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Alberta Home to two of Canada's largest cities and several other medium-sized ones, as well as popular tourist areas in Banff/the Rocky Mountains and Drumheller. Drumheller's Dinosaur Valley contains a large amount of fossils, leading to several dinosaur-themed attractions in the area. The largest contributor to Alberta's amusement industry however is Edmonton, containing a variety of attractions, most importantly the sprawling West Edmonton Mall which was once the largest in the world. Amusement and Theme Parks Barney's Adventure Park - Drumheller Calaway Park - Calgary Fantasyland/Galaxyland - West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton Funland Amusement Park - Drumheller Heritage Park - Calgary 1920s Midway & Exhibition - Fort Edmonton Park, Edmonton Whitemud Amusement Park - Edmonton Arcades, Mini Golf and F.E.C.s Apple Creek Arcade - Rocky View Ardmore Golf Mini Putt - Ardmore Golf & Country Club, Ardmore Bullwinkle's Family Food 'n Fun - Edmonton Bullwinkle's Family Food 'n Fun - Macleod Trail S., Calgary Cactus Coulee Fun Park - Drumheller Canada Golf Card Mini Golf - Canada Golf Card Driving Range & Mini Golf, Edmonton Century Billiards - Edmonton Chalks Billiards - Bannister Rd. SE, Calgary Chill Billiards - Macleod Trail SE, Calgary Chuck E. Cheese's - Macleod Trail, Calgary Chuck E. Cheese's - 19th Ave. NW, Edmonton Chuck E. Cheese's - 137th Ave., Edmonton Chuck E. Cheese's - 32nd Ave., Calgary Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theater - 34th Ave., Edmonton Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theater - 20th Ave., Calgary Circuit Circus/Newplay - West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton Circus Circus - Capilano Mall, Edmonton Circus Circus - Kingsway Garden Mall, Edmonton Circus Circus - Northgate Mall, Edmonton Circus Circus - Southgate Mall, Edmonton Command HQ - Calgary The Corner Pocket - 50th Ave., Red Deer Cosmic Corral - North Hill Mall, Calgary Crystal Ridge Mini Golf - Crystal Ridge Golf Club, Okotoks The Cutoff - Edmonton CyberMind V.R. Centre - Calgary Deb's Greenhouse Mini Golf - Deb's Greenhouse, Morinville Delta Billiards - Edmonton DINOS Centre - Innisfail Discovery Zone - Gateway Blvd., Edmonton Dragon's Tale - West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton Easy Street - Chinook Center, Calgary Easy Street - Sunridge Mall, Calgary Electronic Avenue - Whyte Ave., Edmonton Evergreen Golf Centre - Lethbridge Fantasyland/Galaxyland Arcade - Fantasyland/Galaxyland, West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton Fort Edmonton Park Mini Golf - Fort Edmonton Park, Edmonton Fuddrucker's - Gateway Blvd., Edmonton Game World - Calgary Ganges - Northmount Dr., Calgary Golfuture - Calgary Golf World - Peace River Gravity Zone - Calgary Hi-Spot - Edmonton Hooplas Family Entertainment Centre - Medicine Hat Hornbrook Hollow's Funhouse - Grande Prairie Huggy Bear Arcade - Market Mall, Calgary Infinity Play - Fort Rd. NW, Edmonton Lakeside Go Karts & Mini Golf - Sylvan Lake Laser Illusions - Calgary Eaton Center, Calgary Laser Illusions - 8th Ave. Mall, Calgary Laser Illusions - Londonderry Mall , Edmonton Laser Illusions - Marlborough Mall, Calgary Laser Illusions - Southcenter, Calgary Lil' Jay's Family Arcade - Canal Ave., Strathmore Metropolitan Billiards - Stony Plain Rd., Edmonton Mikes Billiards and Arcade - McKnight/Edmonton Trail, Calgary Mike's Family Billiards - 32nd Ave. NE, Calgary Miniature Golf/Arcade - Whitemud Amusement Park, Edmonton Mini Golf - Elkwater Mini Golf - Rocky Meadows Country Getaway, Bonnyville Mini Links - Grande Prairie Monster Mini Golf - Calgary Monster Mini Golf Edmonton - Edmonton Mo's Billiards - 102nd Ave., Lac la Biche Mulligans Island Mini Golf - Calaway Park, Calgary Oasis Greens Golf Centre - De Winton Par 57 - Calgary Playdium - West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton Pockets 96 - 4th Ave., Wainwright Power Players - Center St., Calgary Professor WEM's Adventure Golf - West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton Puttz Miniature Golf - Lethbridge Pysanka Putt Putt - Vegreville Red's/Ed's/Rec Room - West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton Rundle Mini Golf & Paddle Boats - Rundle Park, Edmonton River Bend Mini Golf - River Bend Golf & Recreation, Red Deer Sexsmith Mini Golf Course - Sexsmith Sharks Billiards - 100th St., Peace River Sharks Club - South Ave., Spruce Grove Southern Fun - 7th Ave., Calgary Starcade - 118th/97th., Edmonton The Sticks - 44th St., Lloydminster Stone Creek Adventure Golf - Calgary Tee to Green - Calgary Three Ring Circus - 8th Ave. Mall, Calgary Top Shots Billiards - 66th St. N., Edmonton WinSport Mini Golf - Calgary Wizard's Castle - Bower Mall, Red Deer Wizard's Castle - Capilano Mall, Edmonton Wizard's Castle - Chinook Centre, Calgary Wizard's Castle - Circle Park Mall, Calgary Wizard's Castle - Deer Valley Centre, Calgary Wizard's Castle - Heritage Place Mall, Edmonton Wizard's Castle - Kingsway Garden Mall, Edmonton Wizard's Castle - Lloyd Mall, Lloydminster Wizard's Castle - Londonderry Mall. Edmonton Wizard's Castle - Market Mall, Calgary Wizard's Castle - Marlborough Mall, Calgary Wizard's Castle - Millwoods Town Centre, Edmonton Wizard's Castle/Newplay - West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton Wizard's Castle - Northgate Mall, Edmonton Wizard's Castle - Park Place Mall, Lethbridge Wizard's Castle - Red Deer Wizard's Castle - Southcentre Mall, Calgary Wizard's Castle - St. Albert Centre, St. Albert Wizard's Castle - Sunridge Mall, Calgary Wizard's Castle - University of Alberta Hub International Marketplace, Edmonton Video Gym - Southgate Shopping Centre, Edmonton Arcade (Name Unknown) - Bonaventure/ 94th, Calgary Arcade (Name Unknown) - Bonnie Doon Mall, Edmonton Arcade (Name Unknown) - 8th Ave SW, Calgary Arcade (Name Unknown) - 82nd St., Edmonton Arcade (Name Unknown) - 82nd/132nd Ave., Edmonton Arcade (Name Unknown) - Milbourne Mall, Edmonton Arcade (Name Unknown) - Northwoods Mall, Edmonton Arcade (Name Unknown) - 90th/132nd, Edmonton Arcade (Name Unknown) - 118th Ave., Edmonton Arcade (Name Unknown) - 127th Ave., Edmonton Arcade (Name Unknown) - Stephen Ave. , Calgary Arcade (separate from above, Name Unknown) - Stephen Ave. , Calgary Arcade (Name Unknown) - Stony Plain Rd./151st, Edmonton Arcade (Name Unknown) - TD Square/The Core, Calgary Arcade (Name Unknown) - Thorncliffe Shopping Centre, Edmonton Arcade (Name Unknown) - Westmount Mall, Edmonton Mini Golf (Name Unknown) - Nose Hill/Stoney Trail NW, Calgary Dark Attractions, Wax Museums and Exhibits 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 Specialty Hotels and Gift Shops Best Western Plus Port O'Call - Calgary Deerfoot Inn & Casino - Calgary Douglas Fir Resort - Banff Dino's RV Nest/Dinosaur RV Park & Cabins - Drumheller Fantasyland Hotel - West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton Holiday Inn Lethbridge - Lethbridge Theatres, Bowling Alleys and Miscellaneous The Alley - Fort McMurray Ambassador Bowling Centre - Lacombe The Banquet - Edmonton The Banquet - Fort McMurray Ben's Bowling & Billiards - Brooks Blue Star Bowling Lanes - Peace River Bonnie Doon Bowling Lanes - Edmonton The Bowl 5 Pin 10 Pin House - Olds The Bowling Alley - Valleyview Bowling Depot - Calgary Bowling Stones Ten Pin Entertainment Centre - Grande Prairie Bowl Valley - Banff Bronx Bowl - Edmonton Chinook Bowladrome - Calgary Chinook Lanes - Pincher Creek Cochrane Lanes - Cochrane Deep Sea Adventure - West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton Ed's Bowling - West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton Edson Bowl - Edson Enilda Bowl - High Prairie Fatboys Bowling - Hythe Fort Lanes Bowling - Fort Saskatchewan Galaxy Bowling & Pizza - Park Meadows Mall, Lethbridge Gateway Lanes - Edmonton The Gutter - Red Deer Heartland Bowling - Stettler Heritage Lanes - Red Deer High River Sunset Drive In - High River High Rollers Bowling - Banff Hillside Lanes - Three Hills HJ's 5 Pin Bowling - Grande Prairie Holiday Bowl - Lethbridge House of Skate - Calgary Innisfail Bowling Lanes - Innisfail Jurassic Laser Tag & Arcades - Drumheller King Pins Bowling & Game Room - Bonnyville K-J Bowl - Edmonton Laser City - Calgary Laser City - Edmonton Laser City South Calgary - Calgary LaZer Runner - Edmonton Leduc Lanes - Leduc Leisure Lanes - Ponoka Lloyd Lanes - Lloydminster Lucky Strike Bowling - Lac la Biche Marina Bowling Center - Cold Lake Millennium Lanes - Okotoks Motor Nights Edmonton - Beaumont Panorama Lanes - Medicine Hat Paradise Lanes - Calgary Parellel Lanes - St. Paul The Pin - Taber Planet Lazer - Edmonton Plaza Bowling - Edmonton Railside Bowl - Red Deer Railside Bowl - Sylvan Lake The Rocket - Viking Rocky Lanes - Rocky Mountain House Rollers Roller Rink - Edmonton Scotiabank Theatre - West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton Shamrock Lanes - Airdrie Sherwood Bowl - Sherwood Park (Edmonton) Silver City - West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton Smoky Lanes - Girouxville Splitsville Glamorgan - Calgary Splitsville Highfield - Calgary Splitsville Meridian - Calgary SR2 Motion Simulator - Fantasyland/Galaxyland, West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton St. Albert Bowling Centre - St. Albert Striker Lanes - Vermilion Striker's Alley - Rimbey Tabb Lanes & Lounge - Camrose Town of Raymond Drive-In - Raymond Turbo Ride Theatre/Galaxy Quest - Fantasyland/Galaxyland, West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton Unchaga Lanes - Fairview Underground Bowling & Rec Room - Hinton Uptown Alley - Fort McMurray Vegreville Bowling Lanes - Vegreville Wainwright Bowling Centre - Wainwright Western Lanes - Wetaskiwin World's Largest Dinosaur - Drumheller Themed Restaurants, Bars and Stores Cafe Orleans - Bourbon Street, West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton The Disney Store - CrossIron Mills, Rocky View The Disney Store - Kingsway Mall, Edmonton The Disney Store - Market Mall, Calgary The Disney Store - South Centre Mall, Calgary The Disney Store - West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton Fantasyland Nightclub - West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton The Fossil Shop - Drumheller Hard Rock Cafe - Bourbon Street, West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton Hard Rock Cafe - Calgary Julio's Barrio - Calgary Julio's Barrio (82nd Ave. NW location) - Edmonton Julio's Barrio (WEM location) - Bourbon Street, West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton Jungle Jim's - Bourbon Street, West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton The Old Spaghetti Factory - Bourbon Street, West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton Planet Hollywood - West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton Water Parks and Attractions Bonzai Waterslide Park - Calgary Discovery Canyon - River Bend Golf & Recreation Area, Red Deer Douglas Fir Water Park - Douglas Fir Resort, Banff Londonderry Fitness and Leisure Centre - Edmonton Mariner's Cove Water Park - Holiday Inn Lethbridge, Lethbridge Mill Woods Rec Centre - Edmonton Oasis River Country Water Park - Sheraton Cavalier Calgary Hotel, Calgary Riverside Waterslide - Medicine Hat Southland Leisure Centre - Calgary Village Square Leisure Centre - Calgary Wild Rapids - Sylvan Lake Wild Waters - Edmonton World Waterpark - West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton

Artists and Developers Here you'll find the most important page on this site, the names and stories of the incredible artists and developers who have helped bring Canada's amusement industry to life. This list includes individual artists, design studios, and business owners who specialized in the amusement industry. The majority of these artists/companies are naturally Canadian, but several talented artists from around the globe have lent their hand to the industry here and are therefore also included on this page. Each section of this list is ordered by number of . The number of attractions in Canada either created or owned (sometimes both) by each party it's stated they were involved in on this page simply refers to confirmed projects discussed on this website, and they may have been involved in more that have gone undocumented. These often unsung heroes shaped and sculpted lifelong memories, brought joy to millions using pencil and paper, and lent their creativities and imaginations to the spirit of having fun. Artists/Designers Advanced Animations (USA) - (2 attractions) Amusement Products (USA) - (4 attractions) Armando Tamignini (Italy) - (4 attractions) Art Attack FX - (2000+ attractions globally) AVG (USA) - (2 attractions) Bill Tracy/Outdoor Dimensional Display/This Is, Inc. (USA) - (4 attractions) Blacklight Attractions (USA) - (3 attractions) Bruce Randall/Universal Android - (7+ attractions) Costello Productions (Derek Costello) - (20+ attractions) Distortions Unlimited (USA) Dorfman Studios (USA) Enlicky Enterprises (USA) - (2 attractions) Eric McMillan Feartek Inc. (USA) - (2 attractions) Forrec Inc. Funni-Frite Inc. (division of Philadelphia Toboggan Co., USA) Gianfranco Avignoni - (1 attraction) Josephine Tussaud's Wax Studios/King's Cross Waxworks (England) - (3 attractions) Louis Tussaud's Wax Studios (England) - (1 attraction) Mack Rides (Germany) - (4 attractions) Nick Dyck - (2 attractions) Pasquale Ramunno - (1 attraction) Pretzel Rides Co. (USA) - (3 attractions) Proslide Technology Inc. Robert (Bobber) Gibbs - (5 attractions) Rockscapes Canada Rolly Crump (USA) Sally Corporation (USA) - (3 attractions) Sawatzky's Imagination Corporation Stubergh Wax Models/Stubergh-Keller Wax Studios/Ripley's Wax Studios Studio Enterprises Travers Engineering Co. (USA) - (1 attraction) Waxattract/Enter-Tech (Dunham family) - (30+attractions) White-Hutchinson Leisure Learning Group (WHLLG, USA) WhiteWater West Owners/Developers Arthur White Beefeater Inc./Niagara Clifton Group (Burland family) Charlie Lavey IPCO (Ian Paul Company) Falls Ave. Company Ghermezian family Harry Riley Herbert (Herb) Cowan Janda Products/New Way Sales Joe Camisa Little Joe Malcom Howe Ricci family Walt Wang Welland Securities/HOCO (Harry Oakes Company)

