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Putt Putt Golf & Games/Jungle Putt Attraction Type: Miniature Golf Course Location: Niagara Falls, Ontario Years Operational: Late 1980's-1994 (as Putt Putt), 1994-mid 2010's (as Jungle Putt) Designer(s): Putt Putt, Amusement Products Canada's first officially franchised Putt Putt (the American chain of miniature golf courses responsible for popularizing the game in the 1950s) was located at 7280 Lundy's Ln., next to the Days Inn hotel (now Falls Inn.) It was located where the gravel lot is now on the East side of the building. It opened as a licensed franchise of the Putt Putt chain sometime in the late 1980s, with a Dairy Queen, large children's playground, and an arcade. Putt Putt actually differs from traditional miniature golf due to its unique ruleset, such as all greens being par 2, and players completing a hole before the next member of their group takes their first putt. The attraction actually featured two 18-hole courses, for a combined total of 36-holes. Jungleland's elephant in the winter 1985. Could this be the same one that ended up at Putt Putt? 1993 newspaper advertisement for the attraction. It remained a standard Putt Putt course until 1994, when the jungle animal statues were added. The animals were part of the "Jungle Kingdom" line by Amusement Products out of Tennessee, who also did the figures for Waxattract 's original Jungleland Golf location on Victoria Ave. where it becomes Ferry. While the fiberglass statues were available as optional franchisee additions for Putt Putt locations in the 80s and 90s, it's quite possible the figures came from Jungleland after it's closure the same year. It's also possible that Niagara Go-Karts located off the QEW received the Jungleland statues, as they have the same figures albeit painted in different colors, which seem sort of out of place in their mini golf. The year the Victoria Ave. Jungleland closed, the Tivoli Miniature World, an outdoor miniatures garden, moved to the Jungleland plot from Prudhomme's Landing, and a large sign reading "Miniature World" was built. Ironically, in 1995 the garden was returned to being a miniature golf course, now titled Tivoli Miniature Golf, and the giant sign changed to "Miniature Golf". It would later close in 1996, with the giant sign being sold to Putt Putt, which ironically may have got the statues which were once part of Jungleland that also formerly occupied the site the sign came from. Putt Putt/Jungle Putt's elephant on top of a rock cave built when the course gained the jungle theme. This faced the road and became the course's centerpiece. The course was on life support by the late 2000s, operating very sporadically. It was around this time that it was renamed Jungle Putt, likely ending the official Putt Putt franchising. The DQ closed around that time and was replaced with a string of several take out and ice cream places over the years, each with varying degrees of success. The arcade was also severely decreased in size, with only a small room containing a handful of machines remaining. Sometime around 2014 or 2015 the course saw its last player, and became abandoned shortly after. In 2016, a fire deemed arson broke out in the arcade, resulting in damages that required the entire ice cream/arcade building to be demolished. It was at this time that the property owner decided to demolish the whole course. The animal statues were auctioned off to various buyers, none of which have since resurfaced. Evolution of the Miniature World/Miniature Golf sign. The sign at Tivoli Miniature World (top left), Tivoli Miniature Golf (top right), and Putt Putt/Jungle Putt (bottom left.) (Above): The course layout seen from a satellite image taken shortly after the fire. (Left): The arcade in the back half of the building during the final minutes of the blaze.

The Great Canadian Midway Attraction Type: Family Entetainment Centre Location: Niagara Falls, Ontario Years Operational: 2002-Present Designer(s): White Hutchinsin Leisure Learning Group, Art Attack FX, Integrative Design Services HOCO's Dazzleland Family Fun Center had completely changed Niagara Falls attractions (and more specifically the complexes they were located in) when it debuted in 1992. Being the first family entertainment centre (an arcade-like complex that includes small rides and other attractions as well) in the Falls, it would usher in the direction the area's amusement industry was headed, and several more would open in the area in the decades to follow. Dazzleland Family Fun Center, mid-90's. When the government of Ontario was selecting the location for Casino Niagara in the mid-90s, HOCO apparently put in a bid to get the casino on their land. Eventually the casino went 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 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 F.E.C. to replace the second-floor mall in the now-renamed Sheraton Fallsview. Dazzleland (top, 2001) and the Great Canadian Midway (bottom, 2002) built atop the old Dazzleland foundation. With Dazzleland already being a massive success, and wanting to stay ahead of the curve, HOCO didn't just expand but also refine it into an entirely new attraction. More games reasonably equals higher guest enjoyment, and therefore profit. With this taken into account, the outdoor courtyard style with it's room for walkways between the buildings was re-designed, and HOCO again called upon the White-Hutchinson Leisure Learning Group (WHLLG), the firm who had designed Dazzleland. WHLLG designed not only a remodel of Dazzleland, but an incredible 5-step plan that if seen through to completion would have changed Clifton Hill even more than it ended up doing, leading up to an outdoor amusement park and a waterpark hotel in the field between Clifton Hill and the Skylon Tower. However, only steps 1 to 3 would actually come to fruition. Step 1 was remodeling Dazzleland into The Great Canadian Midway, which opened in 2002 and cost roughly $10 Million. The level, concrete foundation Dazzleland was built on was kept as the foundation of the Midway, hence why it has a similar footprint. Dinosaur Park Miniature Golf was moved to a former parking lot in front of Comfort Inn, and Wendy's would remain above Circus World with the Midway built around it. Rather than have several different buildings, the Midway would all be one indoor space, allowing for more games and year round operation, a genius business move. The Midway, like Dazzleland before it however, was divided into different themed areas and attractions, with the interior themed to an old-school amusement park at nighttime to make it feel outdoors. This makes the Midway somewhat of a spiritual successor to Dazzleland, which builds on the theme and retains the same atmosphere. The central area of the new Midway housed the Games Zone, with miscellaneous redemption games, arcade games, and strings of carnival-style lights between poles above the arcade. Surrounding this area was originally a variety of fake facades utilizing forced perspectives to resemble the buildings and stalls of a carnival midway. Inside the Midway in 2002. Wendy's remained, complete with the former entrance on the Dazzleland side that now exited into the Midway. The only change would be the removal of the hallway near washrooms at the back of the restaurant leading to Dazzleland, as the washrooms had also served as the washrooms for the attraction. The Midway would have its own, much larger washrooms, rendering the connecting hallway redundant. Next to Wendy's, roughly in the place of the former video game/pinball building in the back corner of Dazzleland, was the Ride Theatre. It was originally themed to a funhouse, as it showed the SimEx ride film "Fun House Express", also sometimes simply referred to as "Fun Express." The facade was made to resemble red and white carnival banners flanking the theatre's main sign above the ticket/control booth, which read "Ride Theatre" in a vintage-style carnival font. Clockwise to that was a funnel cake stand, and next to that the prize counter. Along the wall adjacent to that one was a large neon design resembling the marquee of a carnival game stand. Underneath it was all the carnival-eqsue redemption games, including Skee-Ball, Boom Ball, Roll-a-Ball and a Hi-Striker hammer game in the center. Top Left: The main sign for the Ride Theatre as seen from Clifton Hill. Top Right: The funnel cake stand between the ride theatre and the prize counter. Bottom Left: The prize counter, with the Skee-Ball machines visible along the adjacent wall under the carnival marquee. Bottom Right: Shot of the Games Zone facing the carnival marquee. Entrance to the Game Factory. Continuing clockwise around the Midway's walls would bring you to the Game Factory, with a crooked, askew factory building acting as it's facade provided by an Edmonton company called Art Attack FX. When Dinosaur Park was moved, the Boston Pizza and Sports Zone was built in it's place. These were also accessible from the Midway via a staircase up immediately to the right when you walked in the doors. The Sports Zone used the same tokens as the Midway, housing most of the sports games for the arcade, including pool tables and a bowling alley, and you could walk through the restaurant to get to the area from the Midway. It was under this area that the Game Factory existed in the Midway below, with all the water, utility, and power hookups necessary for the restaurant and arcade above being cleverly incorporated into the factory theme of the lower-ceilinged area. This is where several pinball machines and other miscellaneous games originally resided, and a few originals still reside to this day. Boston Pizza and the Sports Zone, 2002. One of these includes an old western-themed shooting gallery that may have come out of Circus World, or a variety of other locations. The Falls have seen a variety of western-themed shooting galleries over the years, mostly "Bonanza" shooting galleries dating to the 70s. If the Midway's is in fact recycled from another attraction, it stands to reason it's most likely it came out of Circus World, who rented their space from HOCO and formerly operated a similar sized shooting gallery that was removed around this time. It's contents have mostly been updated over the years, but some of the animatronics and props it originally contained include a bear, a drunk bandit, a fox, a snake, a skunk, a coyote, and a cowboy in a covered wagon with a rifle. The Game Factory formerly housed another shooting gallery called Blasteroids, which was a one of a kind custom shooting gallery game by Lazer-Tron. The game was themed to a laser tag-esque practice range bunker, featuring blacklight targets with bright, flashing sensors that moved around on arms. The back corner of the Game Factory is also where you can find the washrooms. Wild West Shooting Gallery, mid-2000's. Blasteroid in the Game Factory, early 2010's. Original Ghostblasters facade as it still appeared in the late 2010's. Located next to the Game Factory underneath the rest of Boston Pizza and the Sports Zone is Ghostblasters, a backlight, interactive laser shooting dark ride by the Sally Corporation of Florida. The ride was a package offered by Sally Corp., and was already installed in four other locations. The Midway's however would be the grandest. Rather than being themed to a regular mansion as was the pre-packaged story of the ride, the Midway's version was themed to a haunted hotel to match the history of the local area. In addition to all the props that came with the ride, several custom ones were made by Sally Corp. for HOCO to match the custom theme. Despite being one story underneath Boston Pizza, it originally had an impressive two story facade with crooked roof peaks, also provided by Art Attack FX. The Midway's logo has genius design, with the individual letter fonts making up the word "Midway" referencing all the areas and attractions originally in the complex, which flies right over most people's heads now that many of said elements have been changed or removed. The "M" is patterned with a design similar to that of the arcade's original carpet, the bowling pin "I" is a reference to the Sports Zone, the old-school lightbulbs on the "D" reference the lights that made up the word "Snacks" above the funnel cake stand, the art-deco font of the "W" is similar to the font of the original Ride Theater's logo, the spooky and slime-covered "A" is a reference to Ghostblasters, and the industrial typeface of the "Y" is a reference to the Game Factory area. The Great Canadian Midway's creative logo. The exterior of the attraction features this logo proudly on a double-sided sign which can be seen from either up or down the Hill. The sign is perched on a large overhang that offers a large covered area to the sidewalk below, calling tourists in through the attraction's massive, slide-up bay doors. On the wall of the building flanking the overhang was originally a sign on each side, each promoting a different ride within. Signs remain in these spots today, however the originals were very different. The one on the downhill side of the main sign was a poster for the Ride Theater, and on the uphill side of the main sign was the exterior signage for Ghostblasters, which included gargoyles, lanterns, and a tall sign showing a photo of the ride and it's logo surrounded by a three-dimensional gothic border. Under this sign was the set of double-doors, and on either side of them the thematic signage continued. On each side was a lenticular poster in a faux-stone box showing images of the attraction that changed as you walked past. These double doors are always unlocked while the Midway is open, but are mainly used when the large bay doors must remain shut in the winter. Left: Ride Theatre's original exterior signage, 2002. Right: Original outdoor Ghostblasters sign, late 2000's. To say the Midway did well (and continues to do well) is an understatement. It became an instant icon of Clifton Hill, it's giant sign becoming synonymous with the street itself. In total it originally provided 60,000 square feet of games, rides, entertainment, and dining across two floors, and was home to over 250 games in total, many of which were kept from the Dazzleland days. These included the ever-popular Wheel Em' In (which had been Dazzleland's most profitable game), the aforementioned Skee Ball machines, Roll-a-Ball and Boom Ball machines, several video games and pinball machines, and the giant Sega Super GT 4-player racing game that was placed in front of the Ride Theatre. There would also be several then-new games however, including large-screen Sega simulator titles like Top Skater, Water Ski, and Prop Cycle, several new coin pushers joining those held over from Dazzleland, Konami's Mocap Boxing, a TsuMo Multi-Game Motion System machine, "The Maze of Kings" Egyptian-themed light gun video game, dancing games, and much more. Large-screen Sega games along the Wendy's wall, 2002. The Sports Zone upstairs even featured 3 linked large-screen Harley Davidson motorcycle simulator games, a 4-player Daytona USA with TV monitors atop it so gameplay could be watched by Boston Pizza bar patrons, a Real Sports virtual sports simulator cage, and several more redemption, video, and pinball games. There was also a second, smaller redemption counter upstairs in the Sports Zone, as well as the aforementioned Cosmic Bowling glow-in-the-dark bowling alley featuring six Brunswick Bowlingo lanes. The alley featured a large, three-dimensional blacklight mural beside it matching the Cosmic Bowling theme. Rare light gun video games Brave Firefighters and Maze of Kings, 2002. Daytona USA simulators, 2002. Above: Sports Zone, early 2000's. Right: Pool tables and Cosmic Bowling, early 2000's. All this safely squashed any chance of the Falls Ave. Complex overshadowing the attractions further up the Hill, but it wasn't for lack of trying. Marvel Superheroes Adventure City would end up being the F.E.C. that replaced the Sheraton's Colonial Shops in 2004. It's unclear exactly when certain elements were planned for the Falls Ave. Complex, and if the attraction's details were planned before or after the Midway opened, but the Midway's influence on Adventure City in at least some form is clear. Shortly after this, the Midway itself would see it's first wave of updates. The first of these would come in the form of a renaming of the Ride Theatre to the "FX Thrill Ride Theatre", which received updated signage outside the Midway. The new signage featured a fiberglass ride vehicle protruding from the wall as if it had crashed through it. The ride vehicle resembled the one you're supposedly sitting in during the events of the ride film, and featured a clown sitting in the car. The theatre would see a massive overhaul in 2005. It would now show "Robots of Mars", a film that itself is now shrouded in a bit of mystery. It was a privately created film licensed to Simex ride systems, available in both a standard 21 minute version and a cut-down, ride theatre version. It's possible a portion of the film which took place before the events of the ride version (and were therefore cut from it) were used as the pre-show on the screen in the attraction's waiting room. This is of significance as both the ride version and the full, unedited standard version of the film with the 21 minute run time are currently considered lost media. It's estimated the film was likely only shown at an extremely small handful of ride theatres the world over, leading to it's obscurity. The Lost Media Wiki doesn't even have it listed on the website despite a limited search existing in YouTube comment sections. Updated theatre signage, early 2010's. Theatre re-themed to"Robots of Mars", mid-2000's. The exterior of the theatre would now be themed to the film, complete with the ride's sign