Niagara Falls - What to do?

[Belle2667]

Hi ! We're heading to Niagara Falls for Easter weekend. We're staying at the Embassy Suites on the Canadian side.

Other than looking at the falls, what should we make the effort to see / do? I know about the Maid of the Mist, but other than that, what else?

Right now the weather is looking warm (65 degrees) and sunny.

Oh, DS14 will be with us so the casinos are out of the question.

TIA

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Clifton Hill has tons of stuff to do..,and there's the Butterfly conservatory, Botanical Gardens, There are 2 indoor waterparks, one by the Rainbow Bridge and one on Lundy's Lane. But for a really good idea, just ask at the front desk for brochures and for their input..have fun!!

 

[snickerboo]

I like the butterfly conservatory but not sure if your ds would enjoy that. They have an IMAX with a showing of a film about The Falls that is supposed to be pretty cool. You can also go in the tunnels underneath The Falls ("Journey Behind the Falls"). There's a Hard Rock Cafe, a Hershey's store and a Rainforest cafe all in the Clifton Hill area + the cheesy "Ripley's Believe it or Not" type places, and the skywheel (giant ferris wheel) if it's open, "Bird Kingdom". The new casino has all kinds of shops in the same building, even if you can't go in the casino. And they have some shows which your ds might be able to go to (not sure if there's an age restriction on those as they're not technically "in" the casino). I always like to cross over to the US side and hit the "Niagara Fashion Outlets". It's also only a short (and beautiful) drive down the Niagara Parkway to Niagara-on-the-Lake.

This website pretty much lists it all according to what you're looking for....
http://www.niagarafallstourism.com/thingstodo-experiences.html

 

[Tower]

Clifton Hill has tons of stuff to do..,and there's the Butterfly conservatory, Botanical Gardens, There are 2 indoor waterparks, one by the Rainbow Bridge and one on Lundy's Lane. But for a really good idea, just ask at the front desk for brochures and for their input..have fun!!

Yep, Clifton Hill has lots of those 'Tourist Trap' things there. Mme Toussad's Wax Museam, have your picture of yourself going over the falls in a barrel, lots of nice, expensive restaurants. Watch out for the breakfast place with the super low pricing on the window, coffee and any other beverage prices you way out of budget.

 

[irisesareblue]

My grandsons went with a friend of their dad's to the butterfly conservatory when they were 5 and 7 and they absolutely loved it! They had butterflies landing on them and everything. It depends on what your son would enjoy.

There is an incline railway near the Embassy Suites - you sit down and the railway takes you down the steep hill that you couldn't otherwise walk down. Very cool and my younger grandsons (3 and 5) loved that last summer when we were there.

My kids and grandkids always called Clifton Hill "tacky street". Lots of touristy things to do. Even a WWE store, if he's into wrestling.

D"OH sorry - just re-read and realized your DS is 14. Maybe the butterflies won't be the thing to do....I thought I read 4!

 

[MkyMws]

We were there last weekend and saw the Greg Frewin magic show...it was awesome!!

It is a bit expensive but it is a great show.

He won magician of the year in 2009.

Enjoy Niagara Falls.

tim

 

[Reese]

We just returned from the Embassy. Does your package include breakfast? There morning breakfast is awesome. I'm not sure if your aware that they only valet park your vehicle (it adds $20 a night to your stay). It's nice though just call and they will have it ready for you in 10 minutes.
Clifton Hills has a pass that you can purchase for on each side of the street. We did one side that included the sky wheel, mini golf 5 tokens to the midway, a four D movie, ghost blasters, Ripley's musuem and Movieland. For $30 it was pretty good.

 

[dvc deernut]

HI, WE LIVE IN NIAGARA ON THE LAKE, I WORKED ALL MY LIFE IN NIAGARA FALLS. THE WEEKEND IS ALL YOU NEED AT THIS TIME OF YEAR. I HAVENT LOOKED IN THE GORGE LATELY BUT THERE STILL MIGHT BE LOTS OF ICE BUT THE WINTER WAS MILD WE DONT GET THOSE HUGE ICE BRIDGES ANYMORE. OTHERS HAVE MENTIONED A FEW THINGS TO DO, AT THIS TIME OF YEAR YOUR LIMITED TO WHAT YOU CAN DO. IM NOT SURE THE MAID OF THE MIST BOATS WILL BE IN THE WATER YET. DO THE BUTTERFLY CONSERVATORY, WEAR SOMETHING ORANGE OR RED, THEY TEND TO BE ATTRACTED TO THOSE COLORS. WE LIVE SURROUNDED BY VINEYARDS AND WINERIES, YOU COULD DRIVE NORTH ALONG THE PARKWAY PAST THE POWER PLANT AND BROCKS MONUMENT(one of the battle sites where we beat the americans in the war of 1812) DOWN THE ESCARPMENT AND ALONG THE RIVER. THAT WHOLE AREA IS NIAGARA ON THE LAKE. KEEP GOING FOR A FEW MILES AND YOU WILL DRIVE RIGHT INTO THE OLD TOWN. YOU COULD GO TO LOCK 3 VEIWING OF WELLAND CANAL AND HOPEFULLY A SHIP WILL BE GOING THRU THE LOCK AT THE TIME. THERE IS THE ST CATHARINES AND WELLAND CANAL MUSEUM THERE. BECAUSE YOU HAVE YOUR 14 YEAR OLD AND YOUR HERE FOR THE ENTIRE WEEKEND YOU MAY WANT TO DRIVE TO TORONTO, ITS ONLY HOUR 15 MIN FROM FALLS. YOU COULD GO UP CN TOWER MAYBE GO TO HOCKEY HALL OF FAME. NIAGARA FALLS IS A PLACE YOU JUST NEED A DAY OR 2 TO SEE EVERYTHING.

 

[Tinkermom76]

Make sure you go to the Hershey store and get a milkshake... best I have ever had. Also eat at the Hard Rock it is good.

Fallsview indoor waterpark you can buy day passes for if you want to spend a day there

 

[Belle2667]

Thanks everyone.

I was born in Lockport, NY (while my dad was in the Army) so we plan on taking a trip into Lockport to see the canal and the house we lived in and those types of things.

No problem missing the Maid of the Mist. Too cold yet for me!

Planet Hollywood is on our list of places to hit as I need to add to my glass collection! As far as Clifton Hills, we're not too big into the touristy things, but we'll probably take a walk around to see what we can see.

Yes, we have breakfast included in our Embassy package. DH is a bit worried about his "baby" being valet parked, but oh well.

What are these whirlpools I've heard about?

 

[dvc deernut]

If your talking about the whirlpool rapids i used to fish down there as a kid early mornings. Thats where the jet boat comes up the river now to turn around. You can go to niagara on the lake but i dont think they are running yet. They will jet boat you up the gorge thru the rapids and back. Its a good hike down the pth to get to the whirlpool. Thats below cable car. Your going to be lucky for weather. Usually its not this warm yet. Its going up to almost 80 degrees fri. The main tourist season doesnt start until may two four weekend.

 

[samepoohdifferentday]

Clifton Hill: We went to the Guinness World Records Museum a couple of weeks ago and got a discount by showing our CAA (AAA) card.