Wilbur

The bed and breakfast I stayed at sold us the Niagara Adventure Pass at his cost, rather than the retail price.

We left our car at the B&B and really took advantage of the People Mover part of the pass as there is little parking by the falls itself. The Whitewater Walk and the aero car were interesting after doing the boat ride and cave thing. Down the road, on the way to Niagara-on-the-Lake we enjoyed the Butterfly House in the Botanical Gardens. I think it is 1/2 price with the Adventure Pass.

While traveling be sure to stop at a Tim Horton's. My teens loved the iced coffee drinks and donuts. Sandwiches are pretty good also.

sobolik

I would NOT cut out Quebec City. It is a rare world class destination of world class historical significance.
9 days is doable unless you are the lingering type that spends forever just hanging around. Get in, see it and move on and it can work.
I would do day 1 traveling to and remainder in NF. Day 2 seeing more of NF. Clifton Hill amusements at night. Butterfly conservatory. Maid of the mist and Journey Behind the Falls. (take people mover to the end and see sights on the return trip to Clifton Hill and you can see everything in 1 1\2 days.)
Day 3 travel to Ottawa (highly recommended) with a stop in Toronto on the trip, Bata Shoe Museum or CN tower or both. (long day but ok) leave early and get there in time for the sound and light show, it may rain out the 2nd night and you will miss it. (I was all set to see it again because it was so good but it rained out) Day 4 in Ottawa seeing changing of the guard\Parliament hill and Byward market. Day 5 travel to Quebec City, the remainder of the travel day and day 6 in QC. Day 7 travel to Montreal. Remainder of travel day in Montreal and Day 8. Walk around the old town Take the subway to Laronde 6 flags and watch the International Fireworks Competition. Maybe go to the top of the mountain (recommended but not at expense of FW or old town) Day 9 day travel to Buffalo with a stop in Kingston or Toronto depending on if something interest you is going on. Leave very late from buffalo on day 9 (arrive early on day 1)
I pretty much spent these amount of times in these places and I saw a lot and was not hurried. I recommend staying in old town and in QC the http://www.gitedelamontagne.com/english/home_en.php It is half way up the cliff and the roof top patio view at night alone is reason enough.
YOU CAN FIND OUT AND PLAN EVERY DETAIL IN TERMS OF TIME COST SEQUENCE ETC. FOR THESE PLACES VIA THE INTERNET. DO YOUR HOME WORK AND THE PLAN I SUGGEST CAN BE PIULLED OFF WITH CLOCKWORK PRECISION. RELYING ON RANDOM HAPPENSTANCE AND YOU ARE IN FOR UNNESSASARY HASSLES. YOU CAN PICK AND CHOOSE FROM WHATS AVAILABLE TO SUIT YOU AND THE TEENS INTEREST BEFORE EVER GETTING THERE.

toedtoes

As seen by the responses here, the time you should spend in each city depends on your likes and dislikes, etc. Rather than arbitrarily choosing one unkown person's itinerary over another, try this:

Look at the city websites for various activities, sights, etc. Write down which ones hold an interest for your family and include the "minimum" time frames (usually will read "minimum 2 hours", etc.). Add all those minimums up and add a couple hours for travel to and from each one. Add 3-6 hours per day for meals (how much depends on your eating habits). Divide that by how many hours in the day you want to be active. That will tell you how many days you should spend in each place.

To show an example, take Niagara Falls:

Say you want to see

MofM 1 hour
JbtF 30 minutes
AeroCar 30 minutes
White Water Walk 30 minutes
Butterfly 1 hour

That is 3.5 hours for the activities. Add another 1-2 hours for lines, getting from one to another, etc. and that's say 5 hours. If you like to relax and enjoy your meals, figure 2 hours for each and you have 11 hours. Now figure how many hours each day to be active: say 8 hours to sleep, 2 hours to get up and get going (you have teenagers), 2 hours to wind down in the evening before going to bed and you have 12 hours of "dead time". Do you want to spend 11 hours on the go in one day, or do you want to split that between 2 days and have time to wander around, shop, or just relax somewhere?

I use this formula for all my trips and it works well for me.

CindyA

Great suggestions, everyone! I will definitely do my homework, as I'm fairly obsessed w/ trip planning. It's good to have 1st-hand recommendations & timetables. That helps a lot. I just wish we could spend more time--there's so much to see & do. Thank you all :0)

sobolik

Can't help but throw another answer in here - Itinerary

"That is a huge amount of driving in a short period of time. At the very least I would skip QC." NONESENSE I could see all you mention easily and then some the secret is planning ahead as you are doing. get in see what you are there for and get out. What I suggest will keep the 17 and 18 year old sensory antenna working overtime and they definitely won’t be bored or whine. Let them share driving duties. This is what I would do. (certain leg of 16 day trip was actually very similar in 2005)

Forget Niagara on the lake it is for people watchers and those like to experience the esoteric vibes of what ever it is they are determined to experience. It is not for 17 and 18 year olds.
(day 1)Travel day to Niagara and see some Niagara sights.
(day2) Most of Niagara can be seen in 1 day and that evening.
(day 3) Travel day and pick up a sight or 2 in Toronto while passing through. CN Tower and backside hot dog stand is a good stop. Then I would ADD AND GO TO THE CAPITAL OF CANADA! Ottawa and spend 2 nights. Try to catch the sound and light show the evening you arrive as it could get rained out the next day.
(day 4) See the changing of the Guard ceremony, Parliament hill, open top bus tour, and sound and light show after dark proclaiming the glories of Canada (awesome) before and after dark go to the Byward market for street performers. If missed previous day next day see the changing of the Guard ceremony. most everything is either on one side of the Chateau (Castle) or the other - not far. Much can be seen in one day (2 nights)
(day5) travel day to Quebec City and see some QC sights.
(day6) see QC most of the old Town can be seen in one day. Do all of the interpretation centers and the Château tour.
(day 7) Travel day and see some sights either in QC or Montreal.
(day 8) Montreal old town. If Saturday do not miss International Fireworks Competition it is awesome.
(day 9) travel day pick up a sight in Montreal depending on flight time.. Montreal to Buffalo is a long drive but not unbearable.