Waterpark Fun in Niagara

Fallsview Indoor Waterpark

5685 Falls Avenue
Niagara Falls, ON L2E 6W7

905-374-4444

Reservations: 1-888-234-8408
reserve@niagarafallshotels.com

Just over an hour away from Oakville, Niagara Falls is a place for young and old to go and have fun, take in the sights and get overwhelmed by the kitsch. Over the last few years, businesses in the area have been working hard to attract more families, and it's become a great short-getaway destination.

Fallsview Indoor Waterpark rivals Great Wolf Lodge for sheer awesomeness. The only thing it's lacking is a lazy river, one of my favourite elements at GWL. But Fallsview is still tons of fun, and they cater to young and old alike. My daughter, who was two when we visited, didn't enjoy it too much. GWL is probably better for toddlers. But having said that, they did have a play structure geared towards little ones just upstairs from the pool fun, and some of the pool-slide structures were made with a younger audience in mind. She was probably just being a crankypants, as two-year-olds tend to be.

My boys loved the place. They navigated the facilities fairly independently, as they're both pretty strong swimmers, so we just let them play. For three hours, they were climbing ladders, sliding down enourmous plastic tubes and swimming in the wave pool. Their favourite was the round slide in which they'd swirl around in circles until being dropped down a hole and through a tube to the pool below. We called it the toilet slide, probably not the most appealing name, but they sure had fun on that toilet slide.

The one thing that was disappointing was that a couple of the slides had sharp seams that required maintenance -- as though the sections were coming apart slightly. We left with scratches all over our backs, but smiles on our faces.

Fallsview was connected to our hotel, the Skyline, by an indoor walkway, which was convenient and fun. The Skyline, BTW, was awesome, but that's for another post.

Chicken and Rib Chain: Swiss Chalet

Swiss Chalet
3543 Wyecroft Rd.
Oakville, ON L6L 0B7
905-469-8764

217 Cross Ave.
Oakville, ON L6J 2W9
905-844-9170

1011 Upper Middle Rd. E.
Oakville, ON L6J 4Z2
905-844-8751

delivery: 1-866-439-0439
Online ordering

Everyone loves Swiss Chalet, right? Unless, of course, they're crazy people. Or vegetarians, I suppose. Or people with fancy culinary tastes. But even those epicureans probably get a hankering for roasted chicken, soggy fries and the unmatchable Chalet sauce sometimes. Oh, and those buns. Well, truthfully, I think we can all agree the buns used to be better...you know, in the olden days. But I think all of our buns used to be better...whatever. It's still a nice comfort meal.

The food might not be the best, but it's an easy, kid-friendly environment. And thankfully the servers don't wear those lederhosen-inspired uniforms anymore; those made me uncomfortable.

I like to order from Swiss Chalet online for a few simple reasons: first, it's always nice not having to speak to a human being (but of course I'm kidding!), and second, you can do it early in the day and set the delivery time for whenever you want. Easy peasy.

My personal favourite dinner is the Quarter Chicken White with fries, extra sauce and a side of cole slaw.

Indoor Playground Extraordinaire

Amazing Adventures
4325 Harvester Rd., Unit 5
Burlington, ON L7L 5M4
905-639-6544

Well, I  just got back from an afternoon of fun at Amazing Adventures Playland, and I thought I should share my impressions while they're still fresh.

We used to go there a lot when it was just one room. But recently they've expanded and doubled their size, and not to be too cheesy, but they've doubled the fun, too! All three kids had an amazing time! Just to remind you of the age range, my kids are 3, 9 and 10. I'm usually hard-pressed to find something they'll all enjoy, and Amazing Adventures fits the bill.

Basically it's two rooms filled with bouncy castles, video games and climbing structures. There's also a toddler/baby play area, with all those toys they seem to like. And lots of seating for adults. I went on a Saturday after lunch, and it wasn't too busy.

And by consensus (at least with the older two), this is the best indoor playground in Oakville/Burlington.

While we were there, two little boys about four years old took a liking to my older guys and followed them around for a good hour. Of course, my guys are awesome, and played with the these little kids the whole time. They found out their names and chased them around and set up obstacle courses for them... Did me proud, I'll tell you.

Anyhow, I was very impressed by the changes. The only pitfall in my estimation is that because it's two large, separate rooms with only a small doorway connecting them, it's hard to keep track of the kids all the time. With my older ones, I don't care so much, but with younger kids, you might feel better following them around if you're so inclined. Myself, I'm not so inclined, so I planted my ass down and hoped for the best. Also, the boys were very good about keeping track of their little sister. And there were no catastrophies.

Laser Tag

Planet Laser
 461 North Service Rd.
Oakville, ON L6M 2V5
905-847-9336

Laser tag is a great activity for kids, IMO. Sure, they’re sporting laser guns, but they’re running around getting exercise and otherwise staying out of trouble. I know a lot of parents of babies and toddlers think they’ll never let their little angels touch even a toy gun, but those with boys know they’re drawn to them like raccoons on garbage. You literally can’t stop them. Even if you keep toy guns out of the house, they’re holding up their hands and shooting like Rambo. Boys are strange.

The battle area itself at Planet Laser is two floors, and fairly large. Each person is given a pack with either blue, green or red. They will then run around for fifteen minutes shooting packs that aren’t the same colour as their own. As soon as they leave the battle arena, there is a TV that posts the scores and winning teams. That’s it.

We’ve hosted a few parties at Planet Laser, and I like them for a few simple reasons: first, it’s easy. There’s a party room, pizza, drinks and two missions of laser tag.

The other reason I like it is the parties are short: one and three-quarter hours, thank you very much. The kids are kept occupied, then it’s time for them to go home. Bye bye, kids, see you next year!

One drawback is the plethora of video games, so you’re almost obligated to buy the kids tokens. They can play for the last 15 minutes or so. Then when parents come to pick them up, there’s a big line-up to “cash in” their tickets for crappy prizes like plastic airplanes that break as soon as you get home or tiny rubber worms.

Planet Laser is probably appropriate for grade one and up. The packs they wear are pretty heavy, and they’ll be battling against other people, including six-foot-tall teenagers. Which brings me to my next point, laser tag is fun for a huge range of people, including adults. My neighbour takes my boys and his son there sometimes to just blow off some steam. It works.

I’m giving a big thumbs up for both parties and public play at Planet Laser. Me likey.

Bowling

Hopedale Bowl 
1515 Rebecca St.
Oakville, ON L6L 5G8
905-827-4281
(The basement of Hopedale Mall)

Burlington Bowl
4065 Harvester Rd.
Burlington, ON L7L 5J1
905-681-2727

My kids have been to a number of bowling parties, which they enjoy. They're never among the "that was the best party EVER!" parties, but they always have a good time.

My husband and I took the three little monkeys bowling after Christmas, and we had a blast. We went to Hopedale Bowl at Hopedale Mall, and it was glow-in-the-dark, 5-pin bowling. They have sixteen lanes and the staff is very helpful.

Maybe I liked it so much because I kicked butt, with my 9-year-old coming second, the 10-year-old third, and my husband a distant last. I can rub that in his face for years. Our 3-year-old just "helped" my husband and I bowl, and they didn't charge us for her.

It cost us $28 for about an hour.

All in all, I think bowling is a great family activity. That was our first time, and I think we'll go back about once a month. At least you feel like you're being semi-active, and it's one of the few things that accommodate the age range of my family.