North America's Worst Theme Park

I'm a huge theme park fan and have been going to all types all my life. But there has always been one, close by to my home town that's been a constant source of controversy and negativity. I never bothered to go until I saw some insane marketing and just had to check it out for myself. It's got to be one of the weirdest theme parks in North America and likely also the worst... This is my review of Niagara Falls' Marineland.
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BrightSunFilms 2022
Presented in 4K
Note that all allegations are alleged and all statements, unless stated otherwise in the video are my opinion. Do your own research and educate yourself on this park if you wish to get a full picture of the story. Do not attack this park based off of this video. Pls don't sue me.

[@FallenAngelKystre]

My Therapist: The deer park isn’t real. It can’t hurt you. The Deer Park: 🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌

[@CoreyTVTheEpicDavid8]

First reply

[@fever1]

WHY IS THERE SO MANY

[@markdraper3469]

Where Bambi "goes" nothing grows.-Firesign Theater c. 1970

[@Jesplux]

Never go to Nara in Japan. NEVER

[@BrowncoatFairy]

are they running some kind of deer jerky side hussle?

[@mr.meloetta1939]

This place feels like something you'd see as a scenario in Roller Coaster Tycoon where the goal was fixing the park and repaying the loan

[@ericcanadiangoldboygray4111]

Except you can’t actually pass the mission and the government expropriated the property

[@NewPaulActs17]

more like a kobayashi maru everything should be torn down and annexed into the niagara falls parklands

[@peterbelanger4094]

Or one of those save files a noob gave up on.

[@Art7220]

Yeah, how about those long walkways?

[@overbanked]

Very accurate🎯

[@kathryncoffey8961]

Wow, so much space, and yet this guy couldn’t utilize it for properly taking care of his marine animals?! And the fact he evicted people from their homes for land that he also never utilized is just heartbreaking.

[@GTPLewellen]

Happens everyday

[@sunshine3914]

@@GTPLewellen It does. I’m surrounded by wealthy ppl with enormous amounts of land, & yet, their animals are confined to shite holes.

[@melskunk]

I bet he did it just because he didn't like the look of having a trailer park across the road. What an a$$h@le

[@benbaer4697]

@@sunshine3914 rich people do the same to you lol.

[@benbaer4697]

@Safwaan Nah not me. You sheep most definitely though.

[@marienault754]

Came back to this video to share this. On March 9th 2023, Marinelands Orca, Kiska, passed away. She was buried on the parks property, probably in the undeveloped area. Kiska died from bacterial infection and is assumed to be 47 years old. She was captured from Icelandic waters in 1979, which was the same time Keiko (also known as Free Willy) was captured. Kiska had 5 calves. The one who lived the longest was her 5th calf named Hudson, who only lived to 6. Marineland has not released a statement about Kiskas death. RIP Kiska.

[@username38407]

Kiska was an icon of my hometown. I voltunteered all the time to help out with the animals I marine land and me and kiska had a very personal relationship I used to feed her and even clean her (yes they do get scrubbed to prevent infection) she would let me ride on her back through out the parks largest man made pool wich is 57 feet deep and half a mile wide. Built in 2014 it was an offsite pool. They were suppose to open it up to showcase a larger area for the orcas to swim. We would play Marco Polo and me and Kiska were inseparable. My volunteer time came to an end my senior year when I went into the peace corps. I’ll always miss you kisk. Short for Kiska. I’ll always remember feeding you freshly imported baby seal meat.

[@Rabbitlord108]

RIP Kiska

[@knockoffspiderman6861]

W Kiska

[@username38407]

@@allyngoodrum1124 sounds like your a sad little woman who hates life.

[@JebusMatoi]

@@allyngoodrum1124 You should be blaming people who GO to those parks instead of the people who work there. How do you think they get paid? In fish?

[@mostfrozenburrito]

The fact that Marineland thought that they would impact the tourism in Niagara Falls if they were to not exist when there’s literally THE NIAGARA FALLS is mind boggling

[@joncarroll2040]

Also Clifton Hill is a more appealing amusement park.

[@KMCA779]

At one time (back in the 80's and early 90's) it actually was kind of a big deal.

[@Flatlower]

Niagara falls is a place i'm happy not to get robbed at gun point. There's nothing there but 1970s tourist traps. It's the most depressing area in the US.

[@oooh19]

@@Flatlowerthe Canadian (Ontario) side is much better

[@Kmax3000]

@@Flatlowerbut I is still one of the worst parts of the province imo 😅

[@Dhips.]

Even forgetting the animal abuse this park looks depressing as hell.

[@ryans413]

It’s kinda sad when there’s a train line going through your park that’s not even something for your park it’s just the mainline track going through your park that’s depressing

[@Trekpanther]

In a way it looks more depressing than looking at the abandoned Six Flags New Orleans. At least that one doesn't have people trying to run it with poor animals being abused.

[@TheWinjin]

Looks like a general park, you know, like a green tree spot, with a dash of attractions here and there.

[@flinchagainstthefire]

I went in 1991, and it was sad THEN.

[@thornil2231]

But how can anyone forget the animal abuse?

[@Theme_parchive]

This park feels like a park that someone playing roller coaster tycoon for the first time would make. There’s barely any restaurants, it’s ridiculously large, and all the rides are spread out to an absurd degree.

[@mrishka7286]

Literally my first thought. This looks like something I would have made in RCT when I was a child

[@RainyDayDance]

exactly.

[@christineamico8623]

You beat me to it. This definitely looks like the kind of shit park you build in Roller Coaster Tycoon the first few times around. Then, sit there wondering why your park isn't making money, and try to figure out ways you can get yourself out of the deep, deep, deep debt hole you created building that one super long and boring roller coaster.

[@danandtab7463]

this is also like some of MY RCT games. I'd stretch out long paths to nowhere for the future, and the guests would walk all the way to the end of them and say "I wanna go home" lol

[@BCaTTenterprises]

'Guest 1 is lost and can't find the exit'

[@tampabaybuccaneer10]

The fact that somebody ended their own life because they were forced out of their only home to make way for expansion that never even happened really just is despicable. I hope Paula is resting peacefully. Absolutely sad.

[@TheLegend1800]

Honestly, based on what was said in this video, I'm not entirely sure he bought the property to expand. They had plenty of space directly connected to the park, and this trailer park was on the other side of the road. I think he bought the park solely to get rid of an "eyesore" that is a trailer park from his tourist trap of a theme park.

[@Wigfield84]

This is the beginning part of the most dark Frank Capra film never made.

[@MarquezDaniel]

​@@TheLegend1800 this is exactly what I was thinking. This dude really bought the land so he can kick them out because he didn't like them living next to his park.

[@forrealforreal8723]

Ending your own life is never the way.

[@jobrakai9395]

And we all hope that piece of shit John Holler is burning in Hell as well

[@fluffyfour]

Very sadly, Kiska the Orca - known as the loneliest Orca in the world - died yesterday, 10th March 2023. She gave birth to 5 calves during her time at Marineland, all of whom died, the last in 2011. I hope the people who own it just close down this shameful waste of beauty and intelligence masquerading as entertainment. R.I.P. Kiska.

[@AmethystTheEspeon]

This place shouldn't have been opened in the first place. I highly doubt the person who opened the park knew anything about theme parks and knew NOTHING about animals other than mistreating them.

[@Bicth97]

That is so fucking sad she was held in prison for YEARS and all her children died

[@StrawbbyMilkk]

I did not know about this, and suddenly thought about this video today. Exactly a year after her passing...Also today has been 10 years since my grandma passed. May they both rest in peace

[@turtz0]

But dragon mountain

[@MrShs812]

This park feels like someone’s first park in Roller Coaster Tycoon. Like someone went into sandbox mode, built one prebuilt coaster, that droptower, a shocking amount of deer in a zoo enclosure, and depressingly small enclosures for an Orca.

[@RalseiGaming]

it legit is like rollercoaster tycoon 3 since it even has the tiny orca encloser

[@nickdavis3035]

no better yet they used this park as a reference point for roller coaster tycoon.

[@bartsullivan4866]

You nailed it. Also like Roller Coaster Tycoon when you start out you put the rides near the entrance and have a ton of unused land. This park could really be built into something great if given the right management. Maybe develop the back half of the park into a golf course or some other type of draw like a race track or anything really.

[@modembuddy]

How did you access my first game save?!

[@tylerlovett6242]

Any size enclosure for an orca is depressingly small, seaworld is no better if we’re discussing animal rights, despite how pretty and entertaining the park is

[@mendfri]

Can.. can we just think about how they just, bought a whole freaking trailer park, evicted a bunch of household against their will, only to never use the land or have any intentions of using the land???

[@englishatheart]

No different than rich people wanting more money than they could ever spend in their lifetime. It's about ownership. They want as much as possible to keep others from having it.

