This summer, our family traveled west to South Dakota and Wyoming. We spent a lot of time out in nature and enjoying the amazing sights, sounds, and smells of the National Parks of the region.
As fun as all that was, we also wanted to spend some time relaxing. Because all those national parks? That was a lot of hiking. And getting to them? That was a lot of driving!
We decided to spend our first night in Rapid City at a hotel with an indoor water park so we could kick back and relax in the lazy river, splash in the pool, and laugh our way down the water slides. After a little bit of google work, I discovered that there was in fact an indoor water park in Rapid City. It is called Watiki Indoor Water Park and it’s right off the highway as you enter the city. Super convenient!
The waterpark has not one but FIVE hotels connected to it. From each of them, you can enter the waterpark without ever going outside. Perfect!
The hotel options are Residence Inn, Fairfield Inn & Suites, La Quinta, Home2 Suites, and Courtyard by Marriott. We chose La Quinta, mostly because it was the option with the cheapest rate available and we tacked this on to our trip a little late in the game, when most of our trip budget had already been spent!
Staying at one of the hotels gave us a discount on our waterpark passes, which was great! We also got to use the waterpark on both checkin and checkout day. We just paid for the waterpark passes at check in. Easy peasy!
The kids LOVED the water slides. They spent hours going on them over and over again. I spent some time in the lazy river and the “hot” tub (which wasn’t really very hot at all). There were quite a few people there but it never felt crowded, which was nice.
The waterpark has a quick service restaurant attached and you can bring your food into the waterpark area to grab a table and eat. There were changing rooms as well, so you didn’t have to drip all the way back to your hotel room. There were also lockers available to rent so you could lock up phones, keys, etc. This was especially useful the second day when we had already checked out of our hotel room but still had time left on our park passes.
The young kids area was perfect for my seven year old, although I will say that the lifeguards did not police it very well and there were often MUCH bigger kids on it.
My kids also loved the water sports area. They had a lot of fun trying to run across the lily pads.
Breakfast was a little weird. Since we were traveling in August of 2020, things were a little weird due to Covid. South Dakota is pretty chill about restrictions and such and so they left it to each hotel chain to set its own policy. Some places we stayed had real breakfast, some had scaled it back, and most had sad little “breakfast to go” bags that usually included a plastic wrapped apple, a yogurt tube, and a granola bar. Watiki was in the “sad little bag” category, but it’s ok. We understood things would be a little off right now and we made the best of it.
Our room was clean and had everything we needed–pretty standard chain hotel room. We were comfortable and slept extremely well after driving ALL THE WAY to western South Dakota!
We booked this hotel through Hotels.com because it gave us points towards a free night’s stay. If you are getting itchy to travel again after long months of quarantine, check out Hotels.com.
Rhode Island may be the smallest state but it’s filled to the brim with fun and unique things to do . On a recent trip, we decided to take the kids to one of the most fun places in the state–the Newport Cliffwalk. Now, I grew up in the area and I have done the cliffwalk many, MANY times. But I forgot a lot of things about it. That and I had never done the cliff walk as a MOTHER. The last time I did it, was a year before getting married. It had been a LONG TIME.
So we were a bit caught off guard and didn’t plan quite as well as we could have. It was still a fabulous day and I can’t recommend enough that you take a day to do this if you find yourself in New England. Plan well and your day will be smooth. Be like me, and you might hit a few bumps. Here are nine things to know before you go!
Going on a Disney World vacation requires a lot of planning. It is a complex place with many factors to consider. Lack of planning will inevitably lead to waiting in long lines and paying too much money. Personally, I won’t pay thousands of dollars to stand in long lines. Call me crazy, but that doesn’t sound like a wise way to spend money–or to have fun.
In order to get the most bang for my buck, I’ve become something of a Disney expert. I’ve researched, read books, joined forums, asked questions, tried out planning tools, and experimented in the parks to find what worked and what didn’t. I spend much time each week talking Disney to friends and strangers, giving them advice and sharing my experiences. And one of the things I share the most is a list of my favorite resources. The best way to enjoy Disney World is to arm yourself with all the information so you can make well informed decisions on how to spend your days–and your money. Here are my top five resources for helping you make the most of your trip.
