Skip These Tourist Traps In Niagara Falls, According To Reviews

One of North America's most popular newlywed destinations, Niagara Falls' history as a tourist hotspot dates back to the early 19th century with the Erie Canal's completion in 1825. Unlike many of the United States' natural wonders, the area was never placed under protection as a U.S. national park, leaving it free to become a touristy destination that, aside from the powerful waterfalls, more closely resembles Branson than Yellowstone. Over the life cycle of the dual nation-spanning tourist community, the Niagara Falls area has experienced its share of changes. Although many of the once new and shiny entertainment hotspots seem to be waning in quality these days, that hasn't stopped the most touristy of the tourist traps from continuing to charge outrageous prices to squeeze unsuspecting travelers.

While the eons-old waterfalls are the main attraction, you can only spend so long taking them in, and that's where the tourist traps come in to scoop up your cash. From overpriced restaurants with low-quality fare to entertainment destinations that aren't worth the price of admission, you can't swing a waterfall-resistant rain poncho without hitting a tourist trap in the Niagara Falls community. To help you make the most of your Niagara Falls vacation, we've searched for the worst offenders so you can avoid them. According to the internet, here are the Niagara Falls tourist traps you need to avoid on your next trip.

At many tourist destinations, the local culinary delights are a major part of the travel experience. But such is not the case with Niagara Falls, which seems to be overrun with restaurants that far exceed overpriced and underwhelming by offering dining experiences that have literally brought guests to tears. One heavily advertised buffet in particular seemed to be universally despised on Reddit and Tripadvisor, where user Mistdiscs warned, "This place might be the worst restaurant on Earth, let alone Niagara," while Redditor u/IamRushing called it the "kind of place where you look for a hidden camera because it just doesn't seem real."

While a buffet might seem like a good way to stretch those tourist bucks, guests warn that this place charges a whopping $4 for water and $5 for a cup of coffee despite its doorbusting all-inclusive buffet price. One guest reported watching someone eating food straight out of a buffet dish, and many guests reported surprise when they didn't get food poisoning from the affair. Filthy bathrooms, prison-quality food, and a conspicuous lack of hand sanitizer anywhere near the buffet were also high on the list of complaints. According to Reddit, this dining disaster is hardly an outlier, with several users warning that choosing anything in the tourist district is a risky venture. To avoid the worst offenders, Redditors suggest traveling to Niagara-on-the-Lake. When in doubt, it only takes a minute to look up online reviews first.

When traveling hundreds or thousands of miles to experience the awe-inspiring natural wonder of majestic waterfalls, a kitschy attraction that would fit in at America's oldest theme park hardly seems like the perfect complement to your trip. However, when the kids start to get restless, main drag attractions like the Upside Down House might not seem like a bad idea.  Similar to other walk-through houses that use distorted rooms to create a surreal space meant to leave guests disoriented, the Upside Down House relies on optical illusions. But rather than diagonal spaces and uneven footing, the Niagara Falls funhouse immerses visitors in a topsy-turvy reality where all the furnishings and living quarters are completely inverted.

While most concede the attraction is relatively entertaining, others say the price is too steep for what is offered. Writing on Tripadvisor in 2024, Mike W reported shelling out $55 for his family of four to visit only to feel completely disappointed by the size of the attraction, noting, "there are only 5 rooms and there are bars in most rooms preventing you from going into half of the room." Further detracting from the experience were the frequent reminders to tag the attraction on social media. Others reported a low-quality experience overall, noting that the entire attraction takes less than five minutes to walk through.

Ever since Michigan school teacher Annie Edson Taylor decided to yeet herself over Niagara Falls in 1901, many brave and foolhardy thrillseekers have decided to follow suit — some to their detriment. But doing so is ill-advised, and if the fear of death isn't enough to keep you from trying it, there's a good chance a $10,000 to $25,000 (U.S.) fine is. For those who just can't resist the siren call of a 180-foot drop, a safe indoor alternative with all the thrills and none of the risk can be found in the Ontario-side tourist district. Despite being only 20 feet in height, the freefall chamber uses a vertical wind tunnel to push guests upward, creating the sensation of weightlessness that comes with a freefall experienced while skydiving.