[@jjt171]

that's capitalism baby

[@BIG-WhoShotYa]

typical niagara falls bullshiiiiit if u ask me...

[@junkbox_]

They did the same to Astroworld and Opryland. Nobody was evicted but both of those parks used private vendors. Astroland is still a field, Opryland is a mall that nobody likes and is full of Chibese-made uncollectible junk.

[@cranklabexplosion-labcentr8245]

That’s how it f****ng works in the USA. Either LOVE IT or GET THE F**K OUT. COPE ❄️❄️

[@sir_sack]

Another thing about the size of the tanks. Orcas use echolocation, so the small size of the tank would actually drive them insane as the soubdwaves return so rapidy. Its like a person being put in a room with an iPhone alarm going of constantly all day, every day.

[@goingferalluvs]

Yeah, I felt like the fact in all that time all she was doing was circling the tank was enough to count as neglect because that meant she had absolutely nothing stimulating to do besides that

[@crazyleyland5106]

​@@goingferalluvsthe whale equivalent of cage weaving - when zoo animals pace up and down with boredom.

[@emilyofjane]

The second I heard “Radical animal rights activists” I just knew this place was going to be a trainwreck lmao

[@francissanto12]

They’re like “how dare these people care for the well-being of animals? They’re just trying to run us out of business, that’s it!”

[@eloscuro704]

Canadian Trump supporters.

[@malcontender6319]

And, just like magic, a couple of the fruitcakes show up on command!

[@user-ym4xy6us5e]

Virtue-signalling, communist, wokester activists just want to besmirch everything that is good, then throw soup at it and glue themselves to the floor. Canadians are generally pretty slow to react, but lately a critical mass of citizens have realized that the ongoing bullshit is untenable.

[@tylersmith9868]

​@@eloscuro704 what lol? You know you have TDS when you somehow link a video on marine land to trump. And you're Canadian lol. Get a life

[@TheProperPeople]

I think they'd be better off just rebranding the entire park as Liminal Space Land

[@psy0rz]

i wonder how many years before it gets actually abandoned so we can see a proper people video of it :)

[@GraemeKent]

you guys are just waiting for them to abandon it aren't you?

[@psy0rz]

@@GraemeKent well they are already half way there :p

[@Kdog4660]

@@psy0rz Yeah I was thinking they could almost claim it’s abandoned now lol

[@stevenrivers8386]

Lol. Cool to see you guys here. Love your channel also.

[@sunnycideup4725]

This place LOOKS like they took an abandoned theme park and did the idea of re-opening it AS “an old abandoned theme park” theme park, what is this chaos

[@benjaminrobinson3842]

Maybe they should have leaned into that: "Let's all go to Abandoned Planet!" The best part is that, by definition, they wouldn't even have to hire a bunch of front-of-house staff.

[@fyt54321]

Future content destination for The Proper People and other Urb-Ex creators.

[@TonyKimtheamusementparkfan]

Why would I even want to come here compared to Canada's Wonderland, which is an hour and a half away or just across the border, Six Flags Darien Lake??

[@mgm8822]

It’s just a mish mosh of stuff.

[@tayjo1820]

What broke my heart the most was that the Orca is alone. It’s horrible enough that any of those animals are out of their natural habitat, but Orcas are extremely social creatures. That Orca is being tormented emotionally in so many ways😔

[@Sarah-mh5ez]

Absolutely. There is a bitter comfort knowing now that she has passed. She was failed in every way. :(

[@bluescribbler]

Yes, it's deeply saddening to see.

[@rachaelm.7802]

I came here to say it but knew in my heart it had already been said. There's video of the poor thing slamming her head repeatedly into the tank. All that AND the trauma of losing all her calves. Coupled with the loss of human life from the trailer park for NOTHING? This park is haunted. I'm calling it. Stay away. Go to the zoo.

[@kais3297]

you know its bad when sea world sues another marine park for poor living conditions for animals

[@MidknightProphet]

I haven't been to Marine Land since 2006, I was a child and even then I was bored out of my mind. Do you know how boring an amusement park needs to be for an ADHD child to be bored?

[@pokelegos]

That is probably the sickest burn you can give this place

[@EFFEZE]

Lol 😂

[@adoramay9410]

I have ADHD too, and no amusement park has ever bored me. I’m 27 and I still love amusement parks. So I can’t imagine how boring it must be.

[@thelanguageofthebirds]

Yeah as someone with adhd who thrives on adventurous experiences I agree…

[@quinnzyker6521]

How I felt going to Mount Olympus at Wisconsin Dells

[@chloejohnson6861]

That park is so huge, a ~good~ developer could divide it into sections with a small amusement park, a decent-sized zoo, and a nature park, with food stands and shops placed throughout. With tourists already coming to Niagara Falls, I feel like that would be genuinely popular. This is just sad.

[@junkbox_]

Because it is one full mile from the tourist district, I think a monorail would be needed. A proper management company would need to be involved, maintainance alone is heavy duty funding. I think my city spends $50 million dollars annually just to cut grass in their city parks. All newly built parks have no grass. The main issue with Marineland is the amount of property that it occupies. I think selling to the City of Niagara Falls and doing away with amusements is a good idea. Making it a park or recreation area is a good idea, but without revenue generation any mainatance like grass cutting and tree trimming etc is not possible. I would like to see Marineland become what Ontario Place became 3 years ago, a park with little to no commercial assets, as free as any city park. A campground would be another idea, but camping in Ontario attracts transients looking to live at little cost while providing a haven for hard drug users and prostitution. This is why all camp grounds around Toronto have ceased since the 1980s and 1990s, with the exception of Reservation land in pockets of the GTA (IE: Claireville) but even those are refugee camps and not suitable for families.

[@chloejohnson6861]

@@junkbox_ These are problems that city parks as a whole face. It would probably need to be managed by a collaboration between the city/state and a private company, those things tend to turn out the best. Whatever they do with the rides, I feel like they do have to do something with the animals. Maybe just give them to better zoos and aquariums since they don't seem to be good at taking care of them.

[@djheadshooter8382]

That would’ve been my idea if I owned Marine land have more rides you know tear down the old roller coaster and rebuild it properly

[@vilstef6988]

If they did a plan like Chloe Johnson suggests and had an admission of about $20 adult and $10 for kids, they could probably have crowds and make money.

[@nodrogdivad]

Turn it into a combination fairgorund, concert ground, festival ground, cmp grounds.... rent it out!

[@gelatinous6915]

This is the "dead liminal mall" of theme parks. Incredibly dated 70s architecture and still somehow operating, but completely devoid of people and falling apart.

[@mclaine33]

Kiska just died. She was a prisoner and was given a life sentence and left isolated for far too long. RIP Kiska, you’re finally free now.

[@CreditR01]

And thankfully she'll be the last orca to ever suffer such a fate in Canada. They have their shit together and banned the ownership of whales for "entertainment" purposes. I hope they shut down Marineland for good eventually.

[@manifestationsofasort]

Poor girl :(

[@user-ym4xy6us5e]

Animals are the property of their human masters. If Kiska was a prisoner, then the cats you live with and refuse to allow to roam outside are also prisoners. They'll get their revenge on you when you die miserable and alone in their midst.

[@mutilatedpopsicles]

​@@user-ym4xy6us5e your parents are going to get revenge on you

[@ang1692]

@@user-ym4xy6us5eyour argument only holds water if that person literally keeps their pet in a tiny box which they are physically unable to leave for their entire lives. Most cats/ dogs go outside and have the opportunity to leave. The orca had no way to escape

[@joshymcsquashymusic4082]

I’ve never seen a place more depressing than marineland. I also feel bad for the animals who were put into the park, a lot of them died there too. It still surprises me how this place survived the pandemic and still exists…

[@paulperry7091]

From the tiny number of people there, it's probably one of the most covid-safe places in America.

[@cousineddie3302]

I dont get how it exists and it is extremely bizarre

[@imnotyourfriendbuddy1883]

you wouldn't say that if you had been anywhere in Russia. That's where depression was invented by a guy called "The Terrible".

[@wheelsofmercury]

@@paulperry7091 This is in Canada, sir.

[@Steve-eq8iz]

No idea how it still exists. It's a hop skip and a jump to Canada's Wonderland, which is a much better park.

[@chesiregirl]

I love how they talk about killing jobs in Niagara Falls. Half of their attractions aren't even open - how many people are even employed???

[@SiRenfield]

And oh yes they are the only source of tourism to Niagara Falls

[@cloudiiblossom]

@@SiRenfield nope that is clifton hill! that is the main source its right by the falls!

[@BabbleOn777]

Hey, Hey! What about the Minolta tower and street full of Ripley's and haunted fare? Niagara Falls has its charm, but Marineland isn't one of them.

[@neoxyte]

@@cloudiiblossom that was a sarcastic comment

[@cloudiiblossom]

@@neoxyte Im really sorry im not good at recognizing sarcasm without a sarcastic tone of voice.