We recently had the opportunity to visit Kennedy Space Center. We had been wanting to go for quite some time. That desire became more urgent after completing cycle 3 of Classical Conversations and first semester of Challenge B–both of which have a focus on astronauts and astronomers. But our last few trips to Florida had been by plane, and without a car, we had to stay on Disney property and use Disney transportation. This Thanksgiving, we drove down to Florida and with a car, we finally were able to head over to the Space Coast.
It was worth the wait!
We had such a great time at Kennedy Space Center. And what I really found impressive was that we ALL had a great time. The adults, the teen, the pre-teen, and the five year old. The entire place is so well thought out to have options available for absolutely everyone to enjoy each area together. We visit a lot of museums. It’s an important part of our family time. But no other museum has come close to what Kennedy Space Center offers. It is organized, has great crowd control, and plenty of fun mixed in. We learned a few things along the way and I’m passing my tips and tricks on to you to make your visit as smooth as possible
Look for coupons. Sometimes there are coupons on their website. For example, when we visited, there was a coupon for fifth graders to get in free. And for home schoolers, it was all children born in 2007 and 2008–so my middle child got in free. That was a savings of $50, so it’s definitely worthwhile to check in on their special offers page now and then as your trip approaches.
2. Bring your own food if you’d like. Soft sided coolers are allowed, so you can bring your own bottled water and snacks. This is especially good news if you have a kid with food allergies or a picky eater. It’s also good news because you can save some money this way! We ended up eating lunch at Little Caesar’s. It was fine because it’s familiar and I knew the kids would eat it. But seriously, we paid something like $7 each for personal pan pizzas that were half the size that a personal pan is at an actual Little Caesar’s–and there you pay $5 including a drink! So it wasn’t super cheap but at least the kids would eat it. We did bring our own snacks and bottled water to save money, though.
Little Caesar’s for lunch
3. Plan your day, beginning with an understanding of what is and is not included in your admission. A general admission ticket includes all the museum exhibits and a bus tour of the grounds and entry to the Saturn V building (part of the bus tour). But there are special tours and meals available as add-ons to your base ticket. My advice is to just do a regular ticket on your fist visit. There is more to see than you can possibly see in a day without adding extras on to your day. We were there from open until close and felt like we barely scratched the surface.
4. Take the bus tour first. As soon as you enter KSC, head to the line for the buses. If you do the bus tour first, you will end up ahead of the crowds at the Saturn V center and then when you return to the main area, you will have the rest of the day to walk around without waiting on a bus. Note: they will stop you to take a family picture before you get on the bus. More on that later.
Little guy thought he was hot stuff using a seat belt instead of being in a car seat!
5. Dedicate 1.5-2 hours to the Saturn V building. There is so much to see in there. There is a place to grab a snack or lunch if you get hungry, so there’s no real rush to leave. We were able to touch a moon rock, dress up like astronauts, and see two shows. Don’t rush back to the bus–take time to see all this building has to offer.
Green Screen fun! You have to buy the photo package to keep the images. I’ll talk about that later.
Touching the moon!
6. Enjoy the Atlantis building. When your bus tour is over, your next stop will be the Atlantis building. The entire building is incredible. There is a fabulous introductory show about Atlantis, plus an exhibit where you can be up close and personal with Atlantis. Seeing it so close is really a moving experience. I am not a big space nerd or anything but I felt very emotional getting to be so close to the shuttle that traveled back and forth to space successfully so many times. Incredible. The Atlantis building also has the Shuttle Launch Experience, which is a ride that rivals Star Tours at Disney. You can’t have ANY loose items on this ride but you are able to rent a locker for free. We even had to take our little guy’s heart monitor off, but it was just for a few minutes and we were able to lock it securely in a locker, so we were comfortable with doing so. The Atlantis Building also has a play area for kids and a GIANT slide. The kids could’ve just played on the slide all day and been happy!
Atlantis!
7. Don’t wear green. Friends, hear these words. Do. Not. Wear. Green. If you want a lovely family photo to remember your time at Kennedy Space Center, don’t wear green. But if you are up for a most hilarious memento of your day, well, wear what you what.
When you wear green at Kennedy Space Center, beware…
8. Buy the photo package. We were extremely pleased with it. It was far better than what we got from Legoland and we made tons of Christmas gifts for family members from the photos. We did the digital package, which gave us a code to enter on an app and all our pictures were available. I could even download them directly to my phone to share on social media. Particularly if you spend time doing the green screen photos in the Saturn V building, you will want the photo package. Those pictures are included plus you get any other pictures you took all day.
