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Should bert post lots of pics of the falls in his trip report?  

37 members have voted

  1. 1. Should bert post lots of pics of the falls in his trip report?

    • Yes - I love seeing pics of the waterfalfluffy, fluffy bunny filled with medicine and goo from many angles
      22
    • No - only need to see a few pics of the waterfalfluffy, fluffy bunny filled with medicine and goo to get the idea
      15


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Great report, Bert! I have been to Niagara a few times as a kid (and young adult) and loved it. I need to go back! You can post all the photos of the falls you want, I love looking at them, but no one will understand until they've actually been standing next to/over/under those falls to feel their enormity and raw power. I need to go back, I have been trying to convince the missus to go as she has never been but we haven't pulled the trigger on that trip. I want to get to Canadas Wonderland at some point so we'll have to make it a two-fer.

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Great start, Bert!

 

Yes, upper 80's in May around here is virtually unheard of. It's down to a cool 66 and cloudy right now. More seasonable for around here, I suppose - although I prefer temps to be around 80 and sunny.

 

Glad that you had great weather!

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Day 2, part 2, still on the morning tour of the USA side of Niagara Falls

 

Once we had made our pit stop, we all got back on the shuttle, and we headed back along the edge of the gorge, across the American Rapids Bridge, and onto the big Island that separates the American Falls with the Horseshoe falls, so we could go to the Cave of the Winds walking experience.

 

The Cave of the Winds is an interesting thing – it involves no cave! There used to be a cave many years ago, but as it got dangerous due to erosion caused collapses, engineers went ahead and destroyed the “cave” portion, and instead they build walk-ways that allow folks to get up close and personal to the Bridal Veil falls.

 

What I found most intriguing is that they re-build the walk-ways every year (and so are always slightly different), as in the winter months, the ice would destroy the walkways, so they disassemble each year, and re-build once the ice over the bottom of the falls melts (tho the falls themselves never do freeze, the water at the base, and on the rocks, does).

So each year is a slightly different experience

 

Also interesting, is that because the walk-ways are so exposed to the falls/water/mist (and I assume they don’t want to get sued), they make you take off your shoes and socks and put into a plastic bag, and they give you a pair of “Cave of the Wind” flip flops that you get to keep. So that was rather cool.

 

They also give you a yellow raincoat, similar to the blue ones we got that were branded for Maid of the Mist. These yellow ones, you do not want to keep – will tell more about that in a moment. LOL

 

There was a HUGE line of folks to get tickets, but our driver told us to just wait for him by the entry arch, and he went up to the booths (special) line and picked up all of our tickets for the attraction.

 

We still had a good 20 minutes before our time to go, so the group was all led West, up the path, to the tip of Terrapin Point, right at the edge of the Horseshoe Falls, and the Canadian Rapids.

 

This area will look really familiar to anyone who’s seen “Superman II” as it’s in this part of Niagara Falls State park, where Lois Lane (R.I.P. Margot Kidder) jumps into the river to prove that Clark is Superman. Very cool to see in person.

 

Our Driver had told us how good he was at taking pics, so we asked him to take a few for us – and of course, two of the 3 had a finger in it. . . HA. . . but at least we got a really good one that is a non-selfie. And hey, he tried.

 

It had been a lot of walking, and Nick was still keeping up pretty good (he made it down all the walkways & stairs to the tip of Terrapin Point and back), but he was starting to slow down and was getting concerned about all the steps for Cave of the Winds, as we were rounded up and headed towards that gate.

 

Of course, the husband of the Australian couple had gone missing, and his wife (along with another passenger) spent a good 10 minutes looking for him. He had gone to the restroom, and never made it back to the group before we had to leave Terrapin Point. So we waited by the entrance to Cave of the Winds, and finally the driver gave up, told the rest of us to go ahead and line up, and he advised the ticket taker that we were still missing someone from our group, so she would let him in when he showed (you may notice we were wearing bright yellow lanyards for our group). Luckily, he showed up mere seconds before our group went into the little museum, before the pre-show.

 

I do wanna mention, that almost every “Tourist” thing at Niagara Falls, has you stop for a picture in the queue line before going into the attraction. Because we were on the Grayline tour, in most cases, we went in a separate entrance (think of it as a Fastlane of sorts). . so as a result, we always buypassed the Photo Ops – which is why we don’t have any “green screen” official pics (other than one exception that I’ll post from the evening tour..that I went out of my way to ask if we could pose for!).

 

So yeah, that might be viewed as another “perk” for those that don’t appreciate the hard sell.

 

What made me think of mentioning this here, is that Cave of the Winds is *very* much done like a Theme Park Ride, except the photo op is before they usher you into a small holding room (ie: museum) in groups of 60 or so, and then the theater doors open, and the whole group goes in to fill in wooden benches – and we see a great multi-media presentation about Niagara Falls, and how the famous folks of the time banded together to lobby the State to buy the land along the gorge back from private citizens, so they could bulldoze all he ugly factories that had sprung up around the falls, and restore it to its natural beauty. It’s a pretty interesting 10 minute or so film, with lots of multiple screens, paintings, animatronics, lighting. . just very well done.

 

Once the film is done, the doors in the back of the theater open, and they usher the group into another room, where you tell them your shoe size, they give you a plastic bag to carry your own shoes and socks in, and give you the aforementioned pair of Flip Flops to put on (this room is also filled with wooden benches to sit and change footwear).

 

They then herd your group outside, across several paths, and into another queue for the small elevators (that hold 10-12 people per trip), that bring you down to the base of the gorge (from deep inside the rock). Just before the elevator is where our Tourguide stopped with a big plastic bag, and he had all of us hand him our bagged shoes/socks. This was really cool of him, as even tho everyone else had to carry their stuff with them, we were able to descend down to the walkways with both hands free – ie: we were able to use both hands to easily grip the handrails on the experience when needed!

 

. . . when you get out of the elevator, there’s a long tunnel (that’s super cool, probably 50 degrees in there), that puts you out right by the base of the river, and to a little stand where they hand you the Yellow Raincoat.

 

Now I mentioned that no one would want to keep the Yellow Raincoats? Well, our tourguide told us that unlike maid of the mist, we would want to put these on immediately upon getting them – and that’s because of the massive colony of birds that nest on the walls of the gorge by that side of the falls. Seriously, the *moment* you step out from the tunnel? Poop starts falling from the sky! We immediately put the raincoats on, and covered our heads up and tied them off. . so we survived the divebombings. . but those who didn’t put up the hood? Ewwwww.

 

Yeah. . nobody wants to keep these raincoats after the trip thru the Cave of the Winds.

 

Nick initially said he would do his best, but might not make it down to some of the decks, and the experience is set up in a looping path, but one *can* bypass some of the deck areas if one so chooses, to save on the amount of steps. Nick had told me flat out tho, that he was *not* going to do the Hurricane Deck – that’s the deck you climb up to that’s right at the base of Bridal Veil Falls. . it not only is a bit of a climb, but it will soak you (COMPLETELY), and that water is really cold.

 

To his credit tho, he not only did the entire circuit with me (following me down to all the offshoot decks), but he also decided that we are there once-in-a-lifetime, and dammit, he’s gonna do it, and so he came up to the Hurricane Deck with me

 

Would have been absolutely perfect, except for the group of young Hassidic Jews that insisted on photobombing almost all our pics. . so yeah, we didn’t get a “clean” pic of us together on the Hurricane Deck..but got some great pics regardless and really enjoyed the experience.

 

on the way back to the tunnel for the elevators, we stopped and watched the birds – many of them had babies they were sitting on, and we also watched two ducks fight over a garden snake. . wildlife!

 

Once the whole group got done with the Cave of the Winds experience, the driver gave us 20 minutes to roam around the area, shop, or just eat ice cream (tons of places selling ice cream, it was like Starbucks in Seattle) before meeting back at the bus for the end of the tour.

