This is the first year both our kids get the same school break/holidays for winter (previously our youngest was in daycare and only had 2 days off – we would feel bad for taking her out for any longer than that given that we were paying some good coin for those days).  So we had 2 weeks, a limited budget, and knew we could not stay local the entire break.  So we opted to do something close, family-centric, and just a light easy trip.  We decided to do LEGOLAND New York Resort in winter, fully realizing that it wouldn’t have all the outdoor rides operating, but equally, it wouldn’t be as packed.  Plus it’s a closer drive than even Manhattan.  A week before we were booked for the trip, my wife decided and booked two stopovers, one in Niagara-on-the lake, Ontario on the way going, and Amherst near Buffalo on the way back. 

We’ve been to Niagara-on-the-lake many times and even Niagara Falls, but we wanted our youngest to see some fireworks and they usually do nightly shows of fireworks around the Christmas holidays.  So I was planning to do it as a separate outing, but this way we save another day to do it by doing it as part of this trip, it breaks up the trip a little.  So we drove out and had some Vietnamese in St. Catherine’s before stopping by the old Niagara-on-the-lake main street, which we are all too familiar with, picking up some nice Balzac’s coffee before checking in to the hotel.  After a quick rest, we headed out again, this time to Clifton Hill in Niagara Falls (which was oddly closer to our hotel than the old Niagara-on-the-lake area, even though our hotel is technically in Niagara-on-the-lake.  We did the Cosmic Coaster which was a nice thrill for our little one before having a slow serviced, and carbo-heavy dinner at Rainforest Café. 

It was extra foggy tonight and balmy (10 degrees Celsius on Boxing Day!) and I was afraid the fireworks would either be canceled or a visual disappointment.  Nonetheless, we made our way through the light decorations over the park and stopped in a small patch of empty sidewalk near a garbage bin.  Lo and behold we were the closest anyone could get to the fireworks and the little one was ecstatic.  So was I!  It was clear enough to be spectacular and longer than expected.  We might do it again from the US side on the way back when we stay in Amherst (I mean what else is there to do there!).  Made our way back to the hotel and got ready for the drive tomorrow.  Here’s to what should be an easy, relaxing, family bonding trip…famous last words!

(Day 1, Staybridge Suites Hotel Niagara-On-The-Lake, 10:23 p.m.)

Today felt a long one, although a lot of that had to do with the early darkness that comes with the winters in the Northeast end of the US.  We had an early breakfast, my sleep on the couch was bearable but as long as the kids relaxed that’ all that matters.  We had our breakfast at the hotel, and headed off to the boarder.  A foggy wait but once we were at customs it went relatively smoothly.  We headed to the Strong Museum of Play in Rochester through what seemed to be 2 hours of back roads and countryside. Beautiful but rainy scenery.  We spent a good 2 hours there, the museum was bigger than I thought and had a nice combination of interactive play with historical games and toys that actually lended themselves to the Museum part.  Didn’t realize the Game of life was crated at the end of the 1800’s, Monopoly in the 30’s, and some toys I forgot I even had were quickly bounced back to memory from the old school toys I saw.  Very impressive video games wing too.  We had our lunch at the museum, which was slow and chaotic, but we were glad to finally have a bite and some gas before we made our way to LEGOLAND. 

Because of the early darkness, the drive was tedious even though we’ve done longer drives before.  The bouts of rain and fog didn’t help and the reflective lights from the incoming cars made it hard at times.  Luckily, the kids slept for a good portion of the 4-hour drive from Rochester to LEGOLAND and when we finally made it we quickly checked in had our dinner and explored the hotel and room, which were great.  The kids loved the in room scavenger hunt and the separate kids area from the parents made all the difference. It’s a late night (kids still not asleep), but looking forward to tomorrow where we spend our full day at the park (whatever is open this winter at least).  Our youngest has felt like this is her birthday gift (2 weeks early nonetheless) but it was my joy to see her feel so special – even though we planned this regardless of her birthday.  I figure why not, two birds with one stone and save on a gift.  We asked the waiters to sing the birthday song for her and pre-ordered a $30 USD package for her, which made her day (if not year)!  Happy so far and her brother was probably even more excited than she was.  Moreover, she got a picture with Lego Santa here.  On with tomorrow for a full on theme park (sans most rides) experience.

(Day 2, LEGOLAND Resort Hotel, Goshan NY, 9:27 p.m.)

Today was our dedicated day for LEGOLAND park.  Because of the season, and the non-stop rain most rides were closed but we still ended up doing 4 rids and about 2 to 3 different activities.  I was a bit weak but our youngest loved it and considering the discounted ticket price we spent a good 3 hours there.  Even some of the shows were cancelled because of the rain due to a slippery stage, and one of the few rides that were open was also shut down (luckily we went on it just before it closed).  We had some overpriced coffee and cookies, but the included breakfast with the hotel was actually generous and the plant-based patties they did for us were delicious.  Coffee was a tad rancid though if I have to be honest.  Generally, the service all around is excellent which is expected from a US-based theme park resort but for some reason in all the dining options, the food took longer than we were used to.

