We went on a day when it was overcast. In fact, as we left the plaza/courtyard area, it started to rain. Even with the overcast skies, it was still fantastic. However, I’m sure it is even more spectacular on a nice clear day.
When you get your tickets for the ride, they also give you a commemorative Maid of the Mist postcard for each person in your group. It’s a nice touch.
I was amazed at the number of people that were going for a ride. The people just kept coming, and the boats seemed to be coming and going. This was on a Thursday afternoon. I would imagine they are even busier on the weekends.
As I mentioned, they took pictures of us, but no one ever did mention them again. They give you a little ticket so you can go buy it if you want, but they didn’t promote it at all. We didn’t buy it, but I did see somebody else’s, and they look excellent. The green screen is replaced with a great shot of the Falls. The end result is excellent quality.
Be prepared to get wet! I took my camera with me and took as many pictures as I could. I even put my camera in a clear plastic bag hoping that I could get a few shots in the mist, but they didn’t turn out that well. If I go again I might spurge and buy a water-proof disposable camera.
The Maid of the Mist store has all sorts of things that you can buy with their logo on it. Outside the store is a restaurant/cafe area. When you are back up to street level, there is also a glass-blowing area where you can watch glass products being made, and purchase others. And of course there are ice cream and other snack booths.
I link to a couple of sections of the Maid of the Mist web site below. The site is very well done and has a lot of excellent information.
Read more of our series on Maid of the Mist, or learn more from other sites:
- Niagara Falls Blog – Maid of the Mist – Observations
- Niagara Falls Blog – Maid of the Mist – The Ride
- Niagara Falls Blog – Maid of the Mist – History
- Official Maid of the Mist web site (uses Adobe Flash, click here for no flash version)
- View a Adobe Flash-based video on the Maid of the Mist experience (it’s quite good)
- View pictures from my visit in the Maid of the Mist section of the Niagara Falls Image Gallery
- Read the Wikipedia entry on Maid of the Mist