Movieland at Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls isn’t really the kind of place you associate with Pirates of the Caribbean. Or with Batman, or Elvis, or even the Lord of the Rings. But the Movieland Wax Museum of the Stars on Clifton Hill, on the Canadian side of the Falls, wants to change that.

Walk down the street and you’ll see a morose-looking Heath Ledger as the Joker in the window. Then, in the open space by the ticket booth, you’ll see Orlando Bloom threatening Johnny Depp with his sword in a Pirates display. And if that isn’t enough to get you through the doors, there’s a speaking giant Egyptian statue that may well do the job.

Inside, you’ve got Marilyn Monroe, Lara Croft, the Simpsons, Freddy Krueger, Indiana Jones and Forrest Gump to keep you entertained, as well as musical stars such as Madonna, Cher, Elvis, Miley Cyrus and Michael Jackson.

We have to be honest and say that the waxworks on the marquee (Elvis, Twilight and Miley Cyrus) aren’t the most lifelike we’ve ever seen, but the Pirates of the Caribbean and the Joker are pretty decent, and anyway, wax museums are much more fun if you’re having to guess who the celebrity in question actually is.

There’s also a House of Horrors at the end of the tour, and if you make it to the gift shop intact, you can get a replica of your own hand cast in wax. That’s definitely a different kind of souvenir from Niagara.