[@katygilday6985]

Update on the park, Kiska has died at age 47 on the 9th of March, 2023. I only hope she's now swimming in an endless ocean in the great beyond

[@kierstynsaoirse]

rest in peace to Kiska, to the woman who ended her life and to all of the other beings who have suffered because of this place. i remember seeing their commercial all the time on tv when i was a kid and luckily i never went. i can still hear the theme song in my head and now im 26. my heart goes out to Kiska, read in an article that she would drift aimlessly in the water and bang her head against the wall of her enclosure. breaks my heart.

[@thewewguy8t88]

yeah i am 35 and i saw the commericals all the time too also thankful i never went cuz it would not have been worth it.

[@pyro-millie5533]

Man, what a depressing place. the phrase "liminal space fishtank hell" summed it up perfectly. From the vast empty roads to nowhere to the underwhelming looking attrations for that price, and especially the horrifically small and barren animal enclosures (especially when the park is sitting on a footprint larger than all 4 disney parks), this feels like the theme park equivalent of limbo.

[@Exel3nce]

empty space for noone, small depressing boxes of land for animals. how cruel

[@mindyschocolate]

Yeah I don’t understand how a park that big has such tiny tanks and cages for the animals.

[@averagelifter]

Humantank*

[@Dervis128]

I went there once with my family on a trip to Niagara Falls. Tickets were part of a package deal that we had for our trip, and I remember my parents absolutely fuming over this place. My Dad called it the worst park he's ever been to, and my mom was criticizing the lack of....everything. I was trying SO hard to make my parents think I was having fun because at 11 years old, I felt bad for them. This place is miserable, it makes its animals miserable, and it makes its guests miserable as well.

[@dx1450]

Good on your parents for realizing this park sucks. A lot of parents would keep trying to pretend that the park is fun and trying to get their kids to be happy. But you're right, just from this video this park is depressing. I bet your parents were pissed that they'd spent nearly $150 on nothing.

[@wrathofatlantis2316]

Pretty much what Canada is like as a whole.

[@PlatinumEagleStudios]

@@wrathofatlantis2316 Obviously youi've never been to Vancouver BC. Vancouver is probably one of the more beautiful and well developed cities in Canada in my opinion.

[@sirepic04]

@@wrathofatlantis2316 Vancouver is gorgeous. But it’s really expensive to visit.

[@D-Fens_1632]

Aw man that's terrible, I remember that rare type of childhood guilt. It's similar but ten times worse than a Christmas where your parent/s really tried their best but got you some terrible video game you were never going to play, but you pretended to be excited anyway to not hurt their feelings.

[@randomscb-40charger78]

"A quarter-scale replica of Niagara Falls (nearby to Niagara Falls)" has the same energy as Defunctland's "A California-themed park in the already California-themed California."

[@WanukeX]

Update: Marineland has registered with the Ontario Government to rezone the site and sell the park. Nothing of value will be lost.

[@chayden153]

Hallelujah

[@Marziipan]

its getting replaced by a universal studios park too apparently

[@iwakeupandboomimarat]

WE WON

[@jessipanda]

Except for Kiska, as of today 😞

[@sabrinaicestaff]

Wait.......there was something of value in that besides Land? (No, the animals carry no value in any estate terms...as they don't make money and end up just becoming a cash hole you can't dig out of as an amusement park)

[@Brad772006]

I laughed really hard at your wife's comment about the dolphin looking like it had been smoking and drinking diet coke for years.

[@rayjay1543]

It seemed like she thought she was in for a much more fun day, of riffing on the little things, before realizing she was in for a depressing surprise

[@junkbox_]

Diet Coke has aspartame in it. The patent came from Nazi Germany, and as an additive was illegal until about 1982. Donald Rumsfeld was heavily invested in Searle who gave us Nutra-Sweet in the early 80s after he got into The Whitehouse the first time. Yay! Thanks Rummy, burn in hell Tyrant.

[@Sarlee06]

My family went to this park when I was a kid. The most memorable part was when one of the deer was doing a really long pee and another deer was drinking it.

[@ieattofu68]

I hope you are lying but I don't think you are.

[@kvmairforce]

LOL, this comment was too funny!

[@zanderguth2785]

I've seen cows do that

[@absuredangel]

Same here. Went as a kid and had a lot of concern for a deer with a bloody head missing an antler. Told what looked like a bored staff member there and he just kinda shrugged and continued scooping up poop.

[@jacksonpriestap3685]

Bruh😂

[@willfishing5605]

I'm no tree hugging, peta vegan... but these large marine mammals should absolutely not be held in captivity like this to be seen for a 50 dollar ticket, or any reason.

[@den5956]

Orcas are highly social animals as well. All of Kiska's tankmates died off, leaving her all alone. Theres even a video of her slowly going insane by banging her head against the glass. RIP

[@moosenman]

PETA has really poisoned the well when it comes to talking about zoos and stuff, it’s honestly kind of sad

[@somedragonbastard]

​@@moosenmanyeah, and its not like they actually help any animals. They've killed far more animals than they've saved.

[@cwg73160]

Great insight. No one in the history of ever has had your point of view. You could start a movement with this kind of thinking.

[@user-ym4xy6us5e]

@@moosenman It's gotten to the point where I'd rather let animals suffer just to spite the radical activists.

[@perciusmandate]

10:56 Okay. That has to be the saddest "aquarium" exhibit I've ever seen. Not only is it a literal goldfish tank... it's empty.

[@ratbones620]

The fact that Marineland somehow managed to survive the pandemic is insane. Who knows, maybe some company will buy it out. This park really has a lot of untapped potential with the insane amount of land it has.

[@errorabortretry3694]

I can't help but feel it's survived in the 'Zombie' sense. It's just seeking brains at the moment.

[@demonteddybear3510]

Well due to the lack of.... well anything. My guess is that it was the only park to meet all quarantine requirements while remaining open.

[@ericw2433]

I don't know, seems like the perfect place for social distancing based on this video.

[@andrewduong2740]

Ill bet its a money laundering front

[@spyr0guy]

Lots of space for potential affordable housing, or something else actually useful.

[@Sssaaatttuuurrrnnn]

Legally, they might have achieved the bare minimum necessary, but ethically? Those conditions look downright depressing. A single Orca swimming in circles in a bland tank with nothing else to do, for what will likely be its entire life. And the segment about watching people take smartphone pictures and then walking away... is that worth keeping these creatures around? So damn sad.

[@jeffbrehove2614]

When it comes to making the best out of being raised in captivity, Sea World is starting to look better and better.

[@patatebanine4278]

there is Marineland before and after the covid period, and the after covid is like they gonna sell the park soon

[@darken2417]

The capital sin for an amusement park is not being amusing. I couldn't give a flip about one orca out of the 50,000 in the world having a less than ideal time. Much less compared to all the orcas that have ever lived that had normal lives or died from the hazards and scarcity of nature. The real issue with the park is that its just not good particularly for its price. If you are going to the trouble of having a significantly bored, moderately anxious, yet well fed orca then you better have a good park.

[@Sssaaatttuuurrrnnn]

@@darken2417 Kind of a cold-hearted way to look at it, but you're right that the place just doesn't seem economically viable.

[@darken2417]

@@Sssaaatttuuurrrnnn It only seems that way because I have a traditional view of ethics in relation to animals. Putting their moral value higher than warranted degrades the compassion and worth that people see for humans. Hence why nowadays there are people who genuinely say that they would save their dog over a random stranger. The way that more traditional views handled this problem was saying that as an example cruelty to an animal was wrong not due to an infringement of how an animal should be treated but instead a violation of how a human should act. "Its not good to be cruel so don't be cruel to animals" instead of "animals shouldn't be treated with cruelty because they have feelings too". There is also the old philosophical stuff that goes through thought experiments as to what is allowed and what isn't in things like animal research.

[@zachduperron8543]

I remember me and my mom would make fun of the commercials with us both singing “everybody hates marineland!”

[@thewewguy8t88]

omg thats brilliant!

[@kylabella05]

I went here a couple times as a child, in my teens I had a friend who worked there for a total of two days and quit because of the abuse she witnessed towards the animals. I can’t believe in 2023 it is still operating, it’s crazy how different it looks. Honestly it just needs to shut down it’s so heartbreaking the things that took place within those thousand acres.

