As I mentioned before, I spent a week or so down in Kissimmee FL (just outside of Orlando) a month ago (I can’t believe it has been that long!). I couldn’t help but compare Disney and the surrounding area with Niagara Falls. I’ll share those thoughts with you this week. This is NOT meant to be a thorough comparison. These are mostly just impressions that I had as I was down there. In some areas, Niagara Falls certainly holds its own. In other areas, it doesn’t.
Let’s start off with the biggest difference. It might not be a fair comparison, but there isn’t an area of Niagara Falls that can stand up to the Disney machine. Disney is the name that is thrown around all the time, and I think many people would like the area to be like Disney, but it’s a long way away. Let me expand on this and the title of the post a bit… By quality, I don’t mean the quality of the attractions. Niagara Falls has some fantastic attractions. I guess I’m talking about something almost like pride of ownership. Everything at Disney is immaculate. The best example of this is the daily parade they have down Main Street USA. When we got to the park, you would never know there was going to be a parade. Lots of people were walking around freely, and enjoying the park. About half an hour before the parade started, a small rope barrier was put up along the street along with masking tape on the street to indicate where you could stand. About 5 minutes before the parade workers stopped people from walking on the street. The parade started and lasted half an hour. Immediately following the parade, there were workers who took the rope barrier away and pulled up the masking tape. A few minutes later there were several huge vacuum cleaner-type machines that came along and cleaned up any mess left over from the parade participants (things like confetti) or from the viewers (like spilled popcorn). Within about 10-15 minutes after the parade, the park was as clean as always, and you’d never know that there had been a parade.
That sort of thing just doesn’t happen in Niagara Falls. Sure, there are some operators that are better than others at taking pride in their property, but it still isn’t the same. Even the Niagara Parks Commission doesn’t do this right. If you walk along the sidewalk of Queen Victoria Park, you’ll still see lots of streamers and other decorations from the New Year’s Eve party (over 2 months ag0>
I suppose that keeping things as well run as Disney costs money. It requires a lot of workers. But it sure is impressive. As a guest, there was a certain confidence it gave me that everything Disney did was of a high quality. Operators in Niagara Falls just don’t make that kind of money to justify the extra expense. You can’t help but wonder if they did spend the money, would they benefit from the extra or return guests? I’m sure they would, but would it still be enough to justify the extra expense? I just don’t know…
Be sure to check out the rest of the Disney vs Niagara Falls series:
- Disney vs Niagara Falls – Quality
- Disney vs Niagara Falls – Random attractions
- Disney vs Niagara Falls – Dining
- Disney vs Niagara Falls – Accommodations
- Disney vs Niagara Falls – Final thoughts
Tags: Attractions, disney, niagara parks commission, npc, parade, pride, quality, queen victoria park
The value of what a family would get visiting Disney vs. what you get for your money when visiting the falls isn’t really comparable. As sad as it is to say,a vast majority of operators in the falls do not offer true value packages all inclusive of attractions, dinners, and hotel stays. While it is true some operators in the falls give out discounted coupons, to other attractions they run, for staying at thier establishments, often times they are for very little savings. When a family visits NF they tend to be “nickeled and dimed” to death. The problem NF faces in the future is that it seems to be becoming more and more of a early adult- middle aged weekend getaway destination and less of a family vacation spot.
I’m not suggesting for a second that someone cannot bring a family to the Falls and not find things to do, or have a good time, but value is the key, and its something that IMO really lacks in the area. The taxes, the outrageous prices for attractions and dining make things less attractive than other spots for familys to spend $$. If a family drops a chunk of change @ Disney they get all attractions, dining, and lodging included in that price, and you can’t really do that in the Falls. I think sticker shock on the prices in the Falls area really keep people from making repeated visits, its on the higher end of tourist destination spots. I think operators should work harder in NF to combine packaged deals and try to work together rather than gainst each other.
It all depends on where you stay and what deals there are. It costs $80 to go to Disney for a day and you get nothing with it, just admission to the park. Food is outrageously priced there as well.
I don’t think Niagara Falls has prices that are out of whack compared to other places (see my attractions post later this week). I just think that Disney has the better reputation, so people accept the price easier.
But if you book a vacation package at Disney you can get all inclusive deals. I think the biggest gripe people have after visiting NF for the first time are the prices.
Your pretty much comparing apples and oranges here. I don’t think its really fair to compare Disney and Niagara Falls, because both offer very different experiences. Yes they are both tourist destinations but they are very, very differently structured. If your thinking Niagara will become Disney some day, then well you better just stop hoping at this point because it ain’t gonna happen simple as that. Hoping for things that are not realistic will only lead to major disappointment in the future.
Niagara, another thing I would like to note is that Disney is very high quality, so its reflected in the price. I think a lot of people are OK with paying Disney prices on things like food, drinks and souvenirs because everything is worth it. Disney’s customer service is exemplary, and this is also factored into the prices you pay for things at Disney. How many Niagara Falls attractions can you actually say are worth the price they are charging for them? Niagara’s Fury that was supposed to be the bee’s knees when it came to high tech and cool certainly did not live up to its hype or price charged to do the attraction. People also expect Disney to be expensive, but when people are doing one attraction at the Falls, they don’t expect to pay the prices per person that are being charged.
Yes, food may be outrageous, but I know people who go to Disney mainly for the food and variety of food served! Niagara Falls is gouging on basic fast foods (run of the mill food), while yes Disney is probably overpriced, but they serve a variety of unique, often high quality foods. They have restaurants in every tier, from very expensive to kid-friendly. As far as Niagara Falls goes, well just about everything is very expensive.
I agree it’s very hard to compare the two places.
I agree, it is hard to compare them, but there is this sense in the industry that Niagara Falls can be like Disney. That’s why I’ve made some simple observations. If there isn’t any interest, or if you think it is pointless, I can just move on and not post the other ones. Let me know…
no Graham, please do post. These kind of discussions are heathly and it great to read comparisons. If everyone agreed things would never change and the world would be a very boring place. even on disagreement its obvious everyone here has a strong passion for NF. its what makes this blog great.
I personally love these discussions, and as much as I hate to admit it, I agree with absolutely everything that Niagara and Sara had to say as well as the points Graham has made.
I think one of the biggest leaders in NF is HOCO, they offer great packages that go out their complex as well. Disney is just so BIG, that is can offer so many options at discounted rates, while Niagara Falls has smaller companies competing against each other.
It would be nice to see a Clifton Hill pass, where its a one price combo for several attractions on both sides of the hill, the more you do, the greater the savings.
Keep continuing the articles, there is nothing wrong with them.
They have the right idea with the pass, but they only cover certain attractions, if you want to go on something else that is not offered in the pass your stuck for an extra charge. This would be like going into a theme park, paying admission then realizing that your admission only covers half of the attractions in the park. The average customer doesn’t know that the attractions are owned by different companies.
The best way would probably be to offer a pass that lets you into any 5 attractions for x dollars, and the discount could get bigger as you buy passes for more attractions. I think this is what your trying to say Dan. This gives people a savings but makes sure they get to choose what they want to do. Again, it probably won’t happen because of different ownership of the attractions.