by bitsofthewilliams | Apr 16, 2021 | TRAVEL
Need a kid-friendly place to visit with the littles in Toronto?
Look no further, I’ve got a handful that both you and your children both big and small will love. It’s not always easy finding places to spend the day when you have little ones. I always make sure that there is a washroom especially for the potty trainers, a spot where we can relax and enjoy a meal, make sure it has some shaded areas etc. You know what your family needs so be sure to choose places that have the conveniences that is best for you. It’s important that the kids are having a good time because if they’re not, you would’ve wished you stayed home so take it from someone who has experience this, visit places that suits your kids.
Toronto has a lot of kid-friendly places however I wanted to narrow it down to the must visits.
HERE ARE SOME KID-FRIENDLY PLACES TO VISIT IN TORONTO
Toronto Zoo
Phone by- Daily Hive
The Toronto Zoo is a zoo located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Encompassing 287 hectares, the Toronto Zoo is the largest zoo in Canada. It is divided into seven zoogeographic regions: Indo-Malaya, Africa, Americas, Tundra Trek, Australasia, Eurasia, and the Canadian Domain. Some animals are displayed indoors in pavilions and outdoors in what would be their naturalistic environments, with viewing at many levels. It also has areas such as the Kids Zoo, Waterside Theatre, and Splash Island. It has one of the most taxonomically diverse collection of animals on display of any zoo; it is currently home to over 5,000 animals representing over 500 species. The zoo is open to the public every day of the year except December 25. We will be making our annual this year, thanks to Covid, it will be a drive thru but I know the Toronto Zoo will not disappoint.
Ontario Science Center
Phone by- CityNews
The Ontario Science Centre, formally the Centennial Museum of Science and Technology, is a science museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, near the Don Valley Parkway. There is so much fun, educational content for the entire family. The science centre has hundreds of interactive and passive permanent exhibits, featuring geology, the science of nature, astronomical science, how to play music, human anatomy and some lots of science artifacts.
Centreville Amusement Park
Phone by- Centre Island
The Centreville Amusement Park or Centreville Theme Park is a children’s amusement/theme park located on Centre Island, part of the Toronto Islands, offshore of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The park is open daily during the summer.
Canada’s Wonderland
Phone by- Savvy Mom
Canada’s Wonderland is a 134-hectare theme park located in Vaughan, Ontario. As a seasonal park, Canada’s Wonderland is open daily from May to Labour Day, with weekend openings in late April and after Labour Day until the end of October. There are special events throughout the season, including various food festivals, as well as “Celebration Canada”, a month-long Canada Day festival, among others. The park holds Halloween Haunt, a Halloween-themed event, each autumn until the last weekend of October at midnight. Beginning in 2019, the park launched WinterFest, a holiday-themed event that would extend the park’s operating season to late December.
We get family passes every single year because that is where you can find us on most weekends. It’s heaven for both the kids and adults.
Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada
Phone by- Destination TO
Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada is an aquarium in Toronto,Canada. It is located in downtown Toronto, just southeast of the CN Tower. The aquarium has 5.7 million litres of marine and freshwater habitats from across the world. The exhibits hold more than 20,000 exotic sea and freshwater specimens from more than 450 species.
Medieval Times and Dinner
Phone by- Medieval Times Dinner
Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament is a family dinner theater featuring staged medieval-style games, sword-fighting, and jousting.
Reptilia Vaughan
Phone by- Trip Advisor
Reptilia is Canada’s largest indoor reptile zoo, with 25,000 square feet of indoor exhibits featuring over 250 reptiles, amphibians and arachnids. If you littles are big fans, then be sure to visit.
My son was about four years old when we visited and he really enjoyed it. Of course, you will have to stop at the gift shop as well. 🙂
Wet’N’Wild Toronto
Phone by- Daily Hive
Wet’n’Wild Toronto is a water park in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, a city in the Greater Toronto Area. Opened in 1986, the 100-acre complex hosts a variety of attractions, including numerous water slides, a wave pool, a lazy river, a four lane zip-line and two kid’s splash areas.
Perfect place to spend the day with the little ones. There is so much for them to do.
by bitsofthewilliams | Apr 6, 2021 | TRAVEL
Ontario is a hidden gem and not a lot of people know about some of the treasure it bears. I moved with my family to Toronto, Ontario from Quebec when I was a kid and boy was it the best decision ever. There is so much to see and do and such a beautiful, multi-cultured, clean and exciting place to be whether you are living in Ontario or just visiting. While there are so many top rated tourist attractions, what I am about to share are some of the best kept secret.
A little history about Ontario before sharing some really cool places to visit. Ontario is a Canadian province located in the East-Central Canada that borders the US and the Great Lakes.It is home to Ottawa which is Canada’s capital. Toronto is Ontario’s capital. The population is close to 15 million or more (old stats)
8 PLACES YOU WON’T BELIEVE ARE IN ONTARIO
BONNECHERE CAVES – Have you ever been fascinated and have a desire to explore some really cool caves. If so, well this should be on the top of your list. This beauty is located in Eganville, Ontario and they provide one of the best tours you will ever get. Friendly and informative. Below are some of the interesting things you will learn from getting a tour of this amazing place.
- The different types of rocks
- The process of fossilization
- The impact of glaciers on our landscape
- A greater understanding and respect for the planet we all share
- The formation of caves
- How stalactites grow
- Hibernation practices of the small brown bats
- Some local history
- How the caves were discovered and explored
- Fossils of the Ordovician time period.
Photo Credit: Bonnechere Caves
SAUBLE BEACH- Located in the town of South Bruce Peninsula, Bruce County. This white sand beauty was voted number one beach in Ontario, it is one of the crown jewels in Bruce County with it’s seven kilometers of pristine sandy beach. Sauble Beach is the second longest freshwater beach in the world. Be sure to take the family and chill for a day or more. There is so much to see and do nearby as well.