[@theamazingmikej]

I worked at Marineland and I can honestly say it was the worse job I have ever had. It was also the only job where I felt my life was in danger, not just once but twice. My first day they had me collecting trash from the side of Skyscreamer mountain, if you can even call it that. My best guess it that they pushed earth and rock to form a large hill and built a ride on top. Since its comprised of loose rock it was incredibly difficult to get a solid footing, and at times I nearly stumbled down. My supervisor never provided rope, so I made use of some wild vines to move around like Tarzan. Second incident was a bit stranger. For whatever reason the owner really loved this bushy shrub called Spirea. Now I was hired to do landscaping, so you imagine I know a few things about plants and their upkeep. Trust me, this will become relevant shortly. It was late May or June, I'm not 100% sure, but I remember it being cloudy and windy. Supervisor instructed me to water the freshly planted Spirea. Sure, easy job, what could possibly go wrong? Now I was wearing shorts and a short sleeved shirt that morning and even though the Skyscreamer is built upon a literal pile of rock, it can still get a bit chilly up there due to the wind. After about thirty minutes I finished and started putting away the hose when that fat dickhead rolled up in his SUV. All of the spirea showed signs of root rot from over watering days before. It just happens that yellowy and dropping leaves can also be seen as lack of watering. So the fat man mumbles about how his plants are dying and I should water them again. Okay, sure, you sign my paycheck. Pull out the hose, while getting drenched in the process. By this point I'm noticeably shivering due to the weather and being soaked. Fat man comes back a second time! The ground a muddy quagmire but yet I was ordered to keep watering. I'm freezing my ass off at this point, so I waited for him to leave and scaled down the same hill I nearly twisted a ankle a few weeks prior. Also the place had a disturbing amount of feral cats. And the walking, holy fuck, the walking. Some days I was giving a weed-eater and a can of gas and told, "here to there, good luck." I didn't witness any of the animal abuse but everything there did look depressing.

[@skytheguy0438]

Jesus man that just sounds awful. This is the type of stuff you get when you have more money than brains.

[@scerb100]

You said May and June and freezing and I was like wtf but then forgot this is Canada

[@chayden153]

Holy hell. That's fucking ridiculous

[@iwakeupandboomimarat]

@@scerb100 especially when ur close to niagara falls as well, its always cold as fuck there

[@amberwatermelon9808]

Somebody needs to interview previous workers (in another documentary). ohhhh the tea that would get spilled....

[@jonathangolding7648]

Drove past MarineLand yesterday, took 5 minutes to get past the empty parking lots.. If you’re in Niagara you’re better off going to a vineyard or just planning your day to visit one of the many conservation areas, where you can see deer (not behind a fence) and other animals for free

[@somedudeguytv]

Clifton Hill somehow ends up being a better and more ethical place to visit than Marineland.

[@everythingsalright1121]

Or just go to the falls

[@renroxhrd]

Or come across the border to Darien lake

[@Supaslicer]

@@renroxhrd Darien lake is honestly not bad I'm amazed at how close everyone, including bsf, lives

[@andrewb4584]

@@renroxhrd C'mon, Darien Lake is far dirtier than even this. DL may be many things, better than most parks it is not... The queue for the Predator alone should be classified as a toxic waste site (if you know, you know...)

[@thetinglessasmrtist]

My younger sister almost died on one of their rides (currently abandoned). Either the height requirement should have been higher or they should reconsider how to restraint passengers. My sister slipped underneath the lap bar and if my mother hadn't been there to hold her down, my sister's body would have gone flying. Scary experience

[@Someone-sq8im]

THAT’S why you have to be that tall to ride the ride

[@shannonm3628]

I worked at Marineland as a ride op about 15 years ago and what you said about the trees on Dragon Mountain are so true. We used to have to do branch checks every few days and ride the ride with arms out to the side of the car stretched as far as we could. If we felt a leaf brush our fingers or a branch, we had to report to maintenance who would eventually go out and trim the trees back in that area. Horrible place for what they do to the animals but it was a mostly fun summer job.

[@thewewguy8t88]

not going to like it does sound fun to get paid to ride that ride.

[@ashleygallardo7267]

I was a ride op at Busch gardens and we did branch checks every day too

[@thewewguy8t88]

@@ashleygallardo7267 that sounds pretty fun lol

[@Jame5man]

Wait. Marineland is open? I went by there in early June and I thought the place was closed. It’s looks abandoned. The high grass and privacy screens on the fence really complete the look. This is a stunning revelation

[@eringomez-watters7881]

Sounds like you didn’t miss much and saved yourself $50 bills.

[@DasNordlicht91]

tbh, you’d have more fun at the rather blatant tourist traps of Clifton Hill. At least some of them have entertainment value.

[@junkbox_]

It looks closed on any day of the week. I would ask if the drop tower is open before paying admission.

[@Teh_Random_Canadian]

@@junkbox_ haven't seen it drop once all summer and I live almost within sight lines of it

[@nogreatreset8506]

@@DasNordlicht91 nothing wrong with attracting more visitors an employing people so there's an economy.

[@roachqueen1973]

Evicted those folks from the mobile home park and didn’t do a damn thing with the land. Absolutely disgusting. Just an abandoned mobile home park now. And those ppl prob struggled a long time to find housing after being evicted.

[@lawjent]

It hurt to hear that part

[@lxbronx6]

And that 62 year old woman. Just terrible what he did to those people.

[@dx1450]

Yeah, that's probably the absolute worst part of this story... they displaced all those people and caused that one lady to commit suicide for no reason at all.

[@psychedelicpunk5031]

That's assuming they ever did recover. It's not easy to recover after losing everything.

[@lotus_flower2001]

Low-income people put up with way too much shit from companies.

[@corvanzendervai111]

I’m very late responding on this, but I actually worked for a land survey company based in Niagara Falls and Marineland was one of their clients. After the founder basically got too sick to be actively involved, his family started doing a massive buying spree, because the area is surrounded by a ton of tiny bits and pieces of land that random people owned. The theory in the company was that the owners were trying to get everything in the area they could so they could sell to Six Flags or Cedar Parks and just wash their hands of it, because they fully own the land and don’t have any good way to get rid of it and the enormous property taxes that come with it.

[@albinoorca]

Keiko, the star of free willy, was sold to the Mexico City park Reino Adventura by Marineland when he was bullied too much by older female orcas to be a "good" performer (in the now dolphin stadium). He was small and timid with no relatives around to stand up for him, and Marineland decided he wasn't going to make them enough money. There was also an orca named Junior who was kept in a warehouse with no sunlight until his death. Marineland was hoping to sell the captured orca for money but didn't find a buyer in time. Absolutely deplorable. Katina, previously known as Kandu at Marineland, was sold to SeaWorld in 1979 and is still alive today. Mixed feelings on that, but she definitely would have died already if she had stayed at Marineland. It's shocking that SeaWorld sent Ikaika, one of their young males, on "breeding loan" to Marineland in 2006 given the park's neglect and history- but at the time, Kiska still had a female tankmate and one young surviving daughter. When all but Kiska passed away, there was no reason to leave him there on "breeding" loan with a single elderly female and neglectful care.

[@jettanyx1]

Hearing about the careless treatment of the animals and seeing how small their habitats are reminded me of Honey the Dolphin a few years back. A Japanese marine park was abandoned and some animals sold off but a dozen penguins a single dolphin were left abandoned. Previous workers would break into the place to feed them. We only have drone footage of honey floating alone in a pond of filthy green water. There were petitions and phone calls for over a year to try and get the owners to move her, other places even offering to take her. She died there. Alone. In filth. The parks are shameful.

[@danopticon]

😢

[@bolotenha]

Oh my gosh, that's absolutely depressing. I just read more about this case and I'm heartbroken. We don't deserve animals at all... 😞

[@aceofparts938]

Were they able to help the penguins?

[@jettanyx1]

@@aceofparts938 I think the penguins were moved, but I don’t 100% remember. But they were in better condition. The fight was for the dolphin and for whatever reason the owner refused to allow her to be moved

[@Bootystank99659]

Heart wrenching

[@rayjay1543]

That poor Orca. Just seeing the footage was incredibly depressing. You can tell by the falling fin, and the sagging tail that it is listless, sick, and depressed. They would do well to sell every bit of land, and use the money to care for that creature, OR to just give the Orca to some place that would be better for it. The fact that they tout plans for new attractions instead of any intent to care better for their animals really underestimates the Intelligence of park goers. Seeing a sad animal like that would immediately detract anyone from going.

[@Jushwa]

Just last year a viral video circulated online of Kiska was seen banging her head on the wall of her enclosure. this same behaviour was exhibited by another orca in captivity name Hugo and he killed himself by doing it.

[@knghtcmdr]

Just an FYI, there's no evidence that fin collapse is related to emotional state, but that habitat is clearly inadequate.

[@shan-anaghan1551]

I'm not sure Kiska would survive a move. She is in her 40s I believe. Orcas typically do not live past their 30s in captivity.

[@robertgrantz6639]

I know Sea World is controversial, but even them stepping in and taking the orca would be better. Their facilities are leaps and bounds better than Marineland's.

[@thebabbynick1543]

@@robertgrantz6639 yeah their pockets are much deeper than Marineland’s and probably would be able to properly care for her

[@torikazuki8701]

I find it ironic that the park has this gargantuan amount of space that's not being used- But then Confines its aquatic animals to essentially a few buckets of water. :-/

[@fauntue1657]

I feel for the caretakers who I'm sure know the terrible conditions the animals are in and are doing their best on the animal's behalf.

