First family trip to Toronto.

Old Nov 10th, 2015, 05:35 AM
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First family trip to Toronto.

Hey folks. My family and I have never been to Canada and we are thinking on going for a two week vacation. We are from Scotland in the UK.

We would like to stay in Toronto or some where near but are not sure on where to stay. We would like a family based hotel with free parking and pool as we would be renting a car to travel other places.

Also what restaurants do you recommend? We will be on a budget so some places nice but not to expensive. Buffet restaurants we normally use in U.S. Or Denny's, Perkins places like that.

Also do we buy tickets for theme park here or is it cheaper there?

Thanks folks

Paul
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Old Nov 12th, 2015, 06:27 PM
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I can't tell you anything about theme parks but here's the website for Canada's Wonderland:

https://www.canadaswonderland.com/

You don't say when you're coming, though, and I don't know if it's open all year round.

I think if you're visiting a city, you should probably stay in that city. You can use public transportation while you're here and not have to pay for parking and then maybe rent a car when your Toronto visit is finished and you want to go elsewhere.

How old are your kids and how many of you are visiting? Maybe it would be more cost efficient to rent an apartment on a website like vrbo. That would save on meals out as well. If you do want a hotel, what's your budget per night?

One mid-town hotel I know that has a pool and a huge waterslide and something called the Family Fun Zone is the Eaton Chelsea. I've stayed there and it's quite nice. There are casual restaurants nearby and several food courts in the Eaton Centre.

http://www.chelseatoronto.com/en/hotel

There are great ethnic neighbourhoods in Toronto and lots of inexpensive places to eat. I try to stay away from buffets and the only one I know of is the Mandarin. If your kids are into hockey, there's the Hockey Hall of Fame and there might be something going on at the Rogers Centre. Lots of theatre here too.

Give us a better idea of your budget and family details and we'll be able to give you more info.
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Old Nov 16th, 2015, 01:39 PM
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When are you visiting? I would not spend the entire two weeks in Toronto.
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Old Dec 1st, 2015, 03:35 AM
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nikdavis, it looks as if you have joined Fodor’s simply to advertise specific accommodation. Not what this forum is for.
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Old Dec 1st, 2015, 05:41 AM
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Central Toronto has plenty of attractions for everyone including kids but it is very car-unfriendly. Parking rates are ferocious, even on the street, with hotels charging at least $25 a night. You could consider flying into TO and using public transit from the airport to downtown and the TTC buses, subways and streetcars to get around (if your children are younger, the tube and trolley may be a treat anyhow.) http://www.ttc.ca/

A rental car for the day would let you go to Niagara Falls, for instance, although there are tour buses and public transit alternatives for that trip too. Toronto is so big that there's no point guessing at what sights and restaurants you might like without knowing more specific locations and interests.
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Old Dec 1st, 2015, 09:30 AM
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The OP registered and posted and has not returned. May be waiting for an e-mail from Fodors that there are responses.
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Old Dec 1st, 2015, 01:58 PM
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It's often the case, janis, that people asking for advice about Toronto don't return to the thread. Maybe this is true about other threads too but I notice the Toronto ones because I try to contribute to them. It's quite frustrating and more than a little annoying and it's too bad because I'm less and less likely to respond to requests for info.
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Old Dec 1st, 2015, 03:24 PM
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Don't be discouraged goddess, I enjoy every morsel of your wisdom...
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Old Dec 1st, 2015, 03:30 PM
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Well, you are just TOO kind, gary! I do think that we regular Toronto-advisers give pretty good advice. It would be nice if someone reported back once in a while though.
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Old Dec 1st, 2015, 05:00 PM
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I think the main problem is . . . most forum-type websites notify you when there is activity on your query. Fodors doesn't do that unfortunately. The majority of 'disappearing' OPs seem to be newbies who probably think "What an awful website -- no one ever bothered to answer " . . . while Fodorites are thinking "Ungrateful SOB -- we give all this great advice and not even a Thank You"

I wish there was a solution . . .