 

We took the opportunity to peek into the giftshop (I liked the “I survived the Hurricane Deck” shirt, but the sizes were too small, so didn’t buy one), and then I decided to walk over to Luna Island (the little island between the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls). . . Nick was done with walking for the moment, so he stayed up top where the gift shops were, and I took the paths down to Luna Island to get some fantastic pics of the falls, and the rainbow they were creating.

 

I wish he was with me there, but glad he saved his feet for later that afternoon, and for the next day at MarineLand. Besides, as steep as some of the steps/Paths were, I don’t think he would have been able to make it, since there really aren’t any handrails.

 

We finished our picture taking (including pictures of us taking each other’s pictures (him from up top, and me from down on Luna Island path)), and went to the waiting bus – where we sat and waited . . . for the Australian couple (of course!). They were only 10 or so minutes late for this last stop. . .LOL

 

And then it was back across the Rainbow Bridge, and we were dropped off 4th to our hotel, getting back just before 4pm. Much later than intended, but still very satisfied with the tour. We ended up tipping the driver very well, since he did such a good job, and we so greatly appreciated him holding all the shoes, so Nick could keep his hands free on the Cave of the Winds decks.

 

The only downside was that we now only had 1 ½ hours or so before our evening tour, so out the window went the plan to soak in the hotel Hot Tub (I don’t recall if I mentioned that my back and leg had been acting up.. I’m guessing pinched nerve from schlepping the suitcase.. so I had been limping a bit too. We also hadn’t had anything substantial to eat all day other than the Hot Dog, since we had planned a nice sit down lunch after the morning tour. We discussed, and after a quick stop in the room to drop off things, we decided to go across the street to the Denny’s that was there (good choice, as it was almost empty, so we got served very quickly). .

 

4 cups of coffee, and a spicy skillet (for me), and French toast and Iced Tea (for Nick) -- and 40 minutes later – we were satisfied, and feeling perky again having now put some fuel in us. We still had a good 45 minutes or so before the next tour picked up, so we went a block towards the Entertainment district, and into the 1st Souvenir shop we saw. The proprietor seemed thrilled to have customers, and took great care of us. Nick bought a shirt and a hat (he had forgotten to pack one, and I told him he *needed* one for the next day), and I picked up 2 shirts, and some magnets for our fridge.

 

We then went back to our hotel, dropped off the purchases, and then came back down to wait for the shuttle to pick up for our evening tour.

 

On to the pics! (and this is culling them to only the "good" ones! sorry for so many)

 

And next: Day 2 part 3.

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Crossing the American Rapids Bridge

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waiting for the tourguide to pick up the tickets to Cave of the Winds. . this Arch was dedicated to the folks who built one of the 1st power plants by the falls (I think)?

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Map of the Cave of the Winds area. . including Terrapin Point,and Luna Island

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from Terrapin Point

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looks familiar! Superman II

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the falls from Terrapin Point

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Nick happy to be there

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look back to where our Hotel is, across the gorge. the guy in Red is our TourGuide

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all dressed up and no place to go. . . well, we're gonna go on the Cave of the Winds walkways, and since already wearing our poop-protectors, we're already down there by the water!

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and here's Nick in his

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this is just one of THOUSANDS of birds down there. . many of them were sitting on nests with babies, as this one is.

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starting the circuit for Cave of the Winds. . this is near the exit of the path, and we're about to go down the stairs to start.

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Nick doing well on the stairs. . both hands free!

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one of my favorite pics from the trip

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this one too

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and this one

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Headed up towards the Hurricane deck

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love the footwear, eh?

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Nick alone on hurricane deck, once I shooed the photobombers away

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done with the main walk, and headed back towards the elevators.. wet, sticky, and with some poop on us (but only on the raincoats! )

 

Caught a Hornblower boat headed by, so stopped to take a pic

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Now back on top, and at Luna Island. this is looking over the American Falls towards the Observation Tower (base of which is where Maid of the Mist starts from)

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Rainbow at Bridal Veil Falls!

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so, so pretty. . looking down at Bridal Veil falls and Cave of the Winds walkway

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more rainbow. . can never have too much rainbow

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see? more rainbow :)

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some beautiful foliage on Luna Island too

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him taking a pick of me taking a pic of the falls.. but he got some pretty water from the American Falls in the picture

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Nick taking a pic of me taking a pic of him :p

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Nick's pic from his vantage point up top

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Taking a pic of Nick, up there by the gift shop.

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a close up of the "souvenir" shoes you get to keep

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some of the souveniers I bought from Canada side

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a shirt I bought from the shop on the Canada side

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ditto

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Magnets I bought for *our* fridge, from both American and Canadian Side

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magnets for Coworkers from our stop on the American side.

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Great report, Bert! I have been to Niagara a few times as a kid (and young adult) and loved it. I need to go back! You can post all the photos of the falls you want, I love looking at them, but no one will understand until they've actually been standing next to/over/under those falls to feel their enormity and raw power. I need to go back, I have been trying to convince the missus to go as she has never been but we haven't pulled the trigger on that trip. I want to get to Canadas Wonderland at some point so we'll have to make it a two-fer.

 

thanks.. yeah, you need to go back.

 

we were considering Canada's Wonderland, but since Nick won't ride nearly anything there, and the closeness of Marineland is what drew us there. We love Belugas (and they have a lot), plus Nick was willing to ride everything with me but two rides. . . so I'd recommend that place too.

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Great start, Bert!

 

Yes, upper 80's in May around here is virtually unheard of. It's down to a cool 66 and cloudy right now. More seasonable for around here, I suppose - although I prefer temps to be around 80 and sunny.

 

Glad that you had great weather!

 

oh the weather was PERFECT.

 

the only overcast, or drizzle we saw the entire trip was on the drive back to Buffalo to fly out.

 

we tend to have good vacation karma, and it held with this trip too!

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Great report! I've never been to the US side of the falls but maybe I should change that next time.

 

Those boat tours do look nice. Last time I did the Journey Behind the Falls observation platform/cave tour instead.

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Did they have the "No smoking" sign on the hurricane deck this year? Still one of the funniest things I have seen at Niagara if they did!

 

not that we saw, but that WOULD have been funny!

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Great report! I've never been to the US side of the falls but maybe I should change that next time.

 

Those boat tours do look nice. Last time I did the Journey Behind the Falls observation platform/cave tour instead.

 

while I'd assume that the Hornblower Tour & Maid of the Mist tour are exactly the same from either side, the US side has the Observation platform included (as that's where MotM boards), which really gives some stunning viewing options of all the falls.

 

also on the US side is the Cave of the Winds (as you saw from the massive amount of pics how fun THAT is), as well as the lookouts from Luna Island, Terrapin Point, and Prospect Point.

 

the actual *view* of the falls from the Canadian side cannot be beat (and it's the "Postcard view" that one thinks of when thinking of Niagara Falls), and would stay there again if we ever go back.

 

But the activity options are much better in the USA. I'll have the Canadian evening tour pics hopefully up later today. . but we did not enjoy that portion near as much (with Journey Behind the Falls being the standout tho).

Now, granted, it could have been the driver, the other passengers, or something else. but the evening tour was *way* shorter than the morning one was, and we were bored on much of it. .something that did *not* happen on the morning tour.

 

I'd highly recommend the USA tour we took from Grayline ("Maid in America" tour). . . not just for the ease of it -- again, they'll pick you up at your Canadian Hotel and bring you across the border (special Tourbus lane too) -- but also because they will basically let you "skip the line" as a group. Grayline takes care of all of that.

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^ Glad to hear that as the US side as always been the "red-headed step child" to the Canadian side.

