George was such a great guide! This tour operator kept the group small (less than 12) so he was able to keep track of everyone. He was friendly, provided us with nice bits of historical trivia, gave us some good ideas for sightseeing in the park and getting lunch afterward. George met us promptly at 9:00am (don’t be late!) outside the front door of the Hard Rock Cafe (AMERICAN side). It’s called a “Walking tour”, however, don’t be afraid to wear sandals. There is very little walking (.25 mile maybe), but you can walk much more if you choose to AFTER the boat ride. The Hard Rock is, literally, across the street from the entrance of Niagara Falls Park. From there you walk into a small museum, then to the ticket booth and onto the boat. There is no opportunity to use the bathroom after you go through the ticket booth, so ‘go’ beforehand. Initially I was ‘put off’ by the early 9:00am tour time, especially as I was coming from Toronto that day, but 9:00am was the best! The park gets crowded by 11:00am and the museum and observation areas are wall-to-wall people.
Now the boat ride...it got WAAAAY closer to the Horseshoe Falls than my husband and I were comfortable with. That said, they sail a boat into the Falls every 15 minutes 7/365, so I’m sure they know just how close they can get. They give you a long and large souvenir rain poncho with a drawstring hood that does a fairly good job at keeping you dry. Your face and hair will get wet from the heavy mist, but not enough to soak your sneakers/socks. However, they DO NOT give you a life vest. They are on the boat in about a half dozen white painted chests throughout, but you’d have to be standing next to it and ready to unlatch it quickly should an emergency occur. I imagine they don’t distribute them for the sake of expediency. What takes 10-15 mins to load passengers would then take 20-30 mins if they gave you a vest. And they know that less than half the people would want to wear it. There are only 2 companies running boats into the bottom of the Falls: Maid of the Mist, blue poncho, American side AND Horn Blower, red poncho, Canadian side. That’s it. The American side is nice in that the State Park has a museum, concessions, and stairwells/footbridges at the top of the falls and to the islands above. It’s a nice 2-3 hours in the park. But the town is a dump and feels unsafe with children. The Canadian side feels safer and has hotels, restaurants, and touristy things to do. All in all I would recommend this tour to everyone. It’s a wholesome and memorable experience and my teenage boys really liked it. We would do it again!