024 would notice something, the giant, faded sign high above the building would be repainted for the first time in nearly 50 years. Castle Dracula had new owners. The attraction received it's first updates of any kind since the 1997 updates to the exterior, and the first interior remodel in the attraction's history. Unfortunately, filming and photography is not allowed, so if you want to see the updates to the attraction, you'll have to make a voyage to Niagara Falls, or if you're not able to, watch the low quality footage in this video recorded by a YouTube channel which is unaffiliated with this website. A rundown however is as follows: the effects this remodel has had on the attraction, although majorly positive, are a bit conflicting. Updated facade and repainted sign in 2024. This bold sign stands out more than anything on the Hill except perhaps the Skywheel. On one hand, the new owners obviously care very deeply about this place, that's plain to see. They obviously sunk some serious cash in to the structural work on the building alone. Gone is the daylight and rain coming in through the roof, it now feels more solid and put together, as if the place could easily last another 50 years, which couldn't be said before. The remodel is gorgeous, the place is now as spotless and professional as it would have been on opening day. On the other hand about 90% of those original figures, scenes, props, animatronics equipment and more that had been sitting in darkness for 30 years were completely removed. Now to be fair, as you've seen from the images above, there wasn't much left of many of these props to begin with, as over 30 years of neglect had not been kind to their sculpted faces, peering at visitors from the pitch darkness who were unaware they were even still there. Despite that, these were genuine works of art and pieces of amusement history, decayed and dusty the same way an artifact from a tomb would be, but of value nonetheless. What happened to the figures that were removed is currently unknown, but if you know where to look and what to look for, you'll find plenty of original elements still hanging around. Make no mistake, the presence of the Dunham and Menechella families can still be felt throughout these halls. Almost entirely unchanged is the lobby, save for a new zombie display above the bench replacing the hunchback and vampire bride (more on them later.) Outside the attraction, the iconic horror movie themes that have been a staple sound of Clifton Hill for 25 years remain, however Mr. Cousins' late-80's Dracula dialogue set to "Toccata and Fugue" beckoning you inside has been replaced with a new Dracula script. The new script is as bold and commanding as the old one had once been back when the recording was new, and does a fantastic job of demanding attention. Sadly however, Toccata and Fugue is absent from the new recording, marking the first time in the attraction's history since 1974 that Dracula's music isn't present at his own attraction. The long-painted-over Michael Jackson "Thriller" lightbox has also been removed, for a plethora of understandable reasons. Inside the actual halls of the attraction, the changes are even more apparent. New zombie display in the lobby. This figure is a great example of the detiail on the new props. While the attraction follows roughly the same path that it has since it moved to Clifton Hill in 1977, several walls have been knocked out or removed. While this has completely eliminated the locations of certain former scenes, it's also opened up certain scenes that haven't seen the light of day since the mid-90's, along with limited elements of their original artwork and scenery. Both the front hallway and the hallway that formerly ran along the back of the building have been majorly overhauled. Whereas the back hallway was formerly straight with scenes on each side, the hallway now zigzags through the space formerly occupied by the scenes on the left, with scenes only on the right hand side. One cool little easter egg is a giant Dracula face painted on the wall of this hallway that was formerly the background of one of the removed scenes. This old depiction of The Count matches the one found on the original sign that was removed in 1997. The infamous squishy floor room, which hadn't had it's foam flooring replaced since 80's and was more akin to a carpet placed over a hole in the floor, has also had the floor boarded over. The attraction is filled with several elements noticeably absent from it for 30 years including a variety of torture chambers, a mirror maze, and a live actor who's actually both in costume and dedicated to their role. The hunchback, vampire bride, and the guards retrofitted with the Halloween masks from the lobby display have been relocated inside the attraction again as they originally were, whereas the barrels from the former "Dracula's Wine Cellar" scene appear to have been repurposed in a scene depicting a pirate ship. A small handful of other long-lost props are visible again, sometimes in the backgrounds of larger scenes. The iconic exit staircase still remains. Highlights include two formerly walled off scenes that have been opened up and turned into a walk through a haunted forest, a circular torture chamber area that is now visible again albeit occupied by Dracula's Bride, and most of all, the retention of the beautiful exit staircase through the blacklight rock cave. There's much to be said for the new props however as well. While the original props were incredibly advanced for their time and would likely still resonate with visitors even today, they were also the first of their kind, and restoring half-a-century old animatronics running on 1974 wiring and technology that had been neglected for 30 years certainly wouldn't be a cheap or easy task. It's pretty easy to see why the new ownership opted for mostly new animatronic props, and the ones they chose certainly fit the bill. One thing that struck me as an enthusiast, is apart from one or two more popular offerings from the legendary Distortions Unlimited, several of these props look to be either unique or at the very least not often seen in other haunted attractions. Everything you'd expect is here: a werewolf, bat-winged vampires, screaming torture victims, an executioner with his axe, and an inmate in an asylum; all things you also would have encountered in the attraction back in 1974, all animatronics which this attraction grandfathered over 50 years ago. It's fitting then, that on that anniversary, this technology comes home to one of the places it began. Castle Dracula now joins The House of Frankenstein as being an evolved version of it's former self, once again the lively home of it's titular monster, and no longer it's tomb. Castle Dracula can currently be compared to where The House of Frankenstein was in the early 2000's: heavily remodeled, with just enough original elements preserved to retain the spirit of the original. In fact, despite the mass exodus of original scenery, one could argue the Castle Dracula that exists now is more true to the spirit of the original than the decrepit state it was formerly in, regardless of what original elements may have existed behind walls. The same can't really be said anymore for The House of Frankenstein. Following the most recent remodel removing the majority of the remaining original props there, and the immersion break caused by the entrance to the new rooftop Frankencoaster overtaking the old start of the attraction, it's somewhat of a different concept from it's original state save for increasingly few elements. It's still a fantastic attraction nonetheless, but if you want Niagara's closest experience to a preserved, maintained and evolved version of a classic and historic attraction, look no further than Castle Dracula. With the American Castle Dracula locations long gone, it appears much like Dracula himself, the castle can only survive as long as it has it's home soil, and it looks like it has risen from the dead and isn't going anywhere soon. The Count has reclaimed the right to the neon saying on the front of the building: "This is THE ONE!"