Greater Toronto Area Amusement and Theme Parks The most densely populated metro area in Canada has understandably been home to a massive number of amusement attractions over the years, simply due to the sheer number of consumers. This area includes Toronto, Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa, Markham, Richmond Hill, Vaughn, Brampton, Mississauga, Oakville and Burlington. Canada's Wonderland - Vaughn Centreville Amusement Park - Toronto Cullen Gardens and Miniature Village - Whitby Fantasy Fair - Woodbine Centre, Etobicoke (Toronto) Ontario Place - Toronto Sunnyside Amusement Park - Toronto Arcades, Mini Golf and F.E.C.s Amuse-O-Matic Centre - Union Station, Toronto Annex Billiards - Toronto Arcadia - Square One Shopping Centre, Mississauga Arcadium - Canada's Wonderland, Vaughn Bathgate Golf Centre Mini Putt - Bathgate Golf Centre, Mississauga Big Slick Bar & Billiards - Mississauga Bijou Club - Bayview Village Shopping Centre, North York (Toronto) Break & Play Billiards and Bar - Brampton Bridlewood Mall Games (Mall run game area) - Bridlewood Mall, Scarborough (Toronto) Captains Snooker Club - 966 Dundas Plaza, Mississauga Centennial Park Golf Centre Mini Golf - Centennial Park Golf Centre, Mississauga Central Billiards Pool Hall - Mississauga Centreville Miniature Golf - Centreville Amusement Park, Toronto Century Billiards - Brampton Chuck E. Cheese's - Mississauga Chuck E. Cheese's - Vaughn Chuck E. Cheese's - Whitby Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre - Burlington Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre (Jane/Wilson location) - North York (Toronto) Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre - Kennedy Square, Brampton Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre (Victoria Park/Sheppard location) - North York (Toronto) Claw World - Woodside Square, Toronto Club Kennedy - Scarborough (Toronto) Club 33 Teen Lounge - Chelsea Hotel, Toronto The Crooked Cue - Etobicoke (Toronto) The Crooked Cue - Port Credit (Mississauga) Crystal Palace Arcade - Canada's Wonderland, Vaughn CyberMind V.R. Centre (CN Tower location)- CN Tower, Toronto CyberMind V.R. Centre (Yonge St. location) - Toronto Dave & Buster's - Oakville Dave & Buster's - Vaughn Diamonds Billiards and Lounge - Pickering Electronic Playworld - Yonge/Grenville, Toronto Embassy Billiards - Bloor/Bellair, Toronto Endless Fun - Ajax Epic Planet Fun - Eglington Town Centre, Scarborough (Toronto) Fantasy Station Arcade - Woodbine Centre, Etobicoke (Toronto) Fairtee Golf Centre - Markham Fun & Games - Bramalea City Centre, Brampton Fun & Games - Sherway Gardens, Missi ssauga Fun & Games - Shopper's World, Brampton Fun City - North York Centre Station, North York (Toronto) Funland Arcade (Yonge/Breadalbane location) - Toronto Funland Arcade (Yonge/Dundas location AKA "Pinball Games We Are Open Just For Fun") - Toronto Funland Arcade ( Yonge/Elm location AKA "Prizes Prizes Prizes" ) - Toronto Funland Arcade (Yonge/Gould location) - Toronto Funstation Mini Golf - Jane/Finch, North York (Toronto) Fun Time - Pacific Mall, Markham Futureworld/Space World - Shopper's World, Brampton The Games - Erin Mills Town Centre, Mississauga GameTime Social - Burlington GJ's Arcade - Lakeshore/Kerr, Oakville GlowZone 360 (Eglington/Dixie location) - Mississauga GlowZone 360 (McLaughlin Rd. location) - Mississauga Guidion's Pinball and Billiard Arcade - Finch West Mall, North York (Toronto) Hangout Lounge - Whitby Happy Kingdom - York (Toronto) Happy Landing Putt Putt/Peanuts Putt Putt - Canada's Wonderland, Vaughn Harry Putter Golf Academy - Woodbridge (Vaughn) JJQ's Billiards and Lounge - Mississauga John's Arcade - Victoria Park/O'Connor, Scarborough (Toronto) Kart Town - Parkway Mall, Scarborough (Toronto) Kerr St. Billiards/Arnold's Funland - Kerr St. (later moved to multiple locations on Speers Rd., then 485 Morden Rd.), Oakville The Last Cue Billiard Club - Brampton Le Cue Lounge - Markham Le Spot Billiards - 4531 Sheppard Plaza, Scarborough (Toronto) Mad Hatter - Scarborough (Toronto) Marina Arcade - Ontario Place, Toronto Master Q Snooker, Billiards and Lounge - Markham Mickey's Arcade - Dundas St., Mississauga Michelle's Billiards and Lounge - Whitby Minigolf - Ontario Place, Toronto Mini Greens - Ontario Place, Toronto Mister 8 Billiards - Toronto Monte Carlo Billiards - Missis sauga Mystery Billiards - Vaughn Nascar Speedpark - Vaughn Mills, Vaughn NEB's Fun World - Oshawa Ninth Line Family Golf Academy - Oakville Oshawa Creek Family Golf - Oshawa Orbit - Pacific Mall, Markham Petrina Billiards - Pickering Pickering Playing Fields - Pickering Pinball Arcade - Yonge/Isabella, Toronto The Pin Ball Spot - Yonge/Gould, Toronto Pro Putt - Canada's Wonderland, Vaughn Putting Edge - Etobicoke (Toronto) Putting Edge - Oakville Putting Edge - Richmond Hill Putting Edge - Scarborough (Toronto) Putting Edge - Vaughn Putting Edge - Whitby The Q - Bloor/Yonge Station, Toronto QB Sports Bar Grill Games - Appleview Square Plaza, Burlington Quater Land - Morningside Mall, Scarborough (Toronto) Rock Chapel Mini Putt - Rock Chapel Golf Centre, Burlington Rivoli Pool Hall - Toronto Sega City/Playdium - Mississauga Shooterville Billiards Bar & Grill - Burlington Shoxs Billiard Lounge - York (Toronto) Sky Games - Fairview Mall, North York (Toronto) Skygames - Markville Shopping Centre, Markham Splitsville - Burlington Splitsville - Richmond Hill The Sting - Yonge/Major Mackenzie Dr., Richmond Hill Striker's Pool and Bar - Brampton Studio 81 - Yonge/Cummer, North York (Toronto) Super Computer Hour - Malvern Mall, Scarborough (Toronto) Times Square Billiards - Yonge/Elm, Toronto Undercurrent - CN Tower, Toronto United Billiards - Yonge/Temperance, Toronto Vegas Room - Finch Ave., North York (Toronto) Video Funland - 2654 Eglington Plaza, Scarborough (Toronto) Video Invasion (Wilson Heights Blvd. location) - North York (Toronto) Video Invasion (Bathurst St. location) - North York (Toronto) Video Pinball Amusement Arcade - Knob Hill Plaza, Scarborough (Toronto) V.I.P. Billiards (North York location) - North York (Toronto) V.I.P. Billiards (Scarborough location) - Scarborough (Toronto) V.I.P. Billiards (Yonge/Gerrard location) - Yonge St., Toronto Vinnie's Midway - Adelaide/John, Toronto Wedgewood Golf Centre - Burlington The Wizard - Centerpoint Mall, North York (Toronto) Wizard's Castle - Agincourt Mall, Scarborough (Toronto) Wizard's Castle - Bramalea City Centre, Brampton Wizard's Castle - Cloverdale Mall, Etobicoke (Toronto) Wizard's Castle - Dufferin Mall, Toronto Wizard's Castle - Fairview Mall, North York (Toronto) Wizard's Castle - Meadowvale Town Centre, Mississauga Wizard's Castle - Westdale Mall, Brampton Wizard's Castle/Fx5 - Pickering Town Centre, Pickering Wizard's Castle/Games Maximus - Scarborough Town Centre, Scarborough (Toronto) Wizard's Castle/Sky Games - Woodbine Centre, Etobicoke (Toronto) Wizard's Enchanted Castle - Yorkdale Mall, North York (Toronto) Woodie Woodchuck's - Mississauga Woodie Woodchuck's - Scarborough (Toronto) Woodlands Mini-Putt Golf - Cullen Gardens and Miniature World, Whitby World Cup - North York Sheridan Mall, North York (Toronto) Zodiac - Eglington Town Centre, Scarborough (Toronto) Arcade (Name Unknown) - Burlington Centre, Burlington Arcade (Name Unknown) - Cedarbrae Mall, Scarborough (Toronto) Arcade (Name Unknown) - Dundas St., Mississauga Arcade (Name Unknown) - Erindale Plaza, Mississauga Arcade (Name Unknown) - Hillcrest Mall, Richmond Hill Arcade (Name Unknown) - Hopedale Mall, Oakville Arcade (Name Unknown) - Honeydale Mall, Etobicoke (Toronto) Arcade (Name Unkkown) - Lawrence Plaza, North York (Toronto) Arcade (Name Unknown) - Royal York Hotel PATH System, Toronto Arcade (Name Unknown) - Trafalgar Village, Oakville Arcade (Name Unknown) - Whitby Mall, Whitby Arcade (Name Unknown) - Yonge/Finch, North York (Toronto) Arcade (Name Unknown) - Yonge/Queen, Toronto Mini Golf (Name Unknown) - Sunshine Beach/Wild Water Kingdom/Wet 'n Wild, Brampton Dark Attractions, Wax Museums and Exhibits 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 Specialty Hotels and Gift Shops Chelsea Hotel - Toronto Delta Toronto East - Scarborough (Toronto) Theatres, Bowling Alleys and Miscellaneous AMC Interchange 30 - Vaughn Bowlerama - Bathurst St., North York (Toronto) Bowlerama - Cedarbrae Mall, Scarborough (Toronto) Bowlerama - Dundas St., Etobicoke (Toronto) Bowlerama - Yonge St., North York (Toronto) Bowlerama - Jane Park Plaza, North York (Toronto) Bowlerama/Kennedy Bowl - Scarborough (Toronto) Bowlerama/Parkway Bowl - Parkway Mall, Scarborough (Toronto) Bowlerama - Overlea Blvd., East York (Toronto) Bowlerama - Rexdale Blvd., Etobicoke (Toronto) Bowlerama - Trafalgar Village, Oakville Bowlero - Brampton Burlington Bowl - Burlington C4 Centre - Eastown Plaza, Scarborough (Toronto) Cinesphere - Ontario Place, Toronto Danforth Bowl - East York (Toronto) Don Mills Bowl - Don Mills Centre, North York (Toronto) Famous Players/Rainbow/SilverCity/Cineplex Cinema - Fairview Mall, North York (Toronto) The 5 Drive-In - Oakville FX Adventure Theatre - Ontario Place, Toronto Laser Quest - Mississauga Laser Quest - Richmond Hill Laser Quest - Scarborough Markham Bowl - Markham O'Connor Bowl - Scarborough (Toronto) Planet Laser - Oakville Playtime Bowl - York (Toronto) The Roller Palace - Warden/Finch, Scarborough (Toronto) Rollerpony - Etobicoke (Toronto) Roller World - Glen Watford/Sheppard, Scarborough (Toronto) Richmond Hill Pro Bowl - Richmond Hill Scooter's Roller Palace - Mississauga SilverCity Cinemas - Brampton SilverCity Cinemas - Mississauga SilverCity Cinemas - Richmond Hill SilverCity/Cineplex Colossus - Vaughn SuSO Skate - Brampton Tour of the Universe/Ride Theatre - CN Tower, Toronto Ultimate Laser Tag - Oakville Webb Bowl - Royal York Plaza, Etobicoke (Toronto) Ride Theatre (Name Unknown) - Sega City/Playdium, Mississauga Themed Restaurants, Bars and Stores The Disney Store - Eaton Centre, Toronto The Disney Store - Fairview Mall, North York (Toronto) The Disney Store - Scarborough Town Centre, Scarborough (Toronto) The Disney Store - Square One Shopping Centre, Mississauga The Disney Store - Vaughn Mills, Vaughn The Disney Store - Yorkdale Shopping Centre, North York (Toronto) Frankie Tomatto's - Markham Hard Rock Cafe - Toronto Lime Rickey's - Eaton Centre, Toronto Lime Rickey's - Sussex Centre, Mississauga Lime Rickey's - Yonge/Eglington, Toronto The Old Spaghetti Factory - Toronto The Organ Grinder - Toronto Planet Hollywood - Toronto Rainforest Cafe - Scarborough Town Centre, Scarborough (Toronto) Rainforest Cafe - Yorkdale Mall, North York (Toronto) Water Parks and Attractions Children's Village Waterpark/Soak City - Ontario Place, Toronto Splash Works - Canada's Wonderland, Toronto Sunshine Beach/Wild Water Kingdom/Wet 'n Wild - Brampton White Water - Shopper's World, Brampton

Playmate Exhibits Attraction Type: Exhibit Location: Drake Hotel and Bar, Niagara Falls, Ontario Years Operational: 1975-late 1970's Designer(s): Costello Productions One of Niagara's most obscure and downright bizarre attractions (both of which are really saying something) was the Playmate Exhibits, a sex museum (yes, you read that correctly) located in the Drake Hotel and Bar at 5677 Victoria Ave. It opened in 1975 on the ground floor in what was formerly additional bar space, and was designed by Costello Productions. With so little information available on this attraction, it's hard to say what it actually contained or how risqué the scenes depicted really were, however the sole brochure that has surfaced for the attraction touts it as "Sex at its Funniest!" It's likely the attraction was relatively tame in actuality, as it didn't cause much of a splash or uproar of any kind in the city, and quickly faded into obscurity. While the attraction certainly seems like a strange choice of subject to build a museum on, here is some background information that may explain this bizarre museum's existence. The museum can be faintly seen in the middle of this image of Victoria Ave. in 1977, with large "Playmate Exhibits" signs on the roof and front of the Drake. The Drake Hotel and Bar in the 1960's. The Drake Hotel and Bar opened in the early-60s after it took over the 1950s-era Grey Griffin Inn, and by the 70s had become a favorite watering hole with both travelling bikers and the local bar crowd. It was also infamous for not checking ID and serving alcohol to minors, which made the bar especially popular with teenagers, boys specifically. Fun side note: they had a "Pong" machine in the bar the year it released in 1972, making it perhaps the first video game in the Falls. Niagara Falls is also known as the "Honeymoon Capital of the World", and while this persists today mostly in the form of expensive and exclusive high-end experiences, it was a lot more budget back in the 70s, with most honeymoon offerings at the time being more of the heart-shaped tub and coin-operated shaking bed variety. Al Reid owned the Drake Hotel and was apparently quite the character himself. When your business is popular with bikers and rowdy teenage boys, and also located in the world's most popular spot for honeymooners and newlyweds, adding a comedy museum about sex somehow starts to seem like a logical option. While maybe looking good on paper, it's safe to assume the attraction didn't perform very well. The lack of documentation, people who remember it, and even promotional material point to it being a commercial flop. While being always popular with honeymooners, Niagara Falls (especially the Clifton Hill area) always has been and will be a predominantly family destination, which probably explains why the museum didn't last. The location also couldn't have helped, as Victoria Ave. between Clifton Hill and Ferry Rd. is usually busy with tourists, but Victoria Ave. in the other direction, although still technically part of the Clifton Hill area until Bender St., is substantially less trafficked. This is the same problem the original Castle Dracula location on Victoria Ave. faced, which opened a year earlier just a few doors down. Castle Dracula couldn't last in its original spot despite being a spectacular attraction that changed the area and the greater amusement industry as whole, whereas the Playmate Exhibits, obviously, was not. In the attraction's defense it was probably witty, humorous, and (if the other Costello Productions works are any indication) incredibly well designed/put together. The problems with the museum likely lay more on the business and concept side of things. While Castle Dracula still had the impact to move to Clifton Hill proper in 1977 (albeit downsized), the Playmate Exhibits would never rise from the dead like the Count did, and closed in 1979 when Reid sold the hotel. The former museum space was converted back to more bar space, and the Drake itself closed in the mid-80s when it was converted into Big Anthony's restaurant, named after Tony Parisi, the wrestler who bought the building from Reid. The hotel remained upstairs, now under a different name. This is likely when the room expansion was out the back of the building was added, making the hotel portion entered off Ellen Ave. around the back. The building is currently home to Virsa Fine Indian Cuisine on the first floor (after being a variety of restaurants over the years) and the hotel portion is named The Falls Family Lodge. Virsa Fine Indian Cuisine along Victoria Ave. and the Falls Family Lodge in behind occupying the building today.