9. Plan to spend two days. My list is incomplete for all of you because we did NOT plan to spend two days and therefore we missed so many of the available shows, exhibits, and features. I intended to have ten tips for you but there are only eight. Why? Because we ran out of time and I did not actually see all the things I wanted to write about! Learn from my mistake, and spend two days. Legoland we did in a day and it was fine. Kennedy Space Center, not so much. And we didn’t even do any of the add-ons!
We just returned home from a fun trip all over Florida. We were in Pensacola, Zephyrhills, Orlando, and the Space Coast. One of our stops along the way was Legoland.
Before our trip, I searched and searched for information on Legoland. I found very little. There were some YouTube videos and each travel book about central Florida from the library had a paragraph or so about the theme park. Very few blogs had any information and the big Disney bloggers all answered my questions with, “It’s a small park, you’ll be fine.” Thanks. Sigh.
Now that I’ve experienced Legoland, I have plenty of advice to offer and I hope that it is helpful to many people who are planning to go!
Buy at least one refillable mug. They are $15 each and we thought there seemed to be plenty of locations for refilling them. The refill stations were separated from the busy restaurants and we never encountered a line–and we were there on the weekend of a holiday week. Separate drinks are about $5 each so if you fill it more than three times in a day, you are ahead of the game. And it’s a Coca-Cola freestyle machine so you have lots of options for filling it– including caffeine-free, diet, Powerade, etc. We bought three of the mugs for five people and felt like it was a good value.
Pack your own snacks. You are allowed to bring in a soft sided cooler of food and I strongly recommend that you bring some bottled water and other snacks with you. It’s nice to be able to just hand your kids a granola bar that you know they will eat and not have to shell out six bucks for a snack they may decide they don’t like. Take advantage of the fact that this is allowed and save yourself some money!
Skip the Digipass for photos. I thought it seemed like a great value, at $45 for a single day photo pass. You get all of your ride photos and any character meet and greet photos as well. But honestly, we ended up with only four photos from the entire day and the process is a huge pain in the butt. First, I prepaid online but I still had to go check in and get a physical pass when the park opened. Which meant waiting in line and missing the opportunity to run to the first ride of our choice. Why bother pre-paying when the in park process is the same? Also, all you get is a piece of thick paper that says you purchased the photo pass. All day long you have to stop at each photo kiosk after each ride and ask for the photos to be added to your account. And how do they do that? They print you a receipt and staple it to your paper that says you purchased it. And I had two separate times where they gave me a hard time about getting two ride photos because my whole family didn’t show up in the same photo. “One receipt per ride!” and I had to really put my foot down and insist on getting all of our photos. By the end of the day you end up with a ton of receipts stapled to your original paper. And THEN, each receipt has a long code on it and you have to go home and enter each individual one on the website. It takes forever and it’s a headache and completely inefficient in every possible way. Also, we never came across photographers taking group photos with characters or just nice backgrounds–and we were there from open until close. This is not anything like Disney’s PhotoPass service and is not even remotely worth the money. Skip it.
Arrive about an hour before the park opens to get a close parking spot and get through security quickly. They do a cute little opening show and then you will have a head start on getting into the park ahead of the crowd.
No matter how tempted you are to stop and look around, head straight to the back of the park first. DO NOT STOP. Just go to the back of the park. Why? Two reasons. First of all, no one else does. We rode Flying School twice in a row with no one else on it but our family and then moved on to other rides that also had no line. Second, if you start at the back and work your way forward, when the park closes for the day, you will find yourself at the front of the park and ready to head back to your car. If you start at the front and work backwards, not only will you have crowds around you all day, you will be at the back of the park at the end of the day when you are exhausted and ready to go home. Then you will have to walk all the way back to the front of the park and it’s just not fun at that point in the day.
Be aware of where the bathrooms are as you tour the Legoland Florida. We had the most difficult time finding them throughout the day. When we were all the way back at Flying School, we were told the nearest bathroom was all the way up at the Imagination Zone. And then we got confused trying to follow the signs and got separated and ended up having to do a lost child announcement. Good grief! Bathrooms are not EVERYWHERE. Just be aware and pay attention to your surroundings.