(It isn't just Toronto questions -- its especially bad on the Europe board)
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Old Mar 22nd, 2016, 10:48 AM
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If it makes you feel any better, goddess, I found the information useful! We're headed to Toronto this weekend for the long weekend, and it's our first time there. Searching for info found this thread and many others. Just because we don't comment doesn't mean we don't get value from it. Thanks

Of course, if I was the OP, I'd definitely come back and say thanks!
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Old Mar 22nd, 2016, 05:33 PM
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Hi GreenDragon
I wish we had better weather in store for you. You missed the premature spring but I think it's at least going to be sunny on Saturday.

Tell us a bit about your visit. Where are you staying? What are some of your plans? What kind of restaurants do you like? Maybe we can suggest a few specifics.
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Old Mar 23rd, 2016, 04:51 AM
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We're staying at Pimblett's B&B, as I was craving a full English breakfast, and we love charming places with character.

We like - unique restaurants, cool photo ops (I sell my photos), and historical places. Not huge on shopping, per se.

We have a reservation Friday night for the 360 restaurant for our splurge night, and then up to the observation deck.

We were hoping for the zoo, but it might be too cold for that. We might do the Aquarium instead. Other things on our list of possibilities:

St. Lawrence Market
Necropolis
Distillery District
Sherbourne common (photo op)
Museum of Inuit Art (DH is 1/4 Native American)
Royal Ontario Museum
Graffiti Alley
Casa Loma for Easter Brunch
Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
Edward Gardens
Black Creek Pioneer Village

We thought about a trip out to the Toronto Islands, but likely won't have time for all that.

We are arriving late Thursday night, staying until Sunday around noon. We are driving up (about 4 hours from home) so we will have our car.
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Old Mar 23rd, 2016, 12:13 PM
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Sounds like a good plan, GD. I hope you're planning on going to the St. Lawrence Market on Saturday as it's not open on Sunday. I believe the north market (across Front Street) is still closed for renovations but there's a huge tent at the south end of the regular market building that you can visit. I hope you're planning on having lunch at the market. There's lots downstairs including the great Italian sandwich place, a seafood place at the south end of the main floor or you can 'go Canadian' and have back bacon on a bun.

Unless you're dying to go to the zoo, I'd skip it. It's pretty far from downtown.

Try to get to Kensington Market for a walk-around. And if you like Chinese noodle houses, there are plenty but our fav is King's Noodle on the north west corner of Spadina and Dundas. Have a big bowl of soup with noodles and bbq'd duck or pork (or anything) on top.

Other interesting neighbourhoods are India town (Broadview & Gerrard), Little Italy (College west of Clinton) and Greektown (Danforth west of Broadview).

I didn't know Pimblett's so I googled it and it turns out I drive past it all the time. You'll be right near my SO's workplace, Ryerson University, and I hear their new student centre is fabulous so you might want to pop in and take a walk-around. Also, I noticed yesterday that there's a new Vietnamese sandwich place that just opened on Yonge a few doors north of Gerrard.

Have a fabulous time, GD, and if you have any questions while you're here, just post them here.
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Old Mar 24th, 2016, 05:56 AM
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The zoo is one thing my husband was excited about, so we will likely do that Saturday morning (a little warmer than on Friday). We definitely plan on lunch at St. Lawrence, and also eating in Chinatown. We love noodle houses! Thanks for all the great hints...
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Old Mar 28th, 2016, 09:42 AM
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Had a great time! I even saw Ryerson as we passed by and waived at your SO

Trip report if anyone is interested:

http://greendragonartist.net/2016/03...ip-to-toronto/
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Old Mar 28th, 2016, 02:56 PM
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I'm so glad you had a good time, especially at the market which is one of my favourite places and I loved your trip report!
Come back again soon!
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