Niagara Falls, Ontario

[Eureka]

Leaving tomorrow. Will update this thread periodically!

Have a safe trip and a great time!

 

[Ngwira]

Have a safe trip and a great time!

Thanks!

 

[bashuck]

My normally adventuress DD6 saw the Aero car that takes you over the rapids and said that she no longer wanted to do it after seeing it. They said it was closed at the time because of high winds so she added 'and Mommy, I NEVER want to ride that'. The butterfly house was good but we prefer another one we have been to closer to home. White water walk was worth doing, obviously the boat ride is a must. Walking across rainbow bridge was nice.

 

[CdnCarrie]

We are doing a few extra days in Ontario that are not at Niagara. Anyone here familiar with the area in general that could answer some questions, or should I start a new thread?

You could ask questions on the Canadian forum.

 

[sk8jdgca]

We are doing a few extra days in Ontario that are not at Niagara. Anyone here familiar with the area in general that could answer some questions, or should I start a new thread?

What would you like to know?

 

[NinaBella]

We leave next Saturday.

Do you think there would be any issues if my kids and I walked over the bridge from US to Canada while my husband drives over?

We did get the $2.00 per 24-hour traveler's package from Verizon so we will not be charged roaming. When we have visited DH mom grave in Canada we have been charged roaming fees before.

Our DN family is not coming, so no 3 year old or 7 year old. We are sad that they are not joining us, but we are going to cancel one of the rooms and have DH sister and her husband room in the Kid Suite (sleeps 7) at Great Wolf lodge. Saves about $1200 keeping the other Family Suite we booked (I am paying for hotel stay for everyone). I did buy the firework cruise ticket for DN and the 7 year old (3 year old free) so now I have extra tickets.

My auto insurance stopped requiring Canadian ID's several years ago. Maybe it depends on the carrier, I didn't think any carriers required Canadian ID cards anymore.

 

[Narnia_girl]

Leaving tomorrow. Will update this thread periodically!

Hope it's a great trip! Thanks for starting this thread.

You could ask questions on the Canadian forum.

Good idea!

What would you like to know?

We've decided to center our vacation around the Great Lakes--see them all in one trip. It's a lot of driving so I'm trying to minimize it. We are starting in Michigan and going to Mackinac Island for a day (been there before).

• Next driving to see Soo Locks. At this point I'd like to make a stop at Lake Superior. I wish we could go up to the Provincial Park but I think that's too far. So we will probably hit Point des Chenes for a brief visit.
• Drive to Manitoulin Island and take the ferry to Bruce Peninsula. Any suggestions for this area--and is it safe to hike to the Grotto (older teens/parents)
• Then on to Toronto. My kids do not want to do the CN Tower. We had planned on Toronto Islands but I'm wondering if that's worth doing after already doing Mackinac Island and Bruce Peninsula? Definitely doing the Eaton Mall (teen daughter).
• Then on to Niagara Falls. We want to hit Lake Erie, so I was thinking of driving to Fort Erie. Is there a spot there we can see the lake. It doesn't appear to be a long drive (1/2 hour)
• Driving home through London. Anything worth stopping to see?

Can you add any suggestions to these areas? Things we should definitely do, or avoid? Places to eat? And would you alter this route?

thanks!!

 

[buffalogirl]

Leaving tomorrow. Will update this thread periodically!

Have Fun! We've had beautiful weather, hope it continues during your vacation!

 

[Ngwira]

We left south jersey around 1:00pm. Horrible traffic around philly . We got to Binghamton 4 hours later. We are now checked in at our hotel in horseheads. We will continue the journey tomorrow. Can I tell you how beautiful this area is. Gorgeous mountains. Beautiful lakes. However looking forward to Canada tomorrow. We are leaving right after breakfast.

 

[Ngwira]

We arrived in Niagara Falls yesterday around 1:00pm. Our gps took us around genesee county NY and surrounding areas. I remember seeing A sign for Batavia NY. The area looks severely depressed. Wow, just wow. We didn't see Buffalo as we went around it. We checked into our hotel at the 4 points st Sheraton. Great location. We parked in the fallsview casino lot. The advertised price was $30!!! That was unexpected. However, I signed up for a players card, ate at the buffet and got free parking. We did so much yesterday. We did the fallsview fun zone activities including laser tag and the arcade. My kids really enjoyed it and it was super convenient since its in our hotel. Found it on Groupon. We also did two of the Clifton hill fun pass activities. We did the sky wheel and the movie land wax museum. We will do the other two activities during the week.

I exchanged money at the casino. Got $125 Canadian for $100 US yesterday.

The 4 points at Sheraton is very nice. They put us on the spg member floor. Rooms were modern and spacious. Would absolutely stay here again. There is a Starbucks and Ruth Chris steakhouse. It's attached to the fallsview casino by a walkway.

We are headed to Toronto today. However we will be back to NF on Tuesday. For $40.00 a night they upgraded us to a Fallsview room suite. So we will be paying $80.00 to stay on Tuesday and Wednesday.

We saw the falls. Can't wait to see them up close.
We grabbed snacks at Tim Hortons and Starbucks but the casino has a food court with options.