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

Sculpting Memories The WAXATTRACT Story Waxattract was the leading wax figure and animatronics design firm in Canada from the early-1960's to mid-1980's, and were fittingly based in Niagara Falls, ON. The company was owned by (and entirely comprised of) the Dunham family, with Robert Dunham founding the company sometime in the early 60's. His wife Betty as well as their eight children would all go on to become involved in the family business in some way as the company grew, and together they achieved several firsts and milestones in the amusement industry. The company's most popular attractions, and most groundbreaking, were their revolutionary haunted attractions which redefined the industry not just in Niagara but as a whole, and become an integral part of Clifton Hill's development and growth. Mid-70's business card featuring the only documented instance of the company's logo. A Canadian Amusement History Special Feature Robert Dunham was a painter who first branched into the amusement industry at Crystal Beach Amusement Park in Fort Erie, where he constructed Fantasy Land, a walkthrough fairytale and folklore attraction, under the ballroom sometime around 1960. The attraction was a labyrinth of twisting halls past various scenes of animated fairytale and fantasy characters, brought to life using continuous animation similar to department store window displays at Christmas. 1964 newspaper ad for Dunham's painting services. It was run by Dunham as a concession, but he noticed something while running the attraction. Families were flocking into Laff in the Dark, a haunted house dark ride attraction across the pathway from Fantasy Land, while Fantasy Land remained less than popular. That being said, Laff in the Dark was built way back in 1935, a package ride by Travers Engineering, and the extent of the scenes contained within were plywood cutouts with a flood light on them, or noisemakers on the ground which your ride car rolled over. Fantasy Land on the other hand contained scenes with multiple full 3D figures, dynamic lighting, and recorded sounds. Despite Fantasy Land being the much more detailed attraction, and family oriented, Laff in the Dark proved more popular since it was the parents spending the money, not the children. Parents would drag their hesitant children into the dark ride, have a good laugh, and then the children who felt they had braved the attraction would want to return. It was also popular with all age groups, including teenagers and adults without children, whereas Fantasy Land was not. He took note of the impact a horror theme had on an attraction, and remembered it for his future endeavors which would change Niagara Falls forever, but in the meantime, branched further into the amusement industry with other projects. Fantasy Land's castle entrance under the dance hall, sandwiched between the Bowl-O-Matic bowling alley and Crystal Beach Wax Museum, the latter which Dunham may have later had a hand in (see below). The first of these would be Waltzing Waters , which he built for local businessman Arthur White in the then-new Seagram Tower complex (later Royal Tower, Heritage Tower, Panasonic Tower, Minolta Tower, and most recently Tower Hotel.) Waltzing Waters was a computerized dancing fountain that was synchronized to music, and even lights at night. A switchboard operator controlled the show, making it customizable so no two performances were exactly the same, encouraging return customers. The attraction came at a time when computers were in their infancy, and was a smash hit. It was the third bonafide amusement attraction to open in the Falls proper only behind Louis Tussaud's Wax Museum and the Antique Auto Museum, and the first in the up-and-coming Fallsview district. Early 70's Waltzing Waters postcard. In 1966, Arthur White and his business partner Malcolm Howe commissioned Dunham to add to the Burning Springs Wax Museum that had also opened in the Seagram Tower complex in 1963. A basement level of the museum was constructed underneath the pre-existing two floors, featuring a Chamber of Horrors that brought the museum's total number of scenes from 33 to 50. It breathed fresh air into an attraction that was already becoming tired within mere years of opening, with the thrilling new addition being remembered as one of the most specifically terrifying horror sections to ever exist in a Niagara wax museum. This was Dunham's first confirmed wax museum contract, and the first job with a horror theme. It's also possible, while not confirmed, that he may have been in involved in the addition of a Chamber of Horrors to the Crystal Beach Wax Museum around the same time, which was also owned by White and coincidentally located directly next door to Fantasy Land under the ballroom. Just a year later in 1967, the Ricci family who owned the Oakes Hotel across the street from the Burning Springs commissioned an entire museum from Dunham, one that he would also manage. This would be the legendary Boris Karloff Wax Museum, which opened under the name "Niagara Wax Museum of Fantasy" before being changed to it's better-known name the following year after receiving the official license from Karloff himself shortly before the actor's death. Horror sections or Chambers of Horror in wax museums were nothing new, however this was the first entirely horror themed wax museum. Left: May 1967 newspaper ad promoting the museum's grand opening. Very little is known of this early incarnation of the museum. Right: Early 70's brochure for the museum with it's better-known name. Notice the vast artistic style difference between the Dracula figures seen in the 1967 print ad and the 70's brochure, making details surrounding the first year of the museum even more strange. Despite the horror theme, it was still truly a wax museum, not a haunted attraction. What limited photos exist in the brochures show it being fairly well-lit, and describe many non-horror scenes like Charlie Brown, MLK, Santa, Lincoln and Snow White. While there was a large amount of animation, it was done in the same style of the animatronics in Fantasy Land, but Waxattract's animation of horror figures would become much more advanced in the years that followed. It's heavy animation, lighting effects, sound design, and unique theme made it a massive success however, and it's remembered fondly by both locals and those who only visited the Falls once or twice. Dunham was right about the horror theme as braving his new attraction became a rite of passage, and the memories of (at the time) children who it terrified are only eclipsed by the memories of children and adults alike who fell in love with it. More sights from the 70's brochure. As this was happening, other operators in the area were taking note, and Waxattract was asked to do work for the biggest attractions in the Falls at the time, namely Movieland and Tussaud's. Dunham also did design consulting for the Niagara Belle ferry boat, which up until the 2020 pandemic, still took passengers on tours of the region. The majestic Niagara Belle when it was still providing tours in the late 2010's. Dunham was honing his craft, and opened another attraction of his own, the Royal London Wax Museum , in 1971. It replaced the Antique Auto Museum on Falls Ave. when it moved to Clifton Hill and became Cars of the Greats. The Royal London was themed after the royal family and was a Waxattract built and owned attraction, but was a co-project of sorts, with some of the scenes and figures being created by Bruce Randall. The building was adorned with neon signage, and in the front window sat a beautiful recreation of the Queen's royal stagecoach. Despite its gorgeous displays, it faced one problem: at the time, the Western world had no interest in the royal family. The museum was very well received by those lucky enough to experience it, but it simply was not a topic most people were willing to tour an entire museum on. The Boris Karloff Wax Museum was performing much better simply due to its theme, despite being in a much less trafficked area, whereas the underperforming Royal London was in perhaps one of the most heavily trafficked areas in the whole country. Dunham took note of this as well, and an attraction was on its way that would change Niagara Falls, and the amusement industry, forever. Left: The Royal London Wax Museum's neon-clad exterior in grainy 1973 footage. Right: The Queen's royal stagecoach that sat in the window as it appeared in 1976 after being moved to the Tower of London Wax Museum (see below). 1971 postcard. The highly complex Seance scene. This featured a levitating table, moving objects, and compressed air blasting at the guests. This brings us to one of the most pivotal attractions in the landscape and history of Clifton Hill: The House of Frankenstein . The attraction was built in a second story added on to the pre-existing restaurant and gift shop of the Iannuzelli family's Hilltop Motel, and ran by the motel owner's brother Joe. Waxattract developed the attraction, and went partners with the brothers in ownership as well, as they had previously done with the Royal London. Dunham had learned from Fantasy Land and The Royal London, or more specifically, the success of the Boris Karloff. Rather than being a museum, it would showcase various wax horror scenes from film and history in a much scarier way, somewhat similar to the haunted house dark rides or haunted fun houses at carnivals and amusement parks, but at the same time, not similar at all, in fact lightyears ahead. I believe it to be one of the most important attractions in amusement history, rivaling the Pretzel Dark Ride, the Enchanted Tiki Room, and Chuck E. Cheese's in historical significance, yet totally overlooked by historians. From what I have been able to gather after years of research, it was the first instance of programmable animatronic figures outside of California's Disneyland, even beating out Disney World in Florida by a few months. It was simultaneously more than a wax museum and more than a haunted house, one could say it was the first modern walk-through haunted attraction, today an over $300 million USD a year industry. Waxattract would even self-produce latex monster masks and hands cast from the same molds as the figures in the attraction for sale in the gift shop. It was a combination of multiple age old concepts into something totally new. The House of Frankenstein was packed with scenes and took the detail, storytelling, and walk through nature of a wax museum, combined it with the scare factor and startling nature of a dark ride, and sprinkled in the illusions, floor tricks, and mazes of a funhouse. The cherry on top of it all was Waxattract's technology. By now, Waxattract was an entire family business, with Dunham's wife Betty doing all the costumes and seamstress work for the figures. They had 8 children, all of which would go on be involved in the family business in some way, their eldest son Jeff being the computer and programming mastermind, their son Fred becoming the main sculptor for the figures and painter of the props and backgrounds, their sons Brian and Chris handling the construction and carpentry for the attractions, and Robert himself well-versed and highly involved in all aspects. The Dunhams would pull off some incredible special effects that would still be considered impressive today. The Grotto, where amidst the corpses and circling bats guests would hear their own voices' echo chase them down the hallway, achieved via hidden microphones and a stereo system. This allegedly sent many guests running back out the entrance. Collage from an opening year souvenir guide book. Before this, dark rides and funhouses used on/off switches that would trigger a one time action for startling animatronics, or use continuously running motors for displays, as had department store windows during the holidays. However none of these were programmable, at best, you could install a timer that let a motor run for a set amount of seconds, then shut off. It was systems like these which the figures in Dunham's Fantasy Land and Boris Karloff Wax Museum had run off as well. Up until now, electronically controlled and programmable figures with dynamic movements had been exclusive to the Disney company, who by this point were using room-sized computers to run digitally controlled figures. Waxattract's system however used analog signals recorded on simple reel-to-reel Q4 tape rather than massive computers to control the figures, much more affordable and accessible for attractions, and eventually became the industry benchmark. Chuck E. Cheese's wouldn't open their first store and kick off the animatronics + pizza trend until 1977. Creative Engineering, who would go on to be responsible for rival chain Showbiz Pizza in the 80's, wouldn't begin inventing animatronic figures for theme parks until the mid-late 70's, nor would future animatronics manufacturers like Sally Corp or AVG. The Dunhams' invention and it's debut in the House of Frankenstein predate them all, cracking the code and effectively birthing the animatronics industry. Going through an opening year guidebook for the attraction, you see how certain scenes couldn't even be possible without the programming system, and if you've seen many of the same scenes still present in the later Lake George location, it becomes even more apparent. Lighting, sound, and specific movements all come together to tell a story, groundbreaking for 1971. Nobody could have expected what awaited them when they walked into the House of Frankenstein. More can be read about this incredible attraction here on it's history page. In another first, there was even a live actor in a Frankenstein suit outfront (usually one of Dunham's sons in the early years) who would stand perfectly still until a crowd was gathered around, then suddenly lunge forward to incite a large scream from the crowd. The commotion would draw more people to the doors of the attraction, and was a great example of Dunham's genius marketing, a reocurring theme you'll see on this page. The Phantom of the Opera plays his frantic music from his pipe organ, one of the few original figures still located in the attraction as of 2024. The original Frankenstein scene, located towards the end of the attraction. This featured a massive Jacob's Ladder device with real electricity, and the Bride of Frankenstein (just out of frame) who was wearing Betty Dunham's wedding dress. The House of Frankenstein tore Clifton Hill apart, and sent shockwaves through the industry. If Tussaud's had began the ball rolling 12 years earlier in 1959, the House of Frankenstein was the moment everything fell into place for the identity of Clifton Hill. Waxattract's brilliant artistry, figures, sets, paintings and technical wizardry amounted to an incredible experience. Photos of Clifton Hill in the 1970's shows lineups down the street to even get into the lobby. Soon after the massive success of the House of Frankenstein, Dunham partnered with the Iannuzellis on a second location in the tourist town of Lake George, NY, which opened in 1973. Many of the figures were made from the same molds and sculpts as their Niagara counterparts, however the list of scenes contained within varied slightly. Waxattract and the Iannuzellis would continue to own the attractions as a partnership until the Iannuzellis, seeing their success, wanted to buy them outright, which Dunham eventually agreed to for the right price. But by 1974, Dunham already had his sights set on building a second haunted attraction in Niagara Falls: Castle Dracula . The House of Frankenstein in Lake George, still operating today. The original Castle Dracula seen at the bottom of this 1976 image taken from the Oneida tower. By now however, Dunham wanted to do something much more scary than he already had. To set it apart, it would have to be even more thematic and technologically advanced than the previous attractions, and it delivered. It was originally located on Victoria Ave. in an old Bell Telephone office building. It opened on June 1st, 1974 to rave reviews, with it's original full name being "Castle Dracula: Witchcraft and Black Magic", although it was also referred to as simply "Castle Dracula Wax Museum" in some media. Very little was documented about this original location, but by what accounts do exist, Castle Dracula was quite a spectacle to behold when it opened, and expanded on the proven haunted attraction concept established in the House of Frankenstein(s). Castle Dracula was themed floor to ceiling. The halls were covered in stucco rock, made to look like twisting caves between castle archways, and blacklight stalagmites hung from the ceilings. It would use many of the same sculpts as the figures in the House of Frankenstein locations, and while containing many of the same scenes such as all the classic movie monsters, the overall list of scenes would vary even more than the two House of Frankenstein locations varied from each other. The scenes were also usually presented in a much scarier way than in the House of Frankenstein locations. In addition to scarier scenes and storytelling, it was also even more technologically advanced. The Seance room now had a projected recording of a talking face inside the crystal ball instead of a simple glowing light, but the projection technology wouldn't stop there. Many peoples' fondest memory of the Castle Dracula locations is the Lightshow room with Quadraphonic Surround Sound, which consisted of 50 projectors throwing special effects on a 96 foot U-shaped screen on three walls of a massive room, the finale of the attraction. Behind the screen was a lighting rig of various spotlights, projectors, moving lights (like fire or falling snowflake effects), and silhouettes. The operator would talk into a mic to the guests in horror characters' voices, able to actually interact with the guests in real time, and provide a customized show to each guest using