 

It seems like NY is FINALLY taking steps to make our side appealing to tourists. I have found it to be a shame that Niagara Falls, NY has always (during my lifetime) been run down, crime-ridden and really devoid of any attractions with the exception of Cave Of The Winds, the state park, the observation tower, the casino and the tiny aquarium. The rest of it has always been pretty much a dump.

 

I have read in the news that there are exciting new attractions planned like more music and food festivals, an indoor water park/hotel complex and some type of major indoor arcade/gaming complex.

 

Sure hope that this stuff all comes to fruition!

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^ Glad to hear that as the US side as always been the "red-headed step child" to the Canadian side.

 

It seems like NY is FINALLY taking steps to make our side appealing to tourists. I have found it to be a shame that Niagara Falls, NY has always (during my lifetime) been run down, crime-ridden and really devoid of any attractions with the exception of Cave Of The Winds, the state park, the observation tower, the casino and the tiny aquarium. The rest of it has always been pretty much a dump.

 

I have read in the news that there are exciting new attractions planned like more music and food festivals, an indoor water park/hotel complex and some type of major indoor arcade/gaming complex.

 

Sure hope that this stuff all comes to fruition!

 

I dunno that I'd agree that NY is taking steps to make the US side appealing.

 

it's absolutely noticeable, the moment you cross the bridge, that you go from "Charming" and "Touristy" on the Canadian side, to "industrial" and "decrepit" on the US side.

 

There was a small area with paved cobblestones near the Visitor Center (on the way to the Observation Tower/Maid of the Mist) that looked like the *start* of a tourist area. . but not even close to being comparable to being in the Clifton Hills tourist area on the Canadian side.

 

oh, don't get me wrong, the actual Niagara Falls State Park is absolutely gorgeous, and well maintained (in particular the Luna Island, Prospect Point, and Terrapin Point areas). . but once you get outside the State Park? It's a bit depressing.

 

speaking of depressing, since we drove back to Buffalo in the USA after crossing the Rainbow Bridge. . and we passed right by Fantasy Island. I had suggested to Nick we could do that as a quick day-trip, but we just ended up not having time. . and we passed by ~30 minutes before it opened.

 

we *totally* could have stopped and waited and grabbed a few rides, and still make it to the Buffalo Airport in plenty of time for our 12:50 flight. but wow, did the place look like a crap-hole from the freeway.

 

Nick actually took a look at it as we drove by and said "Ew"

 

yeah. . it looked THAT bad (and the paint job on the wild mouse was in pretty rough shape. . at least it looked bad from the freeway), so we didn't stop.

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^^ Hehe...nailed it, Bert.

 

NF USA is still pretty much a shit-hole, but it's not as shit-holey as it used to be, believe it or not. Improvements are coming, so I hope that downtown can revitalize itself in the manner that the Buffalo waterfront has.

 

Fantasy Island really isn't that bad of a park, although you don't see a whole lot from the 190...unless it's really gotten bad in recent years. I truly enjoyed our visit a few years back and Silver Comet is worth the stop in itself. It's nothing fancy, but it only costs like $20 to get through the gate. It was actually clean and op's were decent...and the beer prices and sizes make it one of the cheaper places to enjoy a cold beer on a hot day!

 

I have a trip report out there somewhere of the park...I'll see if I can find the link.

 

Edit - here it is....only a "few years old" - back in '09! LOL

 

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Enjoying your report a lot as this is just down the road from us, and one of my favourite places in North America.

 

 

it was bizzaro world, because coming from Texas, we're so used to the extreme heat, that weather in the high 80's really is nothing to us

 

Love this comment, as it is the complete opposite when we go down to Florida in February, and when we were in Texas in December last year. The locals would tells us it is "cold" when it was minus 24C or the like in Toronto.

 

Looking forward to the rest of your report.

 

a neighbor just posted this, and it's appropriate . . LOL

 

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Day 2, part 3, Evening tour of the Canadian side of Niagara Falls

 

Will try to be brief (or at least brief-er) for this final report from Day 2, as the truth is, we weren’t as impressed with the options on the Canadian side, as we had been with the tour we took earlier in the day.

 

Now, I’m guessing a LOT of that had to do with the crowd on the bus with us, and the driver just having “enough” and ready to end the tour.

 

We had gotten a bit of down-time and some food, so were all refreshed and ready to go. The pick up was supposed to be at 5:30, and the shuttle showed up around 5:45, with an almost full bus, and a very apologetic driver. I looked around for the woman who had forgotten her passport this morning – she had told me she was doing the combo tour as well and we’d see her that evening – but she wasn’t on the bus yet. There were a good 20 people on board tho, with majority of them (at least 18), from one group with several adults, and 5 kids, plus a bunch of teenagers. All from India, with the ladies wearing some beautiful Saris.

 

We took the open front row, said hello to the other folks on the bus (no one really responded, as they were all loudly talking to each other, while the kids were running rampant up and down the aisle of the bus), and we were on our way to two other spots, that completely filled up the bus. The last stop was the woman from this morning, and we teased her when she came in, asking if she had her passport

 

The driver spend much of the time while driving down fallsview (towards Marineland actually. . we passed right by it) to show us the Dam intakes, and heading back to the Table Rock area (where Journey Behind the Falls is located) on the mic asking the kids to sit down while we were driving, and asking the adults to please quiet down so everyone could hear what she was describing, Luckily, we were in the front seat, so we were able to hear everything she was saying as we were right next to her.

 

We pulled into the Table Rock area, and the driver led us thru some back doors, down empty steps and directly to the area where the Elevators go (and the yellow raincoats are handed out) for Journey Behind the Falls – once again bypassing the large line of tourists upstairs, and skipping the photo op in the line. She told us it was “rainbow” time, and we should expect to see at least 1 – which we knew we would, as we had seen 1 from where we parked while walking to the attraction. She gave us 40 minutes, and told us to meet back at the bus at 7:15pm.

 

The Journey Behind the Falls actually is pretty impressive. The observation area is down low just to the right of the Horseshoe falls, and it’s really very impressive. There are also a series of tunnels that go directly behind the falls, so you basically are dead ending into a “wall of water”. . . . we really did like this, and were still in a pretty good mood at this point. Sure, it wasn’t quite as impressive as what we had seen earlier in the day with Cave of the Winds walk. . but this was pretty cool.

 

We took our time in the Observation area, and went down both Tunnels, even stopping to look at an old blocked off tunnel, which they had used when creating the attraction. . some neat “history”, then we headed back upstairs, recycled the raincoats, and walked along the overlook back towards the parking lot, admiring the power of the Horseshoe falls, and the really cool rainbows being formed.

 

We got back to the bus at 7:10, and at least half of the large group was missing. They still had 5 minutes, so we waited.

 

And about 10 minutes later, a few of them slowly came walking down the overlook trail (yep. . *late* to the bus, but still slowly strolling back). . but that really didn’t matter, since the group was still missing 3 people.

 

Another 10 minutes passed, and no sign of them. The driver asked over and over could someone call them. . and there was a lot of (what appeared to be) feigned not understanding what she was asking them to do. (I say appeared to be, since while I wouldn’t dare assume everyone could speak English, thruout the tour, most of this group were conversing in English. . who knows, maybe the two guys missing were the only two who fluently understood?). . that’s neither here nor there, since that’s not really what was annoying.

 

This was: at around 7:35, is when we spotted them coming, also slowly walking to the bus, laughing and joking. The driver mumbled “you’ve gotta be kidding me”.. which I heard, since we were sitting in the front row. . .so I stood up and leaned out the door, and yelled out to them “Come on! You’re 20 minutes late. . let’s get moving, please!”. .which got them jogging, and into the bus so we could move on to the next stop.

 

While we were sitting waiting, the lady from the morning tour (who had forgotten her passport), and had been placed in the only empty seat towards the back of the bus as she was the last pick up - decided she didn’t want to deal with it, and was too tired to deal with it, so she told the driver she was just going to cab it back to her hotel and call it a night.

