visiting Toronto with 13mo old

[jennifer860]

I'm going to a conference next week at the Toronto Convention Center (we're staying at the Hilton). DH and DS will have three days of bonding :-). Any suggestions for places or activities that are toddler friendly?
Thanks!!

[mom2binsd]

Not sure if you're Canadian or American, disregard if you're CDN...Sorry I can't help with places to visit, but on my recent trip home to Ottawa I discovered that they do not sell Gerber baby food there, and they don't carry the Enfamil Lipil Next Step formula in most places. So if either of these apply to you, bring enough for the trip. Have a great time and I'm sure DH would enjoy taking DS to the Hockey Hall of Fame which I believe is in downtown TO (of course I'm Canadian and assume everyone would enjoy that).

Beth

[jennifer860]

Thanks!!! Good to know about the baby food (We're American). The Hockey Hall of Fame sounds great.

Jennifer

[ethansmom]

The Eaton Center is a large mall downtown...I'm sure your son would love to run around there!

Depending on the weather....I recall visiting Toronto Island as a toddler and enjoying running around outside.

Will you have a car while you are there?

[bubbaray]

Its been a while since I've been to TO, but how about the zoo?

http://www.torontozoo.com/

There's always the CN Tower, but I'm not sure if that might scare your toddler: http://www.cntower.ca/

And the Science Museum, though your toddler might be a bit young for this: http://www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/

BTW, there is baby food here, just not the Gerber brand! Heinz is a popular brand here, as are Earth's Best and President's Choice. I've used the Gerber brand while visiting the US recently and DD didn't seem to care whether I fed her Gerber or Heinz. I EBF, so I'm not too sure about the formula. Also, if your toddler is still in diapers, Huggies & Pampers are readily available here, but not other brands such as White Cloud or Dri Bottoms.

HTH
Melissa
Mom to Maya http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/binky.gif & Dog Mom to Bubba http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/dog.gif

http://www.babysfirstsite.org/newtickers/ticker/11089.birthday.png

[brubeck]

I'm not sure if it's open at this time of year but you could take the ferry over to Center Island. They have some really nice gardens/kiddie play areas and a kiddie amusement park over there.

[debsw]

There's alot to do and the weather looks good for next week.

Depending on where you are staying you may want to limit yourself to the downtown area. (BTW - the Science Centre is mid-town and would require you to cab it or rely on public transportation. Unfortunately, I don't know anything about travelling with a toddler and taking a cab but, you could easily get there by subway and bus from downtown.)

Here are some ideas for you to consider...

1. Riverdale Farm is downtown and would be great to take a child to.
I believe they are open year-round.

2. Some museums downtown to consider would be ... The Art Gallery of Ontario, The Royal Ontario Museum, The Hockey Hall of Fame, The Bata Shoe Museum.

3. The main large bookstores downtown are Indigo and Chapters. (Like Barnes & Noble) There are 4 of them and I think they each have a daily children's story hour. Their web-site is www.ChaptersIndigo.ca. You could always call them in advance and find out if they do this and when the story times take place.

Just exploring the Toronto neighborhoods is great. Here are some that you might enjoy. The Danforth, The Beaches, Yorkville or Bay & Bloor Area, The Distillery District, etc.

Here's a Toronto Kids web-site that you might find helpful. They will have lists of Indoor Playgrounds and other things that might interest you. http://www.helpwevegotkids.com/gui/index.asp.

One last thing, some of the downtown hotels have pools, you might want to check to see if yours does.

Have a safe trip.
Debbie

[jennifer860]

I just wanted to thank everyone for their input. We had a fabulous time! Toronto is a great city. DH and DS spent most of their time in the pool and walking through the PATH. He commented that everyone was very friendly.
Cheers,
Jennifer