the switchboard. Exterior of a 1974 fold-open brochure. The technological improvements wouldn't stop at lighting and audio technology however, as the attraction featured yet another first in the world of animatronics; the Monster Mash, which was a fully animatronic band of monsters singing Bobby Pickett's song of the same name. By every shred of surfaced evidence, it was the world's first animatronic full musical band outside of a Disney park. It was also incredibly advanced in movement for the time, capable of movements not seen in other animatronics until the end of the decade. Unfortunately, it was in the dark hallways of the actual attraction, not the lobby or window, so photos or video have yet to surface of this historic band. The attraction was three floors, with guests taking a staircase up to the lobby on the second floor immediately upon entering. While a separate restaurant occupied the street-facing side of the lower level, the back half of this level was part of the attraction, and was underground as the building was built atop a natural slope towards Victoria Ave. This lower level was an incredible feat of design that still hasn't been done in another haunted attraction to this day, not even the subsequent Castle Dracula locations. A pool company was brought in to reinforce all the walls of the foundation with sealed concrete, turning the entire basement into "The Swamp"; a massive watertight fishtank with a twisting hallway running through the middle. Along this hallway were huge windows into various underwater horror scenes, such as the Creature from the Black Lagoon and Davey Jones Locker. All the scenes in The Swamp were connected between each other, for the room's large fish population to freely swim around, including 3 foot long Carp. This would be guests' first introduction to the attraction. After guests' journey through The Swamp they would come back upstairs to the level at which they began, where most of the attraction was located (including The Monster Mash), and from there head up to the top floor containing a handful of scenes as well as the Lightshow. Afterwards they would come down a staircase into the lobby. The Exorcist scene as it appeared lit but not functioning in 2023, 46 years after the attraction's eventual move to Clifton Hill. The face of the animatronic of the possessed girl in the Exorcist scene was actually a cast of Dunham's youngest daughter Debbie's face, who was 8 years old at the time, and Fred Dunham recalls several casts of him and his siblings' arms and limbs being used to build figures. The attraction would end up being a highlight of Waxattract's achievements, ahead of it's time and spectacular at every turn. It would go on to influence the company's direction over the following years in more ways than one. Despite drawing over 200,000 visitors in its first season and being incredibly well received, it wasn't without its issues, as the attraction's complexity would be a double-edged sword. The pool company who poured the concrete for The Swamp did a less than stellar job, and leaks were an issue from day one. This would cause the water (and fish) to eventually be removed halfway through the location's lifespan, being replaced with shimmering light effects to simulate water. The Monster Mash was also problematic, requiring constant maintenance due to the amount of moving components and servos. Robert Dunham's son Fred was usually the one to do the painstaking maintenance on the band to keep it running to its full potential. There was also an issue with the attraction's location. Victoria Ave. between Clifton Hill and the Fallsview district is somewhat highly trafficked, but Victoria Ave. in the other direction, while still considered part of the Clifton Hill district until Bender St., gets much less foot traffic, even to this day. It still swells with people on a Summer weekend, but nowhere near the levels of the rest of the Clifton Hill area. With a fairly simple exterior and lack of visibility from down the street, the original Castle Dracula simply failed to pull tourists away from the other areas, despite the positive press and lasting effect on the wider amusement industry. With the original Castle Dracula location in Niagara initially doing well, the Dunham family's Waxattract company closed the Royal London Wax Museum, selling off the collection to the ill-fated Tower of London Wax Musuem on Clifton Hill and setting their sights elsewhere. The first project Robert Dunham was involved with down in the States wasn't an amusement attraction at all, rather, he became co-owner of the Myrtle Beach Speedway, a dirt NASCAR track which he helped redesign and pave in 1974. Several up-and-coming stars raced at the track when they were young including Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt. Meanwhile, Dunham was creating his first amusement attraction in the area, the second Castle Dracula, which would open on March 14th, 1975 on Ocean Blvd., Myrtle Beach's main strip near the beach. It would take heavy inspiration from the attraction here in Niagara, building on the concept even further, while dropping elements that had proved problematic. It contained mostly the same scenes, with the returning ones sometimes improving on their past versions. This 1975 photo of the finishing touches being put on an unknown scene in the Myrtle Beach location may be the only photo of the master himself at work. The Swamp basement level featured in the Niagara location was done away with completely, with the Myrtle Beach location only being two levels. The facade was a massive castle with four 60 ft. turrets, a moat, a window with three changing images on it, three drawbridges in, and adorned with two gargoyle statues. The middle drawbridge led to a scene of Dracula standing at a coffin someone was trying to escape from, similar to the ones in the lobbies of the House of Frankenstein locations. You could go either left into the gift shop or right into the arcade/lobby, with the rooms being connected behind the scene. This made for a much grander facade and entranceway, pulling you down the street and then into the building. The impressive Myrtle Beach location, 1975. The Dracula lobby scene immediately inside the building. The Monster Mash was also retooled into a quartet of singing head busts with projected holographic faces. To achieve the effect, the faces were projected onto the heads, which had faces in the characters' likenesses sculpted inwards rather than outwards. It served as a lobby display rather than part of the attraction, to prevent bottlenecking along the attraction's path due to guests watching the show. The Lightshow in this location is also the only one with mention of a dancing fountain (similar to the company's Waltzing Waters attraction) in the Lightshow room in an old brochure, which was located in the large open space in the middle of the room. It's unknown if the Niagara location had this as well, as the Lightshow room there had the same layout and would have had space, but proof is yet to surface. The arcade also contained a stage for a live magic show, another feature it's unclear whether the Niagara location had. In a news article from four days before the location opened, it states that it had over 50 scenes and over 100 figures, with many having a $16 USD (over $93 USD when adjusted for inflation) pair of imported, glass, Czechoslovakian surgical eyes for the highest realism. It's unknown if the same imported eyes were used in figures in the Niagara location, but upon inspection it appears to be the case. A first for either location was an animatronic Dracula figure with a projected talking face, the face belonging to Dunham himself in Dracula makeup. Projected faces on an animatronic figure is something even Disney wouldn't implement in their attractions until 2014, nearly 40 years later, a true testament to how advanced the attraction was for the time. Another cool feature mentioned in the news article is that the height of the windows into each scene was dependent on how gruesome it was, with more bloody and disturbing scenes having higher windows so parents could choose whether or not they wished to lift up their children to show them. "The Room Rats" in the Myrtle Beach location, where a prisoner chained to the wall is eaten alive. The attraction cost roughly half a million dollars to build, and revolutionized Myrtle Beach's amusement industry similar to the way that the House of Frankenstein and original Castle Dracula influenced Niagara Falls. Unfortunately, on August 12, 1975, just two days shy of the attraction's five month anniversary, someone tossed a cigarette butt into the "Night Stalker" scene of a vampire getting impaled through the heart on the second floor, and the attraction went up in flames around 10:30 P.M. Roughly 1,000 people crowded the street and watched the Castle burn. The entire attraction was thankfully rebuilt from the ground up in time for the next tourist season in 1976, with only minor changes made in the new version. The biggest change would come in Plexiglass now covering the windows into almost all of the scenes instead of just a handful of them, something that would continue to be implemented in all subsequent attractions to prevent a similar incident. It would remains as popular as it's first year, becoming the focal point of the strip. Firefighters fighting the flames engulfing the castle, 1975. The Castle was heavily involved in the local community, in common Robert Dunham style. In addition to sponsoring sports teams, they also sponsored race cars (many of which fittingly raced at Myrtle Beach Speedway), leant props out for use in a charity haunted house free of charge, sent their resident magician to local schools and charity events, and even pledged the entire remaining amount of $412 for a local citizen's band radio club telethon to reach it's $3000 goal in 1977. Speaking of radio, they ran a frequent radio ad in the Myrtle Beach area, and even shot a television commercial at some point in the 70's. According to those who worked on it, the commercial featured someone in a Gorilla suit at some point. It most likely aired on public access or local affiliate TV stations before/just at the dawn of VCRs, meaning off-air recordings of the commercial by the public likely don't exist. It remains an extremely obscure piece of lost media, with neither the TV or radio spot even having a page on the Lost Media Wiki or mention on their forums. The Myrtle Beach strip in the early 80's with the rebuilt castle standing tall in the center. Waxattract was also asked to redesign a local amusement park in Myrtle Beach, which had begun as a Wild West park and most recently had been rethemed to Pirateland. Dunham redesigned the park as a nautical themed park called Magic Harbour, complete with a Haunted Shooting Gallery utilising infrared target-activated characters made out of the same sculpts and molds as the figures in the House of Frankenstein and Castle Dracula locations. The park also contained The Hound Dog Revue/Country Dog Jamboree, Waxattract's second full animatronic show after the Monster Mash. The only known photo of The Hound Dog Revue. The Panama City Beach castle located on the main strip. The genie statue seen faintly to the right was unrelated to the castle, and from a neighboring attraction. With business already booming at two Castle Dracula locations, Waxattract would spread the influence of Niagara Falls and Clifton Hill further with the third Castle Dracula in Panama City Beach, FL. It was located on the main strip facing the ocean with the same facade as the Myrtle Beach location. The attraction would be even more toned down from the previous locations, and while having a two story facade and drawbridge entrance identical to the Myrtle Beach location, would actually only be a one story building behind it. It had a much larger footprint than the other buildings however, allowing it to still contain most of the same features within. That being said, the Lightshow was scaled down somewhat, becoming a hexagonal mirrored room with mirrors on five sides and an entrance/exit on the other. The mirrors were all two way, with the projection effects being projected on the glass rather than a screen. Left: Jesse Dodd operating the Lightshow at the PCB location, 1977. Note the 8-Track tape control system in the back right. Waxattract had updated their reel-to-reel tape animation system to running on 8-Track by this point, and all the animatronics in the attraction would have had an 8-track control box. Right: The Dracula figure in the main Dracula scene inside the PCB castle, where he cast no reflection in his mirror. The same scene was prevalent in all the Castle Dracula locations. This rare close-up offers a glimpse into the high level of detail on the figures, and comes from a 1983 news report from inside the attraction, making it the only location to have interior footage of it's glory days to surface so far. After the American locations of Castle Dracula were open and running smoothly by 1977, Dunham would move on from opening new Castle Dracula locations to work on other projects. Back in Niagara Falls, despite the version of the attraction there being the most advanced, it was still failing to pull people in the same way that the U.S. locations were due to it's distance from the Hill. Dunham sold the attraction in 1977, and it moved to its current home on Clifton Hill. This took up the entire plot of land formerly occupied by the historic Darling Motel, which contained the doomed Tower of London Wax Museum which had suffered a massive fire the previous year. What remained of the Motel's cabins were demolished, so all that was left was the two story motel building running along the back of the property, and the former wax museum, gift shop and offices building at the front of the property facing Clifton Hill. The front building was severely burnt out by the wax museum fire, and had sat abandoned for several months. It's unknown what the extent of the damage inside was, but the circa 1925 structure was apparently savable, and was connected with the structure at the back of the property to make one building taking up the entire plot of land which would be large enough to house the relocated attraction. Only a fraction of the original scenes would make the move however, with the Lightshow, Monster Mash, and Swamp area being left behind. The now-iconic Clifton Hill location as it originally appeared following it's move from Victoria Ave. This image circa early 80's. After the Castle Dracula locations were constructed, Waxattract began creating a portable version of their haunted attraction concept for travelling carnivals and small amusement parks. While it's not clear how many were produced, how large they were, or where they ended up, one was likely located on Sportland Pier in Wildwood, NJ. Several people remember a temporary attraction there called "The Boris Karloff Wax Museum" (a name Dunham had the rights to) which only lasted one season, and remember identical scenes as those found in the House of Frankenstein and Castle Dracula locations. That particular attraction likely received the older Boris Karloff name due to the name "Castle Dracula" already being taken in Wildwood by an unrelated attraction, and the House of Frankenstein name belonging to the Iannuzellis. To give an idea of how advanced the animation in these portable attractions was, they apparently contained a Dracula figure capable of raising his "wine" glass, moving his mouth to a line of dialogue, opening it, pouring fake blood out of the glass into his mouth (which was recirculated into the glass via funnel and pump), and then continuing dialogue. This was miles ahead of what major theme parks are doing even to this day, meaning on a carnival midway or in a small park in the 70's, it would have been even more impressive. The temporary (and temporary-looking) Castle Dracula overlay of Lake George's Movieworld Wax Museum in 1982. It's likely Waxattract had little to no involvement in this location. Then there's the mystery of the Movieworld Wax Museum in Lake George, NY, which bears more than one connection to Waxattract, including briefly becoming a Castle Dracula for the 1982 season only. Movieworld opened in 1978 and was owned by the Iannuzzelli family who Dunham had co-owned the House of Frankenstein locations with, bearing striking resemblance to Niagara's unrelated Movieland. There's even public records of a land development proposal submitted by Dunham and the Iannuzzellis for an unnamed development on Canada St. (the street both Movieworld and the House of Frankenstein are located on) in 1977, five years after the House of Frankenstein would have already opened. Despite these connections, the figures in Movieworld beared zero resemblance to Waxattract's other works, with some evidence even suggesting that Don Post Studios, who had constructed the initial batch of opening day figures for Niagara's Movieland, was involved in the project. Members of the Dunham family also recall no involvement in the project. Regardless of the museum's origin, it was briefly renamed "Castle Dracula Wax Museum" for the 1982 season only, receiving a temporary exterior sign, before reverting back to Movieworld the next year, as it would remain until it's closure in 2000. The sole advertisement that has surfaced for the attraction during its tenure as Castle Dracula touted it as "the finest collection of monsters and movie stars", hinting that perhaps the rebranding was more of a name change than a remodel, and it was simply always just Movieworld with either an expanded or rerouted horror section. It's likely this was done to cash in on the success of the Waxattract Castle Dracula locations, with the Iannuzzellis seeing the House of Frankenstein locations draw in far more people than Movieworld and wanting to give it the same appeal, something Movieworld allegedly struggled with right up until it's closure. By 1982 Waxattract had long moved on from building new Castle Dracula locations, and the Dunhams themselves have claimed no involvement. As of writing this, no proof of Waxattract being involved in this attraction has surfaced aside from the land development proposal, and the connections were likely a coincidence. 