 

 

(as I found out in discussion with the driver while waiting for returnees at the 1st stop, the large group was picked up from the American Side, and they had been like herding cats since she picked them up -- which she explained is why she was late picking up the Canadian side folks).

 

Regardless of how far behind we were running, unlike the morning, this driver was determined to stop at a food & Souvenir stop, as some of the kids were hungry and wanted to stop. This didn’t make me happy, as we really hadn’t done anything other than Journey behind the falls, and it was already 7:45. . AND this tour was not supposed to include a food stop.

Tho I ended up buying some Maple Cookies, and Ice Wine Chocolates in the gift shop, mainly we just hung outside by the “Tourist photo opportunities”, and took pictures and chatted with some of the other bus passengers.

 

Once again, not everyone was back on the bus at the requested time, but this time someone went into the gift-shop to bring the stragglers out, and we were on our way up to the Whirlpool/ Whitewater Walk. . this time on the Canadian side.

 

We ended up getting to the Cable Car look out after they had closed for the day (not that it mattered, since as noted Nick would not have ridden it), but we stopped at the lookout, took a few pictures, and got a very brief description of what was going on below us (some passengers (yes, the same ones) would NOT stop talking loudly, so she just gave up trying to compete with them and said “be back on the bus in 5 please”).

 

A short drive later, passed the Butterfly Conservatory (also closed, but I think this tour wasn’t supposed to go in anyways), and made a stop at the Floral Clock.

At this stop, we did get to hear quite a bit about the Horticultural Society, and the planting they do twice a year for the clock, as well as a story of the man who donated the land, and what the clock stands for (the arms are shaped like Crutches to honor the man’s disables son).

 

The only reason we got to hear this clearly? Because the driver reprimanded the large group, as they were not monitoring the kids at all, and the kids were getting in the way of everyone’s pictures. She eventually just told them they need to keep the kids out of everyone’s way, so she could take a picture for each person. (and yes, she did take one for the large group too. . . but I did appreciate that they got quiet and allowed others to enjoy the stop, even if it was a very short one).

 

It was close to 8:40 at this point, and even tho the tour is supposed to run until 10pm, as noted, I think the driver had just had enough at this point. . so we went from the Floral Clock directly to Skylon Tower. She even said to the group: we’re a little early, but you’ll get to watch the sun-set from the top!

 

Not really a selling point, since we really wanted to see the falls illuminated, and as we were at this stop for 35 minutes, we never really did get a true “night view” of the falls lit up, tho it did get dusky enough for us to at least see some color in the falls. Due to Nick’s issue with heights, he stayed inside for most of the stop, but he *did* ride the elevators up, and he *did* step out on the walkway with me, and look at the falls thru the fencing. So, GOOD for him.

 

This was the stop where I purposely asked to pose for the Souvenir Photo – tho I declined the “scared” pose for the barrel picture. By the time we went back down to meet the bus, the Driver (who was with us when I asked to pose, and declined the “barrel”, had asked the photo stop to give us a day & night picture, instead of “day and barrel” picture. . so that was very nice of her.

 

And yeah, it’ s a cheesy green screen picture, but so what, I still am very happy with it, and glad we bought it.

 

It was still only ~9:25, and the tour was supposed to run until 10. . but the driver thanked us for coming, and said she had to start dropping folks off, so she could return those to the American Side by 10pm.

 

that kind of sucked, especially when the morning tour went almost 7 hours. . . and the evening tour went only 3 hours?? With 40 minutes of that at a souvenir stand? Yeah.. wouldn’t do the evening tour again, although I think if her group had not been so “trying” we wouldn’t have been rushed so much to do so little.

 

Heck, while she was driving us back to our hotel? One of the group came up and *told* her they wanted to stop at Duty Free on the way back over the Bridge.

She said, they have to ask the other passengers if they mind. . to which the guy kept saying “only 5 minutes, only 5 minutes”. . she wasn’t backing down tho, she said if everyone else agreed, then *maybe* they could stop.

 

I felt really bad for her and I told Nick we have to tip her well, even tho the tour wasn’t our favorite, because I didn’t trust she’d be getting a decent tip from the group she had spent the whole time having to reprimand. So we did, and were back at our Hotel by 9:30.

 

I wasn’t really thrilled that we were back in the hotel room so early in the evening, but decided to make the most of it, and went down to the completely deserted pool, Hot Tub, and Sauna (open until 11), and soaked and relaxed for over an hour. . so that was nice.

 

And when I got back up to the room?. That’s when I first found out about all the Roseanne stuff, since we hadn’t seen a TV all day, but Nick had been watching CNN while I soaked. LOL

 

A quick shower, and then I too was ready for bed, and we were out pretty fast, excited for our next full day in Ontario. . . since Nick was feeling OK, and my back/leg had loosened up, so MarineLand was a “go” tomorrow.

 

On to pictures!

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Headed down to Journey Behind the Falls, and we see our 1st rainbow

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wow. . holy, crap. . takes one's breath away

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Rainbow

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that arches all the way across Horseshoe Falls

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shadowed Nick. .he's my gold pot at the end of the rainbow (D'awwwwww)

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Love this pic.. the power of nature

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the Hornblower boat (not blue coats, so not Maid of the Mist) is tasting the rainbow!

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another look from a different platform

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panoramic shot

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shenanigans!

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peeking thru the gates into a disused tunnel. . but this is what they utilized to build the attraction.

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a look directly into Horseshoe Falls from behind it

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and another view. . it was like being in a windtunnel, crossed with a hurricane.

Cant really see much, but it's so cool.

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Exiting the Journey Behind the Falls, can get some good pics from the Table Rock lookouts

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Lovely view of Horseshoe Falls

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I really was here. . just a few days ago too!

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thought I took more pics of the Tulips (that were planted everywhere), but really only have this one with Nick.

the Tourgide told me the Horticulture College swaps out the flowers several times a year, and that the Tulips would be gone by June.

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Skylon Tower. . we'll see you later this evening.

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walking along the Observation Trail from Journey back to the parking lot, some great views.

Like this one at the edge of Horseshoe Falls.

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another contender for my favorite pic of the trip

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these signs are posted everywhere.

and near almost every one of them? Someone climbing up on the rail to take a selfie.

 

I dunno how many people fall over the rails (or fall in) every year, but it must be a fairly good number.

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Last pic from Table Rock stop

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ok. .we've stopped at a Souvenir stand..yay?

 

So we'll just have some fun with the tourist photo ops set up outside.

 

Roll out the Barrel

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it's a plate (I think)?

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My. . what a big Moose you have.

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On the Canadian Side of the Whirlpool. . standing by the Cable Car that goes over the Whirlpool Gorge. (closed for the day already)

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Another shot, but including me, and the Whirlpool Rapids.

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the world famous class 6 Whirlpool Rapids. (and the Whirlpool restaurant - also closed already. . . I have to assume they stay open much later once tourist season really starts in Mid June)

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awww. . we look so happy (that's not our tour group behind us. .another bus pulled up shortly after we did)

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a child free photo of us and the Floral Clock.

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Skylon Tower.. we're supposed to be up here to see the Falls lit up at night. . but sky is still looking pretty bright, huh?

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the Ferris Wheel near our hotel, from the top of Skylon

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American and Bridal Veil Falls from the top of Skylon Tower

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Me and the American falls from the outside walkway on top of Skylon

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Horseshoe Falls from top of Skylon Tower

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getting dusky. . can see SOME lights

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inside the tower. . where Nick felt "safer"

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still not as dark as I'd prefer, but at least can see some colored lights in the falls.

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bet this would look beautiful in about another 30 minutes . . still very pretty tho.

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American Falls also get lit up.

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the Green Screen Souvenir Photo pkg.

 

Since I didn't want a gag pic going over the falls in a barrel, the Tourguide got them to use the same pic for both Day & Night pictures.