[@AmusementLabs]

"Any leaks you may see are not a concern..." I have never seen a park gaslight its guests like this park good lord.

[@englishatheart]

Ah yes, saying that something is none of your business is the same as saying you're crazy.

[@AmusementLabs]

@@englishatheart Don't think you want to be on the side of supporting this park, but sure go off. 🙄

[@tonyli2918]

@@englishatheart Well, if the tanks broke and 1 million gallons of water came pouring down onto tourists. That is a legitimate concern as drowned dead people can't speak for themselves anymore.

[@Pluvillion]

“Gaslight” and “park” are two words I never thought I’d read in the same sentence.

[@shabillalma4907]

Timestamp?

[@jacksonsplace9754]

Fellow Québécois here. Marineland was heavily advertised on TV (in French) back in the days especially in the late 80s. As a kid back then we asked our parents of traveling at least 9 hours by car to Niagara falls for this attraction. At the end we didn't and we forget as time passes by. Now that you showed us how it actually looks, I'm thankful that you saved us from disappointment.

[@zackakai5173]

I wouldn't even describe this as "worst," I'd use the word "saddest." You go to Epcot or the Magic Kingdom even on a particularly slow day, it's still pretty crowded. And you may do a lot of walking at those parks too, but that's because they need that space to fit all the attractions in. Rarely is there anywhere you're just walking through empty woods.

[@CentiZen]

I remember being a young kid in the early nineties, seeing the ads and asking my mom if we could go there. She told me that we would never go there because they were cruel to their animals and we would never support that. This was well before Blackfish, so people who cared knew as far back as twenty years ago.

[@TheEnd-eg6wq]

Your mom didn't want to waste $20 ON YOU.

[@Jersmen_Kay]

@@TheEnd-eg6wq if you hate animals and caring parents just say that lol

[@StarlightPrism]

People were protesting orca captivity since the first orca was taken into captivity, lol. The kind of ironic thing is that, prior to orca captivity, not much was known about orcas (at least to westerners) due to a lack of research. When captive orcas created a surge of interest in the species, there were more studies on captive AND wild ones and led a lot of people to determine that orcas shouldn't be in captivity.

[@ScumfuckMcDoucheface]

@@TheEnd-eg6wq hahahaha

[@CentiZen]

@@TheEnd-eg6wq Lmao we got seasons passes to wonderland instead. Sorry about your childhood.

[@BeliiSpii]

I don’t even go to sea world anymore and it’s not nearly as depressing as this place The fact that they evicted all those people is evil AF.

[@oneangryboi408]

They evicted those people, and didn't even do anything with the land they stole after that lady's suicide. Terrible, terrible theme park.

[@Windows98R]

@@oneangryboi408 it’s technically not theft. It’s terrible but the power of corporate is strong here, you can just buy land and proceed to do whatever with it you’d like as you paid for it. Including evictions.

[@oneangryboi408]

@@Windows98R It's theft imo. They basically just stole away their home and made those people suffer for no reason.

[@Windows98R]

@@oneangryboi408 again, the law doesn't see it that way. It's one's property once one paid for in a "legitimate" way for all the government can care. It's the danger of owning a home without owning the land. It becomes alot harder once someone owns both the land and the home. But if you only own the business/building ontop of the land, the landlord can kick you off their land.

[@oneangryboi408]

@@Windows98R Yes, I know? I still see it as theft. That's just how I view it either way.

[@nicks4802]

The aquarium that no longer has anything in it, is the 1 thing I remember about being on the property back when i was 4/5 the one time i went. I remember seeing a group of penguins standing in the far right corner of the room next to the waterfall…. But they didn’t look happy. They were scared.

[@goGothitaLOL]

So I’ve heard that the employees are being laid off and the rides are no longer operating Safe to say MarineLand has officially closed down

[@Tempest_Murder]

This park is like an any% speedrun of a Roller Coaster Tycoon level, it's like they did everything to make the bare minimum to meet objectives and theming requirements meanwhile they splattered all the easy to place, profit generating attractions and neglected all long term potential to beat the goal window.

[@SmokeyChipOatley]

They’re still waiting for the day all of the park guests release their balloons at the same time and start cheering in unison.

[@Jushwa]

Dude literally went overboard with the path tool and forgot to budget for actual rides

[@DuckNuggets21]

It takes me back to playing roller coaster tycoon and loading up a new park.

[@conversationtosaurusrex]

All they're missing, is a Rollercoaster that crashes.

[@SmokeyChipOatley]

@@DuckNuggets21 same. I was 12 when I became hopelessly addicted to RCT1&2 back when they were first released. I would occasionally play non-stop from the moment I woke up until I went to bed. Didn’t stop until one night as I was dozing off my brain automatically started playing its own rct-style black screen intro sequence with the click-clack of the chain lift hill sound effects and scrolling logos. I was so obsessed my subconscious brain was gearing up for another game while my body slept. My original love affair ended with the release of rct3 though. Not only did it run like molasses on my subpar computer back then but the game itself was a complete let down. I even bought it recently for switch to give it a fair second chance but… no, just no. lol

[@lazybelphegore6748]

Never realized an amusement park could be a liminal space. This is a very scary place, don’t ever go there.

[@paranoidplane9799]

Why scary?

[@Pyrus425]

@@paranoidplane9799 because so called “liminal spaces” are the latest spooky Reddit trend.

[@dx1450]

@@Pyrus425 What does "liminal space" mean?

[@benjaminrobinson3842]

@@dx1450 The official definition is a transitional space, like a hallway or lobby, but the term has come to include any sort of vaguely creepy and unsettling area -- like an abandoned theme park.

[@NathanDavisVideos]

@@benjaminrobinson3842 Don't forget about the Backrooms as well! That's what pretty much started that whole "liminal space" thing in the first place.

[@notthedoctor1789]

My memory is dreadful, but I remember visiting this park as a child. The jingle brought back memories! I rarely visited theme parks as a child, so this was a treat for my family and I. I visited in the early 2000s and I remember it being a really unenjoyable and expensive experience. Now that I am older and looking back at my experience, I do recall being saddened by the animals. Their enclosures are so small. I really think these animals (even the deer) should be taken in by an organization that actually cares about its animals and the park should be shut down. It's a failure of a theme park on so many fronts.

[@warthog473]

Many years ago, my husband and I went to a place in upstate New York called Catskill Game Farm. I remember thinking how miserable a lot of the animals looked and how cramped and barren the enclosures were. They had a pygmy hippo in a concrete enclosure that had no dirt, no grass, no vegetation, nothing but a concrete enclosure with a rectangular pool just barely big enough for the hippo to float in, filled with the grossest water I've ever seen. It just floated thete, doing nothing, nothing to do or look at. I felt so bad for the animals, and felt like by going there we were encouraging the owners to keep the place open. It's been closed for a long time. All the zoos and animal parks now have to have huge natural enclosures for the animals.

[@dbgrfdg]

they should turn this into an abandonned dystopian theme park. They have a good base for that and empty fishtanks would just add to that vibe

[@deadliftenthusiest]

That’s actually a great idea lol

[@paulholleger8538]

Literally name it "Dystopia", and it could be amazing

[@kikidoesitall]

This already feels like an abandoned dystopian theme park...there's no one there.

[@paulperry7091]

Banksy the artist made a dystopian theme park "Dismaland" in the UK. Looks like we already have one here.

[@lapislazarus8899]

Geez, Anatomy Park from Rick & Morty is better than this place

[@brianpack5479]

"Why do you want to kill jobs in Niagara Falls?" just makes me laugh. Dude, you're in Niagara Falls. Look at the state of this place. You wouldn't be missed for one second.

[@RetroWinnipeg]

Given Niagara Falls' "voluntary-but-not-voluntary" Destination Marketing Fee, I'd say the town is doing fine.

[@daemonspudguy]

That claim was immediately laughable to me because I've been to Niagara Falls. There is no chance in hell that Marineland closing would destroy the economy of Niagara Falls, Ontario.

[@lunantix]

@@daemonspudguy you guys have obviously not been in the residential areas or non tourist areas of Niagara Falls, literally all the funding goes to attractions and resorts, there no funding to crime prevention, infrastructure, quality of living or health care, and since this is Ontario, a fuck ton of people cannot afford to live and end up becoming homeless, and there are only two homeless shelter in the city and the cost to live in them costs more that the amount they make so they end up living in the streets of a lousy version of Las Vegas.

[@tghidsgn]

I like how capitalists always complain that allowing basic human/animal rights are somehow extreme, fundamentalist views that will somehow be the final straw and kill labour forever. 1900s: "Why shouldn't children work in the mines, are you trying to kill jobs?" 1920s: "Labour unions and their 5 day work week will kill jobs!" 1950s: "Women in the workplace will kill jobs!" 1980s: "Government regulation is killing jobs!" 1990s: "Fixing the hole in the ozone layer will kill jobs!" 2000s: "Not abusing animals will kill jobs!"