atop a massive flying saucer protruding out of the wall, adorned with flashing lights. The wall itself would now feature a massive mural themed to the film that stretched from the wall Wendy's is along, over the ride's entrance, over the Sega Super GT game, and all the way to the Funnel Cake stand. The mural made several references to the film, the most prominent being the giant painting of one of the sand creatures you escape from in the film over the Sega Super GT Game. Under the flying saucer sat the ticket/control desk, flanked by the attraction's entrance and exit. Fiberglass statues portraying characters from the film, namely an Marty the Martian and "Doc" the robot, stood next to the entrance and exit which were located under giant, glowing tower structures. Art Attack FX was once again called upon to provide the theming for the updated theatre. The impressive theming of theatre during its FX Thrill Ride Theatre days, 2005. Ghostblasters would receive updates as well, with the ending of the ride being changed a few years after it opened. The final battle against "Boocifer" (the attraction's antagonist) in the scene after the "Boo Bomb" is detonated, being removed in favour of a much more elaborate graveyard scene. All the props from the original ending were relocated elsewhere in the ride. The new figures for the scene (as well as additions to the lobby) were produced by an Ohio company called Scarefactory at this time, and the lobby was given new, more hotel-theme-fitting wallpaper featuring a ghost pattern instead of the gothic brick design it opened with. Original Ghostblasters lobby (Top) versus how it has appeared since the update (Bottom). Robots of Mars would be replaced by the "Cosmic Coaster" film in 2007, but the thematic elements would remain as they matched the space theme of the new film, save for Marty the Martian who was moved to the lobby of Galaxy Golf. The Cosmic Coaster film would later outlive the thematic elements outside the theatre (more on that later) but the film would begin a hiatus in 2008 with the theatre showing the "Time Riders" film, hosted by John Cleese. It too would be short-lived, and end up being the last film shown fitting the sci-fi theme of theatre. It ended up being replaced sometime around 2010 by an edited version of Fun House Express with additional shots and footage, now dubbed "Coaster Chaos". This would be the last film shown using the original ride system and theatre layout, somewhat poetically as the original Fun Express, had been the first. The original theatre would drop the word "Thrill" from most of it's branding and usually be referred to as simply the "FX Ride Theatre" in it's final days, it's carnival-themed movie somewhat juxtaposed to the heavy space theming outfront. The Midway would see rapid changes throughout the 2010's. By this point the final stages of HOCO's aforementioned 5 stage plan that began with the Midway had been scrapped in favor of a new redevelopment plan in the wake of massive changes to the entertainment industry. With a different design company (Integrative Design Solutions) doing the groundwork and no amusement park to lead up to anymore, many of the thematic elements the Midway opened with would be removed and replaced in the next decade. The first to go in this less-structured era of direction for the Midway was the funnel cake stand beside the FX Theatre, being replaced with an expanded area of ticket counting machines in the very early 2010s. The expanded area of ticket counter machines can be seen on the lefthand side of this image (2011) in the former location of the funnel cake stand. Strike Rock n' Bowl in it's early days shortly after the remodel, early 2010's. Strike! Rock 'N Bowl opened in 2011 as an expansion/rebranding of the Sports Zone connected to Boston Pizza upstairs. The new 7-lane bowling alley replaced the Bowlingo alley that had previously been upstairs, and the Real Sports simulator was removed (along with the Cosmic Bowling mural) due to the wall it was along being the one knocked out for the expansion. The large-screen racing games that patrons could view from Boston Pizza's dining area were moved to the Game Factory around this time, and the space along the wall filled in with various other games. The FX Thrill Ride Theatre was gutted, the theming removed, and reopened as the "XD Theatre". The new ride was built by motion ride system company Triotech, with the new ride system utilizing individually moving seats rather than the entire seating section being on one moving platform. This allows for a higher rider capacity, more comfortable seating, and guests to be able to switch the motion on or off individually. The ride reopened with the new moniker in 2012, the first film it showed being none other than the Cosmic Coaster. A new, flat, printed sign for the theatre replaced the themed signage outside the Midway, a the giant 4-player Sega GT game previously along the wall outside the theatre was moved into the Game Factory. Left: The XD Theater in the mid-2010's. Right: XD Theater signage which replaced the FX Ride Theatre vehicle sign. The gradual phasing out of many of the games the Midway opened with ramped up around 2014, with the older pinball and video games being the first to go. Other updates came in 2016 when the Blasteroid shooting gallery was removed from the Game Factory, the carpeting for the entire arcade was replaced, and the Safari Adventure film (which briefly replaced the Cosmic Coaster) was replaced by the Wild West Coaster film in the XD Theatre, the entire theatre now taking the name of the latter. Two of the Daytona USA and two of the Sega Super GT machines were also removed, and the giant "Sega Super GT" header would follow suit shortly after. By this point, the integration of the Sports Zone (now Strike! Rock 'N Bowl) as part of the actual Midway had begun to fall away, and the area became steadily less sports-themed and more akin to a second, separate arcade. This was furthered even more by a sign reading "Sports Zone" in the main Midway's Games Zone below located on the wall next to the XD Theatre after the old theatre's theming was removed, however this area always seemed to have a revolving door of randomly themed games save for a couple basketball toss machines. Updated carpeting in the arcade. The "Sports Zone" sign added next to the XD Theatre. In 2018 Boston Pizza was heavily remodeled and much of it's custom location-oriented theming removed as part of an initiative to match HOCO'S franchised restaurants with the standard styles of them found elsewhere in the country. This included the removal of the games against the wall along the walkway through Boston Pizza from Strike! Rock 'N Bowl to the staircase to the Midway. The staircase itself would finally be sealed off entirely when the pandemic hit in 2020. This was likely because you had to walk through the restaurant to get to the bowling alley, and during the pandemic an employee would have had to man the stairwell at all times, carding people for proof of vaccine. It was most likely not the only contributing factor to the decision however, as long before the pandemic, carding people for ID when the upstairs area became 19+ after a certain time had required someone staffing the stairwell during the evening hours anyway since it opened, and was likely a costly endeavor. The same year, Ghostblasters had the large haunted house facade (and gothic signage for it outside the Midway) removed and would be replaced with flat cutout signage. The Game Factory followed suit the following year. The Wild West Coaster was updated as well, now reverting to the name XD Theatre and welcoming back a revolving turnstile of films, starting with the Cosmic Coaster's second return to the Midway in 2022. Several older games from the Dazzleland era continued to be phased out including the original Skee-Ball machines, Roll-a-Ball, the Water Gun game, Boom Ball, Knock Down, Bromley's Rock n' Bowl, Namco's incredibly rare (and now highly valuable) Godzilla Wars Jr., Treasure Falls, Hungry Dragon, Wacky Gator, the last remnants of Sega Super GT and Daytona USA, as well as several more. Former staircase up to Boston Pizza while walled off, 2022. The biggest change in the Midway's history however came in February of 2024, when the entire arcade switched from a traditional token and tickets operation to running on a play card system. This had various impacts on the Midway, the most obvious being it leading to the removal of all of the token action games, many of which were the last remnants of Dazzleland by this point. This included Wheel Em' In, Smokin' Token, Goin' Rollin', Wonder Wheel, Deep Freeze, Simpson's Kooky Carnival, Big Shot, Lite Em' Up, Big Haul, and all the coin pushers save for the more modern "rapid fire" ones that use recycling tokens which never leave the machine. Various new games filled in the space created, including a large number of e-claw electronically-fixed claw machines. It also led to the removal of the ticket counter machines next to the prize counter. One positive to seemingly come out of it however was the re-opening of the staircase from the Midway up to Boston Pizza/Strike! Rock 'N Bowl (now named Strike! Games Zone), perhaps due to the cross-compatible play cards proudly displaying the logos of both the Midway and the bowling alley. Updated Ghostblasters and Game Factory facades after the removal of their 3-dimensional theming. When the Midway debuted the play card system, Bone Blaster Shooting Gallery (which had briefly occupied the front half of the former Fun Factory store space next to Movieland) was moved into the arcade along the Wendy's wall. The gallery was built by Daniel's Wood Land, the benchmark name in shooting galleries, and for good reason. It's incredibly well designed, witty, and worth the money, despite taking up a huge amount of former arcade floor space. The impressive "Bone Blaster! Shootin' Gallery" The Midway has now been entertaining guests for over two decades, three if you include it's past incarnation as Dazzleland. It may be very different than it was when it opened both in contents and concept, but the Midway still offers a wide variety of games for various styles of arcade-goers. The future for the attraction remains unclear, as it has always seemed to and always will be a reflection of larger industry trends, but while the glory days of it's thematic elements and storytelling are gone, several elements such as Ghostblasters, the wild west shooting gallery, the string carnival lights and marquee in the main Games Zone, and an increasingly smaller handful of older games remain. Between Adventure City's even more lackluster attempts at removing it's theming, some of the totally themeless F.E.C.s that have recently opened in the area, and the lack of maintenance at the Skylon Tower's Skyquest (despite its impressive collection of rare and vintage games), the Midway continues to be a stand out location that still rises above the rest.

Lost Media This section attempts to list, archive and track down pieces of media related to the Canadian amusement industry. "Lost Media" is any type of media confirmed to once exist, but is no longer available to the general public on the internet, in accessible archives, public libraries, or any other openly accessible resource. This section lists our most wanted pieces of media for our archives, most of which are extremely obscure and not discussed anywhere in other amusement and lost media communities on the internet. Castle Dracula Radio Spot - Castle Dracula (Lost radio commercials for U.S. l ocations, mid-late 1970s) Castle Dracula T.V. Commercial(s) - Castle Dracula (Lost television commercials for U.S. locations, mid-late 1970s) Coaster Chaos - FX Ride Theater (Lost edit of "Funhouse Express" ride film with additional footage, 2010) Country Hound Jamboree - Magic Harbour (Lost showtapes/footage of Waxattract-built animatronic show for U.S. park) Crystal Ball Projection Video - Castle Dracula (Lost film used to create special effect, 1974) Dracula Face Projection Video - Castle Dracula (Lost film used as projected face for figure in U.S. location, 1975) Captain Andy's Rivertown Revue - Boblo Island Amusement Park (Partially lost showtapes/footage of animatronic show) Captain Carnival Commercial - Captain Carnival Pizza Theatre (Lost commercial for family entertainment centre, 1983) Captain Carnival Show - Captain Carnival Pizza Theatre (Lost showtapes/footage of animatronic show) PARTIALLY FOUND "Cat in the Hat" Ride Film (Existence Unconfirmed) - Extreme Movie Ride 4D, MGM Studios Plaza (Lost motion ride film, 2002) "Country Jamboree" - Crystal Beach Amusement Park (Lost showtapes/footage of animatronic show) Ghostblasters Attraction Trailer - Ghostblasters, Great Canadian Midway (Partially lost advertisement for ride) Good Times Jamboree - Pyramid Place (Lost showtapes/footage of animatronic show, 1979) Good Times Jamboree Cartoon - Pyramid Place (Lost animated preshow film, 1979) Harry Houdini "Talking Head" Projection Video - Houdini Hall of Fame (Partially lost film used to create special effect) Hillbilly Bear Jamboree - Maple Leaf Village (Lost showtapes/footage of animatronic show, 1982) The Hot Air Fantasy - Marineland (Partially lost showtapes/footage of animatronic show, mid-late 1980's) "Ice Cave" Projection Video - Louis Tussaud's Wax Museum (Partially lost film used to create special effect) John Bradshaw Show Ripley's Episode - Ripley's Believe it or Not! Museum (Lost television showcase of the attraction, 1964) Marineland Promotional "Sailor Seal" Video - Various locations (Partially lost advertisement used in promotional stands) Marineland "Sailor Seal" Show - Various locations (Partially lost showtapes/footage of animatronic used in promotional stands) Meet Mr. Lincoln - Maple Leaf Village (Lost showtapes/footage of animatronic show, 1984) Monster Mash - Castle Dracula (Lost showtapes/footage of animatronic show, 1974) Monster Mash Projection Film - Castle Dracula (Lost film used as projection effect in U.S. location, 1975) MGM Multi-Media Films - MGM Great Movie Journey, MGM Studios Plaza (Lost presentation films from attraction, 2003) Robots of Mars 3D Adventure - FX Ride Theatre, Great Canadian Midway (Partially lost motion ride film, 2005)

Nightmares Fear Factory Attraction Type: Haunted Attraction Location: Niagara Falls, Ontario Years Operational: 1984-Present Designer(s): Robert (Bobber) Gibbs, Frank La Penna The earliest roots of Nightmares actually date all the way back to 1966, across Lake Ontario from the Niagara Region. A charity organization which Robert "Bobber" Gibbs belonged to opened a seasonal Halloween spook house which ran for the days leading up to Halloween in an old farmhouse in Oshawa, and the following Halloween moved to a farmhouse in Whitby. Keeping the concept's further potential in mind, he would revisit it for the 1980 Halloween season and open a seasonal haunt of his own as a business, this time in an old farmhouse in Markham on the North-West corner of Warden/Steeles, literally across the street from Toronto's Scarborough borough. It would be named "13 Rooms of Terror", as it moved through thirteen rooms of the renovated house, each with a different theme or scare, and would be open for all of October. The location closer to the City made the haunt even more popular than Gibbs' setups in the 60's, and it would return in the same location the following year since Gibbs owned the building. The intersection of Warden and Steeles today as seen on Google maps, with a large business plaza now sitting where Gibbs' old farmland and once sat. It would prove to be so popular that Gibbs began to contemplate the profitability of turning his ideas into full blown haunted attractions, and he would do just that in 1982. Gibbs would open his first permanent haunted attraction as a concession at Prudhomme's Landing, an amusement park in Lincoln on the shores of Lake Ontario, just inside the Niagara Region. The "Haunted House" would again remodel the bones of an old home, renovating the old Prudhomme house (the family which the land was named after) that stood on the land and predated the park. This sign was all that remained of the Haunted House after it was eventually demolished in the 1990's. This photo was taken in 2011, nine years after the park was abandoned. The thing the Haunted House was known for (as all Gibbs' subsequent attractions would be) was that the actors actually touched guests, poking and prodding them in the pitch darkness and grabbing their ankles as they walked past. The attraction was notoriously scary, and quickly became a rite of passage for Niagara Falls teens. It's extreme nature and the live actors' dedication to intensity provided an unrelenting experience through the twisting corridors of the old building. Despite the aging structure and maze-like nature of the attraction, Gibbs always had a strong mind for safety, stating "What I want is a safe place that looks terrible" in the initial proposal to the planning committee of Lincoln. This ahead of it's time thinking wouldn't become widespread in the haunted attraction industry until the tragic 1984 Haunted Castle fire at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey which killed 8 teenagers. Perhaps if Six Flags had been thinking like Gibbs, it could have been avoided. The live actors actually touching and poking guests was both ahead of it's time and a relic of it. While it's trendy for many haunted attractions today to have guests sign waivers before actors physically interact with them to hype up the fear, and it was perhaps something that occurred without any thought to the matter in haunts of the 70's, The Haunted House fell somewhere in the middle. The era it existed in and the identity of the attraction made it completely unexpected, as no other