Crowds at Niagara Falls were totally out of hand this long weekend
If you're not a fan of tightly-packed crowds as far as the eye can see, then there a lot of places in and around Toronto that you should know to avoid, whether it's Exhibition Place in August, High Park during Cherry Blossom season, or anywhere near a new business with even an inkling of hype around its opening.
One of these spots is, of course, Niagara Falls, especially on any sort of special occasion or largescale public event, such as Victoria Day on Monday.
@judge.singh.sohal #niagarafalls #canada #VikingRise #recession ♬ Oh No - Kreepa
Unsurprisingly, the nation's most famous natural attraction (and tourist trap) was teeming with people for the stat holiday, so much so that multiple videos of crammed sidewalks and gridlocked streets have made their way onto TikTok, where residents seem to have a lot to say.
The scene would make any agoraphobic or otherwise anxious person's skin crawl, with very little room for the thousands making their way to and from the attraction's epic Victoria Day fireworks display.
"Crowds spilled over the road. Traffic [was] on standstill. Hours wait time for food and games," one user wrote overtop their footage from the site.
@dylan22002 📍Niagara falls on Victoria Day longweekend 2023. #niagarafalls #fireworks2023 #longweekend #crowds #lineup #typicalcanadian ♬ Cupid – Twin Ver. (FIFTY FIFTY) – Sped Up Version - sped up 8282
One popular clip that has ammassed some 350k views in less than 24 hours fittingly has the famous "Oh No" song playing overtop, and people chiming in with statements like "I hate it here," "no thanks," "looks like hell" and "makes me miss COVID" in the comments section.
While some are wondering what anyone is fussing about tourists quite predictably jam-packing a tourist destination, others reminisced about the days when things in the GTA felt far less hectic and busy, noting that there really aren't enough places locally for people to go for such festivities as the population grows.
Some also suggested that Canadians simply don't get enough public holidays and breaks, making those that do exist extra congested as people get out to take advantage of them.
@hrdbhatia #niagarafalls #victoriaday #victoriadayweekend #brampton #toronto #niagarafallscanada #viral #viralvideo #viraltiktok ♬ original sound - Harinder Bhatia
One person claimed that "there were much more [people] than in this video" at the Falls, and another added that Blue Mountain — one of the few other places within a reasonable distance that had Victoria Day fireworks aside from Ashbridges Bay and Canada's Wonderland — was just as swamped.
@6ixpb #naigarafalls #victoriaday #longweekend #punjabi #toronto #brampton🇨🇦 ♬ Oh No - Kreepa
Other posts to the platform show a similarly bustling scene, but with less commentary on that necessarily being a bad or unexpected thing. Though Clifton Hill was swarming with locals and visitors, it appears people still managed to have fun, because who said one person's nightmare can't be another's good time?
@to_toronto_canada Victoria Day… Canada ….#VikingRise #viral #viraltiktok #100k #usa #dub #dubai #canada #toronto #europe #uk #london #england #niagarafalls #king #billion #for #foryourpage #food #falls ♬ One Night in Dubai - Arash
Many have also been quick to point out that they would simply never go to Niagara Falls during any such event — or possibly ever — and wonder why anyone wary of crowds would go knowing how busy it is guaranteed to be and has been every long weekend in recent memory.
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