1982 tourist book advertisement for the Lake George Castle Dracula, utilizing the same quote from Bram Stoker's novel that the official locations did in their advertising, including a strikingly similar logo. This ads even more confusion to the mystery of this attraction and it's true ties (or lack thereof) to the other locations. Around 1977 or 1978, Waxattract would create the Jungleland Miniature Golf course in Niagara, located on Victoria Ave. at the bend where it becomes Ferry St. (the lot currently occupied by the Courtyard Marriott and the Starbucks plaza.) The fiberglass animal statues were imported from Amusement Products in Tennessee, being their popular "Jungle Kingdom" line of figures that were purchased by many courses from the mid 70's-early 2000's. The Dunhams built the large volcano however, as well as the course itself. In another genius marketing move, Dunham charged $3.50 for a play all day pass. The idea was that after an expensive outing in Niagara Falls, families would see the $3.50 play all day pricetag and think it was a steal. The reality of course, is that no matter how good a miniature golf course is, the amount of players (especially families with young children) who are going to play more than one round is an extremely low number, so players would rarely stay for more than a single round of golf anyway, freeing up course space and equipment for more potential customers. It was genius, and a total money maker. Despite the fact most people only played one round, the course was so busy that there were often times lineups to even wait for a putter to become available to play the course. Left: Bobby Mergl lines up a putt at the Big and Little Brother Golf Tournament held at the Victoria Ave. Jungleland course, 1986. Right: The course's elephant in the winter, 1985. Waxattract wasn't involved in the second Jungleland location however, selling the Victoria Ave. location to Herbert Cowan at the end of the 1980 tourist season. He initially changed the course to a standard one-round play system, but after the course didn't perform nearly as well as when Dunham owned it, he reverted back to the play all day pass system. Cowan would go on to build the second, more challenging course on Murray Hill in the Fallsview District sometime in the mid-80's. Low resolution image of the coin-operated Barbershop Quartet machine at Waxattract's studios. Shortly after Jungleland opened, Waxattract became the designers for the upcoming Many Worlds of Jules Verne theme park planned to be out near Marineland. However, after the company who was to own the park, G&A Holdings, ran out of capital, the project was dead in the water and unfortunately never left the planning stages. It's unclear what attractions Dunham was planning for the park, but copyright filings show it would have included an Arby's fast food restaurant somewhere in the premises. The only aspect originally planned for the park to make it to production was The Barbershop Quartet, a miniature, animatronic, coin-operated barbershop quartet machine. According to the copyright database it began life during planning as "The Doggone Quartet", and was likely to feature singing dogs that were to be the park's mascots, but were changed to human barbers after the park was halted. It was produced, but it's unclear if it was ever installed in another attraction instead. While this was happening, it showed a shift in Robert Dunham's work away from museums, wax figures, and exhibits, and even more into the field of animatronics. In the late 70's, Waxattract rebranded as Enter-Tech, "Entertainment Technology in Motion", a division of Waxattract. At this time they would move from their former studio in a warehouse just off Portage Rd., to an industrial plaza on Thorold Stone Rd. The newly branded Enter-Tech would usher in a wave of animatronics being a Clifton Hill area staple, even more so than they already had as Waxattract. Cover of an early-80's Enter-Tech trade show pamphlet. An animatronic mouse character plays the piano at the entrance to Circus World, which looks identical to Enter-Tech's work (more on that later.) In 1979, Enter-Tech as well as other local firm Costello Productions were separately involved in different aspects of Circus World, an arcade and gift shop that also included a hybrid attraction that was a mix between a circus museum and a funhouse. There was also an impressive shooting gallery at the front of the arcade named the Tombstone Saloon, as well as an animatronic, piano playing mouse outside the museum next to something in a circus wagon. It's unknown what party did what exactly for the attraction. It's possible the Tombstone Saloon was a Dunham creation due to them being involved in the shooting gallery in Magic Harbour, but it's also possible it was an off the shelf "Bonanza" shooting gallery that was popular at the time (Niagara had at least 3 others at one point in time.) In 1979, Pyramid Place, an outdoor amusement park and indoor mall, opened in the former Niagara Wire Weaving factory at Fallsview and Robinson. The mall's main attraction was "The Legend Niagara", an Enter-Tech attraction of massive proportions. It was a multi-media museum with animatronic figures and displays discussing Niagara's history. The museum was a pre-show of sorts for the star attraction: a giant theatre with a wraparound film screen high above on the wall. Beneath it were multiple animatronic figures hidden behind scrim screens around the guests. A film about Niagara Falls' history played on the screen above, and when it discussed certain key points, the matching animatronic scenes would come to life to synchronize with events taking place in the film. The attraction was incredible, and was updated the next year as "The Great White Water Picture Show" with a new film, and the animatronics reprogrammed to match the new movie. The Dunhams sold the attraction in 1981, and a company called Landmark Entertainment would take over, slightly remodling the attraction. Fred Dunham also painted a large Disney advertisement mural in Pyramid Place, likely in the mall along the outside wall of the theatre. Newspaper ad for the Great White Water Picture Show. These low-quality images may be the only surviving stills of the film. It should be noted the theatre full of guests at the bottom-left is the IMAX Pyramid, not the Great White Water Picture Show. Maple Leaf Village, Niagara's well-missed tourist mall and amusement park, was home to another Enter-Tech animatronic show, the now-obscure "Hillbilly Bear Jamboree". The show was "run" by Big John, a banjo-playing Panda bear on a side stage. Other characters on the main stage included the dim-whitted Leroy (also on Banjo), Harry Harmonica, Beverly Bear on the fiddle, Jug Head, a chicken, and the tiny Hooter the owl, who would introduce and close each show. There was also a larger bear at the center of the main stage with a guitar. It's possible this may have been "Big John" and the panda bear was a separate character either out front or on a side stage, but a newspaper article about the attraction which contains some of the only documentation of it, shows a photo of the Panda bear with the caption saying he was Big John. Left: The panda bear proclaimed to be "Big John" in a 1982 newspaper article. Above: A rare photo of The Hillbilly Bear Jamboree courtesy of the Dunhams' personal archives. A still from a 1982 commercial for Maple Leaf Village, which contains the only known footage of the Hillbilly Bear Jamboree. Unfortunately, after only two or three years operating at the mall, the computer equipment was stolen from the attraction. It would have been a huge heist at the time both literally and figuratively, as the equipment wouldn't only have been extremely valuable, but also extremely large and heavy in 1982. Afterwards, the Dunhams turned the space into an animatronic Lincoln show similar to the ones at the Disney parks, titled "Meet Mr. Lincoln". Lincoln would get up from his chair, appear to walk forward, and deliver the Gettysburg address (via Robert Dunham's voice acting.) This attraction is incredibly obscure however; no photos, videos, newspaper clippings, advertisements or other mentions of it exist outside it being listed in a 1984 Maple Leaf Village store directory. There was also a Dare Devil Gallery in Pyramid Place's IMAX Pyramid by the mid-1990's. Enter-Tech created an exhibit attraction in The Falls entitled Dare Devil Gallery sometime in the late 70's/very early 80's, evidenced by it's mention in an early 80's Enter-Tech brochure's project portfolio. According to newspaper articles the attraction moved from its home on Stanley Ave. to the former Burning Springs Wax Museum building for the 1991 season only. It's unknown if the attraction ceased to exist after that point and the naming is simply a coincidence, or if a downsized version infact became Pyramid Place's Dare Devil Gallery. Another obscure attraction listed in the same brochure is "Ocean World". There's several theories as to what this could be. It may be referencing the few animatronic figures and fiberglass statues that could be found in the National Marine Aquarium of Canada which opened in 1971. The attraction had a rocky history of ownership and rebranding, so it's possible this simply could have been it's name at the time the brochure was created. While there's currently nothing explicitly tying Waxattract to the Aquarium, they did some work on other attractions owned by the Aquarium's original developers, so it's a possibility they did the thematic work for this attraction as well. An animatronic toucan from the brochure in question. It's unknown if this figure ever made it into an attraction or was simply a proof-of-concept. By 1980, Waxattract/Enter Tech were allegedly producing around 60 animatronic figures a year for various clients, with sales upwards of $1 Million annually, or over $3.7 Million today when adjusted for inflation. By this logic, it stands to reason there's probably a large handful of attractions/installations the company worked on that have since gone undocumented. With so many attractions under their belt, several of which were high-profile money makers, the company name was steadily turning more and more heads in the industry. Between and the company's incredibly advanced technology, highly detailed artistry, thematic design skill, and proven ability to push the boundaries time and time again, potential high-profile clients were beginning to take note, and the small Canadian company was finally positioned to become a global giant in amusement design. The All Star Mouse Revue featured prominently in the early-80's Enter-Tech brochure. The band was comprised of parodies of famous musicians, hence the "all star" theme. From left to right: "Victor B. Mouse", "Elvis Mouse", "Ringo Mouse", "Dolly Mouse", and "Louis Mouse." In the early-80's, Enter-Tech had allegedly entered into a contract with fast food chain Pizza Pizza to supply all the animatronic stage shows for a planned chain of arcade pizza restaurants across Canada, with a starting 15 locations that could expand to more in the future. The show was to be "The All Star Mouse Revue" featuring the new chain's would-be mascot mice. The piano player for this band appeared to be of the same design as the company's Circus World mouse seen earlier on this page, likely being the inspiration for the band. The production, including the parts, research, and development, would have been a huge and expensive undertaking for Enter-Tech, not to mention time consuming. That being said, when completed, it would have been extremely lucrative and open even more doors for the company. The first show was built, programmed, and delivered, with several more already in production. Pizza Pizza missed their second payment however... Meanwhile, a planned pizza parlor chain of similar nature, this time with 20 planned locations in the U.S., caught wind of the show and wished to commission 20 for their chain instead. However, weary of Pizza Pizza taking legal action against Enter-Tech for breaking contract and selling the characters and show to another company, Dunham kept hope that Pizza Pizza's second payment would eventually arrive. It never did, and upon Dunham's inquiring, the fast food giant supposedly claimed to have no clue who Enter-Tech were and hold no record of the shows being commissioned or even delivered, or apparently the planned restaurant chain at all. Not to go down the conspiracy theory road (this is simply speculation based on industry trends at the time), but it's possible that what happened is with the arcade industry recently posting it's first sales decrease in history in 1983, and other restaurant chains of the same concept going belly up after expanding too quickly, Pizza Pizza got cold feet and thought it easier to sweep the whole thing under the rug rather than front the costs to properly backpeddle. By this point it was too late for Dunham to sign with the company from the States instead, and the financial loss from the costs of production of the Mouse Revue shows forced the mighty Enter-Tech/Waxattract into bankruptcy. Fred (Left) and Jeff (Right) Dunham build one of the mouse figures, 1980. This newspaper article on the company features the only-mid production photo from inside Waxattract/Enter-Tech's studios to surface, offering a glimpse into the complexity of the figures. A few days later, Robert Dunham suffered his first heart attack. He would survive and begin to rebuild the company, now focusing on Monsterland Golf, an indoor blacklight miniature golf course featuring animatronic horror figures made from the same sculpts and molds used in the House of Frankenstein and Castle Dracula locations. It was an idea he apparently had for a while, as the copyright was filed way back in 1979 when Jungleland's was. It would have been revolutionary for 1985 if completed, as this was likely before Nightmares Fore opened, and not only would have been both the first blacklight and horror themed mini golf, but also the first interactive one, where obstacles you hit and cups you sink trigger effects on the course. This is a concept that even today is considered revolutionary, and is just starting to become wide-spread in the industry. Unfortunately, it never got passed the planning stages, and on March 11th, 1985, Robert Dunham would suffer another heart attack and pass away at the young age of 55. The industrial plaza on Thorold Stone Rd. formerly home to the final location of Waxattract/Enter-Tech's studios as it appears today. Legendary attractions in both Niagara Falls and across North America were literally created from this building. It was a huge loss to Niagara Falls and the wider industry. Some of Enter-Tech's final projects to actually be completed would be an animatronic Pioneer museum in P.E.I., a talking and drinking W.C. Fields for a bar in the States, and an animatronic salmon puppet built for the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, which would travel around to classrooms giving presentations via a professor with a microphone hidden out of sight of the children. Perhaps no company in the history of the Canadian amusement industry has had a higher volume of attraction output, especially abroad in the U.S., which makes the outstanding quality of those attractions and the fact that one family was creating them rather than a giant crew of employees, all the more astonishing and impressive. Many of the attractions they worked on would become iconic in their respective locations, and even the few that fell through the cracks of history are remembered fondly by those who experienced them. Who knows what else Dunham would have come up with, invented, or built in Niagara and abroad if given more time. One thing is for certain, his legacy, and the joy he brought to millions in his short time, will live on forever in Niagara Falls and the amusement industry as a whole, even if people may not know him by name. The joint efforts of the Dunham family gave fond memories to millions of people who walked through the halls of their museums and haunted attractions, watched the spectacle of their shows and animatronics, or were immersed by their designs in their themed attractions. Art in general often bears the curse of anonymity, and often goes uncredited, especially in the amusement industry. Despite being a knowingly thankless line of work, that doesn't mean the artists and designers who bring an experience to life don't deserve credit for the smiles they create. The strongest kind of example is with a company such as Waxattract, who sculpted memories for those lucky enough to experience their attractions, and the many who continue to experience the handful of them still operational today. Thanks for Reading Written by Alex Crew A list of confirmed and suspected projects Waxattract were involved in can be viewed on the company's main History page in the "Artists and Designers" section of this website. If able, be sure to visit The House of Frankenstein locations in Niagara Falls, ON and Lake George, N.Y., and Castle Dracula (now named "Dracula's Haunted Castle") in Niagara Falls, ON. These are the last confirmed Waxattract attractions in existence. Although it's undergone minor updates, The House of Frankenstein in Lake George, N.Y. remains the most unaltered and best surviving example of Waxattract's work. This article has been made possible by members of the Dunham family who took the time to give interviews and share this incredible story. A huge thank you to Debbie Piccirillo and Fred Dunham for sharing the story of their father's company and everything they themselves contributed to the family business.