permanent haunted attraction in the area at that time had actors physically interact with guests, yet it wasn't at a time when guests would be likely to turn around and sue for profit as they'd be more likely to today. Nightmares would take this same concept and push it even further, creating a successor to the Haunted House. Nightmares would open in 1984 on the first floor of the mall portion of Maple Leaf Village in Niagara Falls, Gibbs' first haunted house in a space he was able to completely design from scratch. It would be a start to finish, relentless assault on the senses. The rooms and mazes in the attraction were lit only by small red lights high on the wall close to the ceiling. As guests made their way through each area, the lights were their only guide through the illusions, strange sensations, jump scares, and being grabbed by the actors. Not only that, the rooms and corridors were able to switch and change, trapping guests in dead ends and forcing them to walk in circles. Perhaps the most memorable feature of Nightmares was "Tommy the Tongue", a wet sponge on the end of a pole in the darkness which would "lick" guests' faces. The main scare in the attraction however was the goalie mask sporting actor who would chase guests around, and be one of the only seen elements in the attraction. For guests to be rescued from this nightmare, they had to yell "Nightmares", admitting defeat. The scares would stop and the staff would lead you out a "chicken exit", giving you a souvenir card of shame stating so. The Maple Leaf Village mall sandwiched between the two hotels on Falls Ave., with the amusement park in behind, 1980. The attraction offered a totally different experience from other haunted attractions at the time, being focused almost entirely on psychological horror instead of physical sets and props. While there were illusions and disorienting mazes in other attractions like Castle Dracula , The Haunted House on Clifton Hill (unrelated to Gibbs' attraction), and the Maple Leaf Village amusement park's Mysterious Mansion, the charm of Nightmares was that you, the guest was left to fill in the blanks as to what was after you in the darkness, hence the name. While it wasn't necessarily better than the immense detail, scenery and storytelling in other attractions, it was certainly different, and stood out in almost an apples-and-oranges kind of sense. Original green card from Nightmares. The rite-of-passage aspect of the Haunted House at Prudhomme's was also now marketed as a challenge at Nightmares, with colour-coded cards being given to anyone who completed the attraction. The colour on the card you received indicated how brave you were during the experience, with guests who barely scraped by receiving a pink card, guests who were visibly frightened receiving an orange card, guests who only appeared occasionally startled receiving a green card, and only a completely unflinching, unbothered guest receiving the coveted blue card. This was a genius move on Gibbs' part, as it secured repeat patronage as guests tried to memorize and predict the jump scares inside in an attempt to stay stonefaced during the attraction. With clever live actors however, this was easier said than done. Gibbs would operate Nightmares and the Haunted House simultaneously during the 1984 season, with the Haunted House's operations being transferred to Prudhomme's Landing themselves in 1985 so Gibbs could focus on Nightmares. Nightmares' popularity led to it receiving a direct sequel shortly after it opened, right next door. The attraction moved to a larger space on the third floor of the mall to accommodate the addition. The new attraction, Nightmares II, would be a progression of the original with the same kinds of scares, however if it was a separate ticket or just an expanded area of the pre-existing walkthrough is unknown. This would be quickly followed up once again with Nightmares III - The Black Journey, a hybrid between a haunted house and an obstacle course. All three attractions would have the card level system. The most notable feature of Nightmares III was the very first room. Guests would enter, the room would seal off behind them, and they would be left there for 10 minutes in pitch darkness and silence, feeling around the walls without even a red light on the wall to give them a sense that this was supposed to be happening. This apparently seriously freaked people out, and understandably so. Some guests allegedly even thought they had somehow wandered into a backstage area between the walls and were sent into a panic. A small hatch along the bottom of the wall opposite to the side of the room you entered through would eventually open near the floor, and guess would have to crawl through the claustrophobic tube-like tunnel to the next area, all in pitch darkness. They would then have to navigate a series of psychologically and physically demanding obstacles of a similar nature, with various degrees of lighting. It was elements like this that were beginning to gain the Nightmares brand fame, as the extremity of the psychological torment was revolutionizing the industry. New attractions had started implementing similar features as early as the year after Nightmares opened, with Screamers also opening on the third floor of Maple Leaf Village in 1985 after an ex-Nightmares employee had a dispute with Gibbs so decided to start his own attraction. Glow-in-the-dark pins from the attractions. Screamers, "Where Nightmares Become Reality", 1995. One of the most obscure and undocumented aspects of Nightmares however would also be one of its most important, as it affected not just the haunted attraction industry, but also the world of mini golf. "Nightmares Fore" opened as the fourth and final installment in the Nightmares brand, also on the third floor of the mall. It was a blacklight miniature golf course with horror theming, one if not the first blacklight mini golf courses. It was also the first with a horror theme, a popular theme for blacklight miniature golf courses today. A similar concept named "Monsterland Golf" was in the planning stages just a couple years earlier by Robert Dunham's Waxattract/Enter-Tech company, and would have used animatronic figures created from the same molds used to create the figures in The House of Frankenstein and Castle Dracula locations. Unfortunately Dunham passed away in 1985 before the attraction made it to the actual development stages, and it would never see the light of day. It's unclear if Gibbs knew about Monsterland, where it was planned to be located, or if the space it was meant for somehow evolved into Nightmares Fore. No photos, footage, or promotional material from the attraction have surfaced aside from a mention on the completion cards from Nightmares III. Nightmares III completion card mentioning the cleverly-named "Nightmares Fore." Allegedly the attractions grew a little stale from their original glory over the years as actors got less creative, employees began to give the colour-coded cards out at random to anyone who completed the attractions, and other attractions such as Screamers were doing similar things. Maple Leaf Village would begin a rapid, somewhat planned demise beginning in the early 90's. Several tenants began to leave, with the amusement park behind the mall closing in 1994, and the mall itself eventually closing in 1996 to become Casino Niagara. The heavy-duty wiring and power hookups the mall had for its many arcades, restaurants, and attractions were actually specifically designed for the mall to one day become a casino if it had to. Nightmares cleverly saw the writing on the wall back in '93, and Gibbs would begin plans to move the attraction to Victoria Ave. By the time the attraction moved, the total chicken count between Nightmares I, II, and III was allegedly up to 43,610. The new attraction would combine the elements from all three of these attractions and turn them into one, two-story, mega attraction. The attraction on Victoria Ave., 1996. The building on Victoria Ave. which Nightmares would move to would be the building formerly home to the original Castle Dracula from 1974 until it moved to Clifton Hill in 1977. The building dated back much further than that however, originally being constructed as a Bell Telephone office building and eventually becoming home to the Canadian Corps in the 1960's. It's unknown what the building was from 1977-1993, photographs from the early 80's show it seemingly abandoned, however a news article about Nightmares taking the structure over mentions something called "Plantation" formerly being there, presumably a restaurant that occupied a small portion of the space. Nightmares would have you believe the building was formerly the "Cataract Coffin Factory", which while great storytelling, isn't true despite a majority of tourists actually believing it. Being the former home of Dracula however is surprisingly fairly close to that, so perhaps there is some tounge-in-cheek truth to it after all. This is where things get a little hazy. Frank La Penna owned the building and allegedly provided Gibbs with roughly $80,000 of renovations. The building itself had notoriously been an issue with several of its past occupants. The Canadian Corps moved out due to the absolutely massive, old building being much too large and costly to maintain. One reason Castle Dracula was sold off by it's creators and moved to Clifton Hill was due to how expensive it was to heat the building, and difficult to run power through it. It's unknown when exactly La Penna came into possession of it, the state it was in, or what was there most recently (as mentioned above) by the time Nightmares moved in. Some sort of financial dispute arose between Gibbs and La Penna, with La Penna eventually coming out on top and owning the Nightmares business itself by 1994. It's unknown if the attraction operated at the Victoria Ave. location for the 1993 season under Gibbs or remained closed while the dust was settling between the two parties. The attraction apparently opened for Halloween night 1993, but due to a massive snowstorm that night, only saw 10 guests. La Penna would continue to build upon the attraction once it was his. The earliest evidence of the attraction actually in operation on Victoria Ave. full time isn't until 1994. Frank La Penna posed lurking in his attraction, 1994. Whatever occurred wouldn't deter Gibbs however from being in the haunted attraction industry, and he would open the Scares 'n Dares Haunted Warehouse up in Wasaga Beach in 1994, occupying a former section of the Playland Arcade there which was walled off for the attraction. The section of the building was at the back of the arcade and was originally constructed as the bowling alley and expanded arcade area for Playland Park in a 1950s expansion to their penny arcade. The bowling lanes had since been removed and were replaced with various games before Gibbs moved in, leaving the area looking like a warehouse, likely where it got it's name. It's unknown how similar to Nightmares the experience was, however it would move across the street to a former gift shop when the section of the arcade building it was in was torn down, dropping the "Haunted Warehouse" portion of the name. It eventually became "Nightmares Wasaga Beach" in 1997, a direct version of the Niagara Falls attraction done in the same style, which would last until 2005. Scares 'n Dares Haunted Warehouse (above, 1994) and it's later incarnation as Nightmares Wasaga Beach as seen on the righthand side of this image. (right, late 90's) Back in Niagara Falls, La Penna's "new" Nightmares was kicking things up a notch in an attempt to stay relevant in the face of similar attractions which had sprouted up since the original opened in 1984. The attraction would initially still operate on a completion card system, however only a "Chicken" and "I Survived" card would be given out instead of the colour-coded bravery scale. Yelling "Nightmares" to be rescued from the experience was also a feature held over. The Nightmares 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 is level with the ground. The front half of the first floor was occupied by Frank's Steakhouse for years, 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 during its tenure there. You entered Castle Dracula through a door on Victoria Ave., then were immediately greeted with a stairs up to the lobby, gift shop and arcade on the second floor, exactly where the Nightmares lobby is today. Upper portion of the coffin display in it's original colours, early 2000's. Lower portion of the coffin display as it originally appeared, 1990's. The head has since been removed. Nightmares however doesn't take you down to a lower level on the first floor, only occupying the top two floors of the space. It remains a mystery if the former lower level of the original Castle Dracula exits abandoned under Nightmares, but the less exciting reality is that it probably became an expanded area of the restaurant years ago. Frank's eventually became Carlos O'Brien's, which was what it was at the time Nightmares moved in. The restaurant has since been "The Wild Mushroom", and later underwent major renovations to become Weinkeller currently. Like Castle Dracula before it, guests enter Nightmares through a door on Victoria Ave., however it's now under a giant gothic stone facade complete with a massive fiberglass Grim Reaper with glowing eyes which was added in late 1998. After passing a coffin display in the front window, guests traverse upstairs to the lobby and gift shop. Live screams of guests were originally broadcast on speakers both in the lobby and outside the attraction, however this was eventually discontinued, assumingly due to the fact guests likely let an array of expletives out while being scared senseless. After buying your ticket, you then venture upstairs to the top floor and begin your journey... The attraction now features the aforementioned story of being the abandoned coffin factory, originally deemed the "Cataract Casket Company" but later changed to "Cataract Coffin Company" at some point early in the location's life. Nightmares has fully embraced this, officially becoming "Nightmares Fear Factory" in the late 90's. In a genius way to provide story and a theme to an attraction based almost entirely on pitch darkness and psychological terror, the majority of it's storytelling exits in its promotional material. No brochures from the attraction feature photos of the interior, and photography/filming is forbidden. It's also never discussed what's inside, and the story that the building is haunted and was formerly a coffin factory never deviated from, even to the press. This has created a cloud of mystery around how exactly the contents of the attraction have changed around over the years since the move, if at all. In one of the only pieces of media discussing the attraction as *not* being a real haunted factory, the 1994 newspaper article on the attraction moving to Victoria Ave. provides some insight into the creation of the scares. La Penna was a contractor, not a haunted attraction designer or amusement operator, but apparently had a blast reworking the attraction and seeing how extreme he could take things. "I Survived" and "Chicken" cards from the late 90's. Several elements have been kept from the original Nightmares attractions in Maple Leaf Village, including the red guiding lights, the crawl-through tunnel, Tommy the Tongue (although he is now nameless), and the dead-end room, although they don't leave you in there as long as it's original incarnation. New additions included bars which actors hit electrified poles on to create sparks, a room with inflatable walls that close in on either side of you, and most famous of all: the car. The original lobby, later remodeled in 2008 to include more room for merchandise as the attraction's fame grew. Nightmares features a car bumper and headlights on the wall beside guests at one point in the attraction, with a camera located directly above that takes a photo at the exact moment the headlights turn on and an unbelievably loud car horn blares. The photo of you and your friends in a raw state of petrified horror can be purchased in the gift shop. This gimmick was always popular dating back to the location's opening in the 90's, however following the rise of mainstream social media in the late 2000's, it absolutely exploded. This simple effect, used in dark rides as far back as the 1950's, took the already popular attraction and propelled it into the international spotlight when coupled with the hidden camera and the power of the internet. When the photos began circulating online, so did the tales of the intensity of the attraction, as well as people's stretched truths and misconceptions of what they had just been through. Tales of the attraction as well as it's story of being located in a former coffin factory spread like wildfire, and people started travelling to The Falls for the attraction alone, something a haunted attraction hadn't accomplished since The House of Frankenstein and Castle Dracula opened back in the 70's. A group captured by the "Scare Cam" in the early 2000's. Wallpaper has since replaced the mural backdrop to these iconic photos. It may have been years ahead of it's time and taken a while to reach the fame it has, but at every turn, Nightmares ended up being savvy to trends and technology the same way Niagara's other iconic attractions were in the eras when they debuted. This has secured it as a mainstay Niagara Falls classic, a well-deserved spot for an attraction who's roots lie not in a haunted coffin factory, but a humble, charity-run Halloween haunted house in an Oshawa farm field in the 1960's. The attraction as it appears today. The reaper lost his scythe around the turn of the millennium, but finally gained it back in 2019.