 

[Ngwira]

We have phone access and we use prepaid straight talk network. It works in Canada.

 

[jevs]

Hope you have a wonderful time @Ngwira

Thanks for starting this thread, it's been a great help already for our December trip.

 

[Narnia_girl]

I noticed on the Sam's Club site that when you buy the Adventure Pass you have to specify a date. I'm wondering if we have to do all four activities in one day? Or can we spread it over two days?

 

[sk8jdgca]

Narnia Girl. What a great trip. Im a southern Ontario person so I can't comment on the northern part of your trip
For Lake Erie, crystal beach might be a good choice, it is about 20 minutes from NF. http://www.forteriecanada.com/tourism/crystalbeach.shtml
Another alternative would be to change things around a bit and hit Lake Erie just south of London at Port Stanley.
http://www.portstanley.net/local-attractions

For Lake Huron, there is a great park under the bluewater bridge heading into the states. We love getting fries from the food cart there, sitting on the benches and watching the big boats. There are also crazy kids who jump into the fast water under the bridge and get carried along by the strong current. There is a park just north of there with a beach but it is a bit rocky.

Another alternative would be to stay in London, head south the one day to Port Stanley, and then the next day to Grand Bend. It has an amazing beach. There is a cluster of hotels by the 401 and the Wellington street exit in London with a great mall just down the street for your teen.
http://grandbendtourism.com

For Toronto
Center island is nice, we like to rent bikes ( you can get then off the island cheaper but on the island they have Surrey bikes), we take the ward island ferry. Ward island is the only island with houses and they are cool to look at. There is also a disc golf course there and a beach with stand up paddle boards ( check groupon and living social for deals). The views of the island of the city are real cool. All the islands are connected. If going on the ferry buy your tickets on line ahead of time.
An alternative would be to go to The Beaches area. This part of town is hoping, especially on weekends.
For shopping, my kids really enjoy Queen St W more than Eatons centre ( which is just like any large American mall). Queen w has the cool chain stores teens like ( urban outfitters for example) but there are mixed in with vintage shops ( black market has nothing over 20), and funky boutiques. Another great shopping area is Kensington Market.

 

[Ngwira]

I noticed on the Sam's Club site that when you buy the Adventure Pass you have to specify a date. I'm wondering if we have to do all four activities in one day? Or can we spread it over two days?

It is my understanding that you can spread the activities out.

 

[Ngwira]

Arrived in Toronto at 12 noon. Checked into the Sheraton Toronto center. Walked to ferry and went to centreville and centre island. Had a groupon so we got 90 ride tickets for cheap. Took ferry back and headed to Eaton centre. Had dinner in the urban food court. Came back and swam. Bed now. So pooped. 27k steps on the Fitbit. ROM tomorrow and back to NF.

 

[sk8jdgca]

Arrived in Toronto at 12 noon. Checked into the Sheraton Toronto center. Walked to ferry and went to centreville and centre island. Had a groupon so we got 90 ride tickets for cheap. Took ferry back and headed to Eaton centre. Had dinner in the urban food court. Came back and swam. Bed now. So pooped. 27k steps on the Fitbit. ROM tomorrow and back to NF.

Wow a busy day, hope you are enjoying your trip. There is a food court below your hotel ( head to the right off the escalators) there is an amazing French bakery called Nadage. The food court is on,y open until 5 or 6 though

 

[Ngwira]

Wow a busy day, hope you are enjoying your trip. There is a food court below your hotel ( head to the right off the escalators) there is an amazing French bakery called Nadage. The food court is on,y open until 5 or 6 though

Thanks. We happened to arrive too late to see the open restaurants. We did the ROM today. Can I just say how amazing that museum is? Wow, just wow. Worth it. I bought tix from Costco Canada. We took the subway to the museum stop. The subway system is very modern and clean.
We ate lunch there. Returned to our car to be told it was $36 for 24 hrs ouch! Toronto is expensive.....
Headed back to Niagara Falls around lunch time. We played mini golf and walked to Clifton hill to finish our fun pass. Did the 6d coaster and the blaster ride which is just like buzz light year! Played a few games at the great Canadian midway. Ate at Boston pizza. Bought a few souvenirs on ferry street which is much cheaper than souvenirs on Clifton hill or fallsview Blvd.

Tomorrow we are doing the Niagara Falls adventure pass. 27,600 steps on the Fitbit!

 

[garrsmom]

We bought our adventure pass today for our July trip and booked our rental car.. Your review is perfect timing.

 

[NinaBella]

We left Tampa 3 hours ago. Headed to my moms in SC for the night, then to PA to pick up DD from camp. Will be in Niagara Saturday by lunch.

My kids passports are expired so I keep telling them they will be lucky to make it back into U.S. HaHa. Christmas 2014 they let my daughter back in from Canada with an expired passport. Sons was not expired then. We were in Belle River Canada for the day. I offered other documents and told him the passport was expired but he said to hand him the passport to see if it would still scan and it did. DD is 13, DS is 14. After DD turns 14 we will get new passports for both since we have a few overseas trips planned. I just like teasing the kids. My kids are half Mexican and born in South Korea but have the consular report of birth abroad certificates and military dependent ID cards.