Fans fill Falls for Live with Kelly & Ryan
It was a lovefest of all things Niagara Falls — and Canada.
Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest had nothing but positive things to say about the Honeymoon Capital.
The hosts of the New York Citybased Live with Kelly & Ryan show, which aired live on CTV and ABC at 9 a.m. Monday from the Oakes Garden Theatre in Niagara Falls, raved about the city and region — both on and off camera.
“What we needed here was another week. It’s just not enough to spend three days. You need more time,” Ripa said during a news conference following the taping of the second show, which will air today.
“We have a great love of our Canadian audience and they really enjoy having us come do our remotes. We’ve taped all over Canada. We’ve never had a bad remote, we’ve never had a bad experience.”
Ripa had been to Niagara Falls before — in 2006 with then co-host Regis Philbin.
The show first came to the city in 1996 when Philbin and Kathie Lee Gifford did two shows — one live, one taped — from Oakes Garden Theatre.
It was Seacrest’s first time in Niagara Falls.
“I think I’ve done it all in the last two days. I’ve been behind the falls, under the falls, everything but inside of the falls,” he said.
“The people have welcomed us. Really a great first experience for me. It’s so beautiful. I didn’t really know what to expect. I’ve only seen it on TV and in the movies. There’s something for everybody to do. We could really do another full week here and still not run out of things to do. The people have just been remarkable and wonderful.”
The Live with Kelly & Ryan crew, including Ripa and Seacrest, filmed at various locations in Niagara in the days leading up to Monday’s event.
Michael Gelman, executive producer of Live with Kelly & Ryan, said about 3,000 people attended the live show, while another 3,000 attended the taping of the second show.
Ripa and Seacrest heaped praise on a number of attractions and establishments during the shows, including WildPlay’s Whirlpool Adventure Course and MistRider Zipline, Niagara SkyWheel, Niagara Helicopters, Hornblower Niagara Cruises, Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours, Niagara Casinos and Two Sisters Vineyards.
Ripa brought her son, who recently turned 20, on the trip and the two enjoyed some time at some of the attractions, including Comic Con.
“I had three days with my son. I really had a great time,” she said.
“I went running every day on the water. I met some local people … on hikes and things. We went into the amusement area. We played mini golf. We went to Ripley’s Believe It or Not!”
Ripa described Niagara Falls as a “manageable” tourism destination.
“It’s a walking town. It’s a great running town. It’s got something for everybody. You can be young and old and have an equally good time here.”’
Ripa said she’s even more impressed with the city now than she was in 2006.
“It’s somehow more majestic. There’s more to do. It’s prettier, somehow, I don’t even know how that’s possible, but it’s prettier.”
The sold-out live show included Prime Minister Justin Trudeau among guests. Trudeau was asked about his relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump and how it compares to his predecessor Barack Obama.
“We have a good, constructive relationship,” Trudeau said of Trump.
While they may not agree on everything, including climate change, they do agree on “creating good jobs for middle-class people,” said Trudeau.
One of the highlights of the segment was when Ripa and Seacrest presented Trudeau, who acknowledged he likes to wear interesting socks, with a new pair of matching socks, with Ripa on one and Seacrest on the other.
When Seacrest asked Ripa what she thought of the prime minister once he left the stage, Ripa said: “Dear Canadian diary … that’s all I have to say about that. I don’t have any other words.”
Orphan Black actress Tatiana Maslany and singer Eric Bowman were the other guests during the live show.
Amber Dodd, of Wainfleet, attended the show with her two sisters.
“It was all about the tourism in Niagara Falls and Trudeau was good on it — he was boosting Canada,” she said.
Cindy Leone, who grew up in Niagara Falls and now lives in St. Catharines, was one of the 3,000 people who attended the live show.
She decorated a rock recognizing Niagara Falls and Canada’s 150th birthday, which she hoped to present to Ripa and Seacrest.
“I’m a big fan and I was here when Regis and Kathie Lee were here,” she said.
“The hosts are great. Kelly is really good and Ryan, it’s great that he’s a new addition.”
Today’s episode will feature America’s Got Talent judge and Canuck Howie Mandel, Cars 3 star Nathan Fillion, and music performers French Montana and Swan Lee.
Gelman said during the 30 years he’s been with the show, it has travelled to “hundreds of places” and the fact it decided to come back to Niagara Falls for a third time “speaks for itself.”
“We like Niagara Falls. There’s a lot to do here. It’s a beautiful back drop, the natural beauty is great, the activities are great. There’s terrific audiences in the area, from Toronto, from the Niagara Falls area, from Buffalo, from Rochester. For all those reasons we love coming back.”
He said the “minute we put it out there” the show was returning to Niagara Falls, “we basically were sold out.”
“We had more than 8,000 requests after the one mention in a couple of hours. Hopefully a lot of people did get in who wanted to see the show and we’re not that far down in New York if they want to come see us down there.”
Debbie Arias came to Niagara Falls from Williamsville, N.Y., to see the show.
“It’s always fun to do something special in an area and it’s close,” she said.
“I like that Kelly is just such a happy, positive person and the show is all about being happy and positive and having fun.”
Mayor Jim Diodati said he couldn’t have asked for a better day of promotion for Niagara Falls.
He said the $1 million it took to bring the show to the city, which was paid for by the tourism industry, is a “spit in the bucket compared to the returns.”
“The return on investment is through the roof and beyond, especially this time with social media. Social media 11 years ago (when the show was last in Niagara Falls) was not what it is today. That has made it global and instantaneous.”
Diodati said he spent the past few days with Ripa and Seacrest and said they were “fantastic” to deal with.
“They were blown away with how kind, how friendly Canadians are, how much fun we are. They couldn’t get over how beautiful Canada is.”