There’s a bathroom in the building behind Einstein but it isn’t easy to find.
Eat the Apple Fries. Oh my word! They were so delicious. They are slices of apple cut to be the shape of french fries, rolled in cinnamon and sugar and deep fried. And then you are given whipped cream to dip them in. They were such a nice and pleasant change from the typical fast food snack options at a theme park.
Spend time in the Imagination Zone. It’s air conditioned, there are places for adults to sit quietly, and the kids will have a blast. Honestly, I felt like we were wasting time not being on rides but looking back on it, we were getting some rest in the middle of the day and that was probably needed. There were all kinds of lego building projects to do in the Imagination Zone and I think my kids could very well have stayed there all day and been happy.
Imagination Zone!
Ride the smaller rides. One pleasant surprise to us at Legoland Florida was the unique twist they had on all of the smaller rides. Instead of a Dumbo Style ride that just lifts you up and goes in a circle, you have to physically pedal to stay up. Instead of a ride that raises you up high and then drops you, you have to pull on the ropes yourself to get up there and then let go when you are ready to drop back down (don’t worry, it’s kid-sized and not scary). The “it’s a small world” style boat ride is not on a track–you actually control your boat and drive it through the water. My five year old was just terrible at this and we spun in circles. But it was FUN because it wasn’t a cookie cutter, every experience is the same kind of ride.
Read up on ride restrictions before you arrive at Legoland Florida. This goes for all theme parks but Legoland in particular had some weird rules that you should consider before you attend. The Lego Racers ride, which is their newest and coolest, will let kids ride if they are 42″ but they can’t have VR glasses unless they are 48″ OR six years old. And without the VR glasses, there is literally no point in riding it. And if your child can’t have VR glasses, guess what? YOU CAN’T EITHER. Surprise! We were none too pleased to learn this AFTER waiting in line for over an hour. They also made a big stink about my son’s heart monitor not being allowed on rides (Disney let him ride EVERYTHING with it). Also at Driving School, you have to be six to participate regardless of your height but they sometimes tell five year olds it’s fine. But sometimes they don’t. So you never know what to expect. There was no consistency whatsoever and it made our day a terrible headache.
Don’t expect to ride everything, even on a low crowd day. It wasn’t super busy when we were there (despite being a holiday week), but we still couldn’t do everything. We stayed from open until close and still didn’t get to two whole areas of the park and barely got to enjoy the lego creations section of the park. I was told “it’s a small park, you’ll be fine” so many times that I really didn’t see it coming that we wouldn’t be able to do every single thing we wanted to do. We missed a couple big rides, all of the shows, and quite a few of the smaller things.
In the Lego World there are areas of different cities and countries. San Francisco was the coolest one, in my opinion.
We don’t regret visiting Legoland Florida although it was not quite what we expected it to be. There were some bumps in the road that disappointed us but overall it is a cute park with a lot to offer and it doesn’t appear to ever be uncomfortably crowded. These eleven tips will help you make the most of your time at the park!
La Salette Shrine is located in Attleboro, Massachusetts. As a kid, it was a favorite holiday tradition. It would be so cold that we’d feel like our faces would freeze right off, and we’d get out of the car and walk through all of the lights. It was the most magical thing at Christmas. Sadly, I never really had the chance to take my kids. But this year the opportunity presented itself and we jumped on it.
First of all, arrive early. I mean, if the lights are going to turn on at 6pm, you should be finding a parking spot by 4:30 the latest. We stopped and picked up dinner on the way and ate in the car. Plus, it wasn’t frigidly cold since we went Thanksgiving week, so we got out of the car early and walked around waiting for the lights to flip on. Make that time in the car together fun. With the wrong mindset it can seem like you are just fighting crowds to get the best spot. Make it an in-the-car picnic and put on some Christmas music and suddenly being so early to get a spot is just another part of the adventure!
There are paths to walk through all the lights on both sides of the parking lot. To the left we walked around a large pond. To the right of the parking lot there were more lights, and a “live” nativity scene, although it was not as live as it had been when I was a kid. As a kid, I recall lots of farm animals and real people. This year, we found only a live donkey. It was a bit of a let down but the overall experience was very positive. Oh well. Nothing ever lives up to the magic in your childhood memories.