Dark Attractions, Wax Museums, and Exhibits Dark attractions consist of Dark Rides, Walkthrough Haunted Attractions, Fun Houses and Mirror Mazes. Also included here are Wax Museums, as the line between them and Dark Attractions can be a little hazy due to the latter sometimes utilizing wax figures. Many early haunted attractions in Canada even began with the "Wax Museum" moniker due to the term "haunted attraction" not being coined yet. Exhibit type-attractions such as the "Ripley's Believe it or Not!" chain, or specialty aquariums such as the National Marine Aquarium of Canada or West Edmonton Mall's "Sea Life Caverns" can also be found on this page. Niagara Region Adventure Into the Unknown - Skylon Indoor Amusement Park, Niagara Falls Alien Encounter - Niagara Falls Antique Auto Museum/Cars of the Greats - Niagara Falls Battle of the Titans - Skylon Tower, Niagara Falls Biblical Wax Museum - Niagara Falls Big Top Amazing Mirror & Laser Maze - Niagara Falls Boris Karloff Wax Museum/"Haunted House" - Niagara Falls Brick City - Niagara Falls Burning Springs Wax Museum - Niagara Falls Canadian Wildlife Exhibit - Niagara Falls Carnival Chaos Hyper Ride - Niagara Falls Classic Iron Motorcycle Museum - Niagara Falls Castle Dracula/Dracula's Haunted Castle - Niagara Falls Circus World (Clifton Hill location) - Niagara Falls Creatures of the Night - Niagara Falls Criminals Hall of Fame Wax Museum - Niagara Falls Crystal Beach Wax Museum/Chambers of Horror - Crystal Beach Amusement Park, Crystal Beach Crystal Caves - Niagara Falls Dare Devil Gallery - Niagara Falls Elvis Presley Museum - Maple Leaf Village (moved to Pyramid Place) , Niagara Falls Evel Knievel Museum - Maple Leaf Village (moved to Victoria Ave.) - Niagara Falls Fantasy Land - Crystal Beach Amusement Park, Crystal Beach The Fun House - Niagara Falls Ghostblasters - Great Canadian Midway, Niagara Falls Guinness World of Records Museum - Niagara Falls Haunted Graveyard of Niagara - (Pyramid Place?), Niagara Falls Haunted Hallways and Screaming Tunnels Torture Chamber - Fun Zone (Fallsview Blvd. location), Niagara Falls Haunted House - Prudhomme's Landing, Lincoln The Haunted House (Clifton Hill) - Niagara Falls Horror Manor Chambers of Terror - Niagara Falls Houdini Magical Hall of Fame - Niagara Falls The House of Frankenstein - Niagara Falls The Incredible Hulk Encounter - Marvel Superheroes Adventure City, Niagara Falls Jolly Roger (same as Pirate's Voyage?)- Crystal Beach Amusement Park, Crystal Beach Laff in the Dark - Crystal Beach Amusement Park, Crystal Beach Lazer Maze - Maple Leaf Village, Niagara Falls Life Museum - Niagara Falls Locomoland - Niagara Falls Louis Tussaud's Wax Museum - Niagara Falls Magic Carpet/Magic Palace - Crystal Beach Amusement Park, Crystal Beach MGM Great Movie Journey - MGM Studios Plaza, Niagara Falls Movieland Wax Museum (Hollywood Wax Museum) - Niagara Falls National Marine Aquarium of Canada - Niagara Falls Niagara Gun Museum - Niagara Falls Nightmares (and Nightmares II) - Maple Leaf Village (moved to Victoria Ave.), Niagara Falls Nightmares III The Black Journey - Maple Leaf Village, Niagara Falls "Ocean World" (same as National Aquarium?) - Exact location unknown Old Mill/Jungleland - Crystal Beach Amusement Park, Crystal Beach Pirate's Cove Wax Museum - Niagara Falls Pirate's Voyage (same as Jolly Roger?) - Crystal Beach Amusement Park, Crystal Beach Playmate Exhibits - Niagara Falls Potvin Miniatures Museum - Niagara Falls Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum - Niagara Falls Rock Legends Wax Museum - Niagara Falls Royal London Wax Museum - Niagara Falls Screamers (top level location)/Haunted Asylum/Screaming Tunnels - Maple Leaf Village (moved to Victoria Ave.), Niagara Falls Showboat/(Creep Show?)/Mysterious Mansion/Screamers (ground level location) - Maple Leaf Village, Niagara Falls Spacearium/Spaceland/Space Museum - Niagara Falls Spider-Man: The Ultimate Ride/Superheroes Lazer Ride - Marvel Superheroes Adventure City/Adventure City, Niagara Falls Spidey and Friends Funhouse - Marvel Superheroes Adventure City, Niagara Falls Sports Hall of Fame - Niagara Falls That's Incredible! Museum - Maple Leaf Village, Niagara Falls Tower of London Wax Museum - Niagara Falls Wonderful World of Fantasy - Niagara Falls World a Million Years Ago - Skylon Tower, Niagara Falls Greater Toronto Area The Haunted Barrel Works - Centreville Amusement Park, Toronto Laff in the Dark - Canadian National Exhibition Grounds (Permanent structure) - Toronto Ontario North Now/Mirror Maze - Ontario Place, Toronto Ripley's Aquarium of Canada - Bremmer Blvd., Toronto Scooby Doo's Haunted Mansion/Boo Blasters on Boo Hill - Canada's Wonderland, Vaughn Fun Land/Fun House/Spook Castle - Sunnyside Amusement Park, Toronto 13 Rooms of Terror - Warden/Steeles, Markham Toronto Wax Museum - Yonge/Gerrard, Toronto Wonder Mountain Walkway - Canada's Wonderland, Vaughn Wilderness Adventure Ride - Ontario Place, Toronto Yogi's Cave/Smurf Cave/Treasure Cave - Canada's Wonderland, Vaughn Lake Huron and Georgian Bay 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 Ontario - Other Areas Confederation Wax Museum - Ottawa Flight to Mars - Boblo Island Amusement Park, Amherstburg Phantom Express - Boblo Island Amusement Park, Amherstburg 1000 Islands Wax Museum & Aquarium - Hill Island (Thousand Islands, Skytower complex?) House of Haunts - Gananoque (Thousand Islands) Alberta Canadian Wax Gallery - Banff Crystal Labyrinth - Dragon's Tale, West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton Fantasyland/Galaxyland Express/Monopoly Railroad - Fantasyland/Galaxyland, West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton Fort Edmonton Park Funhouse - 1920's Midway & Exhibition, Fort Edmonton Park, Edmonton Haunted Hotel - Calaway Park, Calgary Lazer Maze - West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton Merlin's Haunted Laboratory - Fantasyland/Galaxyland, West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton Museum of Fear and Wonder - Bergen Quirks in the Works - Fantasyland/Galaxyland, West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton Sea Life Caverns - Marine Life, West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton British Columbia (and Northern Canada) Gastown Wax Museum - Vancouver Glass House - Playland at the PNE, Vancouver Haunted House - Playland at the PNE, Vancouver Haunted Mansion - Playland at the PNE, Vancouver Jurassic Exhibit - Bedrock City/Dinotown, Chilliwack Royal London Wax Museum - Victoria Quebec Flight to Mars - La Ronde, Montreal Grand Orient (Salem Aleikum) - La Ronde, Montreal Haunted House - Belmont Park, Montreal Laff-in-the-Dark - Belmont Park, Montreal Lost River - Belmont Park, Montreal Magic Carpet - Belmont Park, Montreal Le Moulin de le Sorcerier (Witch's Mill) - La Ronde, Montreal Musee de Cire (Wax Museum) - Quebec City Musée Grévin - Montreal Eaton Centre, Montreal Atlantic Canada (East of Quebec) 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.

Ontario - Other Areas This page contains all Ontario attractions not located in the Niagara Region, G.T.A., or on the shores of Lake Huron. Among the many towns and cities' attractions found on this page are those in Ottawa, London, Hamilton, Kitchener/Waterloo, Windsor, Newmarket and many more. Amusement and Theme Parks Boblo Island Amusement Park - Amherstburg Santa's Village - Bracebridge Storybook Gardens - London Storyland - Renfrew Wild Zone - Wheels Inn, Chatham Arcades, Mini Golf and F.E.C.s Ace Arcade - Clarence St., London Admirals Cup - Masonville Place, London Adventure Village - Hamilton Arcade Room - Coronet Motor Hotel, Kitchener/Waterloo Bad's Amusements - Oro Medonte Balacade - Bala Barrie Billiards - Barrie Bayfield Mall Games (Mall run game area)- Bayfield Mall, Barrie Bernie's Arcade - Charles St., Kitchener/Waterloo Big Wigs Billiards - Newmarket Bingemans Funworx Kitchener/Waterloo Blackbird Falls Putting Course - The Marshes Golf Club, Ottawa Bopper's - Windsor Broken Cue - Bank St., Ottawa Caddy Shack - Bloomfield Captain Carnival's - London Captain Carnival's - Windsor The Casino - King St./Hughson St. N., Hamilton Chuck E. Cheese's - Newmarket Coboconk Go-Karts & Mini-Putt - Coboconk Coco Club - Dunlop St., Barrie The Cove - University Shops Plaza, Kitchener/Waterloo Crystal Palace - King William/Walnut, Hamilton Crystal Palace - Wyndham/Quebec, Guelph Dooly's - Gladwin Crescent, Ottawa Downtown - St. Paul St., Thunder Bay Duffer's by the Bay - Barrie Duffer's Mini Golf - Duffer's Golf Centre, Barrie Dunlop/Alliance Billiards - Dunlop/Ferndale, Barrie East Park - London Electric Flipper - West St., Orillia Elmvale Flea Market Arcade - Elmvale Flea Market, Elmvale Evergreen Golf - Washago Fast Eddy's - Windsor Fat Lee's Scoop and Putt - Bonville Fire Button Arcade - Richmond/Woodroffe, Ottawa Fire Button Arcade - St. Joseph's Blvd., Orleans (Ottawa) Flynn's Arcade - King St., Kitchener/Waterloo Flynn's Arcade - University Shops Plaza, Kitchener/Waterloo Front Row McGinnis - Kitchener/Waterloo 4 Wheelies Roller Skating Center - Ottawa Fun & Games - Eastgate Square Shopping Centre, Stoney Creek (Hamilton) Fun & Games - Norfolk Mall, Tilsonburg Fun & Games - Tilsonburg Gateway Centre, Tilsonburg Fun & Games - Tilsonburg Town Centre, Tilsonburg Fun Land - Boblo Island Amusement Park, Amherstburg The Games - Eastgate Square Shopping Centre, Hamilton The Games - Lime Ridge Mall, Hamilton The Gamesroom - Rideau/Vanier, Ottawa Gateway Billiards - Second Ave. West, North Bay Golden Castle Games - Thunder Bay Happy Man Arcade - Dunlop St., Barrie Happy Man Arcade - Main St., North Bay Imperial Arcade/The Gamesroom - Bank St./Gloucester, Ottawa In Play - Newmarket It's a Small World - Midhurst JD's Billiards - Bell Farm Rd., Barrie The Junction - Windsor Jungle Mini Golf - Wild Zone, Chatham Jungle Quest Mini Golf - Nottawasaga Inn and Resort, Alliston King Arthur's Court - Merivale Rd., Ottawa King Arthur's Court - Rideau/Dalhousie, Ottawa Kozlov Shopping Centre Games (Mall run game area) - Kozlov Shopping Centre, Barrie Little Critters/In Play - Barrie Little Joe's/Bayfield Family Amusements/Cybercity/Technogames/Playquest - Bayfield Mall, Barrie Little Joe's - Market Mall, Sault St. Marie Little Joe's - New Sudbury Shopping Centre, Sudbury Little Joe's - Northgate Shopping Centre, North Bay Little Joe's - Stanley Park Mall, Kitchener/Waterloo Little Joe's/EJ's - Station Mall, Sault St. Marie Mer Bleue Miniputt & Batting Cages - Orleans Microplay - Towers/Food City Plaza, Barrie Mini Golf Gardens - Ottawa Mini Putt Hawkesbury - Hawkesbury Mister Arcade - Bank/Alta Vista, Ottawa Muskoka Store Mini Golf - Muskoka Store, Muskoka Northern Adventure Mini Putt - Cardinal Golf Club, Newmarket 1Up Games - King St., Hamilton The Palace - King St., Hamilton Pappa's Billiards - George St., Peterborough Park Play Micro Golf - Belleville Pop's Place Mini Golf and Arcade - Turkey Point Putting Edge - Barrie Putting Edge - Nepean (Ottawa) Putt N' Blast - Kingston Quarry Links Championship - Kingston Expert Tees, Kingston Retro Planet - Mapleview/Veteran's, Barrie Rideau Arcade - George/Dalhousie, Ottawa Rideau Arcade - Rideau St., Ottawa Rideau Arcade - Rideau/Ottawa Regional Rd., Ottawa Roller Skating Place - Orillia R.O.N.'s Virtual World - Thunder Bay Sandbaggerz Driving Range & Mini Putt - Port Perry Smuggler's Alley - Dundas St., London South Baymouth Ferry Terminal Games (Terminal run game area) - South Baymouth Space World - Lansdown Place Mall, Peterborough Splitsville - Guelph Splitsville - Hamilton Sports & Leisure Dome - Nottawasaga Inn Resort, Alliston Tee Burg Golf Academy - Tilsonburg 1000 Island Mini Golf - Thousand Islands Timber Creek Mini Golf & Fun Centre - Whitchurch-Stouffville Tommy's Arcade - Tommy's Variety, Kitchener/Waterloo Tommy's Arcade (Unrelated to above) - Mississauga St., Orillia Top Hat Billiards - Orillia Top Hat - Wellington Plaza, Barrie Tour D'Orleans - Place d'Orleans, Orleans (Ottawa) Towne Billiards - Mary/Dunlop, Barrie Tropical Mini Golf and Games - Hamilton Video Odyssey/VG's Arcade - Mary/Dunlop, Barrie Wally World - London Western World - George St., Peterborough Wild Zone Arcade - Wild Zone, Chatham The Wiz - White Oakes Mall, London The Wizard - Bank/Slater, Ottawa The Wizard - Bayshore Shopping Centre, Ottawa The Wizard - Blair St., Ottawa The Wizard - Shopper's City East, Gloucester (Ottawa) The Wizard - Shopper's City West, Ottawa Wizard's - Dundas St., London Wizard's Castle - Center Mall, Hamilton Wizard's Castle - Conestoga Mall, Kitchener/Waterloo Wizard's Castle - Dundas St., London Wizard's Castle - Kozlov Shopping Centre, Barrie Zapper's - King St., Kitchener/Waterloo Zapper's 2 - King St., Kitchener/Waterloo Arcade (Name Unknown) - Adelaide Rd, Mount Brydges Arcade (Name Unknown) - Argyle Mall, London Arcade (Name Unknown) - Bank/Heron, Ottawa Arcade (Name Unknown) - Bayview/Little Plaza, Barrie Arcade (Name Unknown) - Billings Bridge Shopping Centre, Ottawa Arcade (Name Unknown) - Carleton University Centre, Ottawa Arcade (Name Unknown) - Gloucester Centre, Gloucester (Ottawa) Arcade (Name Unknown) - Hamilton Rd., Dorchester Arcade (Name Unknown) - Jackson Square, Hamilton Arcade (Name Unknown) - York Town Square, Newmarket Arcade (Name Unknown) - Orillia Square Mall, Orillia Arcade (Name Unknown) - Place Centrum, Orleans (Ottawa) Arcade (Name Unknown) - Rideau/Dalhousie (Above Rideau Theatre), Ottawa Arcade (Name Unknown) - St. Laurent/Pleasant Park, Ottawa Arcade (Name Unknown) - Waterloo Town Square, Kitchener/Waterloo Arcade (Name Unknown, Existence Unconfirmed) - 320 Bayfield St. Plaza, Barrie Mini Golf (Name Unknown) - Bayfield St., Barrie Dark Attractions, Wax Museums and Exhibits Confederation Wax Museum - Ottawa Flight to Mars - Boblo Island Amusement Park, Amherstburg Phantom Express - Boblo Island Amusement Park, Amherstburg 1000 Islands Wax Museum & Aquarium - Hill Island (Thousand Islands, Skytower complex?) House of Haunts - Gananoque (Thousand Islands) Specialty Hotels and Gift Shops Lamplighter Inn - London French River Trading Post - French River Muskoka Store - Muskoka Nottawasaga Inn Resort - Alliston Wheels Inn - Chatham Theatres, Bowling Alleys and Miscellaneous AMF Frederick Lanes - Kitchener/Waterloo Ajax 5 Pin Bowling Centre - Ajax Bowlerama - Brookfield Plaza, Peterborough Bowlerama - Chatham Bowlerama - Guelph Bowlerama - Stoney Creek (Hamilton) Bowlerama - Wellington Plaza (later moved to Bayfield Mall), Barrie Bowlerama/C&D Lanes - Woodstock Bowlerama/Echo Bowl - Brantford Bowling on Broadway - Orangeville Captain Andy's River Towne Revue - Boblo Island Amusement Park, Amhurstberg Coldwater Bowling Centre - Coldwater Fleetway - London Hanover Drive-In - Hanover Haunted Theatre - Boblo Island Amusement Park, Amhurstberg Huntsville Bowl - Huntsville Kempview Bowl - Barrie Kingpin Bowlounge - Bingemans Funworx, Kitchener/Waterloo Lakeview Bowl - Market Plaza, Peterborough Leisure Bowling Lanes - Oshawa Lindsay Twin Drive-In - Lindsay Mario's Bowl - Thunder Bay Merivale Bowling Centre - Nepean (Ottawa) Mountain Lanes - Hamilton Muskoka Bowl - Muskoka Muskoka Drive-In - Muskoka Mustang Drive-In - Guelph Mustang Drive-In - London North Crest Lanes - Sault St. Marie Orillia Bowl/Rock n Bowl - Orillia Orleans Bowling Centre (and Striker's Billiards) - Orleans (Ottawa) Oxford Drive-In - Woodstock Partners Billiards and Bowling - North Bay Plaza Bowl - Sudbury Port Elmsey Drive-In - Perth Riverbowl & Billiards - Burk's Falls Skylight Drive-In - Pembroke Skytower/1000 Islands Tower - Lansdowne (Thousand Islands) Skyway Bowl - Hamilton Springwater Lanes - Elmvale Stardust Drive-In - Newmarket Starlight Drive-In - Hamilton Stellar Lanes - Newmarket Strike Point Bowling Centre - Lindsay Sunset Drive-In - Oro Medonte Tri-Town Bowling Lanes - Haileybury Underground Bowl - Bradford University Lanes - Dundas (Hamilton) UxBowl/Parish Lanes - Uxbridge West Park Bowling - Ottawa Themed Restaurants, Bars and Stores The Disney Store - Georgian Mall, Barrie The Disney Store - Lime Ridge Mall, Hamilton The Disney Store - Masonville Place, London The Disney Store - Rideau Centre, Ottawa The Disney Store - Upper Canada Mall, Newmarket Hard Rock Cafe - Ottawa La Casa de Madre - Wheels Inn, Chatham Water Parks and Attractions Bingemans Big Splash - Bingemans Funworx, Kitchener/Waterloo Calypso Theme Waterpark - Gagnon East Park Water Park/Wally World at East Park - East Park, London Loose Moose/Splash Canyon - Midhurst Wally World Water Park - London Wild Waterworks - Hamilton

