We decided to visit a Canadian carnival while in the country...I mean we went to see Niagara Falls from Canada's viewpoint. It's basically the same thing.
I thought the US held the patent on turning tourist attractions into a theme park. I was wrong.
Two years ago, we visited Niagara Falls on the US side. Since two of the three falls are on the US side and the third is hard to see from there, it was fun but difficult to see what all of the fuss was about. Surprisingly, there really wasn't too much hoopla happening on that side either. We had heard Canada had the advantage on this natural wonder so we added it to our list of places to see while north of the border.
We were not disappointed.
We parked fairly far away from the downtown at the Whirlpool Aero Car to begin our day. Buying a bundled ticket gave us this, unlimited access for the bus that runs to and from the falls, along with a few other things.
The Aero Car is a short ride in an antique cable car that runs 3500 feet above the Niagara Whirlpool providing a stunning bird's eye view of this natural phenomena as well as the Niagara River with its class 6 rapids.
Yep, I said class 6, which are defined as "rarely attempted and often exemplify the extremes of difficulty, unpredictability and danger." The river is not for beginners. After trip above the whirlpool we strolled along the White Water Walk to take a closer look at this dangerous beauty.
From the walkway it look like fun until you read how they reach speeds of almost 30 mph with the depth ranging from 9 to 50 feet. Then you appreciate the power of the rapids.
The lowkey tours finished, we headed for the main attraction. We anticipated tourism, but were pleasantly amused to discover the permanent carnival where they live.
We hopped off the bus one stop shy of downtown so we could look for food and discover what we wanted to do. Even from this far away you could see the rushing water of the American and Horseshoe Falls...and the crowds of people standing around taking pictures or waiting in lines.
So many long lines. The boat tours and the zip lines were super popular as was to be expected. We signed up for a late afternoon boat ride because some tourist traps are worth it.
Hunting for food on foot wasn't working out so we searched online until we found a place we could both agree on. It was an uphill urban hike to reach but very much worth it. A beautiful glass dome building with a reflecting pool in front of it.
Stepping inside was even better.
We found our destination at the other end of what turned out to be a shopping area attached to a casino. Being some of the only patrons at the time, we were given the best seats in the house. A small table snugged up to a glass corner with a view of the landscaping below and Horseshoe Falls between the trees.
Fueled up and ready to go again, it was finally time to see what all the fuss was about. The fuss is right. The falls from this side are so amazing. Much like Mount Rushmore, they are smaller than expected but that doesn't detract from the sense of wonder they create.
There is a Journey Behind the Falls which was part of our ticket bundle and sounded interesting. We had time to kill so we thought, why not? And so we waited mostly patiently in a very long line that was much less fun than Disney's lines for our turn to sink underground.
In the spirit of honesty, this was both worth it and not. There are two places to go once you're in the damp, concrete tunnels. One leads you to behind the falls but all you see is this.
Not terribly exciting. I was really hoping for something more.
The second choice is the observation deck. I need to preface this part by saying it had been threatening to rain all day. As we stepped out from under the covered portion we realized the downpour we were experiencing was not just the spray from being so close to the falls.
In the few minutes we were exposed, we became completely drenched. It looked like we had gone over the falls in a barrel only without the bruising. But, we were headed to the boat ride next, so we weren't terribly concerned. Soaking wet, we headed upstairs to began our trek down the sidewalk.
I believe buckets is the correct term for how much water was coming down from the sky. We stayed inside the complex where Journey Under the Falls was located for as long as we could but we still had a ways to travel to reach the boat tours.
As soon as the rain began to lessen, i.e. sieve level, we were out of there and making our way along with the other drowned rats trying to reach their next destination.
It didn't take long to realize the crowds of people were avoiding the puddle (singular, large puddle) en masse as the sidewalk was quickly becoming a lake. On a schedule and already soaked we decided to just wade through along with a few other brave souls.
If there is one tour you absolutely must take, it's the boat ride. Not only do you get fantastic view of all of the falls, you get to hang out in the mist of Horseshoe Falls while all of the other sardines you're packed in with hoot and holler and have a grand old time.
Still soaked we continued on.
Our original plan had only included one thing outside of seeing the falls themselves. Dinner in the Skylon. A revolving restaurant with views of the whole spectacle at night so we could see the falls lit up.
That was still a good hour away so we went to kill time in the downtown.
I so excited there were four mirror mazes but also felt a little old to be going in one. Fortunately for me, Dave never feels to old for these types of things and we had the best time bumping into mirrors and giggling down hallways.
We also had a rousing game of prehistoric mini golf which could be a post unto itself. Let's just say while we didn't make friends with family ahead of us, we all wound up cheering and laughing at each others attempts to play through the newly created water traps.
At last it was time for dinner. The food was delicious and the view at night was as enchanting as we hoped it would be. Most importantly, we got to see the falls changing colors!
Not surprisingly, we exited the restaurant in time to be rained on yet again. Since we were dry this time, it wasn't nearly as much fun. We made it back to falls just in time to watch the nightly fireworks show.
A perfect ending to wonderful day.
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