Like so many of Niagara Falls' worst tourist traps, this attraction costs a pretty penny despite giving guests only a few minutes' worth of entertainment — and all of it without the spectacular view you'd get skydiving over the falls. Tripadvisor user Maria Fernanda M summed up the experience, "We paid 84 dollars for less than 5 minutes of fun!" Another guest warned that they weren't prepared for how loud the wind tunnel would be. When their child found the loud noise too frightening and decided to back out at the last minute, the family wasn't issued a refund. Another user warned that the attraction left their ears ringing for hours despite using earplugs.

For those of us who love video games and skeeball, spending the afternoon or evening at a high-quality arcade like Dave & Buster's is delightful. However, according to the internet hivemind on Reddit and Tripadvisor, the arcade selections around the Niagara Falls tourist areas are more like the Temu version. Reddit is full of complaints about the area's dreary, drab, and run-down arcades — and there seem to be several of these to choose from, each more miserable than the last. Redditor u/TieDyeSky recalled their visit to an arcade where half of the machines were out of commission.

Following up in a lengthy comparison of the area's dumpiest arcades, u/SaraAB87 described an arcade that seemed to have been a Dave & Buster's in a past life but had since been stripped of most games. Of those that remained, the owners seemed to be forgoing maintenance. "It just seems like it deteriorates more and more every year," she wrote. To make matters worse, the arcade seemed to be sans air conditioning, making it properly miserable in the 90-degree heat the area was experiencing when she visited one year. "That's bad with you know, arcade machines that generate heat," she emphasized. And if you think a Groupon might make up for the lower quality, think again. Some arcades actually tack on a fee for Groupon users that ends up costing more in the final tally.

You will need to eat at some point while you're visiting Niagara Falls. And in a world of unfamiliar restaurants and sketchy buffets, at least there's one thing you can count on: the good old reliable fast-food staples you're used to back home. Except just like almost everything else in Niagara Falls (other than the falls themselves), even your familiar fast food spots are tourist traps, jacking up their prices to rates that leave many guests feeling serious sticker shock.

One Redditor recounted naively ordering from the Burger King menu without checking the prices first, likely assuming they would be comparable to their burger menu back home. For what would typically cost them around $10, they claimed to have spent around $40. As implausible as that might sound, another Redditor backed them up, claiming to have experienced something along those same lines at a nearby McDonald's. Because the prices aren't apparently high enough as it is, several users reported getting charged to use the Burger King restroom near Niagara Falls.

And those aren't the only things you need to watch out for when stopping for fast food near the Canadian border. As one Reddit user reported, "I hit up a Taco Bell on Lundy's that was connected to a KFC [...] The food I ended up getting ... did not resemble the Taco Bell I'm used to."

Niagara Falls is home to a couple of 4D theaters — that is, theaters that integrate physical effects like seat vibration, mist, water, fragrance, or bubbles into the experience. As expensive as it is to visit a traditional theater these days, you can bet visiting this interactive alternative will cost you even more. Reporting on one Niagara Falls 4D theater, Guide32499297241 on Tripadvisor recalled spending nearly $40 on two adult tickets for what turned out to be a much shorter experience than they expected for the price of admission. An attraction that some users say is best suited for younger children, many reported that the two short films that are shown seem to be fairly forgettable and rapidly becoming outdated.

And that's not the worst part. Like so many of Niagara Falls' tourist traps, this theater seemed to be poorly maintained, with the user complaining, "It smells like sewer," adding, "Sewer. Sewer. Sewer. This ride is under ground near a sewer line that is clearly leaking." Another Tripadvisor user reported paying $74 for four tickets, and several reported a moldy smell in the building. Other users complained of blurry screens, broken or rattling seats, poor air conditioning, and cables hanging from the ceiling. As Rachel S put it, "What a complete waste of money and expensive for 15mins of being thrown around in your chair and having some water sprayed in your face."

In a world where our doomscrolling is punctuated with a seemingly endless stream of celebrity videos, some might find it surprising that wax museums are still a fairly popular attraction. And there still seem to be a handful of these lo-fi attractions lingering around the Niagara Falls area, a holdover from a simpler time. But Redditors warn that not all wax museums are created equal — some, unsurprisingly, are shameless tourist traps.