[@daemonspudguy]

@@tghidsgn same, it's always funny when capitalist do that. I also love when they say socialism is bad and then describe capitalism.

[@BeverlyBigglesworth]

I live in Toronto and grew up on these ads. I also refuse to go and have never been. Thanks for taking one for the team so I can see the shame inside. 😊

[@mitchellries256]

I have a brilliant idea. They should sell this park to Merlin Entertainment and give this park a brand new name and identity to it. Merlin could turn this property into an entire resort. They could turn this into the Alton Towers or Thorpe Park of North America by adding new rides and roller coasters in all that undeveloped land. They could also add an attached water park and maybe, if they chose to keep the marine animals, convert the exhibits into a Sea Life Aquarium with newly renovated exhibits that would be more appropriately approved for the animals. Finally, they could build a hotel on the space of that former RV park. This is just wishful thinking most likely but just imagine if it could happen and how it could make some serious competition for Canada's Wonderland and maybe even La Ronde.

[@JacobFiveash]

I would love to see that.

[@Jushwa]

Kiska has had 5 offspring at marineland and all died. She is said to be heard calling out for them even in late hours of the night. That nice path at the back of the park is a mass grave site for all their abused animals.

[@puccipower]

WTF. Why has the Canadian Gov allowed this?!?

[@johnbeetle4340]

funny how i know people who work there and know people who go every year and none of this has happen or seen. dead animals in empty land? yah ok and trump won 2020 elections right tin foil

[@KevinB519]

They obviously dont care,its sad

[@orangeradishneo]

@@puccipower the same way the American government allowed SeaWorld to operate. the same way the American govt allowed action park to continue.

[@___Nobody__]

@@orangeradishneo It’s state government that allowed parks like SeaWorld and Action Park to do what they did, not the federal government.

[@EvaristeWK]

i think an amusement park developer should just buy it from Marineland, revive some of the good rides, and make it a miniature Canada's Wonderland or something like that

[@toyotagazooracer4455]

I love your videos Man!

[@cornonthecob644]

Yeah, they should do some kind of retheme with the green since there’s more green than marine

[@coastaku1954]

Why would it be a miniature Canada's Wonderland? It's 3 times larger than Wonderland! Hell you could fit Canadas Wonderland, Cedar Point and Kings Island in it! What needs to happen is we need an Amusement Park chain to come in and develop the park into a massive resort, I think Herschend Entertainment can pull it off, they own Silver Dollar City and Dollywood, both are mid-high themed parks with high quality, especially Dollywood. It shouldn't be Cedar Fair or Six Flags since they both have properties within 2 hours from this park, but Herschend doesn't have any parks nearby till you reach Kentucky Kingdom. If It becomes a massive park with good rides, a waterpark and a hotel on-site, I see no reason why it can't scare the pants off Cedar Fair and Six Flags and we can see some true competition in the Southern Ontario/Western New York tourism industry

[@breakingames7772]

What have I done with your life?...have kids and now trapped working for some big ass or smaller company for 40 years just to live... This dude made an entire amusement park you might have f***** up but he made it. I got sick and tired of doing the same old same old now I live in a then I converted into a camper I have more electricity than I know what to do with and a game everyday and run a ac unit all with solar on a van. I live iny work parking lot in Detroit in 3 months I've saved up over $10,000 in cash...I shoulda done this years ago...it takes balls to do something new especially building some dumbass amusement park

[@coastaku1954]

@@breakingames7772 Who fucking asked?

[@newmillennials]

Wow, thanks for the video. I grew up in relatively nearby Grimsby, Ontario and was a regular in Marineland during the 80's as a boy. My memories of the park are good, but even back then during the hayday, I felt it was a bizarre park, especially when one compares it to the countless rides at Canada's Wonderland. It's sad to realize that many attractions in the region never quite made it to their intended greatness, such as Prudhomme's Landing (Vineland) and Ontario Place (Toronto). Watching your video I felt like I was one of the ghosts lining up at one of the boarded-up snack bars.

[@HyPotterinuse]

That is an insane amount of unused land in complete isolation if the park closes. There could be some shady things going on down there.

[@TheGhostFart]

there could easily be stuff going on even while the park operates given how empty it is even during operating hours

[@Razzlewolfflight]

If you look into Kiska’s captive life, and the incredible intelligence and family bonds of wild orcas, it’s just horrible. All of her calves have died. She’s the only orca held completely alone in the world. There’s recent video of her beaching herself on her slide out and bashing her head against the glass wall. Many of the belugas, walruses, and sea lions have died, and then are covered up. It’s a goddamn mess.

[@StarlightPrism]

Yeah, the "orca living alone" thing is enough to call this place terrible. Orcas are highly social creatures, and keeping one alone is equivalent to keeping a human in solitary confinement.

[@amobaleiasassassinas]

Just have a look at Lolita in Miami Seaquarium. Somehow, it's even more depressing than Kiska. If you feel like it, please sign some online campaigns to help moving her to a rescue center. So far in their lives, the possibilities of releasing both orcas are nearly null. This has gone on for decades, it's way past time to stop

[@Ridingasadad]

@@amobaleiasassassinas don't even get me started about the Miami Seaquarium The commercials look so much better than it actually does in person. I'm from South Florida I remember going as a kid and that place looked like a dump I just recently took both of my girls last year and even then that place looked exactly the same. It seems like they haven't put any money into the aquarium whatsoever and the tanks that the dolphins orca and manatees are swimming in is absolutely depressing and sad its so small and there's no reason why because they're right next to the ocean.

[@tinacatharinaeden2711]

Horrible, keeping her alone like that! That IS animal abuse! People do not realize that these orcas have high intelligence and mourn when their calves die. Disgusting!

[@ameliaguess3788]

That’s so sad 😞

[@yonker1219]

You know for a theme park called Marineland, there barely any themeing related to the ocean or anything aquatic. Like looks like more of a medieval themed zoo then an actual marine park. How do you messed that up!

[@sodadrinker89]

I don't think the owner had any coherent plan for the theme park.

[@bewwybabe8045]

My brain hurts because my area in Southern California also has a Marineland, but that closed in the late 1980s lol. It was right on the ocean so it was more aquatic themed by default

[@dachel683]

so much land and forest, you'd think it's was a zoo

[@xChaosFlower]

60s and 70s were a wild time

[@lauraslade9588]

I watched this only to google Marineland and find out that Kiska died in March and just yesterday new charges were filed regarding the care of the black bears. Earlier this month, TWO belugas died and apparently the park is up for sale.

[@shamadayart]

There was a ride at MarineLand that was just a dragon boat. People sat in, and it rises and falls slightly in a circular motion, from what I recall. I was wondering why my 2 brothers were sitting in it and laughing(I went on another ride and found them on this). There was barely anyone on it, so the operator just let us stay on as long as we wanted. Well, it turns out, if you don't hold on to the handle bars in front of you, the jerking motion causes the person in the seat to fall forward slightly and land on the bars in front of them (I cannot remember if they were foam padded or metal)The force felt like being punched or kicked in the stomach by the safety bars. That's why my brothers thought it was hilarious, the ride can actually hurt you. We went on it 10 times and intentionally let this ride beat us up. A family, a father and his kids, went on the ride during us and I heard him say, "This is dangerous!" I should also add that I was hit on by one of the other operators later even though I was 14.

[@Cadmann778]

Fun Fact those two factories on around Marineland that the trainline transports goods for are chemical and cermanics plants dealing with some highly toxic and carcinogenic compounds. Fun Fact part of Marinelands back property was used as a Prisoner of War Camp in WW2 Also last time I was there as a teenager (about 15 years ago) the my harness on Dragon Mountain failed and they refused to stop the ride, leading me to hold on for dear life and when I reported it at the end of the ride the operator just shrugged and said that happens sometimes dont worry

[@bigbearkat2010]

Yikes I work a home town park and honestly the idea of any of that going down sounds horrible to me. If any one of those things happened where I work, the operator would very likely be fired on the spot and and at the very least that unit would be be marked out of order, if not shut down the ride entirely.

[@moon6044]

That's some scary sh*t right there fam.

[@ddarkenedlight]

Im very sorry that happened to you sounds traumatizing 😰

[@instaglam7508]

😝😝

[@shetlandbudgie2611]

Wow, lots of good karma coming from that place.

[@tinacatharinaeden2711]

This is so sad for the animals. The Orcas in that small tank breaks my heart. The entire park looks boring, decrepit and dangerous. I wouldn't ride those rides if they paid me. Thank you for reporting on this.