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Edited by bert425
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I don't know if I should be jealous or OVERLY EXCITED for you two . . . but your pictures are fantastic!!! Those falls are beautiful and you took some good shots! Keep them rolling!

 

Thank you

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AWESOME!!! I'm sorry your tour didn't go as plan dealing with a group that wasn't cooperative. I don't mind touring groups, but it's a bother sometimes because some people just don't understand how to DO RIGHT!!! But I'm glad you was still able to enjoy yourself with the time you had.

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Great pictures and report! I really have to get out there someday, it all looks so awesome!

 

Also, I really like your Alpina Blitz hat

 

thanks!

 

and, heh..should have mentioned the hat. . as that is thanks to Robb (and Elissa)!

 

I won that in a "TPR Bag o Crap" a couple of years ago, and I tend to wear it on trips that involve Theme Parks

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AWESOME!!! I'm sorry your tour didn't go as plan dealing with a group that wasn't cooperative. I don't mind touring groups, but it's a bother sometimes because some people just don't understand how to DO RIGHT!!! But I'm glad you was still able to enjoy yourself with the time you had.

 

it's all about controlling only what you can control -- one's own reaction to a situation.

 

so yep, I try to enjoy regardless, after all, it is a vacation!

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It's gonna take me a bit to get Day 3/MarineLand up. . (getting back to work is just kicking my butt)

 

so I'm just gonna leave this here for now

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no, we didn't eat there, but a pic of me in front of the sign was just too tempting for my Spouse to pass up, so I obliged :)

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Looks like you guys had a good time to this point, hope it continues.

 

^I remember that dated early 80s lettering at that place. Who'da thunk something from that era could have it's own charm!?

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Day 3: MarineLand: (gonna do this in two parts, since I type a lot)

 

We woke up around 8am to another beautiful day, and after confirming how late they were serving breakfast downstairs (in the Keg steakhouse). . .confirmed until 9, I told Nick we need to eat Breakfast, as I really did not want to eat at MarineLand. . .intending to give them as little of our $$ as we could due to what’s mentioned in the below paragraph:

 

MarineLand is to Ontario what SeaWorld is to the USA (in particular in terms of the controversies. . . tho “Blackfish” is some highly edited B.S.) - although reports of their treatment on some of the animals are strong enough that SeaWorld actually had to sue to get one of their Orcas back that had been on loan to MarineLand a few years ago.

When I was planning on going to Niagara Falls, I noticed that MarineLand has a bunch of rides, in particular Dragon Mountain – an Arrow looper (4 inversions), that’s one of the longest - in terms of layout - on the planet, in a unique setting. So I asked on Theme Park Review if the park was worth visiting, and got plenty of response. The feedback about accusations for the treatment of some of the animals, really gave me pause. . .but Nick would ride this particular coaster (there aren’t many he can / will), and he wanted to give it a shot. So we tentatively planned to go, but decided we simply would pay the admission and try not to spend any further money in the park.

 

I say “tentatively planned” as we weren’t sure how we’d be feeling after the full day of sightseeing, with all the walking, on Tuesday. MarineLand is a *huge* park..I’m not kidding, it’s *huge* and very spread out, and if Nick wasn’t up for all the walking, we’d blow it off. . which is why we didn’t pre-buy tickets online (a $3 savings per ticket. . so I figured, ok, no big deal if we end up going and just buy at the ticket booths).

 

I had found a tourist magazine with a $3 off per person coupon anyways, and the tour driver had given me a $2 off coupon as well. . . so when we woke up and I asked Nick how he was doing and got a thumbs up? MarineLand was on for the day.

 

Back to the 1st paragraph. . LOL. . .I explained to Nick, that downstairs was serving until 9, and the park opened at 10. And since we didn’t want to eat at the park, we simply had to eat before we went. . so let’s do this “Dragon*con” style – meaning toss on a hat, and a T-shirt, we’d go eat, then come back to the room after to shower, change before heading out for the day.

 

we headed downstairs to the steakhouse, and asked if we could take a look at the buffet (just to see what the offerings were), but then just decided to go ahead and charge it to the room prior to being seated (heh. . I told the hostess, we’re gonna end up doing it anyways, so might as well just sign the slip now before being seated). I believe it was $14.50 each, which is only ~12 American (I think?), so yeah, it wasn’t free.

 

But two things:

 

- this is Courtyard Marriott, not Hampton Inn (which we sometimes stay at and includes free breakfast). But Courtyard never includes breakfast, since they almost always have the “bistro” in the lobby selling coffee and breakfast sandwiches in the lobby. This Courtyard didn’t have a Bistro, but that’s because the Steakhouse was attached instead.

 

- it’s a tourist spot. So yeah, I fully expected to have to pay for breakfast when visiting a Tourist area. .and it was cheaper that I had expected it to be.

 

Not only that, but it was a very good deal for the price: in addition to the cold cereal, waffle station, eggs, bacon, home-fries, as well as fresh fruit, bagels/toast and juices/coffee. . they also had an Omelets station on the grill to the kitchen, where I had a really good Southwestern omelet made for me. Fit the bill, and the only snag we hit was that Nick ordered Tea, forgetting we weren’t in Texas, and he wasn’t gonna get Sweet Tea. . and when I got back to the table, he was sitting there sadly looking at a pot of hot tea. . . LOL

 

Crisis was averted tho, as I simply went and found a waitress to bring us a cup of Ice, and he made his own sweet tea.

 

We finished eating around 9:15, and went up to the room where Nick took a shower, and I headed back downstairs with my very confusing Google directions to ask for help, since we had just passed the park the evening before, I knew it wasn’t as complicated as the directions were making it sound.

 

the front desk pointed me over to the Tour booth in the lobby (we had seen it earlier, but since it wasn’t Grayline but rather a tour company tied to the hotel, we hadn’t stopped there). The lady at the desk told me “oh sure, it’s easy!” and pulled out a map that required two left turns and a right to get there . . yeah, it was THAT easy, dunno what Google was smoking telling me all these turns! The lady was very chatty when she found out I was from Austin, and wanted to talk all about US politics (she was supportive of Pride about to start), and insisted she wanted to meet my “partner” – and I did bring him by and introduce him on the way out. But eventually it was getting close to 10, and she had folks that actually wanted to book a tour from the hotel, so I excused myself and went upstairs to get Nick, and we headed out.

 

The parking lot for MarineLand is HUGE (and free, which is a nice bonus), but it’s long and thin, without any trees. That wasn’t really an issue for us, as we pulled in around 10:05, and there were very few cars in the lot. In fact the only other folks we saw coming in, was a family of four (parents and two kiddos probably 4-5 years old). We chatted with them while walking up to the gate, and they told us they used to come to this park when they were kids, but didn’t have passes anymore. I had noticed the $3 off coupon was good for up to 6 people, and since Nick and I were only two, told them they certainly could use the coupon with us.

 

We got to the admission booth – where both attendants were reading books (a recurring theme we saw thruout the day here.. but just commenting not judging - I have no issue with this as the park had JUST opened for the season the prior week, and the Schools were not out yet. So they were expecting very small crowds, as was explained to me by the front gate attendant. Why sit bored if one can read?).

 

the family let us go first, but the lady in the booth told us that unfortunately we could NOT let they use our coupon, since it all had to be done as 1 transaction. . they were disappointed, but then the lady told them to just go on their phones and buy, and they’d get the same discount. The Husband said “we didn’t buy online because it says you have to have a printed ticket”. . to which Booth Lady said: “oh, just go to that booth there, they will print it out for you!”

 

weird.

 

But hey, they saved $12. . . I felt pretty dumb for bothing to clip the coupon in the first place, but then she ALSO accepted the coupon from the tourguide, so we ended up getting $3 + $2 off stated gate price (and when I charged it and it came thru on the Credit Card notification, it was only ~$38.50).

