Amusements at Niagara Falls

If you’ve never visited Niagara Falls you are probably snapping shots of lovely shops, art galleries, and beautifully landscaped parks. Not! The town of Niagara Falls should be renamed Tacky Town. I was utterly amazed when I visited this small town so close to one of the Wonders of the World.

Describing this town is rather difficult because I have never seen anywhere quite like it away from an old fair midway where all of the creepy, corny, and perfectly awful sideshows were. We walked through the whole town hoping against hope that we would find the picturesque town we were expecting. Good luck with that.

First we were overwhelmed with horror houses. There were the usual suspects around the town. Dracula was spooky in his castle. Frankenstein looked aggravated in his lab, and various monsters waited for pedestrians in their lairs. The monsters looked appropriately campy so that going into their sideshows was more fun that horror. Creepy sounds emanate from the monster houses hoping to lure the unsuspecting tourist into spending their hard-earned money to see what “lurks around the corner.” Will the Wolfman be waiting? Will Dracula hypnotize you with his evil eyes? Will Frankenstein be your friend or foe? Does anyone really care?

During the summer these amusements are crowded with tourists desperate to have a good time. During Halloween the place radiates weirdness and attracts hordes of people looking for a good scare. In the late fall and winter, most of the tourists are older and business is slow. Most of the shops are empty while their owners are dreaming about warmer weather and hordes of tourists.

There are some fun places. There are several theaters and a huge Spiderman climbs up a building. The fast food restaurants are decorated with monsters and fit right in with the tacky décor. A few touristy shops sell mementos of Niagara Falls, but the best stuff is in the Niagara Falls gift shop.

If you like campy, silly towns that look like they came straight from the fifties, you will enjoy the town of Niagara. If you enjoy the Niagara Falls of your dreams, visit Niagara on the Lake. Beautiful, cozy, and brimming with lovely shops, Niagara on the Lake is the real deal. One more important piece of advice, if you want to buy something really nice, buy it before you get to tacky town.

Copyright 2006 Jim Sterling - All Rights Reserved

TWK In Niagara Falls

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