Clifton Hill, Niagara Falls facts for kids
Clifton Hill is a super fun street in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada! It's a major spot for tourists, especially families and teenagers. This lively street is close to the amazing Niagara Falls and the Niagara River. It stretches from River Road on the Niagara Parkway to Victoria Avenue.
Clifton Hill is packed with exciting things to do. You'll find lots of gift shops, cool wax museums, spooky haunted houses, and fun video arcades. There are also many restaurants, hotels, and themed attractions. It's known as a big amusement area and a great place for night life.
Over the years, many businesses on Clifton Hill have changed hands or names. The street is mainly owned by two big companies: the Harry Oakes Company (HOCO) and the Niagara Clifton Group.
The Comfort Inn, which was part of Clifton Hill, closed in 2015. It was later taken down to make way for new attractions. These new additions include the Niagara Speedway go-kart track and a bigger Great Canadian Midway video arcade. There's also a zombie-themed 4D ride and more snack stands. The Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum also got bigger. This expansion started in 2016 and was finished by the summer of 2018.
Contents
What Can You Do on Clifton Hill?
Clifton Hill is famous for its many exciting attractions. You can visit the Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum and its 4D Moving Theater. There's also the Guinness World Records Museum. Don't miss the Niagara SkyWheel, a giant Ferris wheel that gives amazing views. Nearby, you'll find Louis Tussaud's Waxworks, which is also part of Ripley's. A model of the famous tight-rope walker Charles Blondin used to hang above Clifton Hill. It's now on Victoria Avenue and is a well-known landmark.
Wax Museums: Meet Your Favorite Stars!
The very first wax museum in Niagara Falls was Louis Tussaud's Waxworks. It opened way back in 1949. This museum used to be on Clifton Hill but moved to Victoria Avenue in 2000. It's quite similar to Madame Tussauds (Louis Tussaud was Madame Tussaud's great-grandson). You can get close to the wax figures there.
Another popular wax museum is Movieland Wax Museum of the Stars. It features many famous people from movies, music, and TV. Most of their figures are behind glass. At the end of the museum, there's a spooky hall of horrors and a place to get your hands sculpted in wax. Movieland moved to a bigger spot near the bottom of the hill.
You can also visit the Rock Legends Wax Museum. This museum has wax figures of many music icons, especially from rock and roll. It's located near the top of Clifton Hill.
All these museums have fun areas where you can take photos with the figures. At Movieland and Louis Tussaud's, you can even sit in an electric chair prop! You can also get your hands sculpted in wax at Movieland. There's another wax hand studio in the gift shop near the Ripley's Believe It or Not! Odditorium.
Mini Golf Adventures
Clifton Hill has some awesome mini golf courses. Dinosaur Adventure Golf is Canada's largest mini-golf course. It's huge, covering 70,000 square feet! You'll see life-sized dinosaurs, sand pits, a river, and a 50-foot "active" volcano with a waterfall. It's right next to The SkyWheel.
Close by is Wizards' Golf, an indoor, 18-hole, glow-in-the-dark miniature golf course. It's right next to Ripley's Believe It or Not!. There's also Wild Safari Mini Putt inside Adventure City.
Haunted Houses: Get Ready to Scream!
If you love a good scare, Clifton Hill has five haunted houses open all year!
- The House of Frankenstein is next to the Ripley's 4D Moving Theater.
- Dracula's Haunted Castle is next to the Big Top Entertainment Centre.
- The Haunted House is near the bottom of Clifton Hill.
- Nightmares Fear Factory is on Victoria Avenue.
Some other haunted houses used to be on Victoria Avenue, but they have since closed or changed. For example, Screaming Tunnels, a zombie paintball place, is now restaurants.
Restaurants: Grab a Bite!
You'll find many places to eat on and around Clifton Hill. Some popular spots include:
- Kelsey's
- Ruby Tuesday
- Dairy Queen
- IHOP
- Wendy's
- Burger King
- Tim Hortons
- Hooters
- Montana's Cookhouse
- Boston Pizza (one of the biggest in Canada!)
- Rainforest Cafe (the only one left in Canada!)
- Mama Mia's
- Hard Rock Cafe
- Pizza Pizza
- Subway
- The local "Clifton Hill Family Restaurant"
Video Arcades: Play Games and Win Prizes!
Clifton Hill has three main video arcades. The biggest one is called The Great Canadian Midway. It has hundreds of video games where you can win tickets. You can trade these tickets for cool prizes! Inside this arcade, there's a Wild West coaster and a Ghost Blasters ride where you shoot lasers at ghosts.
The Boston Pizza and Great Canadian Midway are connected to Strike! Rock and Bowl. This place opened in 2009 and has a rock n' roll themed 10-pin bowling alley and video games.
