WGRZ out of Buffalo has an article on their site about the difference between the two Niagara Falls:
With a long list of restaurants, museums, casinos and hotels, Niagara Falls, Ontario makes competition tough for Niagara Falls, New York.
Niagara Falls mayor Paul Dyster says he’d rather see Niagara Falls, NY as the green space destination of the Falls, and not the bright lights, hot spot of our neighbor to the north.
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This is so disappointing.
~~~~Niagara Falls mayor Paul Dyster says he’d rather see Niagara Falls, NY as the green space destination of the Falls, and not the bright lights, hot spot of our neighbor to the north.
In other words they don’t plan on changing a thing and don’t care US nor Canadian citizens are not going to spend a dime on a “Green Space Destination” It is no more of a vacation as if I rented a room here in Rochester.
When I go on vacation I want a hotel I can walk around outside with no fears of being robbed, go within walking distance with the choice of 20+ attractions and stores, a wide variety of food an atmosphere that just makes you want to smile.
Sorry Mr. Mayor Green is not my color
nf ny sucks
NF NY is a dirty un-safe mess and I bet anyone who drives through it on the way to NF, Ont. is scared to death of the dreadful place.
Yet another politician who doesn’t have a clue. Doesn’t have even a rumor of the possibility of ever getting close to a clue.
“NF NY is a dirty un-safe mess and I bet anyone who drives through it on the way to NF, Ont. is scared to death of the dreadful place.”
—> That’s a LITTLE harsh, niagara.
I bike there bi-weekly the past few years, and although there is NO comparison to the Canadian Side, there is a lot of potential in the American side, especially the state-park… of which includes Goat Island. The park is kept up fairly nicely, and does have some OK landscaping.
The gorge area is also decent. Again, nothing holds a candle against the Ontario equal, but it’s ok for what it is. It’s when you get to the true man-made strutures that is the running joke… everything from the low budget brick hotels to the lack of anything to do. The little pedestrian mall never has anyone other a few people even during peak season…
…all because of bad planning, bad management, and a board who never agrees, except when they disagree, which gets nothing done.
nf ny sucks, i agree both both with niagara (my thoughts) and rob (what it is.) i dislike nf ny, both rob and niagara are right, in my part.
potential means nothing, the area is not inviting at all to anyone.
so true niagara, yet so harsh. i like it!
I went through NF NY a year ago and to me it look run down.
I know it was a year ago as it was the first time I went to the US. IT was a school trip to NYC.
i’ve been there because my parents put AC in car, so i been there all the time. this summer we might be going to darien lake, which’ll be a BLAST! (i hope, lol)
by the way, did any of you hear about canada’s wonderland’s new coaster valleying? weird eh?
anyhow, yes, nf ny is a rundown dump in which people mug each other for fun.
Chris: The coaster was purposely valleyed to troubleshoot procedures in case it actually did happen. They also purposely grinded the train to a hault on the mid-course brakes to see if it could crawl successfully to the station (which it did). Did you see the video of the mass-crowd plunging towards Beheamoth on preview-nite? I don’t think Darien Lake’s ride-of-steel ever had that, even during its inaugral year.
Back on topic, however…
Everyone dissing Niagara Falls, USA… have you even been to the park itself? The downtown area is very empty, so nobody is going to ‘mug each other for fun’. That part is reserved for the area around Pine Ave & the streets 15th thru 53rd St.
Goat Island is very nice & tranquil. The 3-sisters islands is pleasant, and Terrapin Point is picturesque. The State Park around the edge is also decent from the rapids all the way to the Scholkauf Geological Museum. Granted, some of the paths need to be repaved, but it’s still a great park to at least walk around.
The downtown city is what’s lacking… I’ll admit that. We have a decent Hard Rock Cafe, and some businesses are TRYING… but it’s not a “dump”. Did you even see how 3rd street went through a multi-phase makeover?? What about the recently rennovated Old Falls Street? Yes, businesses make the street come to life… but at least it’s not run down & dumpy like it once WAS. What about the whole Rainbow Blvd & the new traffic pattern with the new sidewalks, resurfaced street, and round-about??
You got to look beyond what you initially see, and see the changes that DID take effect over the years. I’m a first-hand witness to it, and it HAS improved… even though businesses haven’t exactly boomed there.
they purposely valleyed it?! when you said that i was thinking WHY? but, when you explained why it made perfect sense, and it is/was a really good idea, now they’ve tested it in all aspects. great idea!
anyway, nf ny…sorry people, just do not like it.
We like the park areas on both sides of the bridge. On every trip we’ve made we walk across the bridge to enjoy the parks regardless of which side we stayed on. While the state park on the American side may not be as pretty as Queen Victoria Park, it has plenty to enjoy. The rapids, Terrapin point, the islands, the observation tower and the rest of the park offer a great relaxing day. But other than the casino, there’s not much else within walking distance that we found to do when we were done with the park for the day. And we tend to hit Casino Niagara over the Seneca Casino - it seems to take us quite a while longer to lose our money on the Canadian side. We haven’t made it to Fallsview Casino yet.
If we’re talking about man-made attractions, then I agree, Niagara Falls, NY has virtually nothing. If we are talking about viewing the Falls, then I think Niagara Falls, NY can compete quite well. The views in the state park are spectacular, and although I’ve never been down there, I’d love to walk along the Cave of the Winds deck.