MGM Studios Plaza & MGM Great Movie Journey Attraction Type: Gift Shop/Exhibit Location: Niagara Falls, Ontario Years Operational: 2002-Present (Extreme Movie Ride 4D only), 2003-early 2010's (full complex). Designer(s): Blacklight Attractions/Dark Rider, Iwerks When the government of Ontario was selecting the location for the government-run Casino Niagara in the mid 90's, the Harry Oakes Company (HOCO) who owns the attractions on the south-west side of Clifton Hill apparently put in a bid to get the casino on their land, however it ended up going to the Falls Ave. Company, replacing the Maple Leaf Village mall between the Sheraton Foxhead and Sheraton Brock Hotels. This ended up being a financial injection large enough to start a bit of an attraction arms race against HOCO. After the rebranding of all the hotels in the Falls Ave. complex, the opening of Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood, and the additions of Hershey's Chocolate World and the Coca Cola Store, a massive 2002 expansion would be the next addition to the complex. This expansion would focus more on new attractions to face Clifton Hill, consisting of Rainforest Cafe and WWE Niagara Falls. Bigger plans were in store for the Sheraton Fallsview however, which was connected to the former Louis Tussaud's Wax Museum building, dating back to an original section of the 1920 Foxhead hotel. Most of the Tussaud's building was completely demolished, little of which was saved and remodeled into a new structure as part of the 2002 expansion. The structure work for the new building was done done by architecture firm Raimondo + Associates. The same year, the basement of this new building would become a 4D motion theatre while work continued on the three floors above, as well as on the former mall that filled the second floor of the neighboring, now-renamed Sheraton Fallsview. The Louis Tussaud's Wax Museum building which the structure for the MGM Studios Plaza would replace shortly after this photo was taken. Deemed the "Extreme Movie Ride 4D", the theatre is a ride simulator built by SimEx-Iwerks, the leading name in motion theatre technology at the time, who was also building the Ride Theatre for the soon-to-open Great Canadian Midway at the same time. The ride is a moving theatre on a tilting platform which guests board to watch a 3D ride film, with the motion being the fourth dimension. A temporary attraction while the building was still being completed was a live magic show located above the theatre. The details of this show are extremely vague, as it only ran for one year. The theatre opened with the film "Dino Island II", which would remain a constant in the theatre for years alongside a revolving door of other secondary films. The first of these secondary films remains a bit of mystery. The MGM Studios Plaza under construction in the former Tussaud's location, Fall 2002. Three banners originally located on the side of the building featured Spiderman, the Cat in the Hat, and a dinosaur. Spiderman's banner featured the words "Live! Performances" on it, implying he was either part of the magic show or a walk around character near the complex. The Cat in the Hat and dinosaur banners both read "Box Office", implying that the original secondary ride film was based on the Dr. Seuss character. However, no evidence of this film's existence is available online, which would be incredibly strange for something based on an IP and officially licensed from one major company to another. By Fall of that year, the banners had been removed and "Mad Racers" was being shown as the secondary film, despite the building still not being completed. It's very possible that the original secondary film was Mad Racers from the start, and the Cat in the Hat was perhaps incorporated into the magic show, and Spiderman simply a walk around character, thus explaining the taglines on the advertisements. Shots of the building under construction with the ride theatre and magic show already in operation, Summer 2002. The MGM logo on the front of the building, 2004. In 2003 the three levels above the theatre were completed, and the building officially opened as the MGM Studios Plaza. A large fiberglass sculpture of the MGM logo and the famous Leo the Lion replaced the banners on the side of the building, letting tourists know this was the officially licensed, real deal. The building would house the MGM Studio Store on the first floor, where guests could buy movie themed merchandise and memorabilia. This gift shop would later be connected through to Marvel Superheroes Adventure City when it opened next door in the Sheraton the following year. A two level walkthrough interactive museum called the MGM Great Movie Journey was located on floors 2 and 3. The museum held many real movie props, and was designed by Blacklight Attractions. In addition to showcasing screen-used props, it also acted as a behind-the scenes glimpse into movie magic, letting guests experience many special effects. Entrance to the MGM Studio Store in 2004. After watching a pre show on a small movie screen, the screen would open, and guests would walk through. Features of the experience itself are vague, but one detail the attraction's designers heavily promoted was a recreation of M's office from the 007 franchise, complete with a sliding bookcase revealing a hidden FX control room. Located on the roof of the building would be the Pink Panther Balloon Ride, a Zamperla Rides "Samba Tower" ride model themed to the Pink Panther painting the neighboring building, seated atop the ride's center tower. The ride cars were themed to balloons attached to bucket of paint. Despite being a relatively slow moving, tame attraction, the elevation at which it existed and winds it would usually experience made it quite thrilling. Despite the Sheraton towering above it right next door, it actually provided spectacular views of the Falls, which weren't blocked by the structure. The sliding bookcase revealing behind-the-scenes movie magic in the Great Movie Journey, 2003. The Pink Panther Balloon Ride atop the plaza. Connecting all the attractions in the plaza was a large spiral staircase located at the front of the building, accessed from the MGM Store. The stairwell ran from the basement to the roof, although the ride theatre in the basement had its own additional entrance just down the Hill. Movie posters for various MGM films were placed along the stairwell and equipped with motion sensors. When a group of guests walked past, the poster would light up and play a sound clip of a quote from the matching film. The impressive completed plaza in 2004. The sign for the Pink Panther Balloon