Dazzleland Family Fun Center Attraction Type: Family Entertainment Centre Location: Niagara Falls, Ontario Years Operational: 1992-2001 Designer(s): White Hutchinson Leisure Learning Group Overview of Dazzleland as seen from the Pilgrim Motel, mid 90's. In 1992, the final piece of the puzzle for Clifton Hill's present day atmosphere would click into place. Welland Securities changed their name to HOCO (Harry Oakes Company) and beginning in the late 80's, took ownership of attractions that were formerly just tenants of theirs including Movieland , The Niagara Marketplace, The Space Spiral Tower, Golf-a-Rama atop Circus World, and the Cliffside Motel (which had its pool removed and was integrated into a wing of the adjacent Quality Inn.) The only attractions that would continue being leased were Ripley's and Circus World, meaning HOCO not only owned all the land on the South-West side of the hill, they now ran everything between Circus World and Ripley's, as well as the Harry's Burgers space and the ice cream stand immediately down the hill from Circus World. With the driveway in to the former Cliffside wing no longer needed, as it could now be accessed by the Quality Inn lot, it would become the last section of land to be developed along Clifton Hill. In the driveway's place was now a large empty space between Circus World and Movieland, with the Space Spiral Tower (with a relatively small footprint) stuck in the middle. HOCO called upon attraction design and layout firm White Hutchison Leisure Learning Group (WHLLG) to design an attraction around the Space Spiral that would use the final undeveloped land on Clifton Hill. And so WHLLG designed Dazzleland Family Fun Center, a courtyard of buildings arranged in roughly the same layout as the Great Canadian Midway (for reasons we'll get to later) that sits on the land now. The space surrounding the Spiral Tower that Dazzleland would later occupy, as it looked when it was occupied by Golf-a-Rama and the driveway in to the Cliffside, 1980's. The buildings around the outside of the courtyard were long and narrow, picture a courtyard of carnival game trailers but permanent, appealing buildings in the architecture style of a European village. Carnival lights adorned much of the signage, and the complex featured an abundance of neon on the attraction's large sign, on many of the buildings' exteriors, and signage featuring the word "DazzleLand" on the wall in many of the buildings. Bird's eye view of Dazzleland's courtyard taken from the Spiral Tower, late 90's. At the front of the attraction facing the street, on either side of the large open entrance to the courtyard, were two fast food restaurants. On the downhill-most side, the Wendy's was built on top of Circus World, replacing the Golf-a-Rama mini golf that had formerly been on the attraction's roof. It featured an outdoor patio in the back corner of the dining area overlooking Clifton Hill, but this would be enclosed in later years. At the back of the dining area next to the washrooms was also a hallway that led into Dazzleland, as the washrooms also served as the washrooms for the attraction itself. Across the entrance to the courtyard from Wendy's was a Domino's Pizza, roughly where stairwell just to your right is when entering the Great Canadian Midway now. Unlike Wendy's however who had the option to dine-in, the Domino's was only a take-away counter. Above: Wendy's in 1993 above Circus World. Right: Domino's Pizza seen along with the Spiral Tower and camera store, mid 90's. Clockwise when entering the actual courtyard of Dazzleland, the first building, built into the side of Wendy's, was the Whac-a-Mole building. This section housed several Bob's Space Racers (the co-inventors of Whac-a-Mole) late-80's "Version B" Whac-a-Mole machines. In the same building along the same wall was a handful of various redemption games. The next building, running alongside the forested hill down to Queen Victoria Park, was a larger walk-in building that served as the main redemption arcade area, housing all the miscellaneous ticket redemption games. This area was also home to one of the strangest arcade games in the Falls, a shooting gallery utilizing water guns rather than infrared light guns. It was called "Fire Department 911" and appeared to be a custom build, with the targets consisting of cut-out flames. The manufacturer remains unknown. Above: The main redemption game building, 1993. Right: The Fire Department 911 water gun shooting gallery. Whac-a-Mole machines, 1993, Miscellaneous games occupying the back half of the Whac-a-Mole building, 1993. In the back corner, roughly where the XD Theatre now sits in The Midway, was the largest building in Dazzleland, the main Arcade. This is where the large collection of video games and pinball machines were located, as well as the Cyclone redemption game. This section could also be accessed via a doorway in the back corner of the redemption game building. The building next to the Arcade was also connected via a doorway on the other side as well, and ran along the back of Dazzleland. This building housed various carnival style coin operated games such as the Skee Ball, Boom Ball, and Roll-a-Ball style games. A couple smaller redemption games were also located against the pillars along the front of this building. The final building along the outside (between the Skee-Ball building and Domino's) was the Sports Games building, which included racing, basketball toss, football toss, and pitching games. A section of this building with a checkered floor contained racing-themed games, like 4 linked Sega Super GT racing simulators that would be added in the late 90's, and later go on to also be a staple of the Midway, as would nearly all of Dazzleland's games. Above top: Entrance to the main arcade. Above bottom: Inside the main video and pinball arcade, mid 90's. Left: Interior of the Skee Ball building and it's side entrance to the main arcade, as seen in a 2001 brochure. Right: Boom Ball style, Roll-a-Ball, water gun race, and Skee Ball machines, mid 90's. The racing-themed section of the sports games building with the checkered floor, 2000. In the middle of the courtyard was a small carousel, a small pond that contained an RC boat game, and a building housing the carousel's control booth which had miscellaneous games wrapping around it on the other three sides. A smaller building in the back half of the courtyard outfront the Arcade building was the ticket Redemption Centre and prize counter. The courtyard was also full of claw machines and coin operated rides. The Space Spiral and camera store next door were incorporated into Dazzleland, still being accessible directly off the Hill. As mentioned elsewhere on this site, the tower was exactly where the Fudge Factory now is, as the circular store was once the loading area for the tower. Along Clifton Hill, between the camera store and the Dominos was a fortune teller machine built right into the wall: "Ask the Brain". The brain still lives on inside Movieland, except now he wants a loonie instead of a quarter. Left: The RC boat pond with the sports building in the background, 1993. Right: "Ask The Brain" in 2000. To fill the consumer need left after the mini golf atop Circus World was replaced with the Wendy's, a new, much more challenging course would be constructed just up the Hill from the Spiral Tower. It's entrance was right on the Hill, but the course wrapped around the tower and ran back behind Dazzleland, between the back of Dazzleland and the parking lot of the Quality Inn. It would have no real theme for its first two years of operation, and feature generic statues like a comical man teeing off from the course's main waterfall, dolphins jumping out of the fountains, and a replica of the Skylon Tower at the back. It's debatable if this attraction could technically be considered part of Dazzleland. While built at the same time and wrapping around Dazzleland proper, it wasn't technically inside it. It's unknown if this course had its own name or was originally considered part of the complex. It would also outlive Dazzleland in its later form as Dinosaur Park Miniature Golf (see below), moving around the area and eventually evolving into the present-day Dinosaur Adventure Golf. Dazzleland under construction in 1991, showing the full layout of the mini golf. Above: The miniature golf course as seen from the driveway into Quality Inn, 1992. Left: A fiberglass statue of a down-on-his-luck golfer tees off from the waterfall at the entrance to the course on Clifton Hill, 1993. This early version of the Dazzleland complex would be very short lived, with changes coming just two years later in 1994. The Whac-a-Mole and prize buildings would be switched around, and the water gun shooting gallery would also switch places with the miscellaneous games next to the Whac-a-Mole machines. The biggest change however would come in the form of a retheme of the mini golf. Riding off the success of the film Jurassic Park, the course would now become "Dinosaur Park Miniature Golf." Unique fiberglass dinosaurs now populated the course, and a dragon/sea serpent was added to the RC boat pond. It's unknown who sculpted these figures (possibly someone from within WHLLG). Left: Dinosaur Park Miniature Golf in a 2001 brochure. Right: The dragon in the RC boat pond, 1998. The sign for the Redemption Centre after it switched places with the Whac-a-Mole building. Dazzleland was an instant success, being one of the crucial moments in the development of the Niagara Falls tourism industry that forever changed the area. It was the first Family Entertainment Centre in the Falls, combining arcade machines with other rides and attractions all in one arcade-like complex, more accessible than an amusement park yet more captivating than an arcade. Almost every arcade to open in the Falls since Dazzleland has also been an F.E.C., a clear indication of it's influence. The complex had a unique but distinct atmosphere, having no exact theme other than a whimsical, fantasy-like environment as represented by the stars and moons on the attraction's signage. The carnival-like atmosphere and variety in the attraction made it stand out from the other arcades in the area at the time, and it became a go to-hang out for both tourists and locals alike. It's variety also made it popular with all demographics, featuring pinball and video games popular with teenagers and adults, redemption games and rides largely popular with children and families, and an open, appealing atmosphere even drawing in those who wouldn't usually be arcade-goers. It's popularity however would also be it's demise, and it would be relatively short-lived, only lasting a decade. The success of the attraction led HOCO to expand the concept further, and more games = higher guest enjoyment, and therefore profit. The outdoor courtyard style with it's room for walkways between the buildings was re-designed, and HOCO again called upon WHLLG. WHLLG designed not only a remodel of Dazzleland, but an incredible 5-step plan that would have changed Clifton Hill, however only steps 1 to 3 would come to fruition... Step 1 was remodeling Dazzleland into the Great Canadian Midway , which opened in 2002. The level, concrete foundation Dazzleland was built on was kept as the foundation of the Midway, hence why it has a similar footprint. Dinosaur Park Miniature Golf was moved to a former parking lot in front of the Comfort Inn. Rather than have several different buildings, the Midway would all be one indoor space, allowing for more games and year round operation, a genius business move. After it's closure, Dazzleland would fall into obscurity. In the early days of research that would eventually evolve into this website, Dazzleland only existed as one-line mentions in old HOCO Attractions brochures and the vauge memories of the author, becoming somewhat of my "white whale". HOCO themselves eventually uploaded some limited photos of the attraction on their Clifton Hill Fun Facebook page, and as time went on and my original historical postings on Reddit began to receive attention, more people began to comment that they remembered Dazzleland fondly. Many details of the attraction came out along with it, and eventually, after years of scouring old tourist vacation videos on YouTube, the full layout and story of the attraction's changes over the years came to light. Arials of Dazzleland (2000) and the Great Canadian Midway (2024), showing how the Midway was built upon Dazzleland's pre-established layout. The gorgeous double-sided neon sign at the entrance to the complex, which acted as a beacon of Clifton Hill, 2000. While Dazzleland may be gone, the Midway took the carnival-like atmosphere that Dazzleland offered and turned it into the entire theme of the Midway, which is actually themed to an outdoor carnival midway complete with strings of lights between the pillars. It also features several attractions around the outside walls surrounding the main arcade space, creating somewhat of an indoor courtyard. This makes the Midway somewhat of a spiritual successor to Dazzleland that builds on the theme and retains the same atmosphere. Dazzleland continues to live on in the memories of those who visited, frequented, and worked there as well as the millions of visitors who have since visited the Midway, whether they realize it's hidden influence or not.

