{"id":285,"date":"2017-07-27T17:42:44","date_gmt":"2017-07-27T21:42:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kimberlyyavorski.com\/expandinghorizons\/?p=285"},"modified":"2021-04-27T10:27:44","modified_gmt":"2021-04-27T14:27:44","slug":"niagara-falls-attractions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kimberlyyavorski.com\/expandinghorizons\/niagara-falls-attractions\/","title":{"rendered":"Niagara Falls Attractions Guarantee You’ll Get Wet"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Niagara Falls, one of the natural wonders of the world is on many bucket lists and for good reason. It has been a tourist attraction since the early 19<\/span>th<\/span><\/sup> century and for generations was a popular honeymoon destination. Formed during the last Ice Age, the falls are on the New York\/Ontario border and combined have the highest flow rate in the world.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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View from inside the Table Rock Welcome Center<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While the falls themselves are truly awesome, without the towns that have grown on either side, there wouldn\u2019t be all that much to do. Of course there is hiking, but that only interests a subset of the population. The cities of Niagara Falls, both in New York and Ontario, have capitalized on the natural feature with a number of related activities and both offer a package deal that provides a discount over purchasing each attraction separately.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We spent a few days visiting Niagara Falls, Ontario in mid-May, before the tourist season truly began. While the area has much more to offer than the falls, the activities surrounding the falls are the main focus of a trip to this town and can be completed in a single day, though it is more enjoyable to spread them over two, or maybe even three days. These attractions are run by the <\/span>Niagara Parks Commission<\/span><\/u><\/a>, a self-financed agency of the Ontario Ministry of Tourism.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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What remains of the barge that has been stuck at the top of Niagara Falls since August 6, 1918<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since I was traveling with my adult children and the hotels all seem to charge extra per adult over two, we found it more economical to rent a house for our vacation. (There are a few websites that list rentals; many homes are listed on them all.) This also gave us the added advantage of more square feet per person as well as a full kitchen so we wouldn\u2019t have to eat every meal out. We arrived on a Monday evening, settled in, and went out to the grocery store to pick up something for dinner and breakfast the next morning. However,we quickly realized that, it being a holiday, the stores were already closed. Starting to get hangry, we decided to eat at the closest restaurant, <\/span><\/span>Doc Magilligan\u2019s Restaurant and Irish Pub<\/span><\/u><\/span><\/a>\u00a0and were pleased with the choice. Adjacent to the Best Western, it has a charming interior and an intimate, cozy feel that was surprising given its size. The menu promised \u201cauthentic Irish fare\u201d and none in our party of five were disappointed with their meal. We planned to return, but other fabulous meals awaited us elsewhere.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We started Tuesday at the Visitor\u2019s Center where we picked up our Adventure Passes (conveniently attached to lanyards) that we had purchased online and selected our days and times for each activity. We had chosen the Classic package, which included a boat ride to the falls, a self-guided tour of caves dug under the falls, a 4D retelling of the history of the falls, a White Water Walk and two-day bus passes. After inquiring into how long each took, we decided to start with Niagara\u2019s Fury, the 4D experience and the Journey Behind the Falls that morning and scheduled the boat ride for after lunch. We decided to postpone the White Water Walk to the next day.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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The tunnels at Journey Behind the Falls lead right behind the falls themselves<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While Niagara\u2019s Fury was informational, the brief film is really designed for a younger audience and none of us would have missed anything by skipping it. We got ample warning that we would get wet, as the 4D portion involves water; the blue rain ponchos we were given upon admittance were useful. The Journey Behind the Falls was a rather ordinary walk through cement arched tunnels with archways open to the falls at the end of two of them, allowing you to see and feel spray from the falls. Though I had read positive <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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The platform at Journey Behind the Falls allows you to get right next to the falls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

reviews of this attraction, honestly I was not very impressed. Then we went down a longer tunnel that led to a two-story platform right next to the falls. Here is quickly became apparent why we needed those yellow ponchos. I was in awe. (Note: For those who are concerned about plastic waste, there are bins to collect and recycle these ponchos as you exit each attraction, unless of course you choose to keep them.)<\/p>\n

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Our view from The Secret Garden<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From there, we walked along the falls, which was a much longer walk than we had anticipated. The bus passes were good for 48 hours from first use and we had thought we wait until later to\u00a0extend their usefulness to our last\u00a0day there. A bit of advice: take the bus to the boat dock.\u00a0For lunch we stopped at <\/span><\/span>The Secret Garden Restaurant,<\/span><\/u><\/span><\/a> where we sat outside and enjoyed a water view. (We could see American Falls from our table.)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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The Maid of the Mist Cruise leaves from the New York side<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After lunch, we took the short walk to the Hornblower Cruise and donned our red ponchos. While the boat does offer a covered area, we stayed on the upper level, embracing the water and breeze. As we entered the horseshoe area of the falls, I had to wonder who on earth thought it would be a good idea to steer a boat directly into a waterfall and what would happen if the boat\u2019s engine were to die. My\u00a0doom and gloom\u00a0thoughts aside, it was an exhilarating experience being so close to such a powerful force of nature.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n