Across from the Great Canadian Midway is Adventure City. This arcade is connected to the Rainforest Cafe. It has a motion ride, a black light go-kart shooting game, a play area for kids, and mini-golf. Adventure City used to be called Marvel Superhero Adventure City. However, they lost the rights to use Marvel characters. So, they changed their name and removed the Marvel-themed figures.
In 2009, a three-floor Dave & Buster's arcade and restaurant opened. This spot is now called Captain Jack's Fun Centre. The restaurant part is now an IHOP.
Other Fun Attractions
You can also find a fun house lower on the hill, next to a Ruby Tuesday restaurant. The Fantasy Fudge Shop moved to its own building next to the Midway, offering many kinds of delicious fudge. On Falls Avenue, which is near the Falls walkways, there's a Hershey's store and a Coca-Cola store.
How Clifton Hill Has Changed Over Time
Clifton Hill is always changing! New rides and attractions are added all the time. For example, the Niagara SkyWheel replaced the lobby of a hotel. The Great Canadian Midway used to be smaller and outdoors. Wizard's Golf used to be the Movieland Wax Museum.
Adventure City used to be called Marvel Superhero Adventure City. They had to change their name because they could no longer use Marvel characters. Also, WWE Niagara Falls closed in 2011. The building is now home to the Niagara Brewing Company.
Because all the attractions are so close together, visiting Clifton Hill is easy to plan. This area has become a huge tourist spot, especially in the summer. New things are added almost every year!
Some people feel that all the new attractions take away from the natural beauty of Niagara Falls. They might think it makes the area a bit "cheesy." But many others love the fun and excitement that Clifton Hill brings!
Clifton Hill's Early Days
The land where Clifton Hill now stands was first owned by the Phillip Bender family in 1782. They received it as a land grant. In 1832, a British Army officer named Captain Ogden Creighton bought the property. He had served in the Far East.
Creighton planned out streets and building lots on the land. He named the future settlement "Clifton," probably after a place called Clifton in Bristol, England. Captain Creighton built his own home, Clifton Cottage, on a high bank facing the American Falls.
Creighton was involved in stopping the Rebellion of 1837. After a fight near Toronto, a rebel leader went to Navy Island on the Niagara River. In 1838, the rebels left the island. At that time, Clifton Cottage became a military base to guard the border ferry. The Creighton family left Niagara in the early 1840s. Captain Creighton passed away around 1850.
Clifton Hill in Movies
Clifton Hill was the setting for a 2019 thriller movie called Disappearance at Clifton Hill.
List of Fun Things to Do and See
Here's a list of some of the cool attractions and restaurants you can find on Clifton Hill:
Attractions
- Niagara SkyWheel
- Big Top Amazing Mirror and Laser Maze
- The Great Canadian Midway
- Movieland Wax Museum of the Stars
- Ghost Blasters Dark Ride (inside the Canadian Midway)
- XD Theatre 6D Motion Ride Experience (inside the Canadian Midway)
- Dinosaur Adventure Mini Golf
- Wizard's Golf miniature golf
- Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum
- Rock Legends Wax Museum
- Ripley's Moving Theatre 4D Ride
- Louis Tussaud's Waxworks Museum
- Guinness World Records Museum
- Nightmares Fear Factory Haunted House
- House of Frankenstein Haunted House
- Dracula's Haunted Castle
- The Haunted House
- Mardi Gras Night Club
- Captain Jack's Fun Centre Arcade
- The Fun House
- Bronto's Adventure Playland
- Adventure City Entertainment Complex
- The Crystal Caves Mirror Maze Adventure
- Mystery Maze
- Niagara Speedway
- Zombie Attack 4D ride
Restaurants
- Applebee's (opened in 2020)
- BeaverTails
- Boston Pizza
- Kelsey's
- Wendy's
- Tim Hortons
- Mamma Mia's
- Rainforest Cafe (opened in May 2001)
- The Niagara Brewing Company (opened in 2015)
- Hard Rock Cafe (opened December 9, 1996)
- Maharaja Grand Indian Fine Dining
- Starbucks Coffee
- Yank's Old Niagara Bar and Grill
- Burger King
- Dairy Queen
- Pizza Pizza
- Clifton Hill Family Restaurant
- The Fudge Factory
- Ruby Tuesday
- Montana's
- Hooters (opened in 2013)
- IHOP
Images for kids
-
Burger King restaurant, Ripley's Moving Theatre, and the House of Frankenstein in Clifton Hill, 2021.
-
Darling Cabins and Hotel Bettina.
-
Clifton Hill in October 1973.
-
The Niagara SkyWheel and Strike! Rock N Bowl Entertainment Centre.
