Toronto in December
 

We are planning a short trip to Toronto at the end of December between Christmas and New year. Two families with teenage girls. And shopping is a must in their plans. We are coming Saturday and leaving Tuesday. So my questions are - will anything be open on Sunday?
We want to see The Lion King. Any suggestions on how to get tickets? Internet, call the box office, hotels? Should we order them beforehand or is it safe enough to leave it till we get there?
How cold is it going to be? Any suggestions on where to take the girls would be appreciated. Thanks

Hi Cherami,
Stores are open on Sundays - usually until 5:00 (some larger stores, ie record stores are open later). The temperature usually hovers around 0 degrees celsius (32 farenheit) give or take a few degrees. Sometimes there's a little bit of snow, sometimes not. For shopping, Queen Street West has some great stores for teens/young adults; I'd recommend Queen St between University Ave and Spadina and then Queen St between Bathurst and Strachan. There are some excellent stores on Bloor Street between Yonge and University but these are higher end/designer stores. Also try Urban Outfitters on Yonge south of Dundas (across from the Eaton Centre) - teens love it.

Cherami, purchase your "Lion King" tickets as soon as your trip is confirmed. I know first-hand from working at that theatre in the past that there is nary a ticket to be had in that time period because of both Christmas gifts and purchasing for out-of-town friends and family. Since the absolute final "Lion King" performance is Jan 4th, that almost guarantees sell-outs for the weeks prior.

There are packages with many of the major hotels, but you can also purchase tickets on-line at www.ticketking.com or use their 1-800 number (which is the same as calling the box office). You will also see tickets on that site for the North American premiere of an exhibit which includes Princess Diana's wedding gown and dresses, in case that may interest the teenagers.

www.mirvish.com
Package specials and general theatre info.

Thank you very much for all the advice. I didn't know that The Lion King is scheduled to close in January. Will get tickets as soon as we finalise our plans.

While Urban Outfitters was mentioned as being across from Eaton Centre, no one pointed out that the shopping at Eaton Centre itself for the girls (or anyone for that matter) is great in that 3 storey (or more) downtown mall. While going to a movie may not seem like something you need to spend time doing in Toronto I recommend you take in a movie one night at the VIP rooms at the Varsity Theatre. They are special, small theatres with first-run movies. They escort you to your seats (large, individual with a table for putting down your snacks), take your food order, check to see if you need anything else...whenever I take someone there they are blown away by this home theatre feel. Definitely head to Kensington Market. What about Second City? Or book the kitchen table at Mama Leoni's (actually part of the kitchen but has to be booked in advance). In Yorkville check out
Rainbow, great store for teenagers.

Bonlou,
Thank you very much for a wonderful ideas. Varsity Theater sounds very interesting. Can you tell me where are the theater and Mama Leoni's located? I heard about Kensington Market but worried about it being too cold this of the year. Care to tell I am wrong? It does sound like something we would like to do.

Several thoughts ---

About the cold. We survive in the cold, although, truth be told, many of us escape to Florida when it gets too bad.

We bundle up, some of us wear hats, and unless it is exceptionally cold, it's easy enough to get around outdoors.

The Varsity theater is in the Manulife Center, on Bloor Street West, between Yonge Street and Bay Street. that puts it in the Yorkville neighborhood, full of very fancy, very expensive stores, (lots of fun to look at if the budsget does not permit buying) but it is possible there will be good sales then, too.

Second City and Mama Leoni's are next door to each other, on Peter Street, south of King Street. Peter Street is also called, for part of it, Blue Jay Way.

Kensington Market should be on part of a longish walk, covering the queen Street West shopping area, Chinatown (which runs up Spadina from Queen Street West) and Kensington.

The Varsity Theatre vist could be tied to shopping in Yorkville, tea at the Four Seasons if you want to get fancy, and perhaps a visit to either the ceramics museum or the Royal Ontario Museum of you want some culture.

About Sundays -- yes, some stores are open, but others are closed, so if you want a museum day, make it Sunday, and make Saturday the shopping day. Or Monday.

BAK

I 2nd (or 3rd) the Kensington Market suggestion. Blizzards notwithstanding,(a rare occurance in Dec.) the market is a lot of fun at any time of the year - Kensington Ave with all the vintage stores in particular. If you get cold, there are quite a few cafes in the area where you could relax and warm up.