Ride. Judging by the poor condition of the neon signage below, this image was taken later in the attraction's life. Despite being one of the most high-profile intellectual properties to ever have an attraction based off it in the Falls, it never matched the popularity of the other additions to the Falls Ave. Complex. Rainforest Cafe, WWE Niagara Falls, Planet Hollywood, Hard Rock Cafe, and Marvel Superheroes Adventure City are all far more frequently reminisced about, and (in the case of those that have also since closed) more vividly remembered. Very little documentation of the MGM Studios Plaza exists, aside for exterior shots of the building and a short promo from Blacklight Attractions discussing their work on the Great Movie Journey. While it would stick around longer than Adventure City next door held on to its Marvel branding, Adventure City lost its branding due to the fallout of Disney's purchase of Marvel, whereas the MGM Studios Plaza simply seemed to quickly fizzle out when the area began to change once the 2010's hit. In the early 2010's, The MGM Studio Store became a generic gift shop despite retaining the MGM theming, and the Great Movie Journey shuttered. This was exceptionally strange considering the giant MGM logo, as well as the occasionally operational Pink Panther Balloon Ride, remained on the exterior of the building. This meant that despite the walkthrough closing and the store ceasing to sell MGM merchandise, the Falls Ave. Company was still paying the licensing fee (or MGM simply wasn't aware). A ride film based on the movie Happy Feet finally replaced the long running Dino Island II in the 4D Theatre in 2013, which was quickly replaced with another dinosaur themed film named "Terrapolis" in 2015. As mentioned above, the Pink Panther Balloon Ride's operating schedule became increasingly sporadic and random, likely running for the final time around 2014. For the years it was open past the Great Movie Journey, the staircase up to the ride actually took riders past the entrance and exit of the closed museum. Around the time the Pink Panther ride stopped running in 2014, the gift shop became expanded arcade space for the connected Adventure City, with the MGM Great Movie Journey walkthrough above on floors 2 and 3 ending up being abandoned for almost 10 years. One somewhat creepy fact is that once the gift shop was replaced with the arcade and there was no employee monitoring the area, guests could easily slip upstairs to the abandoned attractions. But that's not all: the motion-activated movie posters along the staircase still worked, their once charming movie quotes now startling and eerie as they cut through the totally silent building, located just mere feet away from one of the busiest locations on earth. Things sat this way until the building became the Niagara Distillery bar and barbecue restaurant in 2019, which occupies all 3 floors of the building (not including the basement). The Pink Panther Balloon Ride remained abandoned on the roof until after the pandemic in 2021, a horribly out of place relic of another time in the tourism industry, decaying in plain sight as the Hill changed around it. It was eventually sold to an unknown buyer in Europe and dismantled that October. By this point you might be wondering what the fate of the motion theatre was, but that's because there hasn't been one. The ride still operates, with its secondary entrance right on the Hill allowing it to operate without the rest of the MGM plaza. In fact, it even recently received a new animatronic dinosaur head on the front of the building, promoting the Terrapolis film, which has now been running for almost 10 years. The theatre is now all that remains of this once grand attraction that brought behind the scenes movie magic to The Falls. Like the theatre itself, it's original sign is now the final remnant of the building's former glory. The building as it appears today, complete void of colour and personality, especially compared to it's former self.

Seagram/Royal/Panasonic/Minolta Tower Attraction Type: Specialty Hotel/Gift Shop(s) Location: Niagara Falls, Ontario Years Operational: 1962-Present Designer(s): Horton and Bell Architects, Byer's Construction Company The 325 foot tall Seagram Tower opened in 1962 in the Fallsview district, next to the pre-existing Burning Spring building. The small, long out of date observation tower (circa 1924) incorporated into the Burning Spring structure was demolished, and next door Niagara Falls would receive it's first major observation tower. A group of local businessesmen came together to form Niagara Tower Limited, with the majority of the funds being provided by the House of Seagram distillery, the Canadian alcohol company behind Crown Royal whisky and Seagram's Gin among other products. Ground was broken on March 15th, 1961, with the Tower being designed by Horton and Bell Architects of Kitchener, and Byer's Construction Company of Montreal leading the construction. The Tower would rise 325 feet tall, cost $1.2 million (in 1961 dollars), and weighs nineteen million pounds, being the first structure in North America built using the "Slipform" construction method that would later be used to build both the Skylon and CN Towers. A small fire occurred during construction in September of 1961, but resulted in little damage despite burning for six hours. The Tower under construction in 1961. The Tower complex in 1962, the tallest beacon in Niagara Falls at the time. Completed Tower in it's opening year in 1962. The Tower would open on June 1st, 1962, just in time for the height of the tourist season. The Tower was originally topped with a two-level outdoor observation deck, and the 25th floor indoor observation deck features special non-glare, floor to ceiling windows. The most luxurious experience in the Tower was the gourmet Pinnacle Restaurant located on the 26th floor, providing the highest indoor view in the complex. The Pinnacle won several awards over the years and was originally a renowned place to eat in Niagara Falls. The rest of the floors were dedicated to hotel rooms, save for the large gift shop that occupied the ground floor and the basement. Walt Disney meets with Mayor Franklin Miller atop the Tower in 1962. Rumor has it he was in town because The Falls was the first location considered for Walt Disney World, but the Canadian winters meant the park would only be seasonal, so the site was chosen in Florida instead. While somewhat lost amongst the modern Niagara skyline, the Tower was the first observation tower in the area, and at the time was the city's tallest structure. Due to being mostly financed by Seagram's, the