After walking through all the outdoor displays, we headed towards the cafeteria for some hot chocolate. But on the way, we discovered something so completely amazing, I felt like we hit the museum jackpot! I had no idea this was there and there was no cost to go in. It was an international nativity set museum. Nativities from all over the world, in all different styles of art. It was completely amazing. I walked around with the kids and they pointed out their favorites and we talked about which continent each country was on and compared the differences in style a little, but mostly we just took it in because it was really amazing. It’s not often you get to see the exact same concept worked in completely different styles, with different cultures playing a role in the interpretation. I really think it was one of the coolest exhibits we’ve ever encountered.
This was my favorite by far. I’m a minimalist at heart and I loved the simplicity of this version. Gorgeous.
But I’m also a sucker for Coca-Cola so this one caught my eye as well!
But my kids loved the Lego version best. Of course! How much fun is that?!?
I am not sure if the exhibit is only open during the Christmas season or if it’s always there. It is attached to the gift shop, which is open year round, so it may be open regularly.
At any rate, if you should found yourself in southern New England during the Christmas Season, don’t miss this!
First of all, I’d like to apologize for being completely missing for quite a while. Life was getting a little too crazy, with nonstop doctor appointments for both me and my youngest, planning a big vacation, and my main job, home schooling the kids. We hit an emotional and physical wall while at Disney World last week that led to a long talk about simplifying our lives and calming down our schedule. The good news is that will give me more time to dedicate to this blog!
One of the best parts of our recent trip to Niagara Falls was our purchase of the Adventure Pass–it’s a single pass that includes top attractions on the Canadian side of the Falls for a discounted price (on the U.S. side, the pass is called the Discovery Pass and includes different attractions. We did not try the Discovery Pass). The Adventure Pass includes the White Water Walk, the Hornblower Cruise, Journey Behind the Falls, and Niagara’s Fury. It also includes two days of using the public transportation system, WEGO.
Is the Pass a good deal?
Here’s my breakdown of the pricing. You definitely save money buying the pass if you plan to do all four things. And even if you weren’t planning to do the White Water Walk, you still save money with the Adventure Pass.
There are other perks to buying the pass:
You get your pass as a plastic card rather than a paper ticket you get for individual attractions. With all the time you spend getting wet, this is a major perk!
You get a lanyard to wear your card so you have easy access to all your tickets. However, I would say if you own a lanyard, bring it. In our group of eleven people, I think at least three people ended up with a broken lanyard by the end of day one. They will replace it for you but if you aren’t near the welcome center, that becomes a bit challenging!
The Niagara Parks staff will schedule times for all your attractions for you in one place. And since they are knowledgeable about how long each thing takes and how far apart they are, they can help you make a reasonable schedule for your day.
You get a bunch of coupons for other attractions, although I have to admit that I didn’t remember to use any of them!
The view of horseshoe falls from Table Rock.
Can I do it all in one day?
No. I mean, sure, you probably could, but I strongly recommend planning to split your adventures over two days. They are NOT all side by side. Two of the attractions are inside the Table Rock Welcome Center (Niagara’s Fury and Journey Behind the Falls). To get to the cruise, you can either walk or take WEGO down the main stretch from Horseshoe Falls to American Falls. It doesn’t look like that long of a walk, but with kids, it is! My biggest regret on the trip was not taking the bus down that stretch. It was really hot that day and there wasn’t much shade along the walk. Anyway… From there, the White Water Walk is about five miles down the river. So everything is not just RIGHT there. This is not like going from ride to ride at Disney World.
We split our adventures over two days. We did Journey Behind the Falls and the Hornblower Cruise on day one, and on our second day, we did Niagara’s Fury and the White Water Walk. This made it a lot less overwhelming. The White Water Walk and Niagara’s Fury don’t take much time, so we were able to spend a good chunk of that day at Clifton Hill seeing all the touristy sites.
What else should I know?
I always find there are so many things I wish I knew about a place before I visit for the first time. Here’s a few things to know about the Adventure Pass:
You do not have to use your attraction tickets on consecutive days. We used half on Tuesday and half on Friday.
Your WEGO pass lasts for 48 hours from the first time you scan it on the bus. For whatever reason, we never had to scan ours on Tuesday, they just told us to get on and find a seat. So we were able to use ours on Friday, when they were asking us to scan our cards. But you should plan and expect to only have the pass for 48 hours. I would recommend that if you won’t do it all in 48 hours, that you spend one day doing the attractions inside Table Rock Welcome Center (Niagara’s Fury and Journey Behind the Falls) and do the two that need the bus pass (the cruise and the white water walk) on the same day to combine it all and make use of the bus.
