Niagara Falls Master Thread

[skyguy918]

Cave of the Winds and the maid of the mist pricing in the wiki is a bit off.

 
   But here's some stunning pics of the Cave of the Winds which I took today!
   Not the sharpest as it was only taken on a BlackBerry Classic! But still a beautiful pic! Nifloes Haboreh, you can see this same site over and over and never get bored! 

What did you (and everyone else on this thread that had been, and took pictures) do to keep your phone/camera dry? Question applies to both MotM/Hornblower and CotW/JBtF.

[yitzgar]

Don't have a passport yet for my <1 year old. Is it better to bring the original birth certificate, or is a copy enough? Better to be printed or digital copy on the phone is enough?

I brought a photocopy and didn't have a problem

[nescafe]

What's the story this year with the meat restaurant?are they open?

Yes

Is there a consistent mincha and mariv by the chabad daily?

Yes

[nirc]

Don't have a passport yet for my <1 year old. Is it better to bring the original birth certificate, or is a copy enough? Better to be printed or digital copy on the phone is enough?

bring the printed original birth certificate. not worth the risk of getting to border and being turned away.

[skyguy918]

bring the printed original birth certificate. not worth the risk of getting to border and being turned away.

Didn't bother in the end. I took a (pretty lousy) printed copy, with a full color scan accessible on my phone. No issues using the photocopy in either direction.

[HELLSBURG]

I spent Shabbos recently in Buffalo, returning from a trip to Toronto. We would have preferred to stay in Niagara as we've done it before, but being off season, there is no guaranteed minyan at the Chabad. There is a Marriott Residence Inn directly across the street from the Young Israel of Greater Bufallo (and within the eruv).  It's extremely convenient to Niagara Falls (about 20 minute drive) and a great alternative to staying in Niagara proper for Shabbos.  The Tops supermarket with the kosher takeout is only a few minutes directly down the road from the hotel (although we brought all the food with us from Sobey's in Toronto.) The hotel is made up of 15 houses, each with 2 floors, 4 rooms on a floor. Every room has a separate entrance that opens directly to the outdoors. There is no elevator to go to the second floor, you must walk the stairs. If you don't like stairs take the first floor, but you will hear all the walking around from the people above you. They all have a kitchen and living area with a pull out sofa, and plenty of room to spare, so this hotel would be perfect for families. Despite what you may see on other Shabbos hotel sites, all the rooms at the hotel have electronic locks and they will not give out a hard key for the rooms. However, the hotel has the "good" locks that can be bypassed on Shabbos with a simple padlock and chain. (We carry with us whenever we go to a hotel for shabbos.) If you don't normally use this method and need to rely on asking the hotel staff to open your room for you as the hotel suggests, you will have issues, because to get to the front desk you must enter the lobby/gatehouse, and although the doors themselves are manual, there is a motion sensor doorbell and light that goes on when you enter through either the front or back door!

[skyguy918]

I didn't see any mention of this in the thread at all. Unlike bigger cities, where there's often at least some activities that are free, the main Niagara activities can add up quickly - especially since most of them are relatively quick activities (Skywheel, Aero Car, etc.). So it was nice to find one thing that was free. While the Erie Canal has a lot of cultural significance, and several cool sites to visit throughout the upstate NY area, it's not really used on a commercial scale anymore. The Canadian side has its own canal, running from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. There are 8 locks along the way, including one where there's a viewing deck behind a strange little museum called St Catharines Museum. The exhibits include one about the canal itself, the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame, an exhibit on the area being a terminus to the Underground Railroad, and some other smaller but just as random stuff. The museum is admission by donation and you can still view the ships go through the lock when the museum is closed. There's also a nice outdoor playground right next to it. We arrived a few minutes before closing, looked around a bit, and headed to the back just as a ship began to pull in to descend. It took a lot longer than expected - maybe 30 minutes and it still hadn't pulled out when we left. Nice little stop that the kids enjoyed.

[myi]

Anyone heading into Canada now till yom tov? Or untill after yom tov?

[stooges44]

How far are the closest eateries to the falls?

[shaulyaakov]

How far are the closest eateries to the falls?

Now? Buffalo or Toronto as the eateries in Chabad are seasonal. In season, about a 20 minute walk.

[KSMH]

Now? Buffalo or Toronto as the eateries in Chabad are seasonal. In season, about a 20 minute walk.

I believe chabad does have some food off season as  well. Just contact in advance.

[stooges44]

I believe chabad does have some food off season as  well. Just contact in advance.

I reached out to chabad, waiting for a response. Just to get a gauge, what would the closest eatery in toronto be from the falls? 30 minutes? An hour?

Thanks

[KSMH]

I reached out to chabad, waiting for a response. Just to get a gauge, what would the closest eatery in toronto be from the falls? 30 minutes? An hour?

Thanks

Toronto is 1HR.

[mordechain]

More like 1:30

[stooges44]

How about in buffalo? Based on this https://www.bvkkosher.com/news-c2t8 it seems there's a milchig cafe and a deli.

How far are the falls from buffalo?

And, is it normal to cross the border multiple times a day? (Do they get suspicious if you go at least 2x a day?)

[Yehudaa]

More like 1:30

+1

How far are the falls from buffalo?

I think ~40 min without waiting at the border

[HELLSBURG]

How about in buffalo? Based on this https://www.bvkkosher.com/news-c2t8 it seems there's a milchig cafe and a deli.

How far are the falls from buffalo?

And, is it normal to cross the border multiple times a day? (Do they get suspicious if you go at least 2x a day?)

It's about 25 minutes from the Young Israel to NF State Park through Grand Island (Trivia: The first modern Jewish State). There's a $0.95 toll in each direction.  Definitely much closer than Toronto, and the traffic in Toronto makes NYC highways look like the Autobahn. However, the kosher options in Toronto are definitely much better, and so are your choices for minyanim. If you are driving into Canada, make sure you bring your passports, and that your cell phone will work in Canada. Near the falls you should (but not guaranteed) pick up the US towers, but if you drive toward Toronto, you will need service in Canada if you want to make calls or use Waze.  For reference, it took about 5-10 minutes of driving north of the border, away from the falls, before we lost US cell service and another 10-15 minutes or so before our phone managed to register on the Canadian towers.  Check with  your carrier if you have to change any settings manually on your phone.

I can't answer about driving across the border multiple times in a day, but probably if you walk across they won't find it as suspicious. At this time of year it already feels quite cold up there near the falls. Dress warmly. I'd recommend doing Cave of the Winds, but I am sure they are already shut for the winter.

[moshe1234]

I was thinking to go with my 3 kids 5, 7 & baby for 2 nights, is it to cold for a baby?

[Ploni3]

It can be - you will need to check the forecast for the specific days. 

[moshe1234]

Can we go with a baby on the boat ride?