 

So we got a damn good deal, after seeing multiple places how expensive this park is for what they offer.

 

My thinking is that in Vegas, a ride on the NYNY coaster is $15.

So if we were in Vegas, the admission for just one coaster there was more than the admission was here. . . with several more rides than just a coaster (and if we rode MarineLand’s signature coaster just 3 times, we’d more than get our admission covered anyways).

 

So I thought it was a damn good deal.

 

We chatted with the folks at the front gate, as they told us to enjoy our day, reminded us that the “rides open at 11”, and we headed into the park.

 

As mentioned, this is a HUGE park.. I mean.. . really, really, really big. With giant wide walkways (that we occasionally saw golf carts, or even Pickups, with maintenance guys in them that all waved hello, as they passed us by.

 

It was super dead in the park, but this place is so big, that even if they were very crowded, I could totally see this place feeling wide open and “empty”. It’s also very overgrown in places, as I learned from multiple discussions thruout the day with employees (who were happy to engage with people, in particular at the back of the park), that the owner really likes vegetation, and he doesn’t mind if it’s from trees, bushes, grass, or even weeds. And there were a lot of weeds in places.

 

Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of shade available in spots too. . but interestingly, most of the ride pads are “surrounded” by trees, rather than “shaded” by trees. . the rides themselves out there baking in the sun. (which again, we’re from Texas, we didn’t mind. . but I think almost every ride operator mentioned how hot it was that day).

 

That the place is so big, and all the overgrowth in some place, really exacerbated the feeling of the park truly being empty. Nick and I teased that areas of the park looked like they could shoot episodes of “the Walking Dead” there.

 

We studied the park map, which in theory should have helped, but didn’t really. . LOL.. the place is so much bigger than it looks on the map, but luckily there are signs all over the park pointing to the Picnic areas (there are multiple), Ride Areas, and giving general directions. We knew the rides opened at 11, and it was probably 10:15 at this point, so we decided we’ll go to the far North East area of the park, where the signature Coaster: Dragon Mountain is located, and just work our way back from that. After all, we were there mainly for that.

 

We passed some train tracks and consulted the park map. .nope, not on the map (heh). Does the park have a train? Nope.

I’m actually a little shocked that it doesn’t, a park this big, really should have a train, not only do they clearly have the land for it, but a stop at the front of the park, and one at the back would seem essential. Guess it’s not high on the priority list of the owner, or maybe they couldn’t get permits needed for something like that? Who knows? But it’s weird there are train tracks in the middle of the park one has to cross over, but no train in the park. (there’s also no water rides, not even a flume, which is strange for a park called “MarineLand”. . but I guess if it’s cool most of the time, there’s no reason to spend the money putting in a flume ride).

 

So we took our time walking along the giant paths, talking to the maintenance folks as we passed them (we saw literally no one else this early as we headed in), and pausing to take pictures. After a few twists and turns, we came upon what looked like a huge castle & medieval town plopped down in the middle of nothing.

 

Turned out the castle not only housed restrooms (very well maintained), but also the Fallow Deer exhibit, called “Deer Park”. Since we were walking right by, we went in, and said hello to the handler (who was reading a book), and he put the book down and told us a bit about the deer and started tossing them scoop-fulls of feed over the top of the fence.

 

If you’ve been to a petting zoo, yep, smelled just like that.. but other than the smell? The deer seemed very well taken care of, the enclosure was gigantic, with lots of shade, and probably 45-60 deer strolling around the enclosure, or hanging out by the gates for the deer feed. Some of them were beautiful with large horns, and they were several different colors represented among them. He started to hand feed them, and asked us if we’d like to (something I’d assume is a standard option, based on the giant barrels of feed, and the hand sanitizer stations), but I didn’t want to touch anything (personal choice that day. .I was afraid of forgetting and touching my face/eyes). .so instead just took pictures of him feeding them, admired them for a few moments, thanks him for the info and offer to feed, and then went on our way.

 

The area across from the castle “the town” looked like it used to be a gift shop, or a restaurant (especially since grass on the side was filled with picnic tables), but it’s not noted on the park map as being anything other than a structure (not listed as a restaurant or a Gift Shop, and under the marine stadium later that day the clerk told us that under the stadium is the only gift shop in the park). . so I guess it’s just decommissioned, and they are keeping it as “theming” it’s charming regardless, but weird.

 

we continued our long walk trying to follow the path to match to the park map, and came along the spiral mountain entrance to Skyscreamer – the parks tri-tower drop ride, which supposedly has *Amazing* views of Niagara Falls. The path looked steep, even tho spiraling up the giant 150 foot mountain the ride sits on, and Nick said: “you can ride that alone, I’ll sit on a bench down here”. It was a moot point for now anyways, as under the ride sign, there’s an additional sign noting “Skyscreamer opens at 12pm”, so we continued along the path – passing closed snack & drink kiosks - until we saw the “magic Experience Ride, and straight ahead of us, the Black Bear exhibit, “Bear Country” – which meant we were getting close (finally) to Dragon Mountain.

 

It was about 10:50, so we still had about 10 minutes before rides were supposed to open (yes, it really did take us over 30 minutes to get from the main entrance back to Dragon Mountain (told you the place was huge).

 

I asked Nick if he wanted to walk to the end of the pathway, where there were Red Deer, Elk, and Buffalo enclosures. . but as those are all animals we have seen in Texas zoos, it was better just to sit on a bench, rest our (his) feet, and wait for the coaster to open. It was here that we saw two other people, also sitting on a bench across from the coaster. We said hello, and chatted with them. They were from Ohio, and had come to MarineLand just to ride the Coaster (they were dealing with some issues in that they had planned to bike some trails in Ontario, but someone had stolen their bikes from the back of the car the prior evening. So while they were waiting for insurance claim to file, they came to the park).

We looked over at the giant walrus on top of a pole just up the pathway from us, and could not figure out what it was – all of us looking on the map, and not spotting it anywhere. I recalled I had heard on TPR that the Topple Tower had been shut down a while back, and maybe that was it? So I got up and walked down to take a look.

 

Sure enough, it was the Topple Tower, tho the ride sign was gone, and a “temporarily out of service” sign was in the queue. “temporarily”. . hah.

Not only was it not on the park map, but the queue back and forths had been removed, and it was just a wide open station. Meanwhile the weeds had grown up around the ride, actually tangling themselves into the ride passenger car! Yep, it was sitting there rotting. With no fence around it, or anything. . weird.

 

When I got back to the bench, and told Nick (and our new friends) that yep, it’s the old Topple Tower, and nope, it’s not operating. . . I also noted that it was just at 11am, and we had not yet seen a coaster train cycle on Dragon Mountain. There was an employee sitting by the front gate, ready to open it, but I said I’ve never seen a ride open without testing it first (and we’d been sitting there for almost 15 minutes). After another 5 minutes, a maintenance truck pulled up and a guy hopped out and went up the queue.

 

So we all got up and went to talk to the MarineLand employee that was at the ride entrance. He said that it’s been operating, and he expects that it will be working, although he wasn’t sure what was going on (but he had heard something about a lose restraint during pre-check).

 

Since this is way back in the park, and once we left this area, I wasn’t expecting to come back today, the 4 of us just hung out and chatted with the Employee about: Ontario, the crowds the park gets (he also noted the schools weren’t out yet, and the park would be busier starting in about 2 weeks), the weather – it was the first of many times we heard how hot it was today, even tho we weren’t warm (apparently it had been in the low 50’s just the prior week, so it was shocking everyone).

 

Very enjoyable conversation, that didn’t bring up politics at all – at least not US politics, he had some things to say about the emigrates from India and Syria that were moving into Ontario. It wasn’t offensive, it was interesting to hear his points of view.

