Ripley's Museum - Niagara Falls

Where can you read about the tallest man ever recorded to have lived? Where can you see the biggest prehistoric shark teeth? Where can you spy a model of the chair a man flew threw the air in a la the movie Up!? A portrait made from dryer lint? Replicas of the strangest grave stones ever and the weird rhymes engraved on them? Why Ripley's __ Believe it or Not! Museum, of course, in Niagara Falls. Located right on the main strip of crazy spectacles dubbed Clifton Hill in the downtown Falls area, this museum can't be missed. The outside is an optical illusion of sorts, built to appear as if the building is tipped sideways (and tricky to photograph) and the inside is a history of the bizarre. For whatever reason, my children are obsessed with the crazy, bizarre, odd trivia contained in Guinness World Books and Ripley's Believe It Or Not. Some of it makes me sick to my stomach over breakfast, usually when they are reading and perusing the garish photographs in said books, but truly if you asked my child what was the name of the tallest person ever, well she would kind of freakishly regurgitate that information. (I think if TV trivia shows are around when she is older like Jeopardy, she may earn her keep yet.) Anyways as my faithful readers know we recently travelled to the Falls for a fun graduation/ end of school vacation weekend at Great Wolf Lodge and Waterpark. We had never been to the Ripley's Museum, and so we decided that we would pay it a visit too. Thanks to Lay's Chip Trips, which I have been blogging about here all summer, we got a discounted deal.

                                          

One free child's admission was good to save us about $7. It was a once, or twice, in a lifetime kind of visit, so it was a fun diversion one night. The place was packed and the line up was very large to get in, so if you visit I might be tempted to do so during the daylight hours on a weekday. The cashier was clearly overwhelmed. For more information on how to get chip trips discounts visit Lays.ca or http://tiny.cc/7hudO The prices of admission vary depending on your age and also the number of Ripley's features you visit. The more Ripley's landmarks that you tour, the lower the amount per entry per person. We only did the one museum, because it was all we had time for that day. The cost of admission per adult there was $13.99 and children were $6.99. Some ages were cheaper. Thriftymommas review $$$ out of $$$$$ (Fun and freakish. To see it, is to believe it. But a bit pricey. Thanks to Lay's Chip Trips for making this one affordable for us. Also note if you are staying at a nearby motel pick up some tourist information that gives you coupons for freebies. We had one with us good for one free wax hand souvenir.)

I am participating in the Lay's Chip Trips program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Frito Lay Canada. I received Lays Chip Trip points and a gift card to off-set the costs incurred to facilitate this post. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Niagara Falls for Family

There are so many awesome ways to fill the days in the summer when the kids are home from school. But this year, for sure one of our adventures will lead us back to Niagara Falls. The Falls are remarkable entirely on their own and I still have vivid memories of visiting this well known tourist attraction and natural wonder from when I was a school-aged child. Many years in a row we would drive to the falls from Guelph and stay over at a family-friendly cheap motel then on to Marineland - one of the other best things about this place. When my oldest daughter turned six we drove for the first time as a family of four to the falls and stayed for the weekend at Americana WaterPark, a spot I adored for its lovely rooms and its excellent prices. The cost was quite affordable and our weekend was a blast as we played much of the day and night at the indoor waterslides inside the very exciting Waves Waterpark, with retractable roof, and then enjoyed dinner on the premises at Jack Tanner's. It was memorable for a couple of reasons. We had a great birthday celebration for my six-year-old and she ate so much she threw up later that evening. Televisions at each table and a make your own Sundae bar were incredible and a really great treat. Thankfully she awakened ready to rock and roll the next morning and we spent a fantastic day at Marineland riding rides. My kids loved the whales, especially the Belugas. While Marineland's prices have increased considerably from the time I was a child, there are ways to save money at the park. Bring your own water and snacks. Even if you have to leave a cooler full of them in the car you will still be able to get back into the park with a stamp or some other proof you've been there. Also Attractions Ontario every year produces a great booklet filled with coupons. We always clip these coupons and I think we saved close to $20 off our admissions with that. I would eagerly return to Americana. Rooms were clean and affordable and the driving from London was not bad. This year we will be able to stay at Great Wolf Lodge thanks to Lay's Chip Trips and Mom Central Canada. With 50 points from chip trips we were able to get a voucher for 50 % off our second night stay at Great Wolf. We have a free child pass for Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum ( which our children were too little for last time around, but will be reallykeen on this time.) The free pass also came courtesy of the Chip Trips promo from Lay's. Other options are: Marriott motel stays in the area at a greatly reduced price and Americana Waterpark vouchers.  I can't wait to create lasting memories again with our family. For more information on Lay's Chip trips or to sign up see here: http://tiny.cc/7hudo  For more information about Great Wolf Lodge see here http://www.greatwolf.com/
and for more on Americana Conference Resort and Spa with Waves indoor waterpark see here http://www.americananiagara.com/. If you go to Niagara Falls for the Canada Day weekend as we did one year make sure to pack some lawn chairs or blankets and head down to the falls for the amazing fireworks display. It is the best display I've ever seen and something to witness at least once.

I am participating in the Lay's Chip Trips promotion on behalf of Frito-Lay and Mom Central Canada. I received points to redeem for the trips I blog about and a gift card to offset costs. The opinions on the blog show nere are all my own.

Chip Trips

Looking for amazing and affordable family travel ideas this summer? Eat more chips. Thriftymomma is on a blog tour with Lay's Chip Trips this summer and I can hardly wait. The excellent Frito-Lay's promotion means that every time you buy a bag of Lay's chips you get a code on the side of the bag. On the top of the bag there are points. Some say 5 and some say 10. Visit http://tiny.cc/7hud0
and sign up for the Lay's Chip Trips promotion and, no matter where you are in Canada, you can redeem the points for a trip or a voucher for a free kid's meal at Boston Pizza, half price off the second night of a stay at the Great Wolf Lodge and various other motels. I've already sent for a Subway $5 gift card, which cost me 30 points and I can't wait to use my points for more great trips. Mini golf, Laser tag, waterparks, museums, the CN Tower - the sky is the limit! Rewards kick in for as little as 10 points. So have fun, eat chips and see more of Canada this summer.