Photo and Video Archive Welcome to the Canadian Amusement History archives. This archive is the result of over a decade of searching through old photographs, tourist home videos, public libraries, newspaper archives, advertising, and more. Here you'll find images and footage of both former attractions and ones that have changed over the years. You can also find old postcards, brochures, guide books, newspaper articles, commercials, and more. All sources are provided when applicable. This section will always be a work in progress. Due to the scope and size of our personal archive collection, the entirety of it will never fully be featured here, so if you're after something you don't find here, please contact us as we might have it in our collections! All Photo Galleries All Video Galleries Lost Media

British Columbia (and Northern Canada) This page specifically covers British Columbia, however the Northern provinces of Yukon and the Northwest Territories are included on this page as well due to their extremely small number of attractions. All attractions are/were located in B.C. unless otherwise stated. Amusement and Theme Parks Bedrock City/Dinotown - Chilliwack Bedrock City - Kelowna Cultus Lake Adventure Park - Cultus Lake Dyck's Dinosaur Park - Maple Ridge Fantasy Gardens/Fantasy Garden World - Richmond Happyland/Playland at the PNE - Vancouver Rattlesnake Canyon - Osoyoos Arcades, Mini Golf and F.E.C.s The Adventure Zone - Granville Island Kids Market, Vancouver Ballie Bear Amusement - Parker Place Mall, Richmond Bear Creek Park Mini Golf - Bear Creek Park, Surrey Bonker's - Vancouver Bumble Bee - Scott Rd., Surrey Captain George's - Springer/Lougheed, Burnaby Central City Fun Park - Surrey Choice Billiards - Surrey CHQ - Metrotown Mall, Burnaby Chuck E. Cheese's - Langley Crossing Shopping Centre, Langley Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theater - Burnaby Circus Circus (Circuit Circus?) - Vancouver City Centre Park Mini Golf - City Centre Park, Victoria Coin City Arcade - Vancouver Creston Mini Golf - Creston Cue's Game Room - Penticton The Den Arcade - Robson St., Vancouver District Billiards - Kelowna Doc's Golf Centre - Penticton East End Billiards - Vancouver Electrafun - Cameron St., Burnaby Energyplex Entertainment Centre - Kelowna eSpot - Richmond Family Adventure Zone - Whistler The Family Fun Centre - Kingsway St., Burnaby Flintstone Mini Golf - Bedrock City, Kelowna Flintstone/Dinotown Mini Golf - Bedrock City/Dinotown, Chilliwack Fraser Valley Billiards - Abbotsford The Fun Centre - Harewood Mall, Nanaimo The Fun Factor Centre - Kamloops Funtasia Family Fun Park - Fairmont Hot Springs The Games Room - Victoria Giggle Ridge Mini Golf - Cultus Lake Adventure Park, Cultus Lake The Goose - Yates St., Victoria Gull's - Yates St., Victoria Hi-Knoll Driving Range & Minigolf - Surrey House of Pool - New Westminster (Burnaby) Huggie Bear's Pizza Circus - Hillside/Quadra, Victoria James Street Billiards - Duncan James Street Game Room - Nanaimo Johnny Zee's - Capitol 6, Victoria Johnny Zee's - Esquimalt (Victoria) Johnny Zee's - Langford (Victoria) Johnny Zee's/Hugo's/King Kade - Shelbourne St., Victoria Johnny Zee's - University Heights Mall, Victoria Jonhhy Zee's - Station Square Metrotown, Burnaby Kamloops Billiard Club - Kamloops Kelowna Driving Range and Mini Golf - Kelowna Ladner Arcade - Vancouver Laser Illusions - - Brentwood Town Centre/The Amazing Brentwood, Burnaby Laser Illusions - Richmond Centre, Richmond Lester's - Kingsway St., Burnaby Lion's Lair - Vancouver LocoLanding Adventure Park - Penticton Long Beach Golf Course Mini Putt - Long Beach Golf Course, Tofino Lord Nelson's Arcade - Lansdowne Centre, Richmond Lukie's Mini Golf - Sicamour Master Billiards - Coquitlam Marsten Billiards & Snooker Club - Vancouver Metro Cafe Billiards - Vancouver McArthur Island Mini Golf - McArthur Island Park, Kamloops Mini Golf - Christina Lake Miracle Beach Adventure Golf - Black Creek Movieland Arcade - Granville St., Vancouver Mr. Tubbs Ice Cream Parlor - Tillicum Rd., Victoria Pacific Adventure Golf - Vancouver Paradise Mini Golf and Fun Park - Parksville Pacific Pool and Snooker Club - Surrey Peacock Billiards - Victoria Pie in the Sky - Kingsway St., Burnaby Play Abby - Abbotsford Playdium - Metropolis at Metrotown, Burnaby Playland Arcade/Fun Centre - Playland at the PNE, Vancouver Porter Creek Billiards - Whitehorse, Yukon Putters Mini Golf Course - Powell River Q1 Billiards - Richmond Quazar's - Government St., Victoria Raceway Go-Karts & Mini Golf - Prince George Rack & Rally Social Club - Port Alberni Rattles nake Canyon Arcade - Rattles nake Canyon, Osoyoos Rattlesnake Canyon Mini Golf - Rattles nake Canyon, Osoyoos Riptide Lagoon Adventure Golf - Parksville Rollerland - Vancouver Roll 'N Stones Fun Centre - Penticton Rusty's Sports Lounge - Kelowna Salmon Arm Go-Karts & Mini-Golf - Canoe Salmon Arm Waterslides Mini Golf - Salmon Arm Scandia Golf & Games - Kelowna Scotch Creek Family Fun Centre - Scotch Creek Sneaky Pete's Pool Cafe - Vancouver Soho Bar & Billiards - Vancouver Star Snooker Club - Richmond Strike Zone Mini Golf - Strike Zone Bowling & Mini Golf Centre, Prince George Stargate 5 - Richmond Square Mall/Richmond Centre, Richmond Sweet Escape Mini Golf - Playland at the PNE, Vancouver Top 147 Snooker - Richmond West Coast Mini Putt - Richmond Wizard's Castle - Richmond Square Mall/Richmond Centre, Richmond Wizard's Castle - Rutherford Village, Nanaimo Wonderland/Castle Fun Park - Abbotsford Arcade (Name Unknown) - Craigflower/Dominion, Victoria Arcade (Name Unknown) - Douglas/Boleskine, Victoria Arcade (Name Unknown) - Northbrook Mall/Brooks Landing, Nanaimo Dark Attractions, Wax Museums and Exhibits Gastown Wax Museum - Vancouver Glass House - Playland at the PNE, Vancouver Haunted House - Playland at the PNE, Vancouver Haunted Mansion - Playland at the PNE, Vancouver Jurassic Exhibit - Bedrock City/Dinotown, Chilliwack Royal London Wax Museum - Victoria Specialty Hotels and Gift Shops Theatres, Bowling Alleys and Miscellaneous Best Western Coquitlam Inn - Coquitlam Alder Alley - Aldergrove Beaver Valley Lanes - Fruitvale Big Country Lanes - 100 Mile House Black Diamond Bowl & Billiards - Prince George Brechin Lanes - Nainamo Canyon Lanes - Boston Bar Capri Valley Lanes - Capri Centre, Kelowna Cariboo Bowl - Williams Lake Castle Bowl - Castlegar Chillibowl Lanes and Pool Hall - Chilliwack Codes Country Lanes - Courtenay Commodore Lanes - Vancouver Copperhill Lanes - Princeton CR Bowling - Campbell River Dell Lanes - Surrey Duncan Drive-In - Duncan Duncan Lanes Bowling Centre - Duncan Falcon Lanes - Kamloops Galaxy Bowl - Abbotsford Glenmerry Bowl - Trail Golden Bowling - Golden Grandview Recreations/Grandview Lanes - Vancouver Kingpin Bowling Centre - Yellowknife, Northwest Territories Kingpin Lounge - Hope King Pins Bowling - North Vancouver (Vancouver) Kobau Lanes - Osoyoos Lakeside Bowling - Salmon Arm Langford Lanes - Langford Laser City Fun Centre - Victoria Laserdome Plus - North Vancouver (Vancouver) Legacy Drive-In - Victoria Lincoln Lanes - Vernon Mackenzie Bowling - Mackenzie McCurdy Bowling Centre - Kelowna Merrit Bowling Centre - Merrit Miracle Lanes - Sidney Park Drive-In Theatre - Prince George Pinheads Bowling - Grand Forks Planet Lazer - Kelowna Planet Lazer - New Westminster (Burnaby) Planet Lazer - Richmond Planet Lazer - Surrey Pleasant Valley Plaza - Houston PoCo Bowl - Port Coquitlam (Coquitlam) Rev Bowling Lanes - Quesnel Revs Bowling - Burnaby Revs Maple Ridge - Maple Ridge Rainbow Lanes - Port Alberni Romano's Runaway Lanes - Creston Sandcastle Bowl - Surrey Scottsdale Bowling Lanes - Surrey SilverCity Riverport Cinemas - Richmond SilverCity Victoria Cinemas - Victoria Smithers Bowl - Smithers Splitsville Nanaimo - Nanaimo Splitsville Riverport - Richmond Stardust Roller Rink - Richmond Starlight Drive-In Theatre - Enderby Strike Zone Bowling - Strike Zone Bowling & Mini Golf Centre Sunset Lanes - Parksville Terrace Bowling Centre - Terrace Twilight Drive-In Theatre - Langley Township Valley Alley Bowling Centre - Invermere Village Lanes Fun Centre - Chase West Kelowna Lanes (and Whiski Jack's Pins & Pints) - Kelowna Zone Bowling - Coquitlam Themed Restaurants, Bars and Stores The Disney Store - Guildford Town Centre, Surrey The Disney Store - Metropolis at Metrotown, Burnaby The Disney Store - Pacific Centre, Vancouver Hard Rock Cafe - Hard Rock Casino, Coquitlam Hard Rock Cafe - Vancouver Hard Rock Cafe - Victoria Hard Rock Cafe - Whistler Planet Hollywood - Vancouver Rainforest Cafe - Metropolis at Metrotown, Burnaby White Spot Dinersaurus - Bedrock City/Dinotown, Chilliwack Water Parks and Attractions Big Splash Water Slide Park - Tsawwassen Bridal Falls Waterpark - Bridal Falls Chilliwack Landing Leisure Centre - Chilliwack Cultus Lake Waterpark - Cultus Lake H20 Adventure Centre - Kelowna Salmon Arm Waterslides - Salmon Arm Splashdown Vernon - Vernon

Manitoba and Saskatchewan Amusement and Theme Parks Don't let these prairie provinces' mostly rural nature fool, they're still home to major cities and several regionally-oriented tourism getaways. Several small towns also contain a small attraction or two such as a mini golf course or arcade that's a beloved cornerstone of the community, due to providing a space for people to come together. Kiddieland - Regina, SK Playland - Grand Marais, MB Sunset Park - Regina, SK Tinkertown Family Fun Park - Springfield (Winnipeg), MB Arcades, Mini Golf and F.E.C.s Adventure Mini Golf Clear Lake - Wasagaming, MB Amanda Pizza + More - Service Rd. #2, Shellbrook, SK Arcade - Canarama Shopping Centre, Saskatoon, SK ATS Amusements - Winnipeg Square, Winnipeg, MB Baller's Recroom - Dewdney Ave., Regina, SK Battle Creek Adventure Park - Moose Jaw, SK Beach Corners Ice Cream & Mini Golf - Loon Lake, SK Big Putts Mini Golf - Onanole, MB Blue Room Billiards - Notre Dame Ave., Winnipeg, MB Bobo’s Arcade - Confederation Mall, Saskatoon, SK Break Billiards - Pembina Hwy, Winnipeg, MB Brightsand Mini Putt - Brightsand Lake, SK Broken Rack Billiards - Albert St., Regina, SK Buffalo Bill's - Normanview/Southland, Regina, SK Bugsy's Hideout - Central Ave., Saskatoon, SK Captain Silver's - Campbell Ave., Saskatoon, SK Cherrydale Golf - Yorkton, SK Chuck E. Cheese's - Regina, SK Chuck E. Cheese's - Winnipeg, MB Circuit Circus - Saskatoon, SK CJs Snack Shack and Mini Golf - Rivers, MB Classic Billiards Bar & Grill - Portage Ave., Winnipeg, MB Command HQ/LVR Games - Circle Park Mall/The Centre, Saskatoon, SK Command HQ - Lawson Heights Mall, Saskatoon, SK The Corner Pocket Billiards - Sherritt Ave., Lynn Lake, MB The Corner Pocket Restaurant - Broadway St., Cartwright, MB The Cove - University of Saskatchewan Shops, Saskatoon, SK Crazy 8 Billiards & Lounge - Berry St., Winnipeg, MB Crystal Palace - Donald/Ellice, Winnipeg, MB DJ's Arcade/Sand Dunes Fun and Games - St. Clements Row, Grand Marais, MB DJ’s Video - Primrose Dr., Saskatoon, SK Dooly's - Main St. N., Moose Jaw, SK Duffer’s - 22nd St. (later moved to 24th/Wall), Saskatoon Dutch Treat Mini Golf - Greig Lake, SK Echo Par Mini Golf - B-Say-Tah, SK Emma Lake Mini Golf - Emma Lake, SK Excalibur - Garden City Mall, Winnipeg, MB, Fairhaven Billiards - Saskatoon, SK Falcon Lake Mini Golf - Falcon Lake Golf Club, Falcon Beach, MB Family Leisure Centre - Albert/?, Regina, SK Flea Whiskey's - Erin St., Winnipeg, MB The Fun Factory - Quebec Ave., Saskatoon, SK Fungoes Golf Centre - East Saint Paul (Winnipeg), MB Fun Land Arcade - Regina, SK Fun Park Amusement Centre - Winnipeg, MB Funstrip - Broadway Ave., Saskatoon, SK Games on the Avenue - Portage Ave., Winnipeg, MN GameWorld International - Primrose Dr., Saskatoon, SK Geppetto's Mini Golf - Richer, MB Gobbles Putt For Par - Shell Lake, SK Golden Mile Arcade - Regina, SK Goldwave - Main St., Moose Jaw, SK The Golf Dome - Winnipeg, MB Grand Prix Amusements - Springfield (Winnipeg), MB Gravity Zone - Broadway Ave., Saskatoon, SK Grenfell Little Greens Mini Putt - Grenfell, SK Gull Lake & District Kinette Club Mini Golf Course - Gull Lake, SK Jack Pott's Thrill Zone - Regent Ave. W., Winnipeg, MB Judy's - Main St., Canwood, SK Hackers & Smackers Mini Golf - Hackers & Smackers Golf Driving Range, Winnipeg, MB The Hanger Billiards and Sports Lounge - Scurfield Blvd., Winnipeg, MB Harbourview Mini Golf - Harbour View Golf Course, Winnipeg, MB HI Bar - Cardinal Crescent, Saskatoon, SK Hidden Valley Mini Golf - Hidden Valley Golf & RV Resort, Estevan, SK Highland Miniature Golf - Brandon, MB The Holland Windmill Mini Golf - Holland, MB Huggie Bear - Market Mall, Saskatoon, SK IQ's Cafe & Billiards - Winniped, MB Kat's Arcade - Desmond St., Grenfell, SK Kivimaa-Moonlight Bay Mini-Golf Course - Kivimaa-Moonlight Bay, SK KK Entertainment - Eaton Place , Winnipeg, MB Krazy Leo’s - 33rd St., Saskatoon, SK Lakewood Arcade - Lakewood Camping Resort, Cross Lake, MB LanMark Games - Circle Park Mall/The Centre, Saskatoon, SK Laser Illusions - Confederation Mall, Saskatoon, SK Laser Illusions - Polo Park Mall, Winnipeg, MB LaserTopia - Waverley St., Winnipeg, MB Las Vegas Amusements - Vaughn St., Winnipeg, MB Long John Silvers - Portage Ave., Winnipeg, MB Little Al's Mini Golf - Waskesiu Lake, SK MagicLand - Portage Ave., Winnipeg, MB MagicLand- Winnipeg Beach, MB Magic Mike's - Charleswood Centre Mall, Winnipeg, MB Market Mall Mini Golf - Market Mall, Saskatoon, SK Mar's Mini Golf - Saskatoon, SK Masters Mini Golf - Kenosee Lake, SK Matty's Fun Centre - Melville, SK Maxwell's Amusements - Regina, SK Mercer's Manitou Mini Golf - Manitou Beach, SK Par-Tici-Putt Mini Golf - Good Spirit Lake, SK The Pas Billiards & Sports Bar - Fischer Ave., The Pas, MB Pete's Grand Putt - Grand Marais, MB Phantom Amusement - Kildonan Place (later moved to Forks Market Rd.), Winnipeg, MB The Pirate's Den - Grant Park Shopping Centre, Winnipeg, MB Pike Lake Mini Golf - Pike Lake, SK Playland Arcade - Playland, Grand Marais, MB Playland Arcade - Main St., Winnipeg Beach, MB Pokeys Pinball Cafe - 33rd St. W., Saskatoon, SK Prairie Jurassic - Saskatoon, SK Putt 'N Bounce Mini Golf - Saskatoon, SK Putters Dream Mini Golf - Belair, MB Putter's Grill & Mini Golf - La Broquerie Golf Course, La B roquerie, MB RC Amusements - Pembina Hwy, Winnipeg, MB Ruckers Amusement Centre - 8 St. E., Saskatoon, SK Ruckers Amusement Centre - Regent Corner Shopping Centre, Winnipeg, MB Ruckers Amusement Centre - 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1971 "Tour" A Canadian Amusement History Special Feature This "tour" through the House of Frankenstein as it would have been the year it opened is made possible by an old souvenir guide book provided by Donald Deveau, as well as countless recounts of former staff and guests. A huge thank you to members of the Dunham family of the Waxattract company who's artistry, creativity, and passion built the attraction, and were kind enough to share information that also made this article possible. Here you'll see just how impressive the original version of this attraction remains today, but keep in mind this was over a whopping 50 years ago. "Come in... and 'kill a little time' with us..." Guests were met with terror before even entering the building, which was a large gothic manor, complete with an imposing clock tower featuring a working clock. The originally grey and red building stood out on the street, and strobe lights flashed in the second-story faux windows to simulate lighting inside bringing the titular Monster to life. A large Frankenstein's Monster head sign flashed red as it was struck by a large neon lightning bolt, and a live actor playing the character roamed under an awning, weeding out the weak before they were even able to near the doors. After passing the Phantom of the Opera in the front window and the skeleton escaping his coffin in the lobby (as well as a display of antique