Niagara Region Amusement and Theme Parks Canada's most densely populated area for attractions, and for good reason. Located on the side of the border with the best view of one of the seven wonders of the world, the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario as well as the Niagara Region surrounding it has been home to some of the most historically significant amusement attractions not just in the history of Canada, but the entire world. This region's incredible attractions are thanks to the local developers and artists behind them, as well as the countless hospitality staff who keep the region's tourism industry running. Canadia - Niagara Falls Crystal Beach Amusement Park - Crystal Beach Indian Village - Niagara Falls Maple Leaf Village - Niagara Falls Marineland - Niagara Falls Prudhomme's Landing - Lincoln Pyramid Place - Niagara Falls Skylon Indoor Amusement Park - Niagara Falls Storybook Land - Niagara Falls Tivoli Miniature World/Miniature Golf - Lincoln (later moved to Niagara Falls) Tower View Amusement Park - Niagara Falls Arcades, Mini Golf and F.E.C.s Arcadia - Niagara Square Mall, Niagara Falls Casino Niagara Arcade - Casino Niagara, Niagara Falls Cosmic Golf/Galaxy Golf - Niagara Falls Choo Choo Charlie's - St. Catherines Circus World (Clifton Hill location) - Niagara Falls Circus World (Victoria Ave. location) - Niagara Falls Cybermind V.R. Centre - Royal/Panasonic/Minolta Tower Centre, Niagara Falls Cyberport Niagara - Niagara Falls Dave & Busters/Captain Jack's Pirate's Cove/Fun Zone (Clifton Hill location) - Niagara Falls Dazzleland Family Fun Centre - Niagara Falls Dinosaur Park Miniature Golf/Dinosaur Adventure Golf - Niagara Falls Family Fun Arcade - House of Frankenstein, Niagara Falls Fun & Games - Maple Leaf Village, Niagara Falls Fun City - Crystal Beach Amusement Park, Crystal Beach Funland Arcade - House of Frankenstein, Niagara Falls Fun Zone (Fallsview Blvd. location) - Niagara Falls Golf-O-Rama - Niagara Falls Good Times Room - Pyramid Place, Niagara Falls Great Canadian Midway (and Sports Zone) - Niagara Falls Joe's Arcade - Crystal Beach Jungleland Miniature Golf (Stanley Ave. location) - Niagara Falls Jungleland Miniature Golf (Victoria Ave. location) - Niagara Falls King Waldorf's Palace - Marineland, Niagara Falls Leisure Valley Miniature Golf - Niagara-on-the-Lake Maple Leaf Village Family Fun Centre - Maple Leaf Village, Niagara Falls Marvel Superheroes Adventure City/Adventure City - Niagara Falls Niagara Go-Karts - Niagara Falls Nightmares Fore - Maple Leaf Village, Niagara Falls Northern Lights Arcade - Great Wolf Lodge, Niagara Falls Putt Putt/Jungle Putt - Niagara Falls Pro Putt Golfland - Niagara Falls Prudhomme's Landing Arcade - Prudhomme's Landing, Lincoln Prudhomme's Landing Mini Golf - Pru dhomme's Landing, Lincoln Q-balls Billiards Pub - Niagara Falls rCade - Best Western Carin Croft, Niagara Falls Ripley's Arcade - Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum, Niagara Falls Sam's Amusement Centre - York/Chaplin, St. Catherine's Skylon Family Fun Centre (formerly located in Amusement Park)/Skyquest - Skylon Tower, Niagara Falls Super Putt - Niagara Falls Tower Centre Arcade - Royal/Panasonic/Minolta Tower Centre, Niagara Falls Wacky Wilderness Mini Golf - Great Wolf Lodge, Niagara Falls Wizard's Castle - Seaway Mall, Welland Wizard's Golf - Niagara Falls Arcade (Name Unknown) - Cattell/Willoughby Plaza, Niagara Falls Arcade (Name Unknown) - Crystal Beach Arcade (Name Unknown, separate from above) - Crystal Beach Arcade (Name Unknown) - 5900 Main St., Niagara Falls Arcade (Name Unknown) - National Marine Aquarium of Niagara parking lot, Niagara Falls Arcade (Name Unknown) - Niagara Falls (on Niagara Parkway underneath Rainbow Bridge) Mini Golf (Name Unknown) - National Marine Aquarium of Niagara parking lot, Niagara Falls Go-Kart Track/F.E.C. (Name Unknown) - Niagara Falls (former location of Bridal Path) Dark Attractions, Wax Museums and Exhibits 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 Specialty Hotels and Gift Shops Americana Conference Resort Spa & Waterpark - Niagara Falls Best Western Carin Croft - Niagara Falls Best Western Fallsview - Niagara Falls Falls Gifts - Park Motor/Venture/Comfort Inn - Niagara Falls (Fantasy) Fudge Factory - Niagara Falls Great Wolf Lodge Niagara Falls - Niagara Falls Hilltop Motel - Niagara Falls Honeymoon City Gift Shop/Niagara Falls Gifts - Honeymoon City Motel/Travelodge, Niagara Falls Honeymoon City Motel/Red Carpet Inn/Travelodge - Niagara Falls Imperial/Vittoria Hotel - Niagara Falls Maple Leaf Village Inn/Skyline Hotel - Maple Leaf Village/Falls Ave. Complex, Niagara Falls Niagara Clifton Gift Shop/Blue Moose Trading Co. - Niagara Clifton Motel/Thriftlodge Niagara Falls Niagara Clifton Motel/Thriftlodge - Niagara Falls Park Motor/Venture/Comfort Inn Clifton Hill - Niagara Falls Pilgrim Hotel - Niagara Falls Prudhomme's Landing Inn - Prudhomme's Landing, Lincoln Quality Courts/Inn Fallsway - Niagara Falls Seagram/Royal/Panasonic/Minolta Tower Centre - Niagara Falls Sheraton Brock/Crowne Plaza Hotel - Falls Ave. Complex, Niagara Falls Sheraton Foxhhead/Sheraton Fallsview Hotel - Falls Ave. Complex, Niagara Falls Theatres, Bowling Alleys and Miscellaneous Bird Kingdom - Niagara Falls Bronto's Adventure Playland - Niagara Falls Cataract Bowl - Niagara Falls Cinema 180 - Crystal Beach Amusement Park, Crystal Beach Cliff Hangers - Niagara Falls Country Jamboree - Crystal Beach Amusement Park, Crystal Beach Daredevil Obstacle Challenge - Marvel Superheroes Adventure City, Niagara Falls Dino Rampage 4D - Niagara Falls Extreme Movie Ride 4D - MGM Studios Plaza, Niagara Falls Fairview Bowling Lanes - St. Catharines FX Ride Theater/Cosmic Coaster/XD Theater - Great Canadian Midway, Niagara Falls Get Lost! Mystery Maze - Niagara Falls Good Times Jamboree/The Dancing Bears - Pyramid Place, Niagara Falls Greg Frewin Theatre - Niagara Falls Hillbilly Bear Jamboree - Maple Leaf Village, Niagara Falls Hot Air Fantasy - Marineland, Niagara Falls IMAX Pyramid - Pyramid Place, Niagara Falls Jeff's Bowl-O-Rama - Welland Legend Niagara/Great White Water Picture Show - Pyramid Place, Niagara Falls Meet Mr. Lincoln - Maple Leaf Village, Niagara Falls Niagara's Fury - Table Rock Centre, Niagara Falls Niagara Serpentarium - Niagara Falls Parkway Social - St. Catharines Piledriver - WWE Niagara Falls, Niagara Falls Pink Panther Balloon Ride - MGM Studios Plaza, Niagara Falls Pla-Mor Bowling Lanes - St. Catherines Skylon Roller Rink - Skylon Tower, Niagara Falls Skyway Drive-In - Fonthill Space Spiral Tower - Niagara Falls Strike! Rock 'N Bowl - Niagara Falls Waltzing Waters - Niagara Falls Zombie Attack - Niagara Falls Theatre (Name Unknown) - National Marine Aquarium of Canada parking lot, Niagara Falls Themed Restaurants, Bars and Stores Boston Pizza Clifton Hill (and Sports Zone) - Great Canadian Midway, Niagara Falls Beefeater/Coachlight Restaurant (and Jolly Brewer)/Ruby Tuesday's - Honeymoon City Motel/Travelodge, Niagara Falls Coca-Cola Store - Falls Ave. Complex, Niagara Falls Fun Factory - Movieland Wax Museum, Niagara Falls Hard Rock Cafe - Falls Ave. Complex, Niagara Falls Harley Davidson Store - Niagara Clifton Motel/Thriftlodge, Niagara Falls Hershey's Chocolate World - Falls Ave. Complex, Niagara Falls Julio's Pizza and Spaghetti Factory Plant One - St. Catherines Julio's Pizza and Spaghetti Factory Plant Two - St. Catherines MGM Studios Store - MGM Studios Plaza, Falls Ave. Complex, Niagara Falls Mr. Fantastic's Candy Laboratory - Marvel Superheroes Adventure City, Niagara Falls Planet Hollywood - Falls Ave. Complex, Niagara Falls Rainforest Cafe - Falls Ave. Complex, Niagara Falls Terrace Cafe/Kelsey's Clifton Hill - Park Motor/Venture/Comfort Inn, Niagara Falls Turf 'n Surf - Niagara Falls WWE Niagara Falls - Falls Ave. Complex, Niagara Falls The Yard/Rathskeller Pub/Rumors Nightclub - Park Motor/Venture/Comfort Inn, Niagara Falls Water Parks and Attractions Americana Indoor Water Park - Americana Conference Resort Spa & Waterpark, Niagara Falls Fallsview Indoor Water Park - Falls Ave. Complex, Niagara Falls Great Wolf Lodge Water Park - Great Wolf Lodge Niagara Falls, Niagara Falls Wet 'n Wild - Prudhomme's Landing, Lincoln White Water/Typhoon Lagoon - Niagara Falls

Waltzing Waters Attraction Type: Dancing Fountain/Lightshow Location: Niagara Falls, Ontario Years Operational: 1962-2000 Designer(s): Robert Dunham/Waxattract Waltzing Waters was a dancing fountain that was synchronized to music, and even lights at night. It opened in 1963 when Arthur White purchased the neighboring Burning Springs building and overhauled it as the Burning Springs Wax Museum . In addition to the museum, he built Waltzing Waters between it and the neighboring Seagram Tower . Guests would pay admission to enter the viewing area for the large outdoor fountain, which required an operator at a switchboard to control. The Seagram complex in 1962 before the wax museum moved into the old Burning Spring building. The blue Waltzing Waters pool can be seen in the middle. The fountain was lightyears ahead of it's time, and at a time when computers were in their infancy. It was built by Robert Dunham, creative genius who would go on to make major advancements in the world of special effects, animatronics, and haunted attractions with his Waxattract company. Dunham was a painter who had recently opened Fantasy Land, his first amusement attraction, at the nearby Crystal Beach Amusement Park. Waltzing Waters however would be his first attraction in Niagara Falls proper, and first commission for an amusement attraction owned by another party. The fountain at the bottom-middle in this 1965 image. The cut out area on the right side of the fountain is the control booth, which the pool surrounded on three sides. It's unknown how exactly the show itself changed year-to-year, but the fountain would expand in 1971. With the switchboard operating system, the show could in theory be different every time, or customizable to whatever song was currently being played. A similar switchboard setup could later be found in the Lightshow rooms of Dunham's international chain of Castle Dracula attractions. The Waltzing Waters switchboard operator in 1972 was Werner Maetzke, as evidenced by a newspaper article from July of that year. The same article states that the $150,000 switchboard he's pictured sitting at was brought in from West Germany the year prior, hinting that the attraction's technology was updated in 1971 as well. Werner Maetzke, the show's maestro, at the updated controls in 1971. The much larger fountain after it's expansion in 1971, pictured here in the 1980's. The show was free for the 1972 and 1973 seasons, being changed to $1 admission for adults (free for children) in 1974. A combination ticket was also offered that included White's Burning Springs Wax Museum and National Marine Aquarium of Canada , which set guests back $3.95. it's unknown at what point it became free again, but late-70s newspaper advertisements promote it being free by at least 1978 and offering three shows nightly. It's unknown if it ever reverted to an admission ticket afterwards. Above and below: series of postcards from the early 70s when the neighboring tower was named the "Royal Inn Tower", and the complex the "Royal Centre." These postcards show just how vibrant and impressive the fountain was, yet likely still don't do it justice. The fountain was on land leased to White from the Seagram (later Royal Heritage) Tower, which White eventually became owner of (and therefore Waltzing Waters entirety) in 1970, renaming it the Royal Inn Tower (later Panasonic Tower.) The Tower would be sold again along with the Burning Springs Wax Museum and National Marine Aquarium of Canada in 1976 to Japanese businessman Takeshi Shimizu, and from him to the Bolus family who owned the land the attractions were on in 1981. White however would retain ownership of the fountain through all this until 1992, when it was auctioned off. The old Burning Springs building next door, which had most recently housed the Dare Devil Gallery, was demolished the same year. The fountain would be bought by an unknown buyer and continue to run in it's original spot until 1995, when it was moved across the street to make way for the Marriott Falls View. It lasted in its new home until 2000. It's unknown if anyone bought the equipment for the fountain or where it went, and the attraction ended up being demolished and disappeared from the Niagara attraction landscape for good. The fountain and Panasonic Tower, 1970's.