Parking is expensive! Parking across from Table Rock was $25 for the day. Parking overnight at our hotel was $60. Gulp. You will want to park once and walk/use WEGO for the rest of the day. If you try to drive everywhere, you will spend obscene amounts of money parking over and over.
They give you a new poncho at each attraction, and they do a great job of keeping you dry. My purse over my shoulder wasn’t even damp after our cruise and we got EXTREMELY wet on that.
You will have to go in many elevators that have a lot of people crammed in them. Some people have issues with that sort of thing so it’s something to keep in mind.
The line for Journey Behind the Falls gets really long in the afternoon–do that early in the day to avoid lines.
Keep in mind that all prices are in Canadian dollars. That means if you are from the U.S., everything costs a little less than what the listed price is. If it’s $60 Canadian, it’s probably about $47 in US Dollars. But remember–they don’t take U.S. Money! You have to exchange it for Canadian money somewhere–or get cash from an ATM after crossing the border.
Your debit card might not work properly in Canada. Mine didn’t. I could only use it in the ATM so I had to go get cash all the time to pay for things.
Is the Adventure Pass worth it?
YES! We had so much fun! Here’s an overview of our experience!
We started our first day with Journey Behind the Falls. What is it? Well, it’s exactly what it sounds like. You take an elevator down and you enter the cave BEHIND Horseshoe Falls. You are able to walk about 2/3 of the way around the Horseshoe while you are under and behind the falls. The ground shakes and the rumbling sound is LOUD. It was a tiny bit scary to me but it was incredible at the same time. There is also a lookout point where you can go outside and be almost close enough to touch the water.
The entrance for Journey Behind the Falls is right inside Table Rock. So easy!
Who wouldn’t want to wear this super flattering yellow poncho?!?
Elevator selfie! You go way way down to the bottom of the falls.
And then you get to see Horseshoe Falls from the back side! You are looking out from under ground at the water falling. It made me think of the Disney’s Jungle Cruise “backside of water” joke.
And there was a lookout point where we could go outside and be so incredibly close to the edge of the falls that you could practically touch it.
Next up, we headed to the Hornblower Cruise. Honestly after watching the boats come and go, I didn’t expect it to be that great. I know it’s one of those iconic things that you just HAVE to do, but I had low expectations.
I was wrong. It was amazing! We got so close to the water. The wind was whipping and we were drenched. It felt like standing on the beach during a hurricane, only the weather that day was still, calm, and sunny. We were up on the top deck and loved every second of it. The only negative thing I can say is that it’s such a quick ride–only about twenty minutes total. It’s really hard to describe the overall experience. Just do it. It’s completely worth it!
Ready to get wet!
Eventually we were so close to the water that I stopped taking pictures because you couldn’t see anything in the mist. Incredible.
On our second day of the Adventure Pass, we started off early with a viewing of Niagara’s Fury. This is a 360 degree movie experience. You stand in the center of the room wearing a poncho. There are handles to hold onto. Then it begins to rain on you INSIDE. The floor shakes and the rains pour down. It can be a little intense for younger kids but overall it’s neat. I don’t have any pictures inside the theater because they were strictly forbidden.
After the movie, we headed over to Clifton Hill to check out the touristy area. This is where you will find go karts, mini golf, the giant ferris wheel, arcades, museums, and on and on and on. It’s overwhelming. I’ve never been to Vegas but that’s the closest I could compare it to. Lots going on and so much to see you almost don’t know where to look. There were so many food choices that we literally couldn’t take it all in and ended up eating at Papa John’s. I wish I were kidding. We just got overwhelmed and went with what was familiar.
Our group split up for that part of the day. Some of them went to the butterfly garden and the rest did the new Niagara Speedway Go Karts. A lot of people refer to them as the Mario Kart go karts. They all had a blast doing that! I chose to sit and rest a bit rather than ride but everyone that did it had rave reviews. And it was reasonably priced as far as Go Karts go, at $12 to drive and $4 to be a passenger.