Later in the night, we were free to explore the Galleria at Crystal Run Mall, which was a close 12-minute drive.  It had a good selection of stores and we had more junk for our dinner at the food court.  I got myself some pajamas after mine were torn, I thought they were overpriced but I guess it’s a practical souvenier.  In a serendipitous move, it had a Christmas Story movie design, which I saw for the first time only a day before our trip, despite the fact it was a 1983 classic.  It was also the only one my size and my daughter picked it for me because it was “fluffy” so a sign of fate indeed.  We ended our stroll through the mall with even more junk at a Cinnabon (which in hindsight is a big mistake given our kids are literally destroying the hotel room and screaming as I write this.  At least they became acquainted with the art of fort-making blocking the front entrance of the room.  The hotel has been entertaining so far, even more so than the park in winter, and well worth the visit.   The staff and service were amazing, even water bottles are fully complimentary which is a nice touch.

Tomorrow we go to Kartrite Indoor Waterpark but still unsure what we’ll be doing in the morning (we are booked from 3;00 to 7:00 so plenty of free time to fill in the morning).  Until then we will recharge this evening for an early night and catch up on some rest halfway through the trip. 

(Day 3, LEGOLAND Resort Hotel, Goshan NY, 8:11 p.m.)

We decided today will be a very relaxed chill day – with a late day start at the Kartrite Indoor Resort Water Park as the only main event.  This was not hard, the kids woke up late and we finally had breakfast at around 10:00, which is amazing, no other hotel would have breakfast served that late.  The kids entertained themselves, impressively so for a solid three hours before we got ready to have a quick lunch at the Orange County Bagels Bakery on the way to the waterpark.  The bagels were fresh and because the place was having an early close out at 3:00, we got a good batch of leftover bagels for free.  Based on the small talk, the owner knew we were from out of town by the car plate and said it’s best not to go to NYC for New Year’s, because of the usual crazy crowd but also, apparently there was a security warning.  No issue for us there.

We headed out to the indoor park, and the resort was impressive, a bit out of the way though.  Had a good number of activities including two arcade areas, rock climbing, and other physical and sporty entertainment.  The water park was a good size as well, a tad smaller than the last one we went to at Great Wolf Lodge.  We did a couple of slides, had some fries, and waited a good two hours for the little one to tire herself out at the toddler’s water slide, she probably could have gone longer, but we had to convince her to leave somehow.  The lazy river was also a highlight and overall a great day spent – the kids seemed to have their fix.

Made it home, got a full tank of gas and now it’s time to pack up and recover for our next stop.  We decided to change from Amherst to Geneva, NY.  We passed by the Finger Lake area and were very impressed, geographically it was more “middle of the road” than Amherst to our house.  Looking forward to it.  Overall, we loved our stay here, the park wasn’t so much the highlight as the hotel itself.  The staff and entertainment were great, albeit slightly for the younger ones than our kids, but overall a great and fun experience over winter.  Next time we might go to the slightly older fair at the Dream Works and Nickelodeon Park in Dream Mall, New Jersey.  But we loved this and I think the kids enjoyed the kitschyness more than expected.

(Day 4, LEGOLAND Resort Hotel, Goshan NY, 7:30 p.m.)

Had our regular breakfast at the LEGOLAND hotel, they were unusually busy, and service was a little off (i.e. no plates) but overall the food was still good – coffee was not getting any better.  We made our way out after packing up and having the kids play in the lobby – the greatest idea ever to let us pack in peace.  We drove our way to Geneva, NY.  We stopped midway at Binghamton and checked out their “zoo”, surprisingly saw a couple of animals, even though it was outdoors and there was hail the vulture, and cougar were a nice treat and even though the lemur and red panda were sleeping it was still a nice treat along with the sand cat and fox.  There were other less “exotic” animals like goats and sheep but the highlight was what was called the Pallas’s Cat.  I spent a good time photographing and videotaping it, but I couldn’t help the animals were lonely and depressed, I mean to be alone in a cage, even if it was run by the State’s environmental department, was a bit suspect.  I felt really bad seeing them there and even worse leaving them.  It was actually a sad experience overall but not the animal or zoo’s fault really – more issues I need to get a handle on.

We then made our way to Binghamton downtown for some gourmet coffee at Strange Brew café.  The crowd was trendy and the place was packed but roomy.  I had a peanut butter cup hot chocolate and we all shared a mac and cheese sandwich.  We over-ordered but full and jolly we made our way to our hotel at Geneva.  By the time we reached it was a bit dark so we couldn’t see the town very well, and missed out on the Lakeview heritage buildings but had dinner at the Belhurst Castle and Winery Hotel. The nachos were salty, the chowder was ok, and had our fill, but couldn’t even see much of the heritage building we were in which was a bit of a shame.  We made a quick stop at the local Walgreens, I had a nice Canadian Skor bar, and the kids got a couple of toys that were on post-Christmas sale prices, and made our way back for an early rest at the hotel.  I am planning to have my obligatory Arby’s whenever I’m in the States tomorrow morning and maybe even go for a quick drive along the lakeshore to see some of the buildings we missed out on before heading back home.  Should be a short 3-hour drive, to finally reach home on New Year’s Eve day, and looking forward to getting back into our routine – although we still have a week of school break to fill in for the kids.  Overall, it was a great and relatively easygoing break.  I think next time we will opt for an indoor venue/theme park to get more of our money’s worth but no regrets and I think it was a great bonding experience with the kids and between themselves, including the 50% time spent on fights and arguments crossing new red lines – wouldn’t have it any other way really!

(Day 5, Holiday Inn, Geneva NY, 8:06 p.m.)