guns, apparently), guests would purchase their ticket and enter a door next to the counter. The Monster outside was terrifying to some, and a great photo-op for thousands of others who got their photo taken with the Monster. A portion of "The Grotto". The echo effect apparently sent several guests running straight back out the door. "The Comte De Lorge" glares menacingly from his cave-like prison. Guests would immediately find themselves in "The Grotto", with cave rock walls and the sound effects of a vast cave. They would soon come to an opening of mummified corpses, stalagmites, and circling bats. There was also an echo effect, where guests would actually hear their own voice's echo seemingly chase them down the hallway. This was achieved via microphones hidden in the stucco rock cave walls and a surround sound audio system with heavy reverb. Sent running by the sound of their own voice, guests would be met with perhaps the most gruesome and detailed area in the museum: the torture scenes. The "Comte De Lorge", imprisoned in the Bastille and forgotten about for over 30 years, raised his head and outstretched his arms in desperation at the sight of another human being. The massive "Medieval Torture Chamber" was next: a large room-sized scene with prison-bar walls on three sides that guests would walk around. Many met their bitter end in the torture chamber as guests looked on in horror. There was a flaying alive where a victim's skin was ripped off their body, a branding with a hot coal between tongs, a hanging by the thumbs, the stocks, a bed of nails where heavy stones were lowered into the victim via pulley, an "Iron Maiden", a man with his head in a cage of hungry rats, a man chained to rotating platform, and the infamous Rack stretching a victim in two, among several other unfortunate ends. The next scene was originally various artifacts likely tying into a torture or punishment theme, however this scene didn't last long (as even evidenced in the guide book by: "This scene will be changed and added to over time.") It's likely this was quickly replaced with one of the torture scenes later found in the Lake George location or the Castle Dracula attractions, such as the Druid sacrifice. Next guests would discover "The Forgotten Prisoner", a writhing skeletal figure chained to the wall of his cell, and then pass the "Barrel Drowning" where a man was dunked in and out of a barrel, an always lethal precursor of sorts to waterboarding. Next guests would enter the modern crime and punishment area, where very real, still relevant horrors held domain. The uncaught "Machete Murderer" of California showed off his collection of severed heads (and machete), "Charles Manson" attempted to escape his straight jacket, loud starling machine guns echoed from a recreation of the "St. Valentine's Day Massacre", and the "Boston Strangler" peered menacingly at guest's necks. Guests would also see the "Bird Man of Alcatraz", "Jesse James", "Wyatt Earp" in a violent shootout at the OK Corral, "Bonnie and Clyde", and "Sherlock Holmes" discovering a cadaver. A postcard of the torture chamber from the later Lake George location with the lights on. Many, if not all of these figures would have been created from the same sculpts and molds as those in the original Niagara location. To give an idea of the size of this area, only about half of it's contents can be seen in this image. The "Barrel Drowning" (left), "Wyatt Earp" about to draw his gun at the infamous Doc Holiday OK Corral shootout (right) "Sherlock Holmes", although the frightening scene he's examining unfortunately can't be clearly seen in this image. The "Electric Chair" scene as it appeared up until 2020 in the Lake George location. The original victim has since been replaced with an off-the-shelf prop. "Canada's First Hangman" was next, a death row prisoner himself who volunteered to do the dirty work for the government in exchange for his life. He operated a detailed gallows which guests also activated. On the same note of gruesome punishments, the half-eaten remains of a man being devoured by hungry ants protruded from the sand in the next scene: the "Ant Torture", which was uncomfortably located at eye-level. The punishments were rounded out by the towering, famous Guillotine scene which gained the attraction fame, a witch burning where a judge sentenced a screaming woman to be burnt at the stake (complete with fake flames), and "The Axe Man" sharpening his axe at a grinding wheel in front of his next victim. Fittingly bridging the gap between fiction and reality, the last scene in the crime and punishment area (or first scene in the fiction section, if you look at it that way), was Jack the Ripper gruesomely "ripping" his victim with his blade. In Lake George, "The Axe Man" scene is known as "A 17th Century Beheading", where it's still located today. It's likely this scene is identical to it's long-removed Niagara counterpart. Sometime around this point in the attraction, guests would ascend to the second floor. The present-day staircase up has a scene on the landing halfway up the staircase, however the staircase up and the staircase down may have been reversed at some point since the attraction opened (see main article on the attraction.) If this was indeed the original stairs up, which scene would have been on the stair landing, or if it was listed in the guide book off which this "tour" is based, isn't clear. That being said, the next scene after Sherlock Holmes was the Electric Chair, which the U.S. had only discontinued use of 8 years prior to the attraction's debut. Guests activated it at the push of the button, for an added sense of unease and remorse. The incredibly realistic effect featured the man jolting around in the chair and screaming wildly, accompanied by stobe lights and real carbon arcs causing smoke. The "Ant Torture" "The Guillotine" in 1998 shortly after it's made a cut. This remains one of only two original scenes in the attraction today. "Jack the Ripper" plunges a knife into his victim in a claustrophobic London abbey. By now guests were certainly upstairs if they had not already been for several scenes, and the Phantom of the Opera sat playing his organ, his wild and frantic music playing through the hall. Next the "Mutant", man's possible future if it continues its self-destructive path, gobbled on human flesh in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Next was the "Witch of Endor", followed by Poe's "Pit and the Pendulum" torture device, where the endlessly swinging pendulum blade cut a seemingly ever-deeper gorge in a victim's stomach. The next scene was perhaps one of the most impressive: "The Seance." Three people sat a table along with a medium and her crystal ball. Upon activation, the ball would begin glowing as the table began to float. Items in the room began to violently move and bang on their own as the lights flickered, air cannons blasted at guests, and air-powered ankle whips along the bottoms of the walls tickled at guest's feet (these were later relocated earlier in the attraction when the scene was removed.) Clockwise from left: The "Phantom of the Opera" (above) plays his pained organ music. Along with the aforementioned Guillotine, these remain the only two original scenes in the attraction. Timelapse shot of the "The Pit and the Pendulum" scene swinging (top right), and the popular "Seance" room (bottom right). "The Edinborough Body Snatchers" Running scared away from the spirits summoned by the Seance, guests found themselves face to face with the "Edinborough Body Snatchers" robbing a grave. The next classic film monster guests would encounter would be "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". Guests would then find themselves in the "Crypt", and then in "Hell" itself. Exiting a taste of damnation, guests would find "Edgar Allan Poe" reciting and scribbling his horror works on a page. Next was the "Twilight Zone": a mirror maze lit with strobe lights and the familiar black-and-white stripe pattern from the series of the same name painted on the floor. Exiting the mirror maze guests encountered Count Dracula himself, who slowly transformed into a bat via a light and mirror trick. Another classic film monster immediately followed: The "Creature From the Black Lagoon" in his swamp. In a welcome (yet still distributing) break for humans, the next scene featured the "Death of a Vampire", impaled with a stake through the heart, taking it's last gasping breaths. Guests would witness the godfather of horror himself at work in the "Edgar Allan Poe" scene. The vampire Count Dracula (left) who would seem to transform into a bat at your very eyes. But fear not, after a quick journey through the swamp to meet the Creature from the Black Lagoon, guests would witness the "Death of a Vampire" (right) via a stake through it's heart. The next scene was "The Attic Ghost": the supposed ghost of a bride killed by her jealous lover, who is then sentenced to spend eternity being haunted by her. The ghost herself was a hovering animatronic figure with a glowing head. After escaping the ghost, guests would walk past "The Room of Rats", where a man lay on a bed being eaten alive by rats, his chest slowly rising and falling. They would then find themselves face to face with the "Wolfman", who came lurching around a corner to grab them. Dodging the Wolfman's grasp, guests would flee into the Mummy's tomb, where the Mummy would slowly open his sarcophagus to rejoin the living. The next scene was a bit of comic relief, the House of Frankenstein "Wax Workshop", where a mad wax maker dunked a severed human head into a vat of wax in a supposed explanation of how the attraction's wax figures were really made. It's safe to say the actual Waxattract studios were probably a much more friendly place. A man hopelessly devoured alive in "The Room of Rats." (Above): The original "Wolfman" in 1998 shortly prior to it's replacement four years later. This blurry VHS capture between strobe flashes has been digitally enhanced to show as much detail as available. (Left):"The Wax Workshop" ("No Admittance") offers some comic relief to the attraction. Narrowly avoiding becoming permanent residents of the House of Frankenstein, guests then found themselves on the "Strange Planet", a room with a squishy floor and trippy music playing. Countless blacklight eyes peered from the darkness, as well an animatronic figure of Metaluna Mutant from "This Island Earth". Returning to Earth, guests now walked past a graveyard featuring "The Undead" corpses rising from their graves. Next was the mad "Dr. Jekyll", who would transform into the evil "Mr. Hyde" at the press of a button via the same mirror trick as the Dracula transformation. A more natural scare, a massive "Gorilla" would be the next scene guests encountered. "The Undead" rise from the graveyard. "Dr. Jekyll" (left) and his transformation into the hideous "Mr. Hyde" (right). 2016. The scene's push button had already been modified several years prior to these photos to activate a corpse which slams into the plexiglass. The Doctor's transformation remained operational in some form in the background until it was shut off in 2018. Doctor Frankenstein and his assistant peer over their creation just prior to resurrecting the Monster. The giant Jacob's Ladder effect as well as The Bride of Frankenstein are just out of frame. Could this be the dress in question? By the point this capture was taken, the figure had already been moved to the lobby display, and then laid down elsewhere in the attraction. It didn't sport this dress in the lobby rather wearing a large sheet, however it may have been underneath the entire time. The figure was sadly removed from the attraction except for the head in 2019. The final scene in the attraction would be "Your Host" (a grotesque hooded man) saying goodbye, giving you an invitation to return, and showing you the door. If the up and down staircases have been reversed at some point in the attraction's lifespan (as mentioned earlier), it's possible this scene was the one on the stairs landing. Guests would descend the stairs back to the first floor and come out in the gift shop, where they could buy a variety of monster themed and House of Frankenstein branded merchandise, as well as masks and latex hands of authentic House of Frankenstein monsters made from the same molds as the characters in the attraction. Finally guests would reach the laboratory of Dr. Frankenstein himself. The doctor stood in front of a wall of elaborate machinery, his Igor-esque lab assistant at his side. In front of them was an operating table parallel to the window into the scene, and on it was "Frankenstein's Monster". Standing in the corner with a look of horror on her face was the Bride of Frankenstein, already brought to life, awaiting her future husband's re-awakening. The dress worn by the Bride was actually Betty Dunham's wedding dress, and it would manage to remain with the figure until she was removed from the attraction (save for the head) in 2019. Above the operating table the Monster lay upon was a massive Jacob's Ladder device in a ray gun suspended from the ceiling, pointed at the table. The Jacob's Ladder used actual electricity, and was a highlight of the attraction. At the push of a button, the Doctor and his assistant would flip the switches and levers, causing the Jacob's Ladder to intensify from it's resting state. As strobe lights illuminated the room, the Bride would scream in horror as the Monster would sit up on the table and turn it's head to look at the guests. The impressive scene was a fitting climax for an equally impressive attraction. "Your Host" finally shows you to the door. The collage featuring (top to bottom) "The Garrote" execution, "The Grotto", the lobby coffin display, the "Witch Burning", "The Mummy", a portion of the "Medieval Torture Chamber", "Canada's First Hangman", "The Machete Murders", The Bird Man of Alcatraz", Metaluna Mutant in the "Strange Planet" room, the mysterious ape-man, and the giant "Gorilla". It's likely there were more scenes featured in the attraction that simply weren't listed in the guide book. Some can even be seen in a collage of images at the end of the book, such as the Garrote wire execution and a scene with a hairy ape-like man popping out from behind something. It's possible this was some sort of "Planet of the Apes" scene. The same collage also features a photo of what's presumably the Gorilla scene, however the figure looks strikingly similar to one in the Lake George location which held a Barbie doll and was placed in a miniature set to give it the appearance of King Kong. It's unclear in the photo of the gorilla figure if he's holding a Barbie doll or something else due to the image quality, but if he is, it's possible this is either infact not the Gorilla scene but rather an unlisted Kong scene, or that this is the Gorilla scene simply named that for copyright reasons, however the former would be more likely. The attraction's original brochure also mentions more scenes absent from the book like the "Mysterious Motel", the "Iron Lady", and the "Snake Pit"'. It's also possible that several of the other scenes originally found in the later Lake George location ("The Hatchet Man", "The Bathtub Murder", "The Grim Reaper", "The Price of Infidelity", "The Zombies", etc.) were also originally in the Niagara one, however the two attractions weren't exact carbon copies despite being nearly identical Needless to say, the attraction was incredible and years ahead of it's time in technology, special effects, and concept. It's not hard to see from this description of the experience why it had the impact it did. Click here to return to the main House of Frankenstein page and read more about the attraction's impact on Niagara Falls and the greater amusement industry, as well as how the attraction has changed over time.

