Daily Archive for July 13th, 2007

Niagara Falls and other honeymoon-worthy wild water

Published
by
Graham
on July 13, 2007
in Niagara Falls News
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From the LA Times:

After recent trips to Spain and Ireland, and cruises to Alaska and Panama, I racked my brain for a jaunt worthy of our 35th wedding anniversary. After all, for our 25th, we’d stayed at a seaside resort on the Big Island of Hawaii. How could we top that?

“How about Niagara Falls?” my husband, Paul, suggested. And that idea blossomed into a vacation about a force of nature so powerful it’s been a tourist magnet since the early 1800s, when Napoleon’s brother visited with his bride, kicking off Niagara’s reputation as a honeymoon destination…

It was clear: Niagara Falls was only the beginning.

But what a beginning! We decided to see the three ever-changing falls in Niagara from as many vantage points as possible (although not via barrel or helicopter, thank you!).

Falls 4 Tea facade changes

Published
by
Graham
on July 13, 2007
in Niagara Falls Dining
. 1 Comment

The small tea shop on Victoria Avenue, Fall 4 Tea, has changed their sign. The sign used to take up the entire up part above the door, but now it is smaller and you can see the brick work.

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Still on the topic of Fall 4 Tea, when I search for that, there are currently only 2 sites that mention it… AccessNiagara.com and YellowPages.ca. According to YellowPages.ca, Falls 4 Tea has the following contact information:

Address: 5809 Victoria Avenue, Niagara Falls, ON L2G 3L6
Tel: 905-354-4880

Another Topple Tower update

Published
by
Graham
on July 13, 2007
in Niagara Falls Attractions and Niagara Falls Developments
. 20 Comments

I was at Marineland yesterday and took some more pictures of the new Topple Tower. You can click on the images to see a larger version.

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This is a picture of the ride and surrounding area

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Since I was there last Friday, almost all of the paving stone has been put down. As you can see, the area is still fenced off

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This is the main building where the queue line will be. It’s quite large, so they must be expecting it to be busy

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I was by this part of Marineland around 7 pm. Since it was late, no workers were around, and the seats had been lowered to the ground

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This is a close-up of the walrus that sits on top of the ride. As you can see, it doesn’t have a crown, so I doubt it is King Waldorf. They are probably just trying to keep with the nautical theme

Since I was there, I asked 3 different people when the ride was going to open…

The first one, was someone who was at the entrance to Dragon Mountain. I asked him if he knew when it was going to open, and he just shook his head no and didn’t say a word (great customer service). I pushed him a little, and he said he assumed was opening soon. He said the ride is working, and they just have to put the fencing around the ride and put in the queue railings.

The second person was at the snack bar near Topple Tower and Dragon Mountain. I asked her if she knew when the new ride was going to open. She was cleaning the popcorn machine, and with her back to me said she didn’t know. She never even turned to look at me (great customer service).

The third person was in the Whale Shop. She was a lot nicer, and said she thought it was supposed to open this year, but since it wasn’t open yet, she assumed it wasn’t opening this year. She said they don’t tell them much around there.

So the bottom line is that the ride is obviously close to being done, but there doesn’t seem to be a firm date of when it will be open.

Skywalker wants to cross Falls

Published
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Graham
on July 13, 2007
in Niagara Falls News
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From Niagara This Week:

City council wants to see renowned high wire walker Jay Cochrane take his act over Niagara Falls.

Cochrane, in the city for the third time during his 50-year career, has his sights set on crossing the gorge for what he said would be the swan song of his career. And the Canadian entertainer hopes to raise half a billion dollars for children while he does it.

On Monday, council threw its support behind Cochrane’s bid for the walk, which would start in Niagara Falls, N.Y., and finish at the top of the Skylon Tower. The city will send a letter to the Niagara Parks Commission requesting it consider allowing Cochrane to stage his performance.

Coun. Jim Diodati made the motion, saying the world-wide media attention will give the city’s tourism sector a boost. He also said its a great opportunity for Cochrane to boost his own charitable work for children.