August 7, 8, 9,  2017

Day Four …. We drove over the Rainbow Bridge to Canada.  A note to anyone traveling over the border with a child that’s parents are not with them,  have the parents sign and have notarized a “Consent Letter to Allow Minor Child to Cross the U.S. Canadian Border”.  The Border Patrol Inspector thanked us for knowing to bring one.  I’m not sure if they would not have let my Grandson, whose parents were not with us, into Canada without it,  but I’m sure it would have been a huge  hassle.

We had reservations for the night at the

Courtyard Marriot   5950 Victoria Avenue   Niagra Falls, Ontario   Nice easy, safe walk to Clifton Street and the Falls.  The only “downfall” was it was an uphill trek back to the hotel.   Nice rooms, pool, staff ….  Once again a bit pricey,  but a little consolation, right now the U.S. Canadian exchange rate is in our favor.

We had wanted to spend one night on the Canadian side to hang out on Clifton Hill (aka “tourist trap heaven”),  view the nightly illumination of both the Bridal Veil and Horseshoe Falls, as well as,  the fireworks over the falls (Monday-Friday  10:00 p.m.)

We asked the Rep at the Courtyard Tourist Info for a “to do” recommendation with two 12 year old’s and a 9 yr old on Clifton Hill that wouldn’t kill our pocketbook.

Answer … Get Fun Passes  ($19.99 children 12 and under, $29.99 over 12)  A Fun Pass includes 6 Clifton Hill activities and 5  arcade tokens.  We bought three children and one  “over 12” passes.   We paid $9.99 extra for each adult to play Dinosaur Mini Golf and took turns doing the other activities (saved $40).

Beside your choice of Outdoor Dinosaur Mini Golf or Indoor Wizards Mini Golf the pass includes the Niagara Sky Wheel,  Zombie Attack,  Wild West Coaster (son-in-law),  Movieland Wax Museum (me) and Ghost Busters 3D (my daughter).  The fun Pass was a deal  and we all had a great time.   There are Haunted Houses on every corner.  I bit the pocketbook bullet and paid for my son-in-law and the two boys to go into one.  What the heck, we’re on vacation and the boys really wanted to.  All three of them loved it.   TIP … I could have saved $24 had I known  the Movieland Wax Museum had an “Enter If You Dare” doorway that was a walk through haunted house.

Next Stop … Toronto

August, 4, 5, 6,  10, 11   2017.
Day One ….    My 12 year old grandson, DJ and I were meeting my daughter and her family at the …

Four Mile Creek State Park Campground  1055 Lake Rd  Youngstown, N. y. 14174 ($29 a night, electric only)  I give this campground a four star rating for location to Niagara Falls, cleanliness, spacious sites, laundry facilities and very nice staff.  Bicycle riding is a activity highlight.  Nice flat, paved  roads.

… The “family” has a travel trailer and had a two week, mostly camping vacation planned.  DJ and I were meeting them only for a portion of their trip.

Our trip was approximated at 460 miles and 6 hours and 45 minutes.  I love the preciseness of technology, but am a realist and from past experience know the travel time is not accurate.

Six hours and 45 minutes had us stopping for the night at the …

Quality Inn and Suites,  8250 Park Rd,  Batavia, NY ($95 plus tax with a HotelCoupons.com coupon)…

I had picked up a coupon book at a service station on I 90.  One of the nice things about driving both the Massachusett’s Turnpike and I 90 is, there are plenty of service areas.  We were still at least an hour and a half from Niagara Falls U.S.

This Quality Inn has easy I 90 on and off access.  It has an on site restaurant, The Oasis, where a complimentary full breakfast was included in the room rate.  We also had dinner there.  The prices were reasonable and the food was o.k, two steps up from fast food.   A nice touch was, each table was served a complimentary  fresh baked, warm mini loaf of bread, with a side of cinnamon butter.   There is also an indoor water park adjacent to the Inn.  We had checked in close to it’s closing so didn’t check it out.  Entry was not included with the room ($12 pp weekdays/$20 pp weekends).

Day Two and Three…  We met the “family” at the campground, where I left my car for the next five days.  I had booked a room for two nights at the  …

Holiday Inn  114 Buffalo Ave, Niagara Falls, N.Y.  The room rate was no where as attractive as the campground, but it is in a great location, a nice safe easy walk to the attractions.  It also has a nice indoor heated pool.   Hotel rates in the Niagara Falls area are all over the place, based on season.  I booked on line through Bookit.com.   I’m not sure I got the best rate I could have, but we were very happy here.  The three kids stayed with me and my daughter and her husband traveled back and forth to the campground (15 minutes away).  The hotel has parking for guests $10.80 a day/night. I thought this was very tacky, considering the room rates, but most of the public lots were $20 a day.

Best Value and “to do’s” when traveling with two 12 year olds and one 9 year old on the U.S. side of Niagara Falls …

Niagara Falls Discovery Pass ($45 an adult, $34 ages 6-1, 5 and under free)

Includes entrance to  …

Cave of the Winds … TIP … do this first.  You get a poncho,  plastic bag for your footware  and a PAIR OF SANDALS.  Visiting the falls is all about getting wet.  The Cave of the Winds has you “covered”.

 

Maid of the Mist … this is a must do,  if it’s the only thing you do … it’s a classic and a “barrel” of laughs.  If you don’t like getting wet don’t go upstairs, or stand by a railing, but you’ll miss all the fun.

Niagara Adventure Theater …   If you watch the History channel,  you may have already seen the movie.  I hadn’t and I liked it!  The kids not so much. They did like the theater was air conditioned 🙂

Aquarium of Niagara  … We have been members of the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut for over 15 years.  The Aquarium here is 1/16 the size.  We did not have high expectations.  The sea lion show put the Mystic show to shame.  The entertainment value was 100%.  Mystic has a theater that seats hundreds and Niagara has standing room only.  I would chose the Niagara sea lion show over Mystic any day.  We almost missed the Rescue Harbor Seal exhibit.  It is the only outdoor exhibit and is tucked to the side of the entrance.  I could have spent the day here watching these very entertaining seals.

Niagara Gorge Discovery Center  … This activity got a few bad reviews on line.  It was not the highlight of the trip, but well worth checking out,  especially if you like history and engineering phenomena.  The elevator ride down to the gorge was very “cool”.  Look up as you exit to the gorge you might see a bat or two.  There is a rock climbing wall that was disappointing. only because two of our three kids did not weigh enough to climb.  There was  also a 15 minute video that if we hadn’t watched,  I would never have known that he first person to go over the falls in a barrel was a woman!

 

and a one day pass for unlimited rides on the Scenic Trolley Ride.

If you have passports a fun thing we did was walk across the Rainbow Bridge from the U.S. to Canada.  We had ice cream in Canada and then walked back to the U.S.  Nice Views!

Next Stop … Niagara Falls,  Canada