Tower was deliberately shaped like a giant shot glass, being affectionately referred to by locals as "the world's biggest shot glass". While no secret upon opening, rather being part of the branding, it's just subliminal enough to go over the heads of people nowadays who don't know the building's history. The Burning Spring building next door was subsequently purchased by businessmen Malcolm Howe and Arthur White, and renovated into the Burning Springs Wax Museum the following year. In addition to the wax museum, White also constructed a large outdoor fountain between the wax museum and the Tower, but this fountain would be unlike any other that existed at the time. The fountain was known as Waltzing Waters , a large dancing fountain, even programmed with synchronized lights at night. It was a technological marvel at the time, unlike anything the world had ever seen, and at a time when computers were in their infancy. There was also the "World of Shops", a two-level indoor mall in a separate building on the other side of the Tower from the wax museum and Waltzing Waters. The World of Shops even had a miniature golf course located on the opposite side of it from the Tower, between the mall and Portage Rd. Flushed out complex featuring the mini golf, World of Shops, Waltzing Waters, Burning Springs Wax Museum, and Tower View Amusement Park, 1967. Across the street was also the small and short lived Tower View Amusement Park, and an incline railway on the hill leading down to Table Rock Centre below would be built in 1966 to connect the Tower complex with Queen Victoria Park. While the Tower instantly became an icon of Niagara Falls, it's long line of financial woes began early on. It would be absolutely dwarfed just a few short years after it's opening by the 520ft tall Skylon Tower just a few blocks away, which began construction in 1964 and opened in 1965. While the Skylon featured no hotel element, it became the new must-visit observation tower in the Falls. Whether this contributed to its first sale or not is unknown, but it was sold in 1966 to Louis Bolus and the aforementioned Arthur White. Incline Railway postcard, 1960's. White would buy the Tower completely in 1969 and rename it the Heritage Tower after Heritage Restaurants leased the dining options in the Tower. To coincide with this he constructed the National Marine Aquarium of Canada in the former World of Shops Mall, opening in 1970. The Tower View Amusement Park closed to make way for the new World of Shops as well as the Niagara Falls Bus Terminal, however the carousel initially remained inside the mall with the new structure built around it. Two high rise hotels flanking the Tower were planned but never materialized, ironic considering what surrounds the Tower now (see below.) White's full ownership of the Tower was short lived, selling it to Royal Inns Canada in 1971, however he would continue to own the other attractions around it. The Tower was renamed the "Royal Inn Tower", however Royal Inns' ownership of the Tower would be the shortest, going bankrupt the very next year in 1972 and ownership being reverted back to White and the Bolus family who owned the land the Tower and attractions around it were on, as well as the physical buildings. Artist's rendering of the original plan for the tower's remodel with the hotels. The Aquarium and relocated World of Shops would come to fruition however. The arcade (silver roof) and theatre (square building) to the left of it, behind the Aquarium, 1980's. The complex would now be known as the "Royal Centre Tower", with more of a focus put on the Tower being part of a complex of several attractions rather than attempting to draw people in using only the Tower itself in a changing tourist landscape. An arcade structure and a small theatre building would be added to the former parking lot between the Tower and the Aquarium around this time. The miniature golf course was removed to make way for the new parking area. A second arcade would also open in the basement level of the Tower's base, and a third in the World of Shops across the street. The name would be changed just a year later in 1973 when Panasonic leased the naming rights to the Tower, dubbing it the "Panasonic Tower". Large electronic clocks were added to the exterior. With the complex's unfortunate financial record still not improving, White would sell the Tower, Aquarium, and wax museum to Japanese-Canadian businessman Takeshi Shimizu in 1976, president of Panasonic Canada. Shimizu apparently couldn't make it work either however, and the Tower was closed by Bolus (who had continued to own the land and physical buildings) in 1977 due to it owing back taxes. It would manage to reopen however, but to no avail, and by 1980 the Tower owed over $320,000 to the City, who were actively threatening to take over the Tower. Shimizu would end up selling the Tower business (and other attractions) to the Bolus family in 1981, marking the first time they had owned the Tower business since 1969 despite owning the physical building and land the entire time. Sale of the complex in 1976. From left to right: Mr. Shimizu and his wife, Arthur White, and Mayor George Bukator. The renamed Panasonic Tower in 1976. For the first time, someone was actually able to turn the complex around. Minolta leased the naming rights to the Tower beginning in 1984, renaming it the Minolta Tower, the name it remains the most synonymous with to this day. Little change would occur over the next few years save the for the ownership of the wax museum shuffling around. Big changes came in the early 90's however. The wax museum closed first in 1991, being briefly replaced with the Dare Devil Gallery attraction that had relocated from Stanley Ave., before it closed as well in 1992 and the historic Burning Spring building was demolished in 1993. The theatre and arcade buildings in the parking lot were also demolished around this time. Arthur White sold Waltzing Waters, his final attraction in the complex, in 1992. It would later move across the street in 1995 and end up closing in 2000, with the Aquarium closing and being demolished in 1996. The bus terminal and World of Shops mall were replaced the same year with the Radisson Fallsview, however the structure was saved and incorporated into the new hotel tower built beside it. The structure home to the carousel since the Tower View Park days remains, although the carousel was removed. Minolta Tower decorated for Christmas, December 1992. Demolition of the old Burning Spring building in 1993. The cleared land around the Tower in the late 90's. The towering Marriot Fallsview and Embassy Suites would soon replace