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

Hollywood/Movieland Wax Museum Attraction Type: Wax Museum Location: Niagara Falls, Ontario Years Operational: 1966 (as Hollywood Wax Museum), 1967-Present (as Movieland Wax Museum) Designer(s): Don Post Studios, Waxattract , Costello Productions In 1965, Welland Securities (Present-day Harry Oakes Company) would tear down the last remaining gatehouse of the Zimmerman estate which had formerly occupied their land. It had been the only remaining Zimmerman estate building on the land save for the stables, which had been gutted, re-enforced and turned into the Welland Securities offices in the Park Motor Inn. This remained Welland Securities' (now HOCO's) offices until Comfort Inn was torn down in 2015 (and the nearly 150 year old stable building with it). The gatehouse was located right on Clifton Hill, and had most recently been home to the short-lived Niagara Gun Museum for the 1965 season only, and a snack bar/gift shop prior to that. The short lived Niagara Gun Museum in the old Zimmerman gatehouse behind the Park Motor Hotel sign, 1965. The brand new attraction in 1966. The over 100 year old building would be demolished in November 1965. After this, Malcolm Howe and Arthur White, who already co-owned the Burning Springs Wax Museum together, leased the land the gatehouse formerly sat on from Welland Securities and would build a pivotal attraction: Movieland Wax Museum. Opened in 1966 in the building now occupied by Wizard's Golf and the Upper Canada Trading Co., the museum originally opened with the name "Hollywood Wax Museum" and cost $500,000 (a whopping amount in 1966) to build. The ribbon was cut by a wax figure of Vincent Price (assisted by the current Mayor Phillip Downie of course) in a ceremony on the 29th of June. The museum was located on the main floor with a unique gift shop called Niagara Souvenirs in the basement, which contained a variety of independent vendors selling various goods. The attraction even went the extra mile and had official license to use Universal Pictures properties, something they probably could have gotten away without in a time before smartphones and YouTube copyright strikes if they really wanted to. It nonetheless helped the attraction's detail and authenticity. Mayor Phillip Downie assists a wax Vincent Price with the ribbon cutting, 1966. All of the original figures in the museum were sculpted by legendary monster mask creator Don Post Studios in Florida. Chances are, if you know anything about Halloween and monster culture from 1950 to the early 90's, you're familiar with a latex mask created by Don Post. However, Post's artistic abilities went far beyond mail-order monsters. The team at the Florida factory, headed by sculptor Pat Newman, created 60 wax figures for the museum. In a tribute to the actress who had boosted Niagara's fame as a honeymoon capital, beside the ticket booth in the lobby was Marilyn Monroe standing over her iconic subway grate, a fan blowing air up her skirt every few seconds. Inside the museum were 45 scenes featuring many stars including Elizabeth Taylor, Bing Crosby, Lucille Ball and Laurel and Hardy. The most impressive figure however was a 12 and half foot tall King Kong figure, the largest wax figure ever made at the time. The news article about his creation can be read here . Tom Burman worked at Don Post at the time, especially on the King Kong figure. His special effects work would go on to change films themselves, lending his work to Planet of the Apes, The Goonies, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and more. Laurel and Hardy, late 60's. Marilyn in the lobby, where she remained until shortly after this image was taken in 1993. Final cosmetic stages of the creation of Kong at Don Post Studios in Florida, 1966. The connection to familiar Halloween masks and the museum went far beyond the design team however. The horror section of famous movie monsters, most of which were characters from Universal Pictures, was entirely comprised of wax casts of the same face and hand molds used to create the original (and now highly collectible) versions of Don Post Universal Monster Halloween masks. The section also featured some basic store-window style continuous animation in the form of Dracula opening and closing his coffin lid, the Hunchback chained to rotating platform, and Frankenstein's Monster on a raising/lowering flip-up operating table. While rudimentary, at the time it certainly would have added to the section's creep factor. Bela Lugosi as Dracula, 1970's. Hunchback of Notre Dame, 1970's. The Mummy, late 60's. John Wayne and Ward Bond in the Hondo scene, late 60's. To coincide with the museum's opening, Howe and White also leased the land from Welland Securities just down The Hill from the driveway into the Quality Inn Fallsway. On this land they constructed the 184 ft. tall Space Spiral Tower, built by Universal Design of Wildwood, New Jersey. The tower was half ride-half observation deck, with a large, circular, slowly spinning observation deck that held 30 riders and rose up the tower. This is exactly where the Fudge Factory now sits, as the store is circular because that was originally the loading area for the tower before it was demolished in 2006. The two attractions prospered instantly, greatly furthering the amusement industry sprouting up in The Falls and the Clifton Hill area specifically. The large and detailed wax museum took the foundations created in the area by the few pre-existing attractions at the time like Tussaud's , the Antique Auto Museum, the Spacearium, and Ripley's , further pushing the boundaries of design and theming. The attraction would be renamed "Movieland Wax Museum" for it's second season in 1967, the name it still holds today. In June of 1968, a storage facility on Stanley Ave. that housed extra figures for the attraction as well as a workshop suffered a fire, destroying several figures. It's not clear which ones were lost in the fire, or if they were new figures which were yet to be installed or original ones that had since been removed. The Wizard of Oz scene, late 60's. On the Waterfront scene featuring Marlon Brando and Eva Marie Saint, late 60's. The first updates would come around the very late 60's to early 70's, when Robert Dunham of Waxattract did some work for the attraction, however it isn't clear what he supplied. On June 14th, 1974, a scene in the attraction proper would catch fire. The museum manager Dalton Howe attempted to put it out with an extinguisher to no success, and then proceeded to lay his life on the line by personally running through the attraction searching for guests who may still be inside, opening fire exits and using a flashlight to see through the thick smoke while staff called the fire department. Nobody was injured in the blaze except the brave manager who was treated for smoke inhalation, and the staff's quick response allowed the fire department to arrive on time and limit the damage to the one scene, however which scene was destroyed or what replaced it isn't clear. Damage for even the one scene was initially estimated to potentially be as high as $25,000 showing just how expensive the figures were. While initially changing very little for the first several years, the attraction would be one of if not the most constantly added to and updated in The Falls from the mid 70's to early 90's, as the world's reignited interest in cinema following the rise of the blockbuster (thanks to films like Jaws and Star Wars) resulted in a golden age of constant new hit movies. Following the popular 1976 remake of King Kong, the large figure became part of the lobby. What's strange is that Marilyn Monroe could still be found as the lobby scene up until 1993. While it's possible Kong only replaced Monroe temporarily, a more likely explanation is that the walls between the final Kong room and the lobby were knocked out, and then put back up in later years, and that neither scene actually moved. Original Kong scene with Fay Wray, late 60's, Derek Costello's company Costello Productions provided certain figures for the attraction at some time during this period, however when or what exactly is unclear. In case you haven't picked up on it by making it to this point in the article (or site as a whole), wax artists often have the curse of anonymity. One figure he's suspected of supplying is the museum's original Darth Vader, as Costello claims to have built several recreations of the dark lord of the Sith over the years, and Niagara only has so many museums that ever would have contained one. The attraction also received minor exterior updates at this point, namely Niagara Souvenirs being renamed "Falls Gift Shops", posters for recent arrivals being added to the faux windows, a new vertical sign above the entrance, and the large Movieland sign being removed from the changing billboard on the roof and relocated to the face of the building. A Belgian Waffle stand was also added to the side of the building facing the driveway into the Park Motor Hotel (later Venture Inn.) Left: The attraction 1976. Right: The updated exterior in 1992. The attraction in 1992 before the remodel (top), and the attraction in 2004 with the Egyptian theme (bottom). The talking Pharoah on the corner. In 1992 Welland Securities became HOCO, who purchased most of the attractions leasing their land including Movieland, the Space Spiral Tower, and the Cliffside Motel, leaving only Ripley's and Circus World as tenants. Movieland was heavily remodeled to keep up with more high-tech and thrilling attractions like the House of Frankenstein and Castle Dracula , and the exterior was given an Egyptian theme. The museum received updated signage, although the by this point famous "Movieland" sign would remain. Large lion statues with glowing eyes were added to the top of the overhang on the exterior, which was now meant to look like an Egyptian temple occupying part of the building. This is when the beloved animatronic fiberglass pharaoh was added on the corner of the building along the sidewalk, just under the overhang. His wise-cracks and hints on what lies inside are a favorite among Clifton Hill visitors to this day. His original voice from 1992 to the mid-2000s sounds a lot like the same voice actor behind the announcer voice that booms out of the House of Frankenstein, although it hasn't been confirmed if it is indeed the same talent. The lobby was remodeled as well. Rather than cameramen filming Marilyn Monroe, they would now be filming an Indiana Jones figure, who lowered up and down on a rope. In the background was a large Anubis statue who's glowing eye opened and closed. A few short years after the lobby remodel, the cameramen were reunited with Marilyn in the museum, and a fogging pit was added underneath Indiana Jones on the rope. Left: The original Indiana Jones scene featuring the cameramen recycled from the Marilyn Monroe scene, mid 90's. Above: Updated scene with the fogging pit. Many of the early movie stars in the hall immediately after the entrance were moved to two large display cases in the middle of the attraction with multiple figures, instead of each one having their own scene. In their original spot just inside the entrance an intentionally scary scene was created to match the popular Indiana Jones series. Many of the figures added since HOCO took ownership were slightly frightening, like an animatronic Jurassic Park Dilophosaurus or a startling Joker scene with a machine gun sound effect. The horror section was also slightly remodeled at this time, to include haunted house props and more modern horror characters like Freddy Kruger. Unlike when it would move to it's current location in 2005, the old location's chicken exit was placed before the horror section, rather than before a true haunted house portion. In fact, there was no true haunted house section, since many of the figures that would end up in the haunted house section of the new location were simply scattered throughout the regular portion of the museum. Many of the figures in the horror section of the original museum after the chicken exit were actually less scary and less animated than the Jurassic Park scene or the lunging alligator encountered earlier in the museum. The snake scene from two different angles. Cocooned mummy and jumping spiders. Corpse on the bed of spikes which fell towards guests. Likely to prevent unsuspecting parents who had no clue what kind of attraction this was dragging their children in and expecting static figures of washed-up movie stars, getting the living daylights scared out of them, then possibly ending up filing complaints with HOCO's customer service department, an intentionally scary scene was put at the beginning. This let people know what they were walking in to: an experience rather than an ordinary museum. There were figures behind plexiglass such as a man upside down in a cocoon thrashing around, a corpse that popped up from the floorboards in a scene full of snakes, a skull which flipped up out of the ground in a scene of rats, a skeleton on a bed of spikes that fell towards you, and a scene with spiders on fishing line "jumping" all over a rotting corpse. As stated earlier, its not known when exactly Costello Productions began designing updates to Movieland, but if Costello hadn't already been for years by the time of the HOCO acquisition, he most likely had a large hand in this remodel. Movieland was his most recent amusement industry project on the Canadian side of The Falls, however his latest project to date is the Haunted House of Wax in Niagara Falls, NY (owned by Peter Stranges who owned the Antique Auto Museum) in 2002, which is allegedly so scary certain props have never even been turned on by the owner due to fear of scaring away customers. The actual horror section was also updated at this time, with characters like Freddy Krueger, Pumpkinhead, Alien, Terminator, and the Crypt Keeper being added to or downright replacing some of the more obscure horror film scenes such as the "Mole People." Perhaps the biggest change to the museum however would be a wax hand casting counter now located in the middle of the attraction between the music stars and the Simpson's scene, where guests could pay extra to have wax copies of their hands made. Above: an alien from the film Mars Attacks added to the Metaluna Mutant scene. Right: a Distortions Unlimited vampire prop which was added to the wall next to the balcony formerly home to the Phantom, now home to various other Distortions ghouls. The Predator. A small souvenir store called the Fun Factory was also added to the side of the Movieland building, facing the driveway into Comfort Inn. It retained the Belgian waffle stand on one side of the store entrance, and added a booth on the other with an animatronic seal and TV screen promoting Marineland. Members of the r/Niagara subreddit (where this site has it's origins) helped with remembering that there were identical others which apparently existed in Maple Leaf Village and the Skylon at the same time. This was likely to drum up some (even then) much needed positive advertising for the rightfully disliked park, in the areas of the city where the tourists actually were, unlike the park itself. The "Sailor Seal" animatronics were designed by Advanced Animations, who had also done Marineland's short lived "Hot Air Fantasy" animatronic show. Fun Factory in 2000. Sailor Seal in 1992. Movieland was moved down The Hill to Circus World's former location in 2005 (along with the Fun Factory which would now contain the wax hand casting counter), and Circus World's owners moved a smaller version of the attraction to the then-popular Victoria Ave. area. Movieland retained all the figures and sets they had at the time of the move, moving them all into the new space and also adding several new scenes. All the scariest elements were put in the new "House of Horrors", a small optional haunted house section at the end of the attraction after the regular horror section. "Ask the Brain", an animatronic fortune telling machine formerly part of the Dazzleland complex, was also moved to the horror section. The House of Horrors would include several new scenes and props including several from major prop studios like Scarefactory, and have a catacombs hallway, a section with a vibrating floor, a crypt hallway as well as a mirror maze. The finale to this section is a shaking electric chair that guests can sit in for a photo-op, or execute their friends with the push of a button. The museum now emptied into the Fun Factory, that had moved down The Hill with Movieland into the former Canada Trading Co. space, although the popular Fantasy Fudge Factory counter from the space's Canada Trading Co. days was retained. This counter would be removed in 2009 when the Fudge Factory got it's own store space, ironically in the former base of the now-demolished Space Spiral Tower. Left: The relocated museum in 2005. Right: The relocated Fun Factory that opened next to the museum shortly after. Cosmic Golf, 2005. Several exterior element were left over from Movieland. In Movieland's old home, Cosmic Golf, a blacklight mini golf was temporarily set up. Two years later in 2007, the golf moved to it's permanent home in the basement becoming Galaxy Golf, and the Niagara Marketplace gift shop that had formerly occupied the basement was moved upstairs. The new store would be a hybrid of the Niagara Marketplace and the old Canada Trading Co. gift shop. While there were now no private vendors and it was all one store like the old Canada Trading Co., a focus was still put on handmade/cultural goods like the market sold. This new store would be named the Upper Canada Trading Co., which contained a Tim Horton's beside it. This was all the second phase in a 5-step plan HOCO was implementing at the time to overhaul their side of the street, but they would shift gears to a new development plan in the 2010's following a variety of changes to the industry. This had little effect on the mini golf however, which was re-themed to Wizard's Golf in 2014. Former location of the original Movieland today. While the original Movieland building still stands today, the attraction itself has continued to prosper and expanded down the street, receiving all-new, grand signage with the move. The newer location features a front window which was originally home to scene depicting a wax figure making wax figures, but this was quickly replaced the following year with an Ocean's Eleven scene. The new lobby featured the same Egyptian theming and expanded on it further, retaining all the same elements but adding Bresnan Frasier in "The Mummy", the pop-up skull relocated from the old entrance hallway, and Lara Croft. Indiana Jones lowering on the rope made the move aswell, however a snake pit with a cobra rising out of it replaced the fogging well. The pharaoh made the move too, now accompanied by a talking snake that slid out of a "secret" hatch in the ceiling that opened and closed. The Egyptian theming has since been entirely removed from the lobby proper however, with the half of the space containing Brendan Frasier, Lara Croft and Anubis first being replaced in 2009 with a Pirates of the Caribbean scene. Brendan Frasier and Lara Croft were added to a condensed Egytptian scene in the half with Indiana Jones over the cobra pit, however the scene was replaced with Katy Perry in 2015. The iconic pharaoh on the corner of the space remains, however the snake's heavy Middle-Eastern accent has been changed for obvious reasons to a British woman's voice. The front window scene was changed to Heath Ledger's Joker in 2013, and Katy Perry was quickly replaced with Taylor Swift in 2016. The Pharoah and the snake in place in the newer location. Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft in the lobby. Note the stone lion relocated from the original location's facade in the background.. Indiana Jones in the newer location down The Hill. Relocated Frasier and Jolie to the Indiana Jones scene. Updated lobby and Bone Blaster in 2023. The interior of the current location would also see a variety of changes over the years such as the Crocodile Dundee scene being replaced with a recreation of the set from the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and the Jurassic Park Dilophosaurus scene (which had seen better days) being replaced by The Rock and a hippo from the 2016 Jumanji. The entire attraction would be remodeled in 2019 when the Fun Factory store the attraction exited into was removed. The front half of the former store space became the Bone Blaster Shooting Gallery, with the back half becoming a large superheroes room. A section of the lobby wall behind the former Pirates of the Caribbean scene was knocked out in favor of a large, open exit to this area that allows people to gaze in at the heroes. The House of Horrors (now renamed the Horror Chamber) was also heavily remodeled at this time to be more movie-oriented, now featuring the relocated Alien figure in a large Alien scene that replaced the vibrating floor section, the crypt, and the mirror maze. Pennywise also replaced a scene formerly at the end of the mirror maze containing a zombie girl. A small but historically significant change to also come with this remodel was the removal a taxidermy moose in the Dr. Doolittle scene, that had actually originally come from the "Road to Utopia" scene present in the attraction on opening day and was once ridden by a figure of Bob Hope. The moose was replaced with a large stuffed bear. The moose in the Dr. Doolittle scene before it's removal. As the landscape of cinema constantly evolves, Movieland has had a long history of staying relevant, up to date and fresh while (mostly) staying true to its spirit, even retaining several older scenes. Several opening day Don Post figures remain in the attraction today, including Laurel and Hardy, Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, the Wizard of Oz characters, The Creature From the Black Lagoon, The Mummy, Frankenstein's Monster, and the famous giant King Kong. The original figures will celebrate their 60th birthday in 2026, along with the historic attraction itself.

