momacacia Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 Is Niagara Falls fun to visit...with 4 kids (12,8,4,18mo)? Dh wants to take a visit on after we get to see family in Cleveland (having driven 9 hours to get there). Is it worth the additional drive? What do you do there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 With a toddler you get, for free, the added tension of worrying that s/he will fall over the edge somewhere! There are boat tours up to the bottom and a walking tour down a series of decks down to close to the bottom. We've never done either, so I can't speak to the value rif those. If you do go, get a few good pictures, that is what everyone here remembers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 Yes, it is a world wonder. Walk over to Goat Island and up to the falls. (There is no cost to do this.) Do Maid of the Mist or whatever it's called now. Other than that, there are many options to choose from, depending on your interests. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 (edited) I'd definitely go. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/549171-niagara-falls/ Here's my favorite thread listing our favorite things to do. Toddlers aren't really a problem TBH. Obviously, watch them, but I've yet to see one trying to kill themselves and many enjoy it just as much as adults. Edited June 14, 2017 by creekland 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 Here's another fairly recent thread with info: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/639974-acadia-national-park-niagara-falls/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 Post 15 in this thread has pics... ;) http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/617333-niagra-falls-montreal-and-toronto/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 Mostly you walk around, marvel at the beauty, get wet from the spray in various places, marvel at the beauty some more from a boat, and then come back at night to see it lit up so you can marvel at that. I don't want to underestimate it... we're glad we went. On the other hand, I don't think it would have been as fun with a 4 yo and a toddler. We stayed at Great Wolf (it's on the Canadian side) and that was nice. Really, it was a great little trip for us. It's something you should see in your life at least once. Whether or not this is the moment in life that's right for it for you... dunno. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 I took two toddlers on one of my trips. (Trying to remember if my kids were 2 or 3.) It was no problem, no harder than doing anything else with tots. :) There is a lot of open green space on the US side so you can just chill or let the kids run around if they need to. I will say my kids hate hate hated the cave of the winds. :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 Eh. We've been several times becuse it made a good stopping place to stretch our legs. Our favorite trip there was in winter when everything was coated in ice from the spray. I have some great photos. The gardens are pretty in summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 dudeling was 6? when we went. I loved it. put the baby in a backpack. the best view is the canadian side- and it's cleaner. don't bother paying for the viewing platform on the ny side - it doesn't go out very far. check on exactly what you need for id to cross the border - you can just walk across. there are imax movies of the falls, museum. the ny side has gardens modeled after the great lakes. maid of the mist has boats on both sides. further down the river, there is other stuff to do, but we werent' able to do much more than driver past and take a very quick peak due to our time limits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherry in OH Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 We visited Niagara Falls this past spring. My children, ages 11 and 9 loved it. We stayed on the Candian side and bought a package deal that include the Hornblower Cruise (Canadian counter-part to Maid of the Mist) and Journey Behind the Falls. We also visited seveal other local attractions. One highlight for my children was walking out on Rainbow Bridge and straddling the U.S.-Canadian border. They were disappointed that their passports were scanned rather than stamped. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacbeaumont Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 They were disappointed that their passports were scanned rather than stamped. I think passports are only stamped when a tourist visa is required, which isn't the case between Canada and U.S Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 We visited Niagara Falls this past spring. My children, ages 11 and 9 loved it. We stayed on the Candian side and bought a package deal that include the Hornblower Cruise (Canadian counter-part to Maid of the Mist) and Journey Behind the Falls. We also visited seveal other local attractions. One highlight for my children was walking out on Rainbow Bridge and straddling the U.S.-Canadian border. They were disappointed that their passports were scanned rather than stamped. You used to be able to ask for a stamp if you wanted one. I'm not sure if that's true now or not though. I know our German exchange student wanted one when we took her on a Canadian visit and border folks happily did it for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 I thought it was very good and I think my youngest was four at the time. We did things besides stare at the falls again and again. We went to the butterfly conservatory and the floral clock. We rode the Maid of the Mist. The gardens were beautiful; we went in September. We did some hiking alongside the river. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaz Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 My kids loved it! It's really fun to walk around both sides - American and Canadian. The Aquarium of Niagara was amazing! It's a rescue center with a sea lion show and penguins. http://www.aquariumofniagara.org/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storygirl Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 Niagra Falls is beautiful!! I think it is worth seeing sometime. But it will be perhaps a four hour drive from Cleveland (one way). That does not include the border crossing time. We sat in traffic for maybe an hour to cross over to Canada, and also had a wait on the way back. Were you thinking of doing it as a day trip? It would be a very long adventure for the little ones and, if you want to participate in some tourist attractions instead of just looking at the Falls, it doesn't leave much time. I'd recommend staying over night on the Canadian side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Χά�ων Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 Following! This is on the list of things we might go see this summer. How long would you budget to spend there? I am thinking 1-2 hours. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 If time is an issue, I would skip the Canadian side. The US side has enough to do and you don't have to worry about the border crossing wait. Personally I like the US side better anyway. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storygirl Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 Following! This is on the list of things we might go see this summer. How long would you budget to spend there? I am thinking 1-2 hours. If you just want to walk along the river and look at the Falls, that would be enough time. But if you want to participate in a tourist attraction, such as Maid of the Mist, you will need longer. There are many choices of things to do there. We bought a package of activities online before we went that we could access with one day pass. Even if you don't want to do that, you can search online and read about what kind of things are offered, so that you can decide what you want to do and eliminate things you have no interest in. For example, you can take a tour that goes behind the Falls, so that you can look out through the waterfall from a tunnel. That was one of DH's favorite things; whereas, it was not that fun for me. There are a lot of options like this to consider. We find that the American Falls are more beautiful, and you can only see them from Canada (unless you go on one of the boat tours), so for us it was worth crossing the border. They shoot off fireworks on some nights of the week, so research that before you go. We did not realize that and missed seeing them, though we could hear them from our hotel room (we did not pay for a room with a view of the Falls, because they are much more expensive). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 Following! This is on the list of things we might go see this summer. How long would you budget to spend there? I am thinking 1-2 hours. Well... we budget three nights to have two complete days, staying on the Canadian side and using one of those days to see things we want to see on each side (walking back across the border for the day), but in that other travel thread I mentioned that we're wanderers, not sprinters. We could easily spend MORE time there except we've been there oodles of times - more than I could easily count and don't feel we have to do every thing every time. We still enjoy going back when we're in the neighborhood. (It's an easy drive from middle son's college, so if we wanted to take him on a weekend...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 (edited) We went when ds was the age of your youngest I think. We just strapped him into a stroller the whole time, no biggee. It's wonderful, wonderful. Trying to think of some other, family-friendly, things to do. Really, our favorite parts of the state were Corning and the St. Lawrence Seaway. Niagara is fine, but all the attractions around there are kinda cheesy to our taste. Like the boat rides, well they're better in Oregon. etc. The electric museum (I forget what it was called) where the generate the power was very interesting to dh. There's a fort we missed because it closed early. But really, don't blow all your time there. When you're done, drive over to the Finger Lakes, Corning, the canyon (name slips my mind but it's worth it!!!), and up to the St. Lawrence Seaway. When you get up there, you can tour the castles. SO so so so worth the extra drive. :) We did a hot air balloon over some falls near the Finger Lakes. Was it Letchworth? They had a cabin you could rent affordably. It would sleep all your kids maybe. :) SaveSave Edited June 15, 2017 by OhElizabeth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 Watkins Glen State Park Letchworth State Park - NYS Parks Corning Museum of Glass Niagara Power Vista - New York Power Authority Aniello's Pizzeria | Gaffer District Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 Official Boldt Castle Website - Alexandria Bay NY in the Heart of the ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 Btw, during the summer there are usually fireworks. Check the schedule. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 Following! This is on the list of things we might go see this summer. How long would you budget to spend there? I am thinking 1-2 hours. If you're on your way from one place to another and want to use it as a side trip or stopover, that's plenty of time to park and take a walk and see the falls. But to really do the things people are talking about, you really need a full day, though you could do a half day and get in walking around and the Maid of the Mist. I think there's enough for a couple of days there. But longer? Meh. There wasn't that much to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 Following! This is on the list of things we might go see this summer. How long would you budget to spend there? I am thinking 1-2 hours. Yes, if you aren't into the boat rides and other stuff (we aren't, so an hour or two admiring the gardens is plenty for us). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 We were there for 3 days 3 nights on the Canadian side. We flew into Baltimore for a JHU event in October so we decided to take the overnight Megabus to Toronto for a day trip. Then drive a rental car from Toronto downtown to Niagara Falls in time for sunset. We walked around to see where we wanted to go the next two days. One morning was already planned for touring U of Waterloo and another morning for the Hornblower cruise. My kids enjoyed the cruise because they get wet. They also like Journey Behind the Falls, another chance to get wet. Most of all we just enjoyed the relaxing pace while still being surrounded by lots of people. We did time the trip to catch the fireworks on Wednesday evening before flying back from Toronto on Thursday. My husband wants to tour Montreal and Nova Scotia next time we happen to be on the east coast for an event. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennSnow Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 We live 15 minutes from the falls...if you've never been then I'd say it's definitely worth the trip :). There is a small aquarium to visit nearby..you can do the walking tour on Goat Island (there is a trolley as well) and get a great view of the falls from there. There are a few other points of interest on Goat Island such as Three Sisters Island, Cave of the Winds, etc.. Maid of the Mist is fun as well :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.