the former wax museum and aquarium. The Tower was sold to Rado-Mat Holdings in 1993, who owned the Radisson and Holiday Inn in Niagara Falls, NY. In 1995, the 2000 sq. ft Cybermind V.R. Centre leased out space in the arcade base of the Tower. It's unknown if they took over the entire arcade or just a portion of it. The V.R. arcade was part of a Canadian chain based out of the Toronto area, and featured various forms of "Virtuality" V.R. arcade machines running various games. Namco's massive 6-player "Galaxian 3" arcade machine was one element confirmed to be held over from the original arcade, implying Cybermind was perhaps only leasing a portion of the space. The Marriot Fallsview would eventually be constructed on the site of the former Burning Springs Wax Museum/Waltzing Waters in 1998, with the Embassy Suites being constructed on the former site of the Aquarium in 2003. The Embassy Suites is considerably taller than the Tower right next door, a clear representation of how the industry had changed so much by the 2000's that the once grand observation tower was now being overshadowed by regular hotels which weren't even considered specialty observation structures. Entrance to the complex featuring the Cybermind sign in the late 90's. The front desk of the Tower in the late 90's showing the admission-based attractions guests could buy tickets for. A guest plays a Virtuality machine in the only surfaced photo from inside the mural-covered walls of Cybermind, 1995. The Tower was renamed yet again to the Konica-Minolta Tower in 2003 following the merger of Konica and Minolta. Around the same time, Cybermind closed along with the other arcade in the Tower's base complex. The Pinnacle Restaurant finally closed after almost 50 years in the late 2000's, being replaced with Marilyn's Bistro and Lounge, a restaurant themed around Marilyn Monroe. In 2010, the clocks were removed from the Tower along with the Konica-Minolta branding, and it simply became known as the Tower Hotel. The former gift shop was finally removed completely at this time to create a more welcoming, expanded lobby. An IHOP replaced Marilyn's in the mid-2010's, the outdoor observation decks closed, and the indoor observation deck on the 25th floor became reserved solely for event bookings The Tower now sandwiched between the Marriot Fallsview and the massive Embassy Suites, as part of what's now deemed "Hotel Row". The story of the Tower is one of a complex that simultaneously revolutionized the Falls yet was also doomed to fail. It started the trend of observation towers in the Falls, revolutionized construction in North America, and kickstarted the expansion of the Fallsview district, yet was overshadowed by the Skylon Tower just two years after it opened. It's confusing identity issue due to the string of rapid name changes through the 1970's, resulting from bankruptcy after bankruptcy, led many in the City to think of the Tower as financially cursed. By the time it had finally found it's footing in the mid 80's, it was somewhat too late, as the other attractions in the complex aged and the rest of the tourism industry had long moved on from the Tower itself. The Tower, once one of the tallest structures in Canada, now peeks out from behind the sea of towering skyscrapers. Despite it's recent height disadvantage, it remains eye catching for it's unique design amongst this concrete jungle. The Tower remains a reflection of the changes in the area, as the Fallsview district is now known for its glamorous high-rise hotels, especially since the opening of the towering Fallsview Casino and it's attached hotel in 2004. While other areas like Clifton Hill have so far managed to keep their identity to a certain degree, the "Vegas-ification" of the Fallsview district leaves more accessible tourist offerings like the Tower either closed or in the dust. This leads to the reality that the fact the Tower remains open despite its past issues (and all the other attractions in the area closing to make way for luxury shopping and dining) a miracle. Perhaps it's simply because this spectacular feat of engineering is simply too difficult to demolish, or too ingrained in the public conscious. Either way, the Tower has certainly withstood whatever winds have blown its way no matter how strong, and this gorgeous, historic, structure will hopefully continue to do so for years to come.

All Video Galleries Here you'll find galleries of footage, film clips, tourist-shot videos, commercials and more pertaining to all attractions. This list is categorized by region due to many videos containing panoramic shots of several attractions in an area at a time. Videos of attractions located inside an amusement park, F.E.C., or other complex are located in the video gallery for the wider complex, as other attractions are also usually featured in these videos. More about these attractions specifically can be found on their respective History pages. Video sources are credited in these galleries, and fall under fair use copyright law as they are being used for research/study. Niagara Region Circus World 1981 Section Under Construction

Atlantic Canada (East of Quebec) Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. While these provinces are smaller in size they've contained a wide variety of attractions over the years due to population centers like St. John's, Moncton, Halifax and the tourist hotspot of Cavendish Beach. Amusement and Theme Parks Atlantic Playland/Atlantic Splash Adventure - Lucasville, NS Axtion - St. John's, NL Crystal Palace - Champlain Place, Dieppe (Moncton), NB Magic Mountain - Magnetic Hill (Moncton), NB Magic Valley Fun Park - Greenhill, NS Rainbow Valley - Cavendish Beach, P.E.I. Sandspit Cavendish Beach - Cavendish Beach, P.E.I. Shining Waters Family Fun Park - Hunter River (Cavendish Beach), P.E.I. Upper Clements Park(s) - Upper Clements, NS Arcades, Mini Golf and F.E.C.s AJ's Bar & Billiards - Corner Brook, NL Backstreet Amusements - Prince St., Halifax, NS Breakers Sports Lounge - Torbay Rd., St. John's, NL Burlington Go Karts - Kensington (Burlington), P.E.I. The Boardwalk - Magnetic Hill (Moncton), NB Buccaneer's Cove Mini Golf - Gage Golf and Curling Club, Oromocto, NB Carmen Creek Mini Putt - Carmen Creek Golf Course, Fredericton, NB Cavendish Beach Adventure Zone - Cavendish Beach, P.E.I. Classic Cue - Grand Falls-Windsor, NL Corner Pocket - Airport Blvd., Gander, NL Cybermind V.R. Centre - Halifax, NS Cybermind V.R. Centre - Moncton, NB Darnley Greens & The Red Zone - Darnley, P.E.I. Doolys - Amherst, NS Doolys - Antigonish, NS Doolys - Caraquet, NS Doolys - Causeway Shopping Centre, Port Hawkesbury, NS