Wizard's Castle Arcades (and Affiliate Chains) Attraction Type: Arcade Location: Various (See list below) Years Operational: Late 70's-2006 Designer(s): Various, Unknown Wizard's Castle was Canada's largest chain of amusement arcades, active from the mid-late 70's until 2006. The chain was exclusive to Canada and owned by Janda Products/New Way Sales of Rexdale, a west-end suburb of Toronto. Janda Products was a rental company which rented out vending, video game, pinball, redemption, and change machines in addition to pool tables, jukeboxes, air hockey tables and coin-operated kiddie rides. New Way Sales was their sales division. Wizard's Castle fell somewhere between the two, being more owned by the company in general. The Wizard's brand was extremely popular, with at least over 60 locations, being as common in Canadian malls in the 80's and 90's as other mall chains like Foot Locker, Orange Julius, Music World, and Kernels Popcorn. It wasn't limited to malls however, and did also have a small handful of locations in downtown cores and suburban strip plazas. The classic logo that appeared on most arcade cabinet stickers and merchandise. With none of the American mall arcade chains like Time Out, Aladdin's Castle, Tilt, Fun-N-Games, Space Port, or Jolly Roger ever being franchised to Canada, Janda/New Way had near domination over the mall arcade market with Wizard's, and an even further slice of the general arcade pie with their rental and sales divisions providing games to several other arcades. The chain dwarfed the other Canadian arcade chains at the time such as Fun & Games (unrelated to American chain Fun-N-Games), Circuit Circus, Little Joe's, and Laser Illusions, being the only one to go cross-country. Wizard's Castle token. This bold bubble-font logo could also be found on the red, light up coin slots of many of the games. The first location opened in the back corner of the Scarborough Town Centre food court some time in the mid-late 70's and began as a mostly pinball arcade, however whether it opened with name Wizard's Castle or gained it later is unknown, with the copyright for the name not being filed until 1979. It expanded in 1979 from 16 games to 32, and would expand further in the early-80's as the arcade market hit it's peak. It featured a large orange neon sign reading "Wizard's Castle" outside, casting it's neon spell over the food court. The interior was decked out in fantasy theming, as well as wall murals and plenty more neon. The chain expanded quickly, with 24 locations by June of 1982. The chain would survive the video game crash of 1983, which in the end proved to more harshly damage the up-and-coming home console market, and reset the industry back in favor of the technologically superior arcade machines once the dust settled. Most of the chain's locations would follow the same design as the Scarborough original, which remained the chain's flagship location. Many rare and prototype games that were never mass-produced were tested at the STC arcade (which was one of the best performing arcades in the country) through Janda/New Way's industry contacts, and it was also the first place in the city for many new game releases. Most of the chain's locations would open in the mid-late 80's, when the chain was at its peak. In 1992 the flagship location was converted to the ancient Greek-themed Games Maximus along with a handful of other locations. It was adorned with pillars and fake marble, with a general "arena" feel. This made thematic sense based on the games in arcades at the time, as games had shifted away from single-player quests and pinball, and moved more in the direction of competitive fighting, racing, sports, and head-to-head vehicle combat games. While the STC location would remain Games Maximus until the end of it's life, the rebranding never really took off company-wide as the Wizard's brand remained more recognizable, being a borderline household name in Canada at that time. Left: The STC Games Maximus seen in the corner of the food court in this blurry 1992 VHS recording of the mall. Right: One of "The Wizard Commands" rule signs that could be found hanging in the game rooms, now owned by a private collector. There were several other arcade chains owned by Janda/New Way such as Sky Games (which had an airplane hangar theme), The Games, World Cup, and Video Gym, with some of these theorized to be rebrandings of former Wizard's locations. It's also unlcear if any of these were pre-existing brands absorbed by Janda/New Way. Around the turn of the millennium, several of the company's older games from the late 70's/early 80's were phased out along with many of the pinball machines both new and old, also leaving the company's rental/sales inventory. The early-mid 2000's would be the last hurrah for arcades until the retro/nostalgia trend would begin nearly 20 years later. Games like Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, Big Buck Hunter, Initial D, Gauntlet Dark Legacy, Arctic Thunder, Soul Calibur III, Out Run 2, Dance Dance Revolution, and Tekken 5 would be the last wave of popular money-makers until the industry would be faced with the option to either become entirely redemption arcades or go the wayside by the time the 2010's hit. Frank Pavlovic (left) and John Paul Wright (right) play Midway's "Mortal Kombat 2" at the Conestoga Mall Wizard's Castle in March 1994. This photograph was taken for a now somewhat-comical Waterloo newspaper article on rising violence in video games. The Fairview Mall (North York) Sky Games in Februrary of 1998. Underperforming locations began closing around the early-2000's, with most of the Wizard's Castle/Games Maximus/Sky Games/other locations being shuttered by the time Janda/New Way went out of business in 2006, save for a small handful. The few remaining locations at the time the company disappeared included the flagship STC Games Maximus, the West Edmonton Mall and Kingsway Garden Mall Wizard's Castles, and the Sky Games locations in North York's Fairview Mall and Rexdale's Woodbine Centre. The reason the Woodbine Sky Games lasted so long despite there being another arcade and an amusement park in the mall, may purely have been due to its proximity to Janda/New Way's offices, which were located just behind the mall (one of the roads into the mall even being named Janda Way.) After the final locations were shuttered, Janda/New Way was sold to rival machine rental company and F.E.C. chain Playdium, with the Janda family leaving the company behind and New Way becoming a division of Playdium, which itself was later sold to Cineplex. Upon the Cineplex acquisition the final assets and records of Janda/New Way (and Wizard's Castle with it) were absorbed into the mega-corporate fog, and lost to time. You can still find games all over Canada in arcades, private collections, and even being rented out by Playdium/Cineplex that have a Wizard's Castle sticker, or more commonly the logo printed on the coin slots. The chain is remembered by it's dedicated fanbase of former patrons and staff, however it lies largely in obscurity in terms of documentation with the only known photographs of bonafide Wizard's Castle locations being one of the Barrie location in the Kozlov Centre (albeit after the arcade was cut down to half the size and it's original signage was removed), and one of the STC food court where the original Wizard's can be seen in the background, glowing in all it's neon glory. Above: The Kozlov Centre (Barrie) Wizard's Castle around 2004 after it was significantly downsized. This space was quite deep, and the white temporary wall with merchandising slats seen here previously didn't exist, with the location originally occupying the adjacent unit as well. Many of these games would be shuffled around the food court by the mall in later years, with the lack of branding seen here hinting that the mall likely bought out the location from Janda back when it downsized around 2002. Confirmed Locations Above: The iconic Wizard's Castle neon can be seen in the back-right corner of this photo of the STC food court, 1983. Wizard's locations either had this sign or a similar, smaller neon with script font. This space became a variety of takeout restaurants over the years following the closure of Games Maximus in 2006, and is currently the large Jollibee location with it's own dining area. Toronto Wizard's Castle (later Games Maximus) Scarborough Town Centre, Scarborough (1977? - 2006, became various fast food places over the years, now Jollibee) Wizard's Enchanted Castle Yorkdale Mall, North York (1979? - mid 2000's) Wizard's Castle Dufferin Mall (early 80's - early 2000's, now a McDonald's) Wizard's Castle Cloverdale Mall (early 80's - mid 2000's) Wizard's Castle Agincourt Mall (? - early 2000's) The Wizard Centerpoint Mall (? - mid 2000's, affiliation unconfirmed. May have been GTA test for separate Ottawa chain "The Wizard") Wizard's Castle Fairview Mall (1983? - late 90's) Sky Games Fairview Mall (separate location from Wizard's Castle elsewhere in the mall?) (? - 2006) Sky Games Woodbine Centre (1986 - 2006) World Cup North York Sheridan Mall (? - mid 2000's) Greater Ontario Wizard's Castle Meadowvale Town Centre, Mississauga (1981 - ?) Wizard's Castle Kozlov Shopping Centre, Barrie (August 1986 - early 2000's, became increasingly downsized mall-run arcade lasting to 2012) Wizard's Castle Heritage Place Mall, Owen Sound (1987 - early 2000's) Wizard's Castle Conestoga Mall, Waterloo (? - ?) Wizard's Castle Seawway Mall, Welland (? - early 2000's) Wizard's Castle Bramalea City Centre, Brampton (early 80's - mid 2000's) Wizard's Castle Westdale Mall, Brampton (? - ?) Wizard's Castle Centre Mall, Hamilton (? - mid 2000's) Wizard's 184 Dundas St., London (early 80's - 2006) Wizard's Castle Downtown London (separate location which operated simultaneously to Dundas St.), location unknown (early 80's - ?) Fx5 (formerly Wizard's Castle) Pickering Town Centre, Pickering (? - 2006?) The Wiz (affiliation unconfirmed) White Oakes Mall, London (? - ?) Skygames Markville Shopping Centre, Markham (? - 2006) The Games Lime Ridge Mall, Hamilton (1981 - mid 2000's) The Games Eastgate Square Shopping Centre, Hamilton (early 80's - mid 2000's) The Games Erin Mills Town Centre, Mississauga (1989 - mid 2000's) Admirals Cup Masonville Place, London (January 2, 1985 - mid 2000's) Saskatchewan Wizard's Castle Circle Park Mall/The Centre, Saskatoon (?-?) Wizard's Castle Lawson Heights Mall, Saskatoon (? - ?) Alberta Wizard's Castle West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton (1985 - 2006, now Newplay) Wizard's Castle Millwoods Town Centre, Edmonton (1988 - mid 2000's) Wizard's Castle Heritage Place Mall, Edmonton (June 1988 - mid 2000s) Wizard's Castle Northgate Mall. Edmonton (? - early 2000's) Wizard's Castle Londonderry Mall. Edmonton (? - ?) Wizard's Castle Capilano Mall, Edmonton (? - ?) Wizard's Castle Deer Valley Centre, Calgary (1981 - early 2000's?) Wizard's Castle Park Place Mall, Lethbridge (1988 - ?) Wizard's Castle St. Albert Centre, St. Albert (? - ?) Wizard's Castle Bower Mall, Red Deer (? - ?) Wizard's Castle Downtown Red Deer, location unknown (early 80's - ?) Wizard's Castle Lloyd Mall, Lloydminster (? - ?) Wizard's Castle Southcentre Mall, Calgary (? - mid 2000's) Wizard's Castle Kingswood Garden Mall, Edmonton (? - 2006) Wizard's Castle University of Alberta Hub International Marketplace, Edmonton (? - mid 2000's) Wizard's Castle Marlborough Mall, Calgary (? - mid 2000's) Wizard's Castle Chinook Centre, Calgary (? - early 2000's) Wizard's Castle Circle Park Mall, Calgary (? - ?) Wizard's Castle Market Mall, Calgary (? - ?) Wizard's Castle Sunridge Mall, Calgary (? - ?) Video Gym Southgate Shopping Centre, Edmonton (? - 2006?) British Columbia Wizard's Castle Richmond Square Mall, Vancouver (? -?) Wizard's Castle Rutherford Village, Nanaimo (1980 - ?) Neon sign, roughly four feet in diameter, theorized to be from a Wizard's Castle. This sign appeared briefly in the background of an arcade collection in an episode of "Canadian Pickers". This art style and neon aligns with the murals and lighting that could be found in the locations.