Please help me plan my Niagra Falls vacation..

[SeeDisney]

HI DIS friends,


We're planning on going to see the Niagra Falls around August 10. My husband got two free nights at any Marriott Hotel. So we'll stay at the Marriott in Canada.

Would anyone recommend staying there for two nights and spend three days there? Any great themed exciting restaurants to eat with my four kids.

Any highly recommended tourist attractions to see?

I've love getting advice from people before looking at the tourist websites.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[AprilShowers]

Must Do: Maid of the Mist boat ride. Awesome experience!

There's also a behind the falls tour that is kinda cool. We ate at the tower restaurant. Can't remember the name, but it revolves. Probably expensive, but the view is beautiful.

There's a ton of touristy things to do there. You won't have any problems finding out about them. The hotels will have all the brochures, and most sell tickets to the attractions. On the Canadian side, it's like a carnival. Lots of touristy things. Be careful and pick and choose over there, some of it is really cheesy!

I LOVE Niagara Falls. I hope to go back there sometime soon!

 

[grinningghost]

We live very near Niagara Falls and without question, if you're into themed eating or just sort of a Vegas/WDW festive atmosphere, you need to spend some time on Clifton Hill. Lots of attractions and restaurants to choose from. It's alot of fun, a little over the top, but hey, you're on vacation, over the top is GOOD.

Hope you enjoy our little neck of the woods.

Edited to add - Don't miss Maid of the Mist. Just don't miss it, no matter what! We still do it every year and we're locals - it's THAT amazing.

 

[luvdzne]

You should try to go to Niagra on the lake. That was one of our favorite parts of our vacation. A very cute little town

 

[LisaNJ25]

My best suggestion is to get the Niagara Falls & Great Gorge Adventure Pass

http://www.niagaraparks.com/nfgg/discountpass.php

You can buy it while there and get a AAA discount.

 

[poochie]

HI DIS friends,


We're planning on going to see the Niagra Falls around August 10. My husband got two free nights at any Marriott Hotel. So we'll stay at the Marriott in Canada.

Would anyone recommend staying there for two nights and spend three days there? Any great themed exciting restaurants to eat with my four kids.

Any highly recommended tourist attractions to see?

I've love getting advice from people before looking at the tourist websites.

Thanks for any advice.

Marineland and gamefarm
Hard Rock Cafe both US and Canadian side

Attractionns:

Maid of the Mists
American Falls
Canadian Falls
Fighter Combat International
Botanical Delights
Butterfly Conservatory
Casino Niagara
Floral Clock
Clifton Hill Entertainment
Friday Night Fireworks
Great Gorge Adventure
Hydro Power
Imax Theatre
Journey Behind the Falls
Minolta Tower
Movieland Wax Museum
Niagara Glen
Niagara Helicopters
Niagara in Winter
Niagara on the Lake
Niagara Falls Aviary
Niagara Greenhouse
Niagara River
Nightly Illumination
Oakes Garden
Queen Victoria Park
Reg's Candy Kitchen
Ripleys Believe it or Not
Skyway Helicopters
The Spanish Aero Car
The Old Scow
The Welland Canal
Murals of Welland

 

[NAB]

They have to two indoor waterparks too. Not sure if the Marriot is one of the hotel near them. They just open so they would be very clean. One is the Great Wolf Lodget I think and remember the other one.

 

[Tina]

The Marriott FallsView is AWESOME!! We stayed there last summer and upgraded to a nicer room with a fireplace and big jacuzzi tub. The tub area had shutters that opened up into the room so we could see the falls from the tub. It was SO nice.

One thing I can highly recommend is to see the sights on week days if you can. DH and I arrived did most of our touring on Wed and Thurs with no waits at all. Our friends arrived early on Friday morning and we did some touring with them. The lines on that day were insane. We were SO glad we spent most of our time touring mid-week.

 

[Christine]

My mom just got back from there 3 days ago. My son started his summer break and I had no daycare, so my parents took him there for a short trip. He is 11.

They stayed at the Embassy Suites Fallsview and really enjoyed it. They were right next door to the Marriott and said it was equally as nice. Be warned though, some of the rooms in the Marriott can be *viewed* by some of the rooms at the Embassy Suites. My son got an eyeful one evening of some apparent "honeymooners." Fortunately, it was only a PG-13 rating, but he hasn't stopped telling everyone about it yet. Keep your curtains closed!!!!

Anyway, my son LOVED Maid of the Mist. They had to do it twice. The did the Behind the Falls tour which he liked okay. He was against going to the Butterfly Conservatory, but my parents made him and he liked it a lot.

They also did Niagara on the Lake. My parents liked it, my son was totally bored.

Then they did the IMAX show about Niagara Falls and that was very good.

My son wanted to do the Whirlpool Jets and the thing (gondola??) that goes between the falls, but my mom was having no part of that!

Food was VERY disappointing. I had read this on www.tripadvisor.com and warned her. That a tough time finding places to eat. If you do some reading you will see that all the typical chains are there (TGI Fridays, Outback, Rainforest, etc) but the food is apparently horrendous and very expensive. Doesn't make sense but I got consistent feedback on this. Apparently the pizza is good. My family ended up going to Boston Pizza. My mom agreed that the pizza was very good but the service was VERY poor. They did try to go to Wolfgang Puck's one evening--that looked promising. But my son has a peanut allergy and there were cross-contamination warnings there so they felt it probably wasn't safe for him.