Doolys (Elmwood Dr. location) - Moncton, NB Dooly's - Greenwood, NS Doolys (Main St. location) - Fredericton, NB Doolys (McDonald St. location) - Saint John, NB Doolys - Mirimachi, NB Doolys - (Mountain Rd. location) - Moncton, NB Doolys - North Sydney, NS Doolys - Oromocto, NB Doolys - Parkway Mall, Saint John, NB Doolys - Prince Edward Square, Saint John, NB Doolys (Prospect St. location) - Fredericton, NB Doolys - Riverview (Moncton), NB Doolys - St. Stephen, NB Doolys - Summerside, P.E.I. Doolys - Sydney, NS Doolys - Truro, NS Doolys (Wilmot Alley location) - Fredericton, NB Drive-U-Crazy Mini Golf - New Glasgow, P.E.I. East Coast Karting - Greater Lakeburn (Moncton), NB Eastside Billiards & Lounge - Chain Lake Dr., Halifax, NS Electric Avenue - Sobeys Square, St. John's, NL Electric Avenue - Village Square Shopping Centre (later moved to Hamlyn Rd.), St. John's, NL Exit 88 Go-Kart Racing - Grand Falls, NB Fantasy 2000 - Dartmouth, NS Fire Fly Recreation - Hampton, NB GeForce Funderdome - Mt. Pearl, NL Go-Karts - Atlantic Playland/Atlantic Splash Adventure, Lucasville, NS The Golden Cue - Corner Brook, NL Good Guys Golf - Fredericton, NB Goodwood family Golf Centre - Goodwood, NS Gypsy Mini Golf - Centre (Lunenburg), NS Hartt Island Mini Golf - Springhill (Fredericton), NB Hi-Ball Bar & Billiards - Stephenville, NL Ironwood Pitch & Putt - St. John's, NL JJ's Billiards & Lounge - Main St., Burin, NL Kartbahn Racing - Halifax, NS King's Billiards - Yarmouth, NS Kingswood Entertainment Centre - Hanwell (Fredericton), NB Locas Billiards - George St., Halifax, NS Magic Mountain GolfZone - Magic Mountain, Magnetic Hill (Moncton), NB Mariner's Cove Miniature Golf - Mariner's Cove Boardwalk, P.E.I. Maurie's Mini-Putt & Ice Cream - Morrison Cove (Miramichi), NB McNally's Billiards - Commonwealth Ave., Mount Pearls, NL McNally's Billiards - Powell Dr., Carbonear, NL Mini Golf - Atlantic Playland/Atlantic Splash Adventure, Lucasville, NS Miss Cue - Mountain Rd., Moncton, NB Musgrave Harbour Amusements - Musgrave Harbour Municipal Park, Musgrave Harbour, NL Pit Stop Karting - Sandspit Cavendish Beach, Cavendish Beach, P.E.I. PonyBoat Social Club - Kent St., Charlottetown, P.E.I. Putting Edge - Halifax, NS Quinpool Amusement - Quinpool Rd., Dartmouth, NS Quinpool Billiards - Quinpool Rd., Dartmouth, NS The Rack Bar and Billiards - Stewart St., New Glasgow, NS Riverdale Fun Centre - Conception Bay South, NL Rockhouse Pub - St. John's, NL Sandpit Miniature Golf - Sandspit Cavendish Beach, Cavendish Beach, P.E.I. Shooter's Bar and Billiards - Main St., Burin, NL Sir Admiral John's Adventure Golf - St. John's, NL Snow Queen Leisure World - Antigonish, NS Splash "n" Putt Resort - Traytown, NL Starcade - Avalon Mall, St. John's, NL Super Cue Billiards - Sackville Dr., Lower Sackville, NS Sussex Adventure Mini Golf - Sussex, NB Tables Billiard Lounge - Bay Roberts, NL 21st Century Billiards - Carten St., Liverpool, NS Union Bar & Billiards - Corner Brook, NL Vegas Family Entertainment Centre - Saint John, NB West Side Charlie's - Bay Roberts, NL West Side Charlie's - Carbonear, NL West Side Charlie's - Clarenville, NL West Side Charlie's - Conception Bay South, NL West Side Charlie's - Mount Pearl, NL West Side Charlie's - New Minas, NS West Side Charlie's - Paradise, NL West Side Charlie's (Torbay Road location) - St John's, NL West Side Charlie's (Kenmount Rd) - St John's, NL West Side Charlie's (Topsail Road location) - St John's, NL Dark Attractions, Wax Museums and Exhibits Enchanted Castle - Cavendish Beach, P.E.I. Haunted Castle - Atlantic Playland/Atlantic Splash Adventure, Lucasville, NS Musée de Cire d'Acadie (Acadian Wax Museum) - Village Historique Acadien, Bertrand, NB Halifax Wax Museum - Halifax, NS The Haunted House - Upper Clements Park(s), Upper Clements, NS Pioneer Museum - (Name Unconfirmed, Location Unknown, same as Musée de Cire d'Acadie?) Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum - Cavendish Beach, P.E.I. Route 6 Haunted Motel - Cavendish Beach Adventure Zone, Cavendish Beach, P.E.I. Royal Atlantic Wax Museum - Cavendish Beach, P.E.I. Rum Runners - Rainbow Valley, Cavendish Beach, P.E.I. Wax World of the Stars - Cavendish Beach, P.E.I. Witch's Cave - Rainbow Valley (Later moved to Shining Waters Family Fun Park), Cavendish Beach, P.E.I. Woodleigh Replicas - Cavendish Beach, P.E.I. Specialty Hotels and Gift Shops Best Western/Ramada Plaza Dieppe/Moncton Crystal Palace - Crystal Palace, Champlain Place, Dieppe (Moncton), NB Theatres, Bowling Alleys and Miscellaneous Acadian Bowling Lanes & 9th Lane Lounge - Little Brook, NS Alley 4 Bowling Alley - Belliveaus Cove, NS The Alley Restaurant and Bowling Alley - Charlottetown, P.E.I. Animaland Park - Penobsquis, NB Avon Valley Lanes - Windsor, NS Bowlacade - Bible Hill, NS Bowlacade - Woodstock, NB Bowlarama - Dartmouth, NS Bowlarama - Dieppe (Moncton), NB Bowlarama - Halifax, NS Bowlarama - Spryfield (Halifax), NS Bowl-More Lanes - Bridgewater, NS Brackley Drive-In - Brackley Beach, P.E.I. Brunswick Lanes - Yarmouth, NS Cape Breton Drive-In Theatre - Grand Lake Road (Sydney), NS Castle Bowling Centre - Miramichi, NB Cine-Parc Satellite Ltee - Bois-Blanc, NB Clarenville Twin Cinemas/Caribou Lanes Bowling Alley - Clarenville, NL Corner Brook Centre Bowl - Corner Brook, NL The Drome by Trailway - Fredericton, NB Exploits Lanes - Grand Falls-Windsor, NL Fairlanes Bowling Centre - Moncton, NB Fairview Lanes - Saint John, NB Greenwood Bowling Centre - Greenwood, NS The Hangar Laser Tag Arena - Cavendish Beach Adventure Zone, Cavendish Beach, P.E.I. Heather Bowling Lanes - New Glasgow, NS Holiday Lanes - St. John's. NL Holy Bowly - Riverview (Moncton), NB King Pin Bowling - Amherst, NS Lanes at Membertou - Membertou (Sydney), NS Liverpool Bowling Centre - Liverpool, NS Old Mill Fun Centre - Bay Roberts, NL Pajo's Bowling Alley - Lunenburg, NS Paradise Bowl - Paradise, NL Peyton's Pins/Andy's Alleys - Gander, NL Pins Bowling Centre - Antigonish, NS Plaza Bowl - St. John's, NL Riverdale Fun Centre - Conception Bay South, NL Seaside Bowling Centre - Shediac, NB Shoebox Drive-In - Westville, NS St. Pat's Bowling Lanes and Lounge - St. John's, NL Strand Bowling Alley - Sydney Mines (Sydney), NS Super Bowl - Lower Sackville (Halifax), NS Supernova XD Theatre - Splash " n" Putt Resort, Traytown, NL Sussex Drive-In - Sussex, NB Swansburg's Bowling Alley - Shelburne, NS Town Center Lanes - Glace Bay, NS UnBOWLievable Lanes - Musquodoboit Harbour, NS Valley Drive-In Theatre - Cambridge Station, NS Wilson's Bowling Centre - Digby, NS Winter Games Lanes - Lewisporte, NL Maze (Name Unknown) - Mariner's Cove Boardwalk, Cavendish Beach, P.E.I. Water Parks and Attractions Atlantic Splash Adventure - Atlantic Playland/Atlantic Splash Adventure, Lucasville, NS Shining Waters Water Park - Shining Waters Family Fun Park, Hunter River (Cavendish Beach), P.E.I. SplashZone - Magic Mountain, Magnetic Hill (Moncton), NB "360ft Water Slide"/Pools - Splash " n" Putt Resort, Traytown, NL Thunderland Amusement Park - Badger, NL