Louis Tussaud's Wax Museum Attraction Type: Wax Museum Location: Niagara Falls, Ontario Year(s) Operational: 1959-2001 (Clifton Hill location), 2005-Present (Victoria Ave. location) Designer(s): Stubergh-Keller/Ripley's Wax Studios, Louis Tussaud's Waxworks, Deroy & Associates, Waxattract By the 1950s, it had become clear that using Clifton Hill as a series of budget, away from The Falls tourist camps wasn't nearly as lucrative as the land could potentially be. Welland Securities had opened the Quality Inn Fallsway where Dinosaur Adventure Golf now sits in 1955, and the Park Motor Inn where Niagara Speedway now is in 1956. The Clifton Inn had also torn down it's old structure and built anew as the Pilgrim Hotel. Darling Cabins had torn down most of their cabins to make way for a low-rise motel building and rebranded as the Darling Motel. Change was afoot in the wake of Marilyn Monroe's breakthrough film "Niagara" in 1953, both cementing The Falls as a honeymoon destination and creating further general interest in visiting the city. Architects McPhit & Kelly's original 1925 sketch of the Clifton Hill side of the Foxhead Hotel, 1925. Tussaud's in the former section of the Foxhead, opening year. In 1959, Clifton Hill's first amusement attraction came onto the scene, Louis Tussaud's Wax Museum, located in a former section of the Foxhead Hotel that was just up Clifton Hill from the main building. The first floor, second floor and basement would become the museum with the third floor remaining the accounting offices for the neighboring hotel. The story behind the museum's early ownership and licensing is a bit hazy. It was an officially licensed franchise of the original Louis Tussaud's Wax Museum in Blackpool Beach, England, who also had their own art department dating back to the titular member of the Tussaud family in the late 19th century. That being said, the story goes that most of the Niagara museum's detailed figures were designed by Stubergh-Keller Wax Models, of Niagara Falls, NY who also owned the attraction. There's evidence to support both Louis Tussaud's and Stubergh-Keller studios contributing to the museum since day one, suggesting that perhaps Stubergh-Keller owned the museum but licensed the Tussaud's name, with Stubergh-Keller producing more work for the attraction simply due to it being much closer to home. The background and set design however was originally provided by Deroy & Associates of Toronto. The Foxhead and the museum in 1960. Guests were greeted with impressive displays before even entering the lobby. The attraction's sign would be a 22ft tall rotating Louis Tussaud himself, adorned in vibrant, colourful neon. There was also massive billboard-esque neon signage on the roof reading "Louis Tussaud Wax Museum." The signs were created and leased to the attraction by Pattison Signs, a large corporation who specializes in signs and billboards to this day. A figure of daredevil Charles Blondin was also suspended across Clifton Hill from the attraction to a pole across the street, actually appearing to be crossing over the road as if it were the Niagara Gorge. Though the figure was static and didn't move or cross the wire, this was still incredibly impressive for the time, and remains an incredibly unique feature today. Looking up Clifton Hill towards Blondin and the iconic sign, mid 1960's. 1960's advertisement showing only a handful of the royalty on display. Originally upon entering the museum, guests would see a depiction of Robert Cavalier De La Salle and Louis Hennepin overlooking The Falls, as their record of it is one of the earliest found. Next was a figure of Madame Marie Tussaud herself, the famed 17th and 18th century wax artist. Marie Tussaud is who the popular global chain of historic Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum attractions is based off, Louis Tussaud was her great grandson and the two chains share zero relation. One could argue the Louis Tussaud's chain may have been trying to get a slice of that pie, as "Stubergh-Keller Wax Museum" (as the Niagara location perhaps more accurately should have been called) doesn't have quite the same ring to it, despite the studio's artwork being gorgeous all the same. Other original scenes included Beethoven, Gandhi, Nikita Khrushchev (then premier of the U.S.S.R.), Joan of Arc, Mark Antony, Robin Hood and Friar Tuck, Winston Churchill, Cleopatra, Christopher Columbus, Niagara daredevil Red Hill Jr., and the assassination of Lincoln. The "Hall of Kings" was popular, featuring Henry VII, George III, Charles I (and VII), Edward VII, William III, Queen Victoria, and Queen Elizabeth I (and II) among others. Lincoln assassination, 1960's. Red Hill Jr., 1960's. Construction of the Robin Hood scene in June 1959. In this image from left to right, architect William Cartmel Jr., manager of Louis Tussaud's England William Cartmel Sr., and set designer Derek Deroy. Completed Robin Hood scene, 1960's The finale of the museum was the dim, dark Chambers of Horror in the basement. It included depictions of fictional monsters like Dracula and Frankenstein's Monster, and things loosely based on history like the "Streetsville Ghouls" or the "Compte De Lorge." The real show however were the real torture and execution methods showcased in the museum. These included the "Algerian Hook", a scalping scene, the "Cell of Little Ease", the "Woman in the Iron Cage", and burning of the eyes. While there was no motion featured in the figures and the gore wasn't as intense as it would be in later years (more on that later), it was still unlike anything most people had seen at the time, especially at that level of realism. Early scenes from the original Chamber of Horrors. From left to right: Entrance to the area, an incredible Count Dracula figure sculpted by Ron Booker of Stubergh Wax Models, and Frankenstein's Monster courtesy of Timothy Randall of Waxipedia. Tussaud's next to the rebuilt Foxhead, early 70s. The attraction was a smash hit, and kicked off the future of Clifton Hill, becoming Niagara's must visit location second only to The Falls itself. It opened the tourism floodgates further, and by 1960, all the cabin courts in the area had been demolished to make way for new motels, hotels, restaurants, and souvenir stores. In 1964 the Foxhead Hotel officially rebranded as the Sheraton Foxhead, demolishing the original structure and building a high-rise hotel in its place, but leaving the part of the building housing Tussaud's the same as the English Tudor style matched the theme of the museum. When the second wax museum in The Falls, the Burning Springs Wax Museum opened in the Fallsview district in 1963, Tussaud's attempted to sue the attraction for the giant words "Wax Museum" painted on the side of the building overlooking the busy Queen Victoria Park below, arguing it was knowingly causing confusion over which wax museum was Niagara's original. The case was obviously thrown out, as Tussaud's didn't have monopoly over the term Wax Museum (and the chain had even somewhat stolen their own Tussaud family name themselves.) Tussaud's losing the case (unknowingly then) forever changed the path of the Niagara Falls tourism industry. By the end of the 60s, there were six other wax museums/oddity museums with wax figures in the Clifton Hill area, with two more over in the Fallsview district. To stay above this new competition, change was necessary. Things would be shuffled around often to remain relevant and keep up to date. In 1964, the local Niagara Falls Women's Institute petitioned to get a figure of local hero Laura Secord placed in the museum. The museum accepted whole-heartedly, and the figure was one of the ones confirmed to have been sculpted by Louis Tussaud's wax studios back in England by 45 different artists. The figure was sent to Tussaud's in Niagara, and unveiled first to members of the Women's Institute who made the figure possible. The death of Lee Harvey Oswald was added as one of the museum's first scenes, and a "Hall of Assinated Leaders" later in the attraction. Marie Tussaud was eventually made the museum's first figure upon entering, and Charles VII the second. Whoever the current Canadian Prime Minister or U.S. President was also got a figure in the attraction during their time in office. Waxattract , Robert Dunham's company which was still in its infancy at the time, was also commissioned to create certain figures and displays for the attraction between the late 60s and early 70s after the success of his impressive Boris Karloff Wax Museum. Museum guide Phyllis Reese presenting the Laura Secord figure to reporter A. E. Huggens, and Wilfred Stewart of the Women's Institute who made it possible. Sidewalk advertisements outfront the museum, 1964. A fire broke out in the attraction the morning of February 16th, 1967 which destroyed the Streetsville Ghouls scene in the Chamber of Horrors. The flames were extinguished by the attraction's sprinkler system which also automatically notified fire crews, and limited the damage to the one scene. The attraction was extremely lucky, sprinkler systems wouldn't be mandatory in commercial businesses for nearly another 50 years, and their foresight paid off. If it were not for the sprinkler system, the attraction would have likely been lost, and clicking around on this site you'll find several other wax museums and attractions both in Niagara Falls (and abroad) weren't so lucky. The damage capped out at a relatively low $4,000, and was theorized by fire crews to have been started by a lit cigarette butt tossed into the scene (a usual culprit), however the fire alarm was tripped at 4:53 A.M. while the building was empty, so if that was the case it must have certainly been a slow, smoldering start. Many different displays would grace Tussaud's front window over the years, however perhaps it's most memorable would be added at this time to keep the attraction eye-catching. In 1970, local artist and engineer Derek Costello created a moving riser platform for the front window, which was decorated using Stubergh-Keller figures depicting the moon landing and set to music. This scene was later moved inside. A booth offering horoscope readings was constructed along the sidewalk and attached to the front of the building in the late-70s. It eventually became a discount photo developer in the late-80s and expanded in the early-90s, but was eventually later removed when Tussaud's got a new facade coinciding with the Sheraton next door remodeling in 1997. The discount photo booth and building facade in the late 80s. Ripley's International had bought out Stubergh-Keller Wax Studios back in 1970, and therefore the museum with it. This provides further evidence that the original Tussaud's in England had no stake in the attraction at all and simply licensed the name/provided some of the early figures. Ripley's eventually moved the Stubergh-Keller studios to the former Sheraton Foxhead accounting offices on the third floor of the attraction's building later in the decade. The 80s would understandably be a turbulent time for the attraction, with figures being shuffled around, refreshed and switched out constantly partially due to the ease of the studios being located in the same building. A 1982 Niagara Falls Review article talks about Ron Booker, one of the wax artists employed on the third floor, being interviewed for an episode of an unnamed U.S. morning show hosted by film critic Steve Reid. At the time Booker was working on a figure of Princess Diana destined for the Ripley's-owned Louis Tussaud's location in Copenhagen. Footage of this T.V. episode has yet to surface and remains lost media, but would be a fantastic glimpse into both the original Tussaud's and the legendary waxworks above it. The attraction underwent a massive overhaul in 1991 which debuted in June of that year, adding more pop culture figures in exchange for many of the remaining historical figures. Other historical scenes were updated such as a new Hall of Presidents, or new higher-tech ones added such as a projection effect in an ice cave showcasing indigenous peoples' story of Niagara Falls. The real update however, came to the Chamber of Horrors. The Ice Cave projection, 1991. Gone were the tamer fiction displays like Frankenstein's Monster and the Streetsville Ghouls, and in their place was a bloody, gory, pulls-no-puches torture chamber, completely historically accurate as well just in case guests wanted to try and brush it off as fiction. Several of the more brutal scenes that already existed were retained and updated to be more detailed, turning the basement into an extremely gruesome torture chamber that still haunts the minds of those who experienced it. While still featuring no animation other than a switch-activated electric chair and a shaking wooden trunk with screams emanating from it, the eerie atmosphere of the basement coupled with the Gregorian chanting that echoed through the halls added to the area's creep factor. The scenes were also particularly brutal, including updated eyeball torture and Algerian Hook scenes, the rack, flaying alive, starving prisoners, and a variety of severed heads that had met brutal ends, all in stunning realism. Local artist Bruce Randall, who had been employed by Stubergh-Keller in the 60's and rejoined them when they moved the studio to the Canadian side, was an integral part of the remodel. Above: Torture scenes seen in photos courtesy of Timothy Randall (son of artist Bruce Randall) of Waxipedia, who grew up running freely in the halls of the museum below his father's office. Top left: the original eyeball torture before the remodel. Bottom left: the much more graphic updated eyeball torture after the remodel. Above: The gruesome Algerian Hook. Another part of the remodel would be updates to the exterior, as the lease with Pattinson Signs ended. Local sign shop Signatures Signs would be asked by Tussaud's to rebuild the signage from scratch using only photographs of the old sign for reference. They did a fantastic job on making it identical to the original, and the giant neon Tussaud remains at Tussaud's current location. The rooftop billboard signage however would not be remade identical and would now be updated. While still reading "Louis Tussaud's Waxworks", the sign now had an updated font resembling the attraction's logo, and was on a black background to stand out more over the steel grid board used formerly. The same updated logo was also placed below the giant neon Tussaud. Ripley's International art department on the third floor would eventually be moved down to Florida in the 90's. While some materials were saved, many of the department's archives dating back to the Stubergh-Keller days were destroyed. The attraction meanwhile would remain popular until 2001, when the lease would be up with the Sheraton Foxhead Left: Jeff Wallis of Signature Signs installing neon on the new iconic cavalier, 1991. Right: The original Clifton Hill location in it's final days in the early 2000's. Sheraton didn't give Ripley's the option to renew the lease, as they had plans to completely revitalize the area around the Sheraton Foxhead and Sheraton Brock into the Falls Ave. entertainment complex in order to stay relevant with other major developments in the area. The original Tussaud's closed after nearly 42 years on The Hill, and the almost century old building originally part of the first Foxhead Hotel was essentially completely demolished. Very little of the structure was saved, and the building later home to the Extreme Movie Ride 4D and the MGM Great Movie Journey was built in it's place. Today the building is home to Niagara Distillery and BBQ (while the 4D Ride remains in the basement.) Niagara Distillery in place of the former location of the museum, late 2010s. The museum would rise again however after a four year hiatus in 2005, now reopening on Victoria Ave. in a former restaurant. It wasn't the first attraction in the space however, as the building was briefly home to the Wonderful World of Fantasy from 1974-1981. The old signage would be retained from the Clifton Hill location, as well as Blondin now crossing over Victoria Ave. The new location would be two floors rather than three, but in a much larger building. The new attraction would retain very little of the original collection, and while some figures would make a re-appearance, the majority would replaced with new scenes comprised of the computer-created figures (wax content debatable) that Ripley's uses in present day. Very few of the original figures from Stubergh-Keller and Louis Tussaud's studios remain, being mostly relegated to the historical figures on the balcony above the lobby. The museum, Blondin, and neon Tussaud relocated to Victoria Ave,, early 2010's. The Chamber of Horrors would now be more inspired by pop culture and fiction, and feature an animatronic zombie in a chair created by Lifeformations at the entrance to the area. The new building originally resembled the original style of the old Foxhead Hotel section the original museum occupied, but it was repainted in the mid-2010's to be more eye catching and given new lighting. It remains Canada's largest wax museum to this day, and while quite different than it's original form, Niagara's first amusement attraction is now entertaining it's sixth decade of visitors. The historic museum as it appears today.