Niagara Falls Day One

This morning after breakfast we made the short walk from our hotel to the incline railway, and rode it down to the Table Rock visitor center. There we looked at the gift shops and did the Journey Behind the Falls, an attraction that was included in the pass we bought from Niagara Parks. We took an elevator down to old tunnels constructed for hydroelectric power plants and walked through tunnels to view the “backside” of the falls and an observation deck. It took about a half hour to complete.

 

I wanted to watch the “Niagara’s Fury” movie next but it was down for the day so we walked to the nearby Power Station building to learn how it generated power from the falls.  

We then took another elevator down even deeper and walked the 2200 feet outtake tunnel to another observation deck closer to the river. By the time we walked back to the elevator and then back to the visitor center it was noon, so we took the WeGo bus north to Clifton Hill, home to a casino and many tourist attractions. 

We had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe there (No 44), then looked around some shops and I sampled beer at the nearby brewery.

We then rode the WeGo bus back to our hotel, where we sat in the hot tub and enjoyed snacks in the lounge for dinner. 

Buffalo

At the beginning of the month, one of Jenn’s friends from Oregon came out for a visit. They spend time visiting book stores and going to book signings, but they spent most of their time with Susan preparing boxes to sent out with Jenn’s fifth book, a Halloween romance. To celebrate its release, last week they visited the Magic Kingdom.

This morning, Susan and I got up early and headed to the airport, where we caught a quick flight to Atlanta. There we switched to a smaller plane for our flight to Buffalo, and arrived before noon. We picked up a rental car and drove to the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site. 

Theodore Roosevelt was inaugurated in Buffalo because President McKinley was assassinated while attending the Pan-American Exposition there. We toured the house and learned about the events surrounding Roosevelt’s becoming President. The tour took about 45 minutes and are usually held every hour throughout the day, so it’s best to plan around two hours to see it. 

From Buffalo we drove west into Canada then about a half hour north to Niagara Falls, where we checked into a Marriott.  We were upgraded into a nice suite with a view of the falls.  

 

We also got a free drink at the bar and snacks at the concierge lounge. We were pretty tired after getting up so early so went to bed after dinner.

Around the parks

We went to Epcot a few times last week, mostly to use up dining and snack coupons. The kids joined Susan and I one night to eat at Le Cellier and another evening we enjoyed a second cast preview of Journey of Water. It looks really nice with night lighting.

 

A few nights later Bryan and I had dinner at Jiko at Animal Kingdom Lodge. It was really good, but I wouldn't have wanted to pay full price. Sunday evening after work I met Susan at the ESPN arena for a special cast marketplace. Disney gave cast members a chance to buy excess merchandise at a steep discount.

Jennifer had flown up to Boston for the weekend to visit a friend. Besides visiting bookstores, they went to a hockey game Sunday night. 

Yesterday I met one of my fellow Friendship Boat captains after work and we rode the monorail over to the TTC, then the ferry to the Magic Kingdom, during which I took a photo of the progress on the new DVC tower at the Polynesian resort.

We then made our way back to Epcot, where we joined more captains for dinner at the Biergarten.

Universal Studios

On Thursday Susan and I took my mom to Universal Studios and met up with my sister and niece. We rode E.T. then watched the animal show, the monster make up show, and the Bourne Stunt show. I’d been wanting to watch the last show for a while; it was pretty amazing how they matched up live actors and partial sets with the giant video screen. The make up show is more silly than scary.

We also walked through the Tribute Store, which this visit featured decorations and merchandise from Jurassic Park. 

Between the animal show and E.T., the Kidzone area was walled off, as they are retheming the attractions there to more current properties. I figured we’d walk back to the Hogwarts Express and take that over to IOA, make a loop around that park, then finish up the Studios, but it didn’t work out that way. By the time we finished the shows, the wait for the Harry Potter train was almost an hour and it was getting hot, so we ate at the Leaky Cauldron and headed out.

Yesterday morning I took my mom to Animal Kingdom. We rode Kilimanjaro Safaris and the Wilderness Express, and watched the bird show. We then picked up my sister and niece, and I took them all to the airport.

Journey of Water

 

Tuesday morning I picked up my sister and niece and took them to Epcot, where Susan and I had a cast preview of the new Journey of Water walkthrough attraction. It’s a nice addition to the park, but nothing spectacular.

There are several interactive water features along the route, along with nice landscaping and signs with information on the water cycle. At the end is a nice sculpture/topiary. My mom and the kids joined us.

Epcot started its Food and Wine Festival at the end of July this year, although like last year, some booths won’t open until next month and they aren’t doing the presentations and displays they did before the pandemic. 

We made a loop around the park and rode a few attractions. Like the California parks, the WDW parks now have signs out celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Disney company. I then dropped my sister and niece off at the Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando, where they were staying for a few nights.

Yesterday I took mom to watch the shows at Hollywood Studios, and that evening Susan and the kids joined us for dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge. The food is similar to what we had at the Hoop De Doo and Trail’s End at Fort Wilderness campground, and plenty of it.

Not So Scary

In August, Disney put out the Halloween decorations at Magic Kingdom and started holding Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Parties. Last week, Jenn attended one, enjoying the special parade, fireworks, and special character meet and greets.

This week some of the kids friends were in town, so they went to Tampa on Friday to watch at Tampa Bay Rays game at Tropicana Field. On Saturday they visited Epcot for the Food and Wine Festival.

Yesterday morning they went to Animal Kingdom, and that night they went to another Halloween party. All four dressed as Ken and Barbie.

My mom came out for a visit this week, along with my sister and niece. Today, while the latter stayed at the Galactic Starcruiser resort, Susan and I took my mom to Sea World. We watched the Sea Lion, Dolphin, and Orca shows, and I rode the new stand-up coaster, Pipeline, for the first time. It’s a pretty good coaster, thrilling but not too crazy. For dinner we went to Ragland Road at Disney Springs. I enjoyed both the food and the Irish music and dancing.

Park Hopping

We spent the next two days park hopping. The mornings were nice, but by the afternoons the parks were fairly crowded and hot. Even though the ride is the same as in Florida, we enjoyed the queue at Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. The ride is in Toowtown, and the line contains “props” from Mickey’s animated films, amongst other things.

 

As at the Magic Kingdom, Splash Mountain was being converted into a Princess and the Frog ride. 

Nearby the are rethemeing the French Market restaurant into Tiana’s Palace. 

We weren’t willing to wait for the Star Wars rides in Galaxy’s Edge, but we did enjoy walking through Disneyland’s version. It’s mostly the same as the one at Hollywood Studios, although there are some minor differences. Last night we headed to the airport for our flight home.