We walked around a bit more and then hopped on a bus to get to the White Water Walk. Clifton Hill is on a different line than the White Water Walk, so we had to transfer at Table Rock. Unfortunately, it took nearly an hour to get from Clifton Hill back to Table Rock. That particular line on the bus covers a huge distance with tons of stops. Oops.
The path to the white water walk involves a crowded elevator and a tunnel. Be aware if those things cause you any anxiety.
The good news is that although we were an hour late for our scheduled time for the White Water attraction, we were able to go right in. They aren’t super strict about it. hooray!
So what is the White Water Walk? You take an elevator way down into the Niagara gorge and get to walk a length of the river to see the class 6 rapids. It is possibly more powerful than the falls themselves and was a little scary to see. At least, it was for me. The walk is about ten minutes each way and it’s shady and cool, even on a hot day. At the end of the path, there are benches. You are not timed in any way–you can stay as long as you’d like. Walk slow, take pictures, read the signs, take it all in. There are vending machines as well, which is good to know in case you do get hot down there. We went in the late afternoon and it was shaded well. It could be hotter at other times of day, I’m not sure.
Kids at the white water walk. This is also a good shot of their lanyards and tickets so you can see what those look like.
I was pretty nervous having the little guy so close to the rapids but the railings and such appeared to be safe. I was still nervous!
Overall, we found the Adventure Pass to be well worth it. It saved us money, it saved us time, it saved our feet from walking everywhere and it got us to do some things we may not have bothered with if it hadn’t been a package deal.
We just returned from an absolutely fabulous vacation to Niagara Falls. We spent time on both the U.S. and Canadian sides and I have so much to say about all of it but I am going to try to break it down into less overwhelming bits and pieces.
First of all, for today’s post, let’s talk about the U.S. side of the falls. I have heard nothing good about it, ever. I’ve heard that the city isn’t that great, that the views of the falls aren’t that great, that there’s nothing worthwhile at all about the New York side. So honestly, it was a last minute decision to stop in New York at all.
All those claims about Niagara Falls, NY? FALSE. I can’t believe we almost missed out on that experience. What fools we would’ve been to skip it completely!
Overall, my top tip for Niagara Falls New York State Park is to understand that you are going to be out in nature. This park is not heavily commercialized. There is not a restaurant or an arcade or a gift shop every ten feet like on the Canadian side (the U.S. side does have all that, but it’s further back from the falls, not right up on it). This is more like going out for a hike. I was caught off guard by that! Past that, here are eleven tips to help you plan your trip to Niagara Falls, New York.
Park at the Niagara Falls New York State Park. The lot isn’t huge but it also seems to be somewhat overlooked. We had no problem pulling in and getting a great spot on a weekend in July. It costs $10 to park there and you can use cash or your debit card–but you’ll need exact change with cash. The lot is right by the welcome center and right across the street from lots of food options–and you know the kids are going to be asking for food! (Also note: there are bathrooms in the welcome center!)You can rent a stroller at the park. If you just don’t have room in your car for a stroller and all your luggage, know that if your little one needs a stroller, rentals are available. It’s $20 for four hours and that’s likely plenty of time to see the park, especially with stroller-aged children
Dress appropriately. You will want to be wearing comfortable clothes for a long day of walking. It can get hot, and there are hills and stairs. If you go in the summer, you will sweat. Wear supportive shoes. I wore athletic pants with a moisture wicking material and Under Armour Sandals.
Expect to be underwhelmed by your first view you get of the falls. When you enter the park and come around the side of the welcome center, you will glimpse the American Falls. I’ve got to be honest, my first thought was, “We drove all that way for… this?” It’s not the best spot to get a good view and unfortunately it’s the first glimpse you get. Keep on walking through the park and you’ll get to better views!
The first view of the falls.
Follow the signs to cross the bridges to Luna and Goat Islands. You will walk across two bridges (they are walking bridges, no cars will be on them, but staff on golf carts will drive over them a bit). The bridges are a bit slick–hold hands with younger kids! When you get to Goat Island, follow the signs for American Falls and then Horseshoe Falls. You will be able to get incredibly close to the water.
Checking out the view from one of the islands. I think this was Luna Island.
American Falls
American Falls
We called this the selfie capital of the world. 😉
And all the way over at Horseshoe Falls!
Pay the small fee to go down an elevator to the dock of the famous Maid of the Mist boat–even if you don’t plan to ride the boat, you can go down and enjoy the view.