You've probably heard of Marie Tussaud, the famed French artist known for creating lifelike wax sculptures that made Madame Marie Tussauds wax museum in London world-famous. Although it shares the same famous name, Niagara Falls' Louis Tussaud's Waxworks is not exactly the original. The great-grandson of Marie Tussaud, Louis started working for his great-grandma's museum before quitting in 1888 to establish his own place after his brother took over as the museum's manager and chief artist. And a lot of folks say that judging by Tussaud's Waxworks, there's probably a reason Louis didn't get the gig, with many complaining that the wax figures here are barely recognizable. Breaking down the area's wax museums, u/TieDyeSky emphasized, "Louis Tussaud's was probably the worst, because none of the figures looked remotely like their real-life counterpart," adding that some of the other wax museums in the area provided more value thanks to their props collection. 

Tchotchkes, knick-knack, bric-a-brac — some travelers just can't get enough of the kitschy, junk shop-style souvenirs filling shops along touristy main drags. But for folks who don't feel that slapping a destination name on a magnet or shirt makes for a memorable memento, many of the shops lining the Niagara Falls shopping districts are nothing more than overpriced and frustratingly redundant tourist traps — particularly those in the Clifton Hill area. Canadian Tripadvisor user c21579 wrote, "The 'gift shops' are a joke. Old, musty, run down, full of junk." Many of the shops carry much of the same, made-in-China merchandise, things like fridge magnets, snow globes, shot glasses, and t-shirts that won't get worn but a few times.

Prices can also vary dramatically from the U.S. to Canada. One Redditor complained, "The price gouging and additional tax on tax on tax has got us going across the border now. Niagara Falls obviously doesn't want our business with the bs additional fees." While New York is not without its shopping tourist traps from Niagara Falls to Times Square, Canada borders on price-gouging. According to a 2023 report by the CBC, many Canadian-side business owners are taking advantage of tourists' ignorance by tacking official-looking add-on prices onto the bill at souvenir shops and other locations, with prices reaching as much as a 12% increase in some cases. 

Not everything in Niagara Falls that isn't a waterfall is a tourist trap. In fact, knowing what to avoid can open your itinerary up for some unforgettable, high-quality experiences. We can all agree that this is much better than throwing your travel budget away on underwhelming cash grabs. 

Start by checking out Niagara Falls from more than one angle. Far too many tourists travel to the falls only to view it from one side when checking it out from New York, and Canada only adds to the sense of grandeur and awe. To completely experience the falls, take the Maid of the Mist tour, which brings guests around the Horseshoe Falls, American Falls, and Bridal Veil Falls from below. You can also visit the Cave of the Winds, which takes you to the foot of Bridal Veil Falls. After you're done visiting the falls themselves, nearby Niagara-on-the-Lake offers several winery tours complete with wine tastings.

And with so many other beautiful places to see in the region, Niagara Falls could be one of several stops on an itinerary that takes you around the state. The region is home to many resplendent natural destinations like the Ithaca waterfall gorges and Green Lakes State Park, a watering hole so clear it looks straight out of the Caribbean. And as Redditor u/Eudaimonics suggested, cities like Rochester and Buffalo are home to a host of world-class museums, historic neighborhoods, and nightlife destinations.

With three massive waterfalls and two countries in the mix, sorting tourist traps from quality attractions, restaurants, and shops was no small feat. Thankfully, the hive mind of experienced tourists on Reddit and Tripadvisor was available to help us crowdsource what we needed. To find out which Niagara Falls spots travelers see as tourist traps, we started with Reddit, checking out local Niagara Falls subReddits on both sides of the border, as well as r/travel. We combed through the comments looking for recurring themes and detailed descriptions of tourist trap experiences like that of u/DaysLikeTheseAgain, who called Niagara Falls' tourist community Clifton Hill a "dystopian Disneyland."

After we had a good idea of what not to do, we consulted Tripadvisor to find out what folks were saying over there. Once we found the best suggestions for what not to do, we didn't want to leave our readers feeling despondent about the Niagara Falls tourism industry. To find out the best things to do in Niagara Falls besides seeing the waterfall, we started the entire process over again until we had a stellar itinerary we hope you'll love as much as we do.