[@billiebobbienorton2556]

Tina - sorry but the park wouldn't want someone with a broken heart to go on their rides. Go to a carnival and find a responsible life partner - we're sure you'll be happy or at least maybe "get a little" and not be a bitter old maid. You know you want it....

[@jdlamb4212]

Is this real life

[@billiebobbienorton2556]

@@jdlamb4212 Nothing is real. Nothing......

[@rockypockypuff]

Saddest part is that the orca they have now (her name is Kiska) have been alone in those tanks since 2011...

[@Beth_Tyranny]

@@rockypockypuff That's so sad :(. She reminds me of Lolita/Tokitae from the Miami Seaquarium.

[@kotchapakmaneechote2062]

Here's why Dragon Mountain looks jerky from the track; Back in 1980s, Dragon Mountain, and basically every Arrow looper in general, was designed by hand, namely the cloth hanger that can be bended, by Ron Toomer, this was before CAD (Computer Aided Design) became a norm these days, but Toomer rejected the idea of using CAD because it's too expensive and time consuming for Arrow, so you could see the sketchy design, sketchy profiling and jerky transitions from the track, although in the 90s, Arrow would use the CAD design during the time when Alan Schilke started working as a designer for later coasters from Arrow, you can see why Tennessee Tornado is so smooth, because the CAD design fixed this issue, allowing for smooth ride and better maintenance. Also, from 1981 to 1984, Arrow Dynamics was named Arrow-Huss, since Arrow merged with Huss in 1981.

[@wakemcd9508]

We went to this park in 1984 or 85. The rollercoaster was fairly new. The brochure had an illustration of what the rollercoaster was supposed to look like -- with massive water features as soon as you come out of the tunnel, that would almost look like Niagara Falls. They never did build it. If they would have focused on creating a small section of their land, little by little, I think it could have been successful. But when you enter a park and everything is so far away, it looks empty, and looks depressing.

[@endruv_2287]

Marineland: Let's defend ourselves against accusations of us being awful in our ads! Jake: Shows how awful they are because of the ad

[@crisptomato9495]

When I went the black bears were all incredibly depressed and the $7 “bear food” we were given to toss at them was literally just corn pops. Also my friend got robbed in Arctic Cove. Honestly this park represents the general vibe of Niagara Falls pretty well. Depressing, desolate and rife with overpriced tourist traps. Also if you think MarineLand is Canada’s most liminal amusement park, you should look into the history of Story Land in Renfrew.

[@iwakeupandboomimarat]

people overhype niagara falls way too much, when i tell people ive seen it they get so excited and then i have to tell them its kinda boring if u go more than once 😭

[@thatontariofarmer]

Story Book Gardens in London is another bland a and rather depressing children's amusement park. I can still smell the stale urine in the Moby Dick exhibit 🙃

[@timdempsey9468]

I last went around 98 and the "bear food " was a brown paper bag of green marshmallows. They also sold an ice cream cone full of kibble to throw to disgusting carp , yes they literally made an "attraction" from the world's most disgusting fish .

[@oniodarkholme4267]

it was literally a BEAR PIT. It was so sad

[@zedas1]

Ooh Story Land that's obscure. Used to drive past there a lot. As of 5 years ago most (but not quite all) of the structures are gone and the property is advertised for "Glamping".

[@AliAkbar-gq6ed]

I remember 20 years ago me and my dad entered the deer park, my dad got an ice cream cone full of deer feed to give them. The deer surrounded him and were nibbling him for the food, pretty much assaulted him for the cone. I was only maybe 6 or 7 at the time but I still think to this day it was the hardest I’ve ever laughed in my life. The park might not be the best, but I’m happy I got that memory with my dad out of it. It was so funny I wish I could explain it better

[@PurpleReign1401]

This is horrible and the animal exhibits are beyond pissing me off. I grew up in California in the Bay Area we had Marine World, they changed the name years ago and I don’t remember what it’s called now. As a kid you don’t understand how bad this is for the animals. I now live in Florida we would go to Busch Gardens a lot before but now it’s too expensive. They seem to take care of the animals, the animals (for the most part) have huge enclosures and wide open spaces. Some could use more space but at least they all seem to have an area fit for them. Busch Gardens sister park is in Orlando and it’s called Sea world, I’ve never been and refuse to go because no matter how much they try to make the areas more like the homes theses animals would have in the wild they will never have big enough tanks for the whales, seals, dolphins, etc. I never blame the animals when one hurts or kills a trainer or some idiot that thinks it’s a good idea to jump into the enclosure. It’s one thing if it’s a rehab or sanctuary for animals needing help or that can never be returned to the wild but to capture and/or breed these beautiful creatures in captivity for financial gain and entertainment is repulsive. Same goes for circuses. That only scratches the surface if their living conditions, the ways they are treated and abused to get them to perform is criminal.

[@okankyoto]

They need to go all out- eliminate the animals, displays AND rides. Fully embrace its new purpose as a Liminal Spaces amusement park.

[@joshblack4291]

Just make it a conservation area.

[@georgiat5264]

eliminate the animals? that doesnt seem so ethical...

[@jimdennis2451]

@@georgiat5264 Where else can you get a beluga sandwich?

[@jimdennis2451]

They need to turn the whole place into a trailer park.

[@KaiserMattTygore927]

Kinda based.

[@-_._._-]

I worked there for 2 years back around 2010 as a ride operator. I've got plenty of stories. My father was a welder who helped construct the Dragon Mountain rollercoaster, and he's got a photo of himself welding some track somewhere in the house.

[@jackschissler255]

All Arrow coasters were welded on site. They did not use computers to bend or weld track so each coaster in every park got cut, bent and welded on each site. This is why most of their coasters are rough cause the bends are not the same for each side of the track.

[@everythingsalright1121]

What's a particularly notable story you can recall from your time there?

[@-_._._-]

​@@jackschissler255precisely, Dragon Mountain was constructed in the 1980s. My father was a welder. Proper welder, not computer welder.

[@-_._._-]

​​@@everythingsalright1121The park owner Jon Holer's son used to sneak prostitutes into the park at night and let them ride Sky Screamer. The head of maintenance when I worked there let us know about that when he explained the retrofitted guitar amps that were turned into required ride start keys.

[@-_._._-]

​​@@everythingsalright1121John Holer's son used to sneak "ladies of the night" into the park after it closed and used to operate the rides himself....until the head of ride maintenance caught him one night. He happened to be in the area and saw Sky Screamer operating so he pulled into the park and found out it was Holer's son. That ride maintenance guy was who trained me and other new employees to operate Dragon Mountain. He told us the story of why all the rides had these electronically retrofitted guitar amp plug ends that we had to use to even start the rides control panel up. It was because of Holer's son.

[@arthurpicket3505]

Update: Park is temporary closed and Kiska died in March 10, 2023. Bacterial Infection.

[@KMCA779]

You think the current tank for the orca is small? That dolphin show? That tank (and the 2 smaller tanks flanking it) is were where they were kept when I was young.... So things are improved from the '90's. I remember waiting in lines, I remember the whale show (and dolphins) was at one time mostly full seating, I remember school trips and crowds (but not crowded) paths, I remember bears in the pit by Dragon Mountain and deer that would mob and basically attack you if you had food. I remember being exhausted as a kid after half a day in the park and just wanting to sit. All this before the Beluga Whales came in. Seeing that video of the rundown and practically abandoned park hit me harder than I expected but at the same time, I'm not surprised. Times have changed and what was already controversially small tanks back in the 90's is now beyond acceptable today and the appeal has been lost.

[@Rainkit]

"An exhibit with a shocking amount of deer." Ah, I see they're taking the roadside zoo approach. Essentially, guests love to see baby animals. Deer are more than willing to breed in captivity. This leads to zoos with more deer they can possibly de with. Most of the time they keep them until it becomes a health problem then they either have to shoot them or send them to a game farm where they'll be shot. Fun times.

[@robgillan2493]

Marineland owned its own game farm for quite a while

[@pickles3128]

I mean, I live next to the St. Louis zoo, which is the 2nd best zoo in the country. They make sure to feed their female lions birth control so the population doesn't go out of control. But that area it looks kind of impossible (and expensive) to do. At least the deer get to go outside before being shot, better than most factory farms, and that's coming from someone who hasn't eaten meat in 17 years.

[@englishatheart]

@@pickles3128 Except it isn't better. I am tired of people who use that excuse. It is better to be put out of your misery when you are suffering, not to be killed when you're not. That's why I loathe people who say that "hunting" is better than farm raised kills. Both are abhorrent (humans do not need meat and any animal that actually does need meat is able to catch and kill meat with their claws and teeth. They don't need to use traps and weapons, nor do they have to cook it to make it safe to consume), but at least factory meat raised animals are being put out of their misery when they die, not to mention their deaths aren't taking away the food source of animals that actually need meat.

