When I heard Ontario would be giving a tax credit for Ontario Staycations in Twenty Twenty- Two I thought how could I get every dollar available. I quickly started booking off time every month and making long weekends away. With March break being a good reason to spend some quality time with the Kid I asked him what he wanted to do. His response was restaurants. He wanted to eat out. With Covid coming to its second year Anniversary I could get on board with his request.
I told him we were going to the Big City and eating out! I booked two nights in Toronto and bought two City Passes. I have used City Passes in the past in other big cities and always felt I got the biggest bang for my buck. I was able to book entry times for Toronto Science Centre and Royal Ontario Museum. We also planned to see Ripley's Aquarium and Casa Loma with a bunch of restaurants and candy shops splattered in.
Our first stop was Ontario Science Centre https://www.ontariosciencecentre.ca This has always been a favorite for us. After my initial shock wore off from being in line on the road to get into parking I realized we were back to full capacity. Once we got in the building and moved around it wasn't bad. This is a huge building with so much to look at that you can really spread out and take your time. I gave the Kid the map and let him direct us through the floors. After getting lost twice he thought it was best to start on the farthest floor and make our way back to the start. I had to agree with him, this would keep us out of the large groups.
The Science Centre is the best when you can be fully hands-on. The water station was a hit with all the kids. This was also a great chance to get those hands clean!
The area for the younger kids was my Sons favorite spot. I think the easy play and hands-on environment make it most enjoyable. Now that he is older he can see how the play is educational. We talked about the science behind the activities as he had done some of these activities in class.
Besides lunch being a favorite, pizza, and frozen yogurt how can you go wrong? The Kid really liked going into the Rainforest he even ran through it a couple of times. The arcade was really well done for it being science-related games.
And a small rock wall that was fun for all the kids. This is a place you can spend hours in if you wanted to explore it all. The part my Kid thought would give him nightmares was the insect exhibit. I couldn't blame him, giant bees aren't my favorite either.
Early afternoon we thought we had seen it all and headed to our hotel to start exploring the area. I had picked a hotel that would be in a spot that was near everything or a short Uber ride away. Once I parked my car I wasn't taking it back out until we left for home. The hotel was great. We stayed with Marriot https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/yyztd-residence-inn-toronto-downtown-entertainment-district/overview/. This location was blocks away from the SkyDome, Ripley's, and the CN Tower. It was easy to find restaurants to suit my picky eater and the pool and hot tub on site were great to fill time. I booked on Hot Wire and had gotten a really good price. The suites have kitchenettes but also free breakfast.
I found a great thin crust pizza place just a block away from the hotel and we headed to fill our bellies. The kid almost ate the whole thing in one sitting! I guess the swim beforehand had made him extra hungry. Pizza Rustic https://pizzarustica.ca/ I had made reservations but it wasn't busy for an early dinner.
Staying in the area made getting to Ripley's a quick walk. It was fun to show the Kid all the tall buildings. Not that Kitchener isn't a city but nothing compares to looking up in Toronto and only being able to see all the high-rises around you. It can be an experience in itself. Then to end that walk at the base of CN Tower well it can be overwhelming for someone that has never experienced architect like that before.
With the CityPass we were able to get admission to Ripley's Aquarium https://www.ripleyaquariums.com/canada/ This was a very full place. I thought dinner time on a Monday would see a lower crowd, I was mistaken. The only thing my Kid could focus on was getting dessert. We went straight for the frozen yogurt machine.
The best part of the Aquarium is the conveyor belt that goes through the large tank. I loved the turtles and the huge sharks. All the kids around us were hypnotized by everything they were seeing.
There is a great playground in the attraction for kids to get some energy out! The Kid really liked this tube that only fits kids in. They can crawl through a tank of fish.
We still had some daylight left so after a must stop at the gift shop we took in the area.
This was a very full day so we ended the night with the Kid introducing me to a new show we watched tucked-in bed All-Round Champions on tvokids. I highly recommend the show to families. It shows kids at their best and full of emotions. Lots of great conversations came from watching it.
The next day started with a good breakfast and a Uber ride to Royal Ontario Museum https://www.rom.on.ca/en again an attraction part of the CityPass. We had a start time for the opening and were there to wait with all the eager families. I gave the Kid the map and we were off. Again he thought the best strategy was to make our way up and work our way back.
This can be a very interesting place to be. Unfortunately, my Kid got very Hangry and the mood was tough! As he reminded me he does not like Dinosaurs, history, or animals this was not the place for him.
We made a quick exit and got a very early lunch at the MacDonald's across the street. It seemed Hanger was gone and my child was back to normal so we got an Uber to our next stop. I honestly thought if ROM was not a hit this next attraction wasn't going to be better but we went anyways.
Casa Loma is not what I thought it would be and the Kid enjoyed it. There were beautiful rooms, and fun history like there are 50 phones in Casa Loma. When the house was made Toronto had a total of 200 phones in the whole city. I was really impressed with the bathrooms for the time. I took a picture of the shower to show my contractor as we are at the beginning of a renovation! The shower had a rainforest head and 4 jets that luxury even now!
I was very excited to see art from the Group of Seven in the house. Very unexpected.
The Kid made us check out every nook and cranny on the map and we both really enjoyed it. Our exploration couldn't be complete without a visit to the gift shop!!
Promises had been made during the Hanger stage of the day that we would end our day at a candy shop. We headed to Bulk Mine http://www.bulkmine.com/ and got full bags of candy for each of us to bring back to the hotel! This candy shop had a great selection for both of our tastes!
After another swim at the Hotel pool, we headed out to The Keg which was a short walk away for a fancy dinner to finish the trip off. Both the Kid and I love a great steak dinner. Can't go wrong with the Keg.
This was a trip that I'm glad we took. It had been a bit since The Kid and I got to really talk and share an experience. It was a full two days that I don't even remember us having our faces in our phones. We agreed that the trip was fun but it was enough Mommy and Kid bonding time!
The trip checked all the boxes we both wanted. He wanted to eat at restaurants I wanted him to learn and see new things. All of this was accomplished! I also forgot how fun Toronto can be. So I planned another trip for May with a Girlfriend! Can't wait to Blog about the difference between a family to a girl's night in Toronto can be!
Looking for other Kid friendly Ontario Adventures check these links out!
Kingston
Barrie/Haliburton
Grand Bend
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