They ended up staying 3 nights there. On the last day, they checked out and went over to the Great Wolf Lodge (which is closer to Niagara on the Lake). It was actually a bit cheaper than the Embassy Suites but did not include breakfast. They all LOVED this place and it is right up there with Disney quality. My parents were very impressed with this indoor water park and my son loved it. They also said that they FINALLY got some good food there. The restaurant has a very nice buffet. They also have a table service restaurant but my son was getting pretty fed up with that at that point. The hotel just opened in April so the rooms are very nice and beds are still comfy.

If you have kids you might REALLY want to think about doing one night here!

 

[mssocks]

I loved the butterfly conservatory.

 

[jimmalru80]

NIAGRA FALLS!! Slowly I turned, step by step..................

 

[TimeforMe]

NIAGRA FALLS!! Slowly I turned, step by step..................

No! Don't say it!!!!

 

[Nancy]

The Falls are tons of fun.

I would stay away from Marineland, my kids hated it! Expensive and not all that great and the food there was the most expensive we ever had at a theme park and also the worst we ever had. The Butterfly Conservetory is really nice. One of these days I will do the Maid of the Mist (I'm 48, live on the Falls front door and have never been on it) I trhink on the American side they have the Cave of the Winds, you get to walk BEHIND the falls. Clifton Hill is really cheesy, very touristy, very expensive. Niagara on the Lake is very laid back and relaxed, probably not for kids, it is very qaint.

 

[Princess Mindy]

Definitely go to the butterfly conservatory. The butterflies land on you and it makes some great photo ops. Also I must chime in with a recommendation for Maid of the Mist. Its unbelieveable
Also, there is a buffet on the Skylon Tower (the floor beneath the revolving restaurant) that isn't as expensive and still provides great views. The food is amazing too!

 

[famofsix]

HI DIS friends,


We're planning on going to see the Niagara Falls around August 10. My husband got two free nights at any Marriott Hotel. So we'll stay at the Marriott in Canada.

Would anyone recommend staying there for two nights and spend three days there? Any great themed exciting restaurants to eat with my four kids.

Any highly recommended tourist attractions to see?

I've love getting advice from people before looking at the tourist websites.

Thanks for any advice.

You might try old fort Niagara if your kids like history but you gotta cross the border to the US side. http://www.oldfortniagara.org/visit/admissions.php
I would recommend Maid of the Mist and you can even save those free little blue ponchos for Disney someday. You'll look like smurfs but you'll be dry. I think that kids under 18 might be free for Maid of the mist experience. We think that some of the thrills and freaky places are weird at night there like Ripley's so we went in the early evening if at all. Beware the later the evening gets it does get pretty crowded walking around so it is good to have a plan. You have got to get some salt water taffy, my mouth waters for genuine taffy from the Falls...maybe the mist makes it so good and the Fudge....gotta love fudge.
Enjoy your trip...the butterflys are amazing but have everyone "go" before entering because there's no readmittance. Once you're in, you're in.

 

[SeeDisney]

Thank you, thank you everyone.

the Maid of Mist ---- is that the boat ride that gets up close to the Falls? What about my baby? Would they allow a baby to get on? I know it's a ding dong question to ask.

So far the butterfly conservation sounds good.

I'd always love getting travel advice from the DIS instead the websites!!!!

Any themed or fun restaurants to go?

 

[famofsix]

Maid of the Mist is the boat ride.
Here's a link to their website.
http://www.maidofthemist.com/en/
5 and under is free....I felt a little nervous taking my little one on (he was 3 months at the time July 2006) so I waited while the fam went on. They loved it and we had other relatives with us that enjoyed it too. DH says he would have taken the baby on. You do get wet though. A toddler might not like that aspect. He said it's like being in a misty rainstorm. I guess it depends on your baby's personality. I don't recall seeing an age restriction.
We just did a day trip that time so we brought a picnic lunch. I am sorry I can't help you with dining. It does seem pricey though.
There is a Planet Hollywood nearby.
There is also a hiking trail that ranges from easy to moderate...we did not purchase a trail patch since we did not hike 12.5 miles LOL But the kids had fun hiking a small portion of it on the easy trails
http://www.nfwhc.org/parks/gorge.htm

 

[DisneyWorldWisher]

Hey there! Niagara Falls is a great vacation place. We live about 40 miles away.
Make sure you do the Maid Of The Mist, it's really cool!
Clifton Hill is pretty fun for some 'touristy' stuff. Just don't go past the railroad, because it gets kind of...scary? Seems kind of criminal and adult.
For food, may I reccomend going across the border to the Seneca Niagara Hotel & Casino? They have an excellent buffet (about 20 dollars per person) and a very nice and fancy restaurant called the Western Door.
We go to the buffet about once every 2 weeks. It's great!
I also reccomend going to the Fallsview. They have a little water show in the lobby every night. And they have a little mall and a great view of the Horseshoe Falls on a patio.

I also think you should go up to the Skylon Tower, it's a beautiful view.
Have a fun trip!

 

[Cruellasmom]

I also have a question about Niagra Falls. We will be going on a whirlwind tour of the Northeast the first part of July and will only have a short time at the Falls. We decided that we would just do the Maid of the Mist. I have read that we cannot make reservations on the Maid of the Mist ahead of time. We will not be arriving at Niagra until about 2:00 p.m. and will spend the rest of the day there. Will tickets be sold out for the day by the time we get there? Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[famofsix]

We went last Fourth of July and did not have problems getting tickets (we had over ten people in the group). They were running at least two boats at the time. It's still worth going to the Falls even if you don't get to Maid of the Mist for some reason
I would call and check to see the last available time that they have for the ride and judge by that. You could drop one person off as soon as you get there to purchase tickets and then meet up there after you park. Parking can sometime take awhile depending on the lot you get and how far you may have to walk.
Hope that helps. And don't forget to buy some wonderful TAFFY.