 

we also talked about Topple Tower, and why it was just sitting there rotting (he said it had been down for over 3 years at this point). He said the the owner didn't think it was worth trying to repair, and that due to the counterweights below it meant it was very hard to remove without getting a big crane in there. So they just left it to sit. I was confused as to why they didn't at least fence it off? (at least a Six Flags move) and he admitted they should, but he didn't know why. .then opined they should just make the queue building into restrooms, since the closest ones were all the way back at the Deer Enclosure, or way at the top of Skyscreamer mountain.

 

And after about 20 minutes, he asked us to please not pass the rope, and walked up to the station to check out what was going on. Literally the moment he got back, we heard the lift hill “click click click” in the woods, and the 1st train cycled thru the pretzel loop near the ride entrance. Two more times the train cycled, then he got an all clear, and dropped the rope, warned us to “watch your head in the cave”, and the 4 of us headed into Dragon Mountain.

 

Interesting to note: not only did NO ONE come up the path to join us in waiting for the coaster in the ~35 minutes we were there, but other than these two folks from Ohio every other ride we had today (with one exception: the wave swinger), Nick and I were the *only* riders. . in some cases, I was the only rider when Nick waited for me.

 

It was strange, but exhilarating. Is it considered a “walk on” when we have to question the operator if the ride is open? (the answer was always “yes”).

 

The queue gives you an idea of how funky this ride is. . . it meanders with no real direction on where to go, until you end up a a giant Demon head. Oh, I suppose it COULD be a Dragon, since the ride is called Dragon Mountain, but it doesn’t really look like a Dragon to me. And it’s only a head, attached to a mountain, there’s no body sculpted, it’s just a head on a big mountain. Weird.

 

There’s a fairly long indoor queue (almost as long as the outdoor one), but this one was not lit (or at least not well lit).. we were walking completely blind, LOL. . . no wonder he told us to watch his head. Thank goodness there are no steps, but the queue just turns into back and forth ramps when you get into the actual station – but until then we were walking slowly, arms outstretched in front of us.

 

The station is also dimly lit. . but it works as it’s kind of spooky. This would be the end of the theming tho. Oh, other than the trains are a pretty cool orange color, with flames on the side.

 

The two folks we had been waiting with hopped in the front row, and as Nick does not like riding in the front (or the back), we hopped in the 3rd car of the train, pulled down on the OTS restraints, got the thumbs up from the operator and station guy, and a note about please do not pull out cellphones for onride videos, and we were off.

 

The Ride starts with exiting the station, into a really long lift hill up the side of the mountain. It’s so long, it’s got a double-chain lift, which was kind of neat to see when riding in the front car. At the top of the lift, a quick turn-around goes into the drop that immediately does back to back loops (it seemed to go thru them a bit slowly, giving some hangtime, but that could have been because the ride wasn’t warmed up yet). . after the 2nd loop, the track shoots into a . . . volcano?. . I dunno what the heck it was supposed to be, but it does a huge helix within the open top crater, going around twice, then diving into a pitch black (and cold) tunnel, that’s fairly lengthy, then shoots you out into a large turn-around over a pasture (which based on the smell is a cow pasture. . or maybe it goes over the Buffalo enclosure is a more likely bet), and after that the track goes back into another tunnel, this one again diving down in pitch black, to shoot you out into the light on the other side directly into a corkscrew, followed immediately by a pretzel twist.. before coasting back around the base of the “mountain” and pulling back into the station.

 

It was so bizzarro weird, that I loved the hell out of it. For the most part, it was smooth, although there is a small amount of head-bang when coming out of the 2nd tunnel and into the corkscrew. Nick, being shorter than I am, actually did bang the heck our if his arms (and had the bruises show up pretty quickly).. but I survived with no issues.

 

Since there was no one waiting, we were able to ride again without leaving the train, but I asked if I could move to the back seat, leaving Nick in car 3.

wow. . this is absolutely a back seat coaster, yeah, as a typical Arrow it was a little bit rougher in the back, but all was well worth it for the way the coaster just WHIPS thru the back to back 1st loops. Sooooo much more intense in the back.

 

When we returned from the 2nd ride, the ops told us that if we wanted to ride again, we’d have to exit the station and come back thru the line, due to “health regulations”. . . we got off, and laughed our way thru the exit and back around into the main queue . . .about how they want enthusiasts to walk a little between rides (the exit is only right around the corner from the mountain entrance, so at least we didn’t have to do the whole outdoor queue again). Nick decided two rides was enough for him, so he sat and waited, and while going thru the ramps, I told my new friends how much more intense the ride was in the back. They decided to sit in the front one more time, and I went to the back row (for another incredible ride), and then when we came back in – tho I was starting to feel the back-to-back rides, I figured, we’re here, I want to ride it – we swapped for the final ride, me going to front row, and them going to back row.

 

as noted, way better in the back, but front – where you can see where you are going, and brace for the transitions – was fun too, and at least I did it.

 

The ops told us we’d have to go around if we wanted to ride again, but all 3 of us said 4 times is enough for now, and headed out to meet Nick, whereupon our Ohio friends headed towards the Other rides, and we did not see them again for the rest of our visit.

 

Mid-train: 6 out of 10

Front Row: 8 out of 10

Back Row: 10 out of 10

 

 

It was still about 15 minutes before noon (and Skyscreamer opening), so we decided to head over to Magic Experience, a Huss spinning ride, that is apparently rare in North America.

We were the only folks there, but the operator waved us on, and we each sat on our own side of the conjoined cars. I’ve never been on one of these, so wasn’t sure what it would be like, but the operator said “you are going to have fun! Hang on!”, and started up a really long cycle on it. I guess the best way to describe it would be if someone put Tilt-a-Whirl cars on the end of a Troika chassis, and they tossed in a bit of Octopus for the up and down tilts while spinning.

 

Luckily, we hadn’t eaten in hours by this point, because after 4 laps on the coaster, and then this (at least) 4 minute ride, I would be puking. . . but it was great fun. It was just a wee bit too long for me, but really did enjoy it, and glad we rode it. (he asked us if we wanted to go again, but at risk of turning green, we said no thanks. . LOL. . other than the coaster, most rides were just 1 and done for us today).

 

7 out of 10 – pretty good, since I’m not a huge fan of spinners, but I liked this one.

 

We had to check in for our flight at 12:50 (Southwest has you check in 24 hours in advance), and had planned to do that on Nick’s phone, since his has international and mine does not.

It was still a bit of time, but he was a little concerned that if he waited for me at the bottom of the Skyscramer tower, I might not be back in time to check in, so we decided we’ll stick around in the NE corner of the park (since the Skyscreamer entrance is over there), check in, I’ll ride it, and then we can continue our way around the park in a big loop.

 

Since we needed to get our “legs” back, we went over to the Bear Country enclosure, where there were 20 or so black bears spread out among a really large area, including caves, water, and large rocks. Many bears were laying back along the enclosure walls in the shade, but some were playing in the water, and a couple were sprawled out on the rocks sunning themselves in the warm day. When we got to the edge of the enclosure, looking down, one of the bears in the water immediately came over and stood right under us looking up. We took some pics, and talked to her (him?), and then realized she was hoping for food.

 

several of the closed drink/snack kiosks that had been closed earlier were now open (I guess they all opened ~11 when the rides officially do), as well as the little covered kiosk in the front of the bear enclosure where they sell ice cream cones full of corn pops to feed the bears.

 

The lady in the kiosk was very friendly (something we found with *every* employee at MarineLand.. I dunno if that’s a Canada thing, or just this particular park. . but every single employee was pleasant, interested in engaging in converstation, and loved talking about the animals, or the ride they were operating). I asked about the apparent “begging bears” and she told us that the majority of them had been born at MarineLand, and they are not only omnivores that will eat anything, but are very smart and quickly learned to approach folks who came up to the enclosure to get more food. She said the park used to hand out Marshmallows, but they had found those weren’t good for digestion – so instead they switched to corn pops, in sugar cones, as the bears prefer the sweet, and they are easier to digest for them. They would rather people feed the bears what they are offering, instead of any stuff from their purses/pockets. I guess that explains why the cost was so inexpensive (it was under $2.50 to get a cone to feed the bears).

