Frank Parlato Jr: Disney coming to Niagara Falls?

By Frank Parlato Jr.

March 29, 2010

The Walt Disney Company through their affiliate Disney Cruise Lines will be bidding on the Maid of the Mist lease in Niagara Falls Ontario.

If they win the bid in Canada, they will most likely also secure the NY lease as the two, according to NY Park officials should be operated by the same concessionaire.

The request for proposals is expected out this month with a decision on the winning bidder due in June.

PoliticsNY.net has confirmed that Disney officials are in Niagara Falls Ontario this week and have registered to bid with the Niagara Parks Commission.

For the Niagara Falls tourism industry this is major news.

For 39 years the lease to the public docks in Ontario that allow boats to launch and provide boat tours below the falls has been held by one man - James Glynn of Lewiston.

Last year the Ontario Minister of Tourism ended Glynn's monopoly and ordered the boat tour lease out to bid.

The Maid of the Mist is the second most visited boat tour in North America behind only the Statue of Liberty.

Besides Disney Cruise Lines, among the bidders who have registered with the Niagara Parks Commission to bid on the Maid of the Mist lease are Ripley Entertainment, Hornblower Yachts, Xanterra and a host of other tour boat tour and entertainment companies.

Glynn the long time concessionaire for the boat tours will also be bidding.

The big surprise however is Disney. Their potential entry into Niagara Falls will mean probably a lot more than mere boat tours and will pave the way to an investment by Disney on the Niagara Falls NY side as well.

According to NY parks spokeswoman Angela Berti, the NY lease for the Maid of the Mist has always gone to the leaseholder in Canada.

Below is a rundown of the big time bidders in competition for the Maid of the Mist boat tour:

Ripley Entertainment: the world-famous entertainment company owned by Canadian billionaire Jim Pattison – who owns 31 radio and TV stations in Canada. Ripley’s has had a rich presence in Niagara Falls, Ontario, since the early 1960’s and recently constructed the $130 million Great Wolf Lodge. Internationally, the company owns the Ripley Believe it or Not Museums, various Aquariums, Haunted Adventures, mini golf and arcades, movie theaters, sight seeing trains, The Louis Tussauds Wax Works, and the worldwide rights to the Guinness Book of Records.

Xanterra Parks & Resorts: The nation's largest park concessions management company, Xanterra’s operations span from Ohio's state parks to Death Valley. They have concessions in Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, the Petrified Forest, Rocky Mountain, and Death Valley. Xanterra also owns the Grand Canyon railway.

Mariposa Cruises: The largest hospitality cruise operation in Canada, Mariposa operates along the Toronto waterfront offering private charters and regularly scheduled one-hour narrated tours, two hour luncheon tours, and three hour “magical dinner cruise(s)’ along the Toronto waterfront. Mariposa has a fleet of seven ships. Unlike Glynn’s boats, Mariposa’s boats have bathrooms and seats.

Disney Cruise Lines: Owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company in Celebration Florida, Disney Cruise Line operates the ships “Disney Magic” and “Disney Wonder” each containing 900 staterooms. The company also owns Castaway Cay, a private island in the Bahamas designed as an exclusive port of call for Disney's ships.

Disney was the first to build boats from the keel up as family cruise liners. Unlike most ships of their type, they do not include casinos.

Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises. Actually two companies, Circle Line had the Statue of Liberty boat tour concession from 1953 to 2007. Presently they offer tours on the East River, Harlem River Ship Canal, Hudson River, New York Harbor, Spuyten Duyvil Creek and the upper New York Bay

Hornblower Yachts. The company has a fleet of twenty-nine vessels and operates boat tours to Alcatraz Island and Liberty Island where the Statue of Liberty stands. They offer whale watching tours in San Francisco, San Diego, Newport Beach, Marina Del Ray, Sacramento and Berkeley.

New York Waterway. Since 1986, NY Waterway has carried more than 65 million passengers around Manhattan Island. Presently NY Waterway has the largest ferry and excursion fleet in the NY Harbor.

It is anybody's guess who will win the bidding, but the smart money right now is on the world-famous Disney....