Have change on you to put in the view finders! Kids love those things, so be prepared for the constant begging for change!
Bring change! Kids love these things!
Pack a cooler of bottled water. You will get thirsty walking through the islands and the little carts and stands charge a whopping $3.50 per twenty ounce bottle of water. For the record, that is more than Disney World charges.
Ride the boat. Whether you ride the Maid of the Mist on the U.S. side or the Hornblower on the Canadian side, it is one of the most incredible experiences I have ever had. (We actually took the boat from the Canadian side but the price is about the same and the experience identical). You get so close to the Falls, and the mist is in your face and the wind is whipping and you just feel its power. It made me really realize how little control we humans have over nature. We live in a world with so much technology that we think we can control every little thing but getting up close and personal with Horseshoe Falls makes you realize what a lie that all is. (It doesn’t help that I read The Lost World, the sequel to Jurassic Park, during this trip. The theme of that book is also that humans have very little control over nature!).
A view of Horseshoe Falls from the boat.
Get some kind of device to keep you from dropping your phone. Seriously, you are chasing kids around and taking pictures with thousands of gallons of gushing water. What could possibly go wrong? I have a Loopy Case but I also have a universal waterproof case that I can wear on a lanyard and fits any phone and I also love this little gadget for wearing my phone on a lanyard without being in the waterproof case–but on the boat, you will want waterproof! I was so nervous watching people hang over the side of the boat just holding their phones with no backup plan for dropping it. Eek!
Eat some place local. There are so many chains in the area but skip that stuff. You can eat at Rain Forest Cafe, Hard Rock Cafe, etc, anytime and practically any place. Personally, we enjoyed Mario’s Pizza and Flip Burger. They were a short walk past Hard Rock Cafe. Prices were not outrageous for a tourist town and the quality was excellent. Mario’s serves real New York pizza. I live in the midwest now and I’m sorry to say, they don’t really understand what pizza should be. New York gets it right! Flip Burgers has fresh cut fries–you can watch them chop the potatoes. And they were sooooo good we wished we had bought more. Also, they are right next door to each other so if two kids are begging for pizza and one kid wants a hot dog and fries, you are in luck! You can grab food from both places and sit at the outdoor tables and enjoy it all!
New York Style Pizza at Mario’s.
Plan to spend the whole day. Don’t rush. Don’t have a schedule or an itinerary–especially if you also plan to go to the Canadian side. Over there, with the adventure pass, you have to book times for all your experiences. Enjoy the unhurried, unscheduled experience of seeing the falls at a slower pace, out in nature. Walk everywhere–every time you move your car, you’ll pay to park. So take your time and walk. It’s a very walking-friendly area, with wide sidewalks and clearly marked crosswalks.
I hope you enjoy your time in Niagara Falls, New York as much as I did. Do you have tips for things to do or how to prepare? Share them in the comments!
Don’t forget to check out local eats. Chains get old after awhile!
Mommas, I am so guilty of not taking advantage of really cool places that are local to me. I think most of us are. We know it’s there so we just kinda push it off the to do list to do “another time”. Want some examples of how that looked in my own life? On the large scale, I lived my entire childhood an hour outside of Boston. I finally walked the Freedom Trail when I was 33. EEK! That’s… unforgivable! Then I lived in Indiana for FOURTEEN YEARS and never made it to any of the beaches in Lake Michigan. And when I did, it was delightful! In my current town, there’s a laser tag place my kids ask about all the time. I finally took them a couple weeks ago, after approximately six years of asking. GUILTY.
I’ve really been trying to be better about this. We’ve been trying out local restaurants more often and walking around down town and checking out the walking paths at our lovely city parks. But sometimes, I just don’t even know where to go or what to do. I was recently remind of Groupon, because I was looking for a deal on something for an upcoming trip. Then it clicked. Oh wait, I should be checking Groupon for LOCAL things to do, not just travel. DUH! We need to have fun learning experiences and adventures not just when we travel really for away, but also when we travel just down the road.
I’m working on a list of places we need to check out locally this summer. Small things, like an ice cream stand, a park we have never been to, etc. Groupon is a great place for ideas because honestly sometimes the places listing coupons there are places I didn’t even know existed. Score!
Click Here and Head to Groupon to Check Out Deals in Your Home Town!