Its a real shame that the NF NY side doesnt offer more for people to do. Imagine if NF NY was built up, similar to the Ont. side, it would create competition between the two sides, and who gains from that? The tourists. But it will never happen.
no, it won’t. america has to many other things to think about. (guns in wal-mart. COME ON! lol)
Everyone, let’s stick to the facts, or helpful opinions… why don’t attractions stay open? Why don’t people give the US side a chance? Is it too late now?
Don’t bash the US side just because it is so easy to do. There are reasons behind everything.
I think that the No.1 factor in the difference between the 2 sides is that we have the Niagara Parks Commission. They are the catalyst that the rest of the city has grown around. They control a huge amount of property and have some of the top attractions, and because they are autonomous, they operate like a business, not a hand’s out government agency. The U.S. side has the State Park, which has to operate on whatever it is given by the State.
Running a close second is, as has been discussed before, plain old geography. We have the long stretch of property, including higher elevations, directly adjacent to and across from the Falls with great views. The U.S. side has a very limited area beside the Falls with limited views.
As I mentioned on another posting, it is a real catch 22 situation there. When a fairly major attraction like the balloon can’t make a go of it because of lack of business, it just discourages others from trying.
The Canadian Side had the advantage as we have more land along the falls. You can see all three falls from our side.
The Canadian Side is developed. We have options for all budgets from the $39 Motel on Lundeys Lane to the $200 Fallsview Rooms.
I don’t know what on the U.S. side but it seems to me that the Canadian Side has a lot of U.S. chain restaurants such as TGI Fridays and Ruby Tuesday (Not found in cities like Toronto)
An issue that was overlooked was that for the longest time the USD was worth quite a bit towards the Canadian. Making the vacation cheaper for American if they stayed on our side.
Its never to late to develop the US side but with these boarder restriction it will be less of a hassle for Canadian to stay on the US side when we pretty much have a lot of what the US has.
Smoke,
Where can I find Fallsview rooms in NF Ont for 200 except in the middle of January :)?
As an NF NY native who spent the first 20+ years of his life there — and still visits frequently — I thought I’d jump in.
In no way am I going to make a case that, given a few hours, someone should spend their time on the NY side rather than the Canadian side. As mentioned, the Canadian side enjoys huge advantages ranging from geography to investment (and, I’d add, creative vision).
But…but…if you do have a 2-3 hours to also spend on Goat Island on the NY side, I highly recommend it. For all of the positive things I can say about Canada, I far prefer Goat Island precisely because it’s not touristy. It’s peaceful and beautiful. Not at all honky tonk.
Now, once we leave Goat Island…would I recommend staying on the American side, or sightseeing? Well, I do because that’s where I visit my family. But, otherwise, no. I can’t imagine how distressing it would be to show up on vacation in downtown NF. It’s why so many people like me (mid-40s) leave in their 20s to build their lives and careers elsewhere.
advantage to about every aspect of falls tourism! :0
For stuff to do, there is NOTHING that will keep one’s attention on the American side except for Cave of the Winds & Maid of the Mist. There are a couple of side-diversions around the park like some silly museum or a lame 9-hole minigolf… but there isn’t anything touristy to keep the tourist here in the USA side.
I can pinpoint anything & everything wrong with just about any street in Downtown Niagara Falls USA because I’ve seen them first hand up close… but that also means I can find the good, which what I was trying to point out earlier… because everyone else was finding fault.
With the balloon thing done, and the aerospace museum moving to downtown Buffalo, there is really a whole lot less.. and you knwo what? The city is doing diddily about it, because they’d rather have a “natural” side of things, and don’t care about being all tacky or touristy.
…well, with those thoughts, this is where it gets them, to what they are seeing right now, and they STILL continue to keep a foot on that thought process… even when asked by reporters from local media. Why?? I’d really like to know why. Is it because they CAN’T attract tacky/tourist-trap attractions and don’t want to admit it, or are they just arrogant & deny anybody who wants to build a business that doesn’t fit within their heiracary of standards?
If there was something I would like NF NY to develop into is a small scale of quality attractions. Do not let any tacky, over-the-top attractions that one can find in NF Canada set up. Instead, the government needs to create business policies and incentives for historical/science/art museums be built in the area. If there is something the Americans have always been attracted to it’s history.
I would also like to see some cultural tourism blossom. I understand there is a little Italy in the area, which with the proper grooming and can become a wonderful off the beaten path attraction.
I think the key to success in NF NY is keeping things small and high in quality. Just look to what is successful there - Cave of the Winds and Goat Island.
stating the american side is more enjoyable than the Canadian side is like saying that McDonald’s is more healthy than ESM. No matter what, there is an obvious way of seeing the real facts. Sure more people live in NF NY/go to McDonald’s, but that doesn’t mean it has to be better/for you.
I’ve got Fallsview Rooms at the Hilton for 99 during the summer and 199 on saturdays. You just need to get some hook ups.
Well yeah but aren’t u in the business, I was speaking from perspective of someone who isnt.
I’m in the business.
The thing that bugs me about rates is that when you think you are getting a cheap rate that there is someone else paying cheaper then you.