[@pickles3128]

@@englishatheart So it's equal to live your life in a cage where you can't turn around, having your beak cut off because you go nuts and attack neighbors or self-harm, or just live semi-naturally and have one bad day? Most predators start to eat you while you're still alive. The problem we have now with deer is that we've killed their natural predators (obligate carnivores: cougars, wolves, bear, coyote.) So they run rampant, messing up the ecosystem, and cause car crashes. A good rule of thumb is 100 deer in an area could live and reproduce and support one predator. Unfortunately all it takes is one cougar to get near some farmer's cows and instead of calling DNR to at least dart it and move it, they shoot it. Which is disgusting and sad. Nowhere did I say hunting was ideal, it's just... not as bad. And I do wish everyone would go vegetarian, even if we once needed the protein to evolve such large brains. I'd say vegan but my neighbors own a cow and chickens, and that's where I get my milk and eggs. They're happy and will not get eaten even when they get old and stop producing. Anyway, not trying to argue; I try not to kill bugs if I can help it, and rehab cats. Hope you have a good day.

[@hedonismbot1508]

According to their website, it seems you used to be able to go in with the deer and feed them, but: "We found that despite our best efforts, guests were not monitoring their children in the deer park area as closely as we believed necessary."

[@giantpinkcat]

You know this theme park is gonna be fire when they start complaining about those gosh darn liberal animal rights activists in their brochure.

[@SEESBoy-hy8jz]

Stay classy, conservatives lmao

[@chapel66]

@@SEESBoy-hy8jz i imagine it was tongue in cheek. To be fair both conservatives and liberals are annoying

[@calzoneyyy]

those goddamn libraries and * checks notes * caring about animal welfare

[@jsivco3sivco785]

@@calzoneyyy -- He was being facetious! He was referring to how Marineland complained about them in their brochure.

[@snipermonkey8665]

@@SEESBoy-hy8jz as a conservative we don’t honor his claim. We prefer “those darn liberals” things from people who aren’t animal abusers

[@beazrich2.017]

As someone living in the Northeastern U.S I have visited Niagara Falls and it was absolutely beautiful. Loved that there was massive ice chunks in the distance from the distance before falling down the water fall. I never got Marineland but I do know that Dragon Mountain is their largest ride in Canada. I definitely want to revisit Niagara falls in the future.

[@eee00000]

My grandparents used to take me here as a kid, and lacking context I just thought every theme park involved multi-mile hikes to isolated rides in small forests. It used to be much busier, I remember, but it was always so big that even during what could be considered it's heyday there was a feeling of things being empty and parts of the park not being utilized because there just weren't enough guests to justify opening the stands or running the rides.

[@YumeDream39]

I've been to MarineLand dozens of times. And each time I went, it felt more depressing. It got emptier, felt boring, and seeing the animals was honestly sad. The animals looked so depressed and I felt bad for them. All those endless paths leading to nowhere, rides shutting down, lack of people. I even remember walking past this one abandoned ride that was so old it had plants growing all over it. I never want to go there again and, honestly, it should just be shut down for good. The animals deserve better.

[@EndlessFunctionality]

Why did you keep going?

[@summerjayne9030]

WHY would you even give these people your money?? You're actively encouraging animal abuse by funding this place. Seaworld and circus behavior... yikes

[@YumeDream39]

I didn't really decide myself to go here. I usually went because some charity decided it would be a good idea to go and I was a part of it. And it was my parents taking me cause I was under 10 at the time. I had no idea about the issues going on until much later. Now I understand and definitely will not be giving them my money. I was in no way encouraging animal abuse. You have the wrong idea.

[@jeannedarc3890]

lol how does this place make money?

[@YumeDream39]

Some people just don't know the sad truth about this place

[@Jimmy82102000]

That owner is a straight up bastard!!! I can’t believe that he evicted all those people in their trailer park and a 67 year old woman ended up committing suicide. I’m angry 😡 now.

[@pedrosvlog1183]

The owner died.

[@wobblyjelly345]

Same, it's infuriating. And the land hasn't even been used. What a cruel POS he was.

[@ianloeb1672]

@@wobblyjelly345 he was basically the Canadian Robert Moses

[@ediebeale5773]

She was 62.

[@duderRechthat]

You cannot blame him for someone choosing suicide though. Just like when someone is heartbroken and then kills themselves to put guilt on their EX for leaving them.

[@TheYouGuy45]

Imagine being a beluga unfortunate enough to be placed in Marineland of all places. It really is just sad, seeing the lack of people, lack of sizeable enclousers, and barely any theming really adds to this. Even if there is a chance that they have not mistreated the animals, it is still undeniable that the animals deserve a better place to live.

[@thekangaroo1880]

I'm Australian and I've just learnt about this theme park.... It's a massive shocker to see how a park ends up like this. I see exceptional parks like SeaWorld at Gold Coast, Australia and then look at this mess and just think, how?....

[@littleblackcar]

This needs to be a permanent Ren Faire ground. Give up on the poor marine animals and put the nice-ish castle and the "thatched" food stands to better use.

[@apagac2258]

Call it Medieval Land!

[@LarryWater]

They should stick to fish.

[@astoldbynickgerr]

@@LarryWater fish sticks

[@latenightnerdery8238]

This is a great idea. Why not? You can just theme the rides that are there and set up villages on all the wide paths. Run it all summer long. Can't do worse than this

[@src4409]

Wow. The overgrowth and weeds alone throughout the park make it seem unsafe. If they don't have money to keep up the landscaping, do they have money to take care of rides properly or the animals?

[@thatdiegoguy]

Yeah, I’m guessing not.

[@stephaniedesmond8329]

Marineland: the only theme park where you can get both ticks AND whiplash!

[@dx1450]

Seeing as how abandoned the park looks, I'm guessing they don't get a lot of foot traffic any more. How they can stay in business is beyond me.

[@em-rj1cc]

I have visited this park for many years throughout my childhood. I would always see protesters outside the park but I never really questioned it since I was young and my brain was still mush. But one day my mom told me why the protestors were always outside the park and it made little me pretty sad. At one point my family started going to Canada's Wonderland instead, and I never even knew an amusement park could have so much restaurants, attractions, and just be so colourful in general! Watching this video made me realize that apparently it's not normal for an amusement park to be this empty and spacious? I never knew that, so it was pretty interesting to hear! And it also made me reflect on my experience at this park... and now I'm just concerned. Thank you for making this video, I enjoyed it a lot!

[@aspiring_fossil]

I used to go to Marineland yearly until I was about 7 years old (22 years ago jfc), and we stopped going altogether because of how exhausting it was to walk everywhere. It was a bit more bustling back then, but its un-walkability has always been an issue. They really did bite off more than they could chew 💀

[@Abyss0fDelta]

This is like one of those scenarios in roller coaster tycoon with a park that already has built paths and you just plop rides around at random.

[@thelanguageofthebirds]

Lol I thought about that to my experience with RCT 1 on the computer back in the 00s

[@Shteve67]

I still play the original on my laptop. It still works so I haven’t had to upgrade to a current version. My sister gave it to me for Christmas in 1999. Who knew I’d still be using it 23 years later.

[@RariettyC]

As a theme park fan in Ontario, Ontario Place closing a decade ago instead of Marineland proves we're in the darkest timeline. We could have had our own Canadian version of Epcot, but instead we've got a rotting corpse masquerading as Sea World

[@Andrew-gn9qp]

Canada is going to have the slowest economic growth out of all the developed nations in the next decade. You're just seeing the early symptoms, theme parks one of them.

[@Lina_0135]

@@Andrew-gn9qp what makes u think this? Nah don’t say this let’s pray for the best hopefully in the future we’ll get our own Canadian version of Disney world 😔

[@nogreatreset8506]

@@Andrew-gn9qp slowest? Any slow down will rank in the middle if it happens unless you have proof. There are plenty of countries with slow and or terrible economies, Canada would probably rank in the middle somewhere.

[@berserkboi1217]

As is deserved for the crime of being from Ontario, or Canada in general

[@ZeranZeran]

I hope Canada gets its own Epcot because I know California never is :(

[@adventurekitty101]

Kiska must have been so lonely before she died. That poor Orca, was most likely stolen away from her family when she was still an Orca’s equivalent of a tween, and then was probably shoved into a tank with other Orca’s she couldn’t understand(Orca’s have unique dialects depending on their pods and where they are from) and then was moved to Marineland to an even smaller tank, only to end up dying in that horrible place while all alone.

[@danrowannc]

I remember going there when I was a little kid in the late 80s I loved it but I was also a little kid I don’t remember half of the attractions that they showed in there. I remember the deer Park which is that time you could actually go in and walk around with the deer and I remember the roller coaster but that’s about it. I don’t think we knew that there was anything else around to do.

[@dont.beknown5622]

I was there in the 70's. It was nice then - but I was a kid and what did I know. I got to see Orca's... Going back with my son in the 2000's was a shock to me. It looked small, cramped and cruel to the whales and other attraction animals.