History View All Attractions by Region View Artists and Developers Amusement and Theme Parks Amusement and Theme Parks Canadian amusement and theme parks from the mid 20th-century onward. The histories and uncovered details of the forgotten, famous, abandoned and still operational. GO > GO > Arcades, Mini Golf and Family Entertainment Centres Here you'll find every kind of arcade imaginable, as well as miniatu re golf courses and Family Entertainment Centres. These are grouped together for convenience, since many mini golf courses also had large arcades, and many F.E.C.s contained both. Arcades, Mini Golf and Family Entertainment Centres Dark Attractions, Wax Museums and Exhibits Dark Attractions, Wax Museums and Exhibits Haunted Attractions, Wax Museums, Dark Rides, Fun Houses, and Walk-Through Exhibits. Wax monsters, celebrities, and oddities. GO > GO > Water Parks and Attractions Dedicated water parks as well as stand-alone water slides and attractions. Water Parks and Attractions Themed Restaurants, Bars and Stores Themed Restaurants, Bars and Stores Immersive dining and shopping experiences now largely seen as a nostalgic product of their time. The ones that are gone are sorely missed, and those that remain are beloved. GO > GO > Theatres, Bowling Alleys and Miscellaneous Various forms of theatre shows including ride theatres, animatronic show theatres, lightshows and movie theatres with special theming or significance. In this section you'll also find all other miscellaneous attractions such as bowling alleys, roller rinks, laser-tag arenas and more. Theatres, Bowling Alleys and Miscellaneous Specialty Hotels and Gift Shops Hotels and Gift Shops with some sort of unique theming, attraction, or relevance. Significant hotels, motels and souvenir stores in amusement districts will also be included in this section. GO > Specialty Hotels and Gift Shops

Marvel Superheroes Adventure City/Adventure City Attraction Type: Family Entertainment Centre Location: Niagara Falls, Ontario Years Operational: 2004-2009 (as Marvel Superheroes Adventure City), 2009-Present (as Adventure Cty) Designer(s): Blacklght Attractions/Dark Rider The attraction as seen from Clifton Hill, 2004. When the government of Ontario was selecting the location for the government-run Casino Niagara in the mid 90's, the Harry Oakes Company (HOCO) who owns the attractions on the south-west side of Clifton Hill apparently put in a bid to get the casino on their land, however it ended up going to the Falls Ave. Company, replacing the Maple Leaf Village mall between the Sheraton Foxhead and Sheraton Brock Hotels. This ended up being a financial injection large enough to start a bit of an attraction arms race against HOCO. After the rebranding of all the hotels in the Falls Ave. complex, the opening of Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood, and a massive 2002 expansion to the complex consisting of Rainforest Cafe, WWE Niagara Falls, and the Extreme 4D Motion Theatre, the Falls Ave. Company was well into a several-stage redevelopment plan. The plan also featured upcoming additions of more attractions to fill out the already built, and soon-to-be-named, MGM Studios Plaza that the 4D Motion Theatre sat in the basement of, as well as an indoor Family Entertainment Centre (F.E.C.) to replace the mall on the second floor of the now-renamed Sheraton Fallsview. "La Piazza" restaurant formerly located in the Sheraton's second-level mall as seen in 2003, shortly before the remodel of the entire level into Adventure City. Captain America Games Zone, 2004. Above: Captain America Games Zone, 2004. Notice the Dr. Doom helment replica located on the right hand side of this image. Right: The attraction as seen from the corner of Falls Ave. and Clifton Hill, an eye-catching footing to the famous street of fun. In 2002 HOCO would open the Great Canadian Midway, forever changing Clifton Hill and giving it a focal point. It's unclear when exactly the Falls Ave. Company came up with certain elements of their plan, however the impact and influence of the Midway was clear. The F.E.C. that eventually replaced the mall would be an attraction officially licensed from Marvel Comics, dubbed Marvel Superheroes Adventure City. Designed mostly by Blacklight Attractions who had designed the MGM Great Movie Journey in the MGM Studios Plaza, it was a sprawling arcade and amusement centre that encompassed the entire second floor of the hotel, from Clifton Hill all the way to the Hard Rock Cafe, to which it connected. It also connected to the MGM Studios Store and Rainforest Cafe. The main, massive arcade area was home to the Captain America Games Zone, adorned with neon, murals of cityscapes, prop replicas, and various easter egg references to Marvel. The attractions lined the area somewhat similar to the layout of the mall the attraction replaced. Spiderman: The Ultimate Ride was the crown jewel of these, an interactive laser shooting, blacklight, dark ride. Riders would assist Spiderman with rounding up villains from the series, and ride aboard a vehicle equipped with web shooting devices. Riders would battle Scorpion, The Lizard, Electro, and the Green Goblin moving through a themed area for each. They would then have to face off with Dr. Octopus in a climatic final battle. Other attractions included Mr. Fantastic's Candy Laboratory (a fill-your-own-cup candy counter), X-Men Combat Cars (bumper cars), Daredevil's Obstacle Challenge (a timed obstacle course), and the Spidey and Friends Funhouse (a small children's funhouse themed to the Avengers characters, complete with ball-shooting machine.) There was also a Marvel Shop selling both new and vintage Marvel collectables ranging from t-shirts, to comic books, to action figures. Clockwise from top left: Entrance to the que for "Spider-Man: The Ultimate Ride" interactive dark ride, Mr. Fantastic's Candy Laboratory, The Daredevil Obstacle Challenge, and X-Men Combat Cars. One attraction however was unlike anything else done at the time: The Incredible Hulk Encounter. It was a walk-through haunted attraction themed to the Incredible Hulk, a truly theme-park quality attraction which incorporated an otherwise family friendly intellectual property into a haunted attraction seamlessly. The attraction featured