 

I felt bad since there were very few people there – no one while we were at the enclosure (the Kiosk lady, as the gentleman in front of Dragon Mountain told us, that it was early in the season and lots of folks would be coming once school was out), and the poor bears were expecting treats. So I went ahead and bought us cones, that we shared not only with the bears, but also the ducks that were in the water playing with them.

 

Yeah, it’s a bit cringe-worthy to see them appear to be “begging”. . but I felt better that they were raised there and that’s all they know, so if they were released back into the wild they wouldn’t know how to hunt. So at least we got to give them a treat.

 

At this point, I guess it was around 12:20, and we had gotten back to normal after spinning, so we headed over to the park’s TeaCup ride, called Kandu’s Twister, which is themed to Orca’s (strangely the park only has one Orca these days, and her name isn’t Kandu, but I guess at one point in the 70’s or 80’s their version of “Shamu” was “Kandu”.

Anyways, it’s literally the only flat in the park that’s covered, sitting under a giant wooden structure that looks like it used to house a carousel (also a ride the park doesn’t have).

It is right at the back of the park, overlooking a giant area that is currently under construction (lots of bulldozers) for the new Aviary Safari they are building for 2018. As a result of that, there is a fantastic breeze that comes across this ride, queue.

 

As with the prior ride, there was no one in queue, and the operator was reading a book (ha), when we walked up and asked if the ride was operating. She welcomed us, and told us the “rules” that the cars would spin, but if we wanted to spin them more, we could use the wheel in the middle to get it going really fast. She also told us that she was going to give us a “double-ride” and that if we started to get nauseous, just wave to her, and she’ll stop the ride. And with that, she said “all clear”, and started the ride.

 

A typical tea-cups ride, but it actually did spin quite a bit on it’s own – Nick “helping” it in places to get it going a little faster. We giggled like children (and were pleased to see a school group (of about 10 girls) come up to look at us spinning, tho they didn’t get in line to ride). The breeze and shaded ride, cooled us down and made for a fun experience, tho again, just a typical tea-cups. Once the Aviary Safari is open, I could see the view from the ride vastly improving tho.

 

6 out of 10

 

 

We had about 15 minutes until it was time to check in, so we went over to a shaded bench across the giant concrete area by Magic Experience to watch the school girls ride (they had gone here after walking by Kandu’s Twister), and after sitting down we checked Nick’s phone for bars.

 

No Internet Service.

 

Uh-oh.

 

 

End of part 1.. . on to pics!

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We're here at MarineLand, and ready to get some steps in

 

that logo is everywhere on branded park merchandise. . but . . um. . . what IS that Orca doing to that Beluga????

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oh, Canada

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the park map. . looks simple, doesn't it?

 

but man, oh, man does this NOT translate into "real life"

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I'd seen the pictures before, but wow.. big open walkways, with no one on em (to be fair the park had been open only 20 minutes at this point)

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but. . wow. . empty!

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the pic I posted earlier. . my Spouse wanted a pic of me in front of the sign, so I obliged :)

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one of the maintenance trucks we saw driving along while walking.

 

it really was like being in a giant national park, not a theme park.

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at least there are signs everywhere (every 1/2 mile or so) to follow, if one get's lost.

 

this says "Family Rides". . and there were some over that direction, but really, they mean the kiddie rides.

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oooooo.. does this park have a train?

 

nope.

 

but you cross these tracks in the middle of the park for some reason

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hmmm. . . no one is around, should I be naughty?

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still walking. . not even close to Dragon Mountain yet. . but there's a fork in the road ahead (TAKE THE SPOON!!!!)

 

to the right are some picnic areas, to the left says more rides.

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so we took the left, and we finally spot "A" ride.. .Skyscreamer. . . LOL

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tho to our right is a huge castle, running the whole length of the walkway. I only got a pic of the center entrance (not of the long walls), but it's the Deer Park enclosure

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lovely horns

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hard to see in this pic, but there's a ton of shade for these guys along the left side of the enclosure, as well as along the back fence. They all came forward, because the keeper tossed them some food, so they came to the gate.

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LOL. . missed the sign, but it basically says "watch your valuables, the deer will eat them"

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the keeper offered us food if we wanted to hand feed (no charge for this).. but I didn't want to touch deer today, so instead took pics while he fed them.

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turning away from the deer, and facing towards the back of the park, Skyscreamer really towers over everything here.

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this was across from the castle, and appeared to be a large gift shop (closed) and/or large restaurant (but still closed).

 

don't really get the theming. . medieval? but it was cute.

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thru the trees, I see Dragon Mountain, as we continue to walk up the path.

not seeing any trains cycling tho. . uh-oh.

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what's this over here? i see a walrus on top. . what IS it?

 

Could it be the Topple Tower? it's not on the park map.

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hmm. . station, looks deserted, and gutted. no sign either.

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oh, really?

 

NOTED!

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LOL. . based on the weeds growing INTO the ride vehicle, I think "Temporarily" doesn't mean what they think it means

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and we got tired of sitting, and went over to the Dragon Mountain entrance to take some pics.

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Behind us if we had kept walking way down that direction, were Elk and Buffalo.

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we had heard chain lift thru the trees. . and after a minute or so, saw a train cycling thru the bowtie (yay)

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ok. . WTF is this?

 

Peter Pan don't climb on rocks? Robin Hood don't climb on rocks?

 

this is in the Dragon Mountain queue, and NOWHERE else in the park. if this is theming, it doesn't get continued. I is confused!

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we've finally made it thru the lengthy outdoor queue, and to the entrance of the indoor portion of Dragon Mountain

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hmm. . . looks dark in there (and it is. . spookhouse level dark, with few/no lights)

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I'm being eaten by a demon/dragon

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spoooooky

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ooooo. . even the station is spooky..but the coaster train is cool looking.

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where should we sit?

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Magic Experience, and concrete

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a little closer

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awww.. the bears were playing in the water, but when we walked up they immediately came over

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so we fed them some corn pops

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she was looking at the ducks we tossed some corn pops to :)

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this one didn't GAF. . it wanted to sun in the beautiful day

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still no one really around. .

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This guy didn't want any corn pops.. he just wanted to play in the water

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but she was like "I'll take it. . gimme"

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overlooking the fish pond, back towards Skyscreamer. . we stayed in this area until it opened around noon. (tho didn't ever see it cycling, was it even open?)

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Kandu's Twister, a nicely themed, and covered, tea-cups ride

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d'awwww. . .

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Really great report, Bert! I love waterfalls, pictures, and lots of details/silly stories so keep up your super TR style! As I mentioned in our texts a few days ago I've never been to Niagara Falls or Canada but I am becoming more interested in making a trip up there after this. Your Maid of the Mist adventure looked cool so I would definitely do that. Marineland seems puzzling from all angles but the Robin Hood/Peter Pan sign is really funny!

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Really great report, Bert! I love waterfalls, pictures, and lots of details/silly stories so keep up your super TR style! As I mentioned in our texts a few days ago I've never been to Niagara Falls or Canada but I am becoming more interested in making a trip up there after this. Your Maid of the Mist adventure looked cool so I would definitely do that. Marineland seems puzzling from all angles but the Robin Hood/Peter Pan sign is really funny!

 

you'd love Niagara Falls.. the Canadian side tourist area is beautiful and friendly (and they have go-karts, and dinosaur mini golf (with an "active" volcano that kept belching out fire all night . . we could see it from our window).

 

Nick didn't want to play tho

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