a blend of animatronics and live actors, with the live actors playing scientists who were guiding you on your journey. Most of the scary elements were startles as the recently-transformed Hulk breached containment and went on a rampage, which the would-be hero has not necessarily directed at you, but you find yourself in the firing line of. A similar attraction, the Incredible Hulk Mini Golf, also existed in the complex. There's evidence to support that this attraction may have replaced the Incredible Hulk Encounter, however there's also evidence they both exited at the same time. The two never appear on the same brochure or advertisement for the complex, with the haunted attraction being mentioned in ealier brochures and the mini golf replacing it's mention in later brochures. The course contained interactive animatronics and special effects triggered by different actions on the course, such as making a hole or hitting an obstacle. It also utilized several of the same props as the haunted attraction, hinting that it may have recycled them and the actual space. On the other hand, it's possible these props were produced in multiples by Blacklight Attractions, as photos from the company's studio during the attractions' development show duplicates in the studio. There's also images dated 2004 where the edge of the mini golf sign can be made out, which means if dated correctly, they both existed at the same time when the attraction opened, and the former Hulk Encounter appears to have since become the relocated arcade prize counter, not the mini golf. Employees at the entrance to the Incredible Hulk Encounter, 2004. Left: Duplicates of a Hulk figure at Blacklight Attractions' studios providing proof that multiples were infact created. Above: The letters "olf" can be seen in the top left corner of this image supposedly taken in 2004, adding evidence that the mini golf was there from opening year. Above: Spider-Man rotates to talk to the Green Goblin, suspended above the pre-purchase ticket booths along Clifton Hill for the attractions inside. Right: The fully raised Green Goblin floats above the pit on his hoverboard, addressing Spider-Man and taunting guests to take a crack at defeating him inside the attraction. Outfront Adventure City on Clifton Hill, an animatronic Spider Man hung upside down from the ceiling. He would turn to face a pit next to the stairs up to the attraction which a figure of the Green Goblin would rise up out of on his hoverboard. The two bantered outfront, beckoning customers in. In addition to signage along Clifton Hill, Falls Ave., and the corner of the two streets facing the Falls, a massive several-story tall sign on the side of the hotel was constructed. The complex was full of neon and bright signage, themed in the colourful, cartoonish, comic book style that the Marvel brand had at the time, before the more serious turn the franchise would take later in the 2000s. However, that same distinct style that made it so appealing ended up leading to the downfall of this amazing attraction. Despite being hugely popular, the attraction lost its Marvel license due to no fault of it's own after the cost dramatically increased in 2009. There were very few new Marvel films coming out at the time, so the decision not to renew was a justified one. It of course would later come out that Disney had bought Marvel, and it would go to become the biggest film franchise in the world, explaining the drastic preemptive price increase. The entertainment centre simply became known as Adventure City. The Hulk Mini Golf became jungle themed, and Spider-Man references were (poorly) removed from the dark ride. Initially, the words "Spider" and "Ultimate" were just removed from the sign, becoming "The Man Ride" for a season, then the "Super Hero Lazer Ride." It's been abandoned and used for stoage since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and doesn't appear to be reopening any time soon, now blocked off entirely with games and being used for storage with the blacklights eerily still on. The X-Men references were (also poorly) removed from the bumper cars, with the large "X" logo still visible on the gaurd rails around the attraction. The Hulk Encounter, Daredevil Obstacle Challenge, Mr. Fantastic's Candy Laboratory, and Marvel Shop were all removed entirely. Above Top: The re-themed mini golf, the "Mini Golf" neon being recycled from the Hulk days. Above Bottom: The suspiciously named Super Hero Laser Ride stands dormant behind a wall of arcade games. Left: The former que and load station for the dark ride being used a storage area in 2023, mostly for arcade prizes. It's unknown if similar clutter stretches through the attraction's halls. References to Marvel could still be found in the arcade up until the 2020's, such as Spider-Man's face carved into a tree that was only covered up a few years ago, a severely downsized and repainted section of the Spidey and Friends Funhouse, and several mass-produced Marvel themed coin-operated children's rides. The doorhandles into the arcade are even still shaped as a giant letter "M", for Marvel. The pit that the Green Goblin animatronic formerly rose from outfront the attraction was left empty and abandoned, eventually being sealed off when a bumper car was placed on top of it (which has also since been removed.) Left: The stripped down building when it first became simply "Adventure City" in 2009. Right: This strange T-posing "Mario" inflatable has recently beenn placed on top of the sealed pit fromerly housing the Green Goblin. Above: The massive Incredible Hulk sign promoting the differnet attractions within as seen from up the Hill in the late 2000's. Right: The Games Zone during the glory days in the mid 2000's, with several other attractions seen in the background. Of the many attractions that have come and gone in The Falls over the years, Marvel Superheroes Adventure City is one of the most sorely missed and nostalgically beloved by fans. Despite only being open for five years in its original glory, it's theme made it a highlight of the childhoods of Marvel fans everywhere, and it's uniqueness and clever design even made it a highlight for those who didn't know anything about the brand. It had a nearly universal appeal, with it's timeless characters drawing in the young and old alike, and its variety of attractions and over-the-top-theming even appealing to those uninterested in the franchise. Adventure City made a lasting impression on those who were lucky enough to experience it during the short 5 years that it had the Marvel Superheroes name attached, and it's original iteration won't be forgotten anytime soon.