Photo Credit: Explore the Bruce /Facebook
TORRANCE BARRENS DARK SKY PRESERVE- I bet you didn’t know that the Torrance Barrens is the worlds first permanent designated dark sky reserve. It truly is the premier location for viewing the cosmos. If you are into camping, hiking or stargazing, it is about 2 hrs drive up north from Toronto, this reserve can be found in the heart of Muskoka, Ontario. Don’t miss out on this experience.
Photo Credit: Mike Killian Photography
MANTOULIN ISLAND- What makes this island so special you ask? It is the largest freshwater island lake on the planet. It’s also home to Canada’s first European settlement, the town Manitowaning, and the historic Anishinaabe settlement. Located in Lake Huron in Laurentia, Ontario. The list is endless of things to do in the Mantoulin Island.
Photo Credit: Mississagi Lighthouse and Campground
BATHTUB ISLAND – Here you will find the hidden gem that is in Lake Superior Provincial Park. Ontario’s Bathtub Island will leave you feeling as if you are in the Caribbean somewhere just relaxing only to find out that you haven’t left the province. Who wouldn’t want that?
Photo Credit: @shae.collins/instagram
FRENCH RIVER PROVINCIAL PARK – This beauty offers a 105 kilometer paddling route of interconnected lakes, gorges and rapids from Lake Nipissing to Georgian Bay.If you are a thrill seeker, then this is a perfect place to visit as there is so much to explore.
Photo Credit: Hartley Bay Marina
BIG TUB HARBOUR RESORT– Located on the shoreline of Georgian Bay, Big Tub Harbour Resort is host to the most spectacular setting in Tobermory. The natural beauty of the shoreline has been preserved, making it the ideal place to just relax for the weekend.
Photo Credit: Bayshore Cottages
KAKABEKA FALLS PROVINCIAL PARK– Kakabeka Falls is the second highest waterfall in Ontario and is open year round. The views of the falls and gorge from the boardwalk that wraps around the top of the falls The Kaministiquia River has cut deep into the rocks to reveal 1.6 million year old fossils at the bottom of the falls. Simply magnificent.
Photo Credit: William Ennis
by bitsofthewilliams | Mar 30, 2021 | TRAVEL
Address: Carretera Uvero Alto Parcela, Punta Cana 23002, Dominican Republic
Phone:1-809-468-0505
Website: https://www.karismahotels.com/nickelodeon-hotels-resorts/punta-cana
Where do I begin? Let me start by saying that one night at Nickelodeon resort saved our planned family vacation from being a nightmare. We had lost all of our vacation vibes prior to arriving at the Nickelodeon.
A few years ago, we booked a trip to Punta Cana. We were travelling with two young kiddos. As we got to our resort, we were disappointed. We stayed a night and decided it wasn’t going to work for us. My fist thought was that we didn’t leave our beautiful home in Canada to come all the way here and be disgusted. We then made arrangements at another family resort but it wasn’t going to be available until the third night.
On a limp, I went online and decided to book our second night in Punta Cana at the famous Nickelodeon Resort Punta Cana. At this point, we just wanted a clean room for our children to sleep in. No expectations at all, after all, we were disappointed and ready to head back home.
The day started raining non stop and according to the weather network, it wasn’t going to stop anytime soon. We called a taxi and he took us to the resort. Upon arriving at the resort, it was breathtaking. Although it was pouring rain, the staff came out to greet us and guided us to the lobby where we were offered “slime” drinks. The kids were shown around while hubby and I were getting checked in.
Once we were checked in, we were whisked away in a golf cart to our room. On our way there, we were shown the different restaurants and had a lovely conversation with our driver all the while it was just raining cats and dogs.
Accommodation: One of the main reason why I love this resort is that you had a choice of the type of accommodation that fits your family. We decided to go with the “Flat Suite” although the “Pad Swim Up Suite” was our first choice. The only reason we decided to choose the Flat Suite was because we were a little nervous with the kids especially since they were so young and didn’t know how to swim. As a mom, I immediately thought about safety. Below is a list of all your other choices for the type of accommodations that you can choose from.
Room Types:
FLAT SWIM-UP SUITE- This gives you direct access to the pool from your terrace.
SWANK PLUNGE POOL SUITE- Features a massive wrap-around private balcony complete with a Plunge Pool.
SWANK WRAPAROUND SWIM-UP SUITE -Features a private wrap-around terrace with access to the Resort’s pool.
PAD SWIM-UP SUITE- Out the door and into the pool. No other way to describe this amazing suite.
POOL SUPER VILLA- This luxury 2-bedroom/3-bath is sure to make you feel like a super hero.
ROYAL SUITE- Fit for a Royal family.
ROYAL SWIM-UP SUITE- Having direct access to the resort’s pool directly from your terrace. Cool huh?
FLAT SUITE- Comfortable and perfect for any family.
PAD SUITE- Modern and spacious.
PINEAPPLE VILLA- No explanations needed. Just perfect. Too bad there is only one Pineapple Villa.
I’ve added a short video clip of our room tour. Keep in mind, the intention at that time was not to blog so don’t judge the quality of the video. I’m just including to give you an idea of what our room looked like.
After we got settled and ordered room service for the kids, we wanted to take full advantage of the fact that we were only going to be there for one day. There were so much to see and do but boy the rain wasn’t helping.So off we go to the waterpark. Believe me when i say that we had the entire waterpark to ourselves (well 95% of it) See for yourself. Nate and Julian had a blast.
The lazy river was one of our favourite. We had it all to ourselves and enjoyed every second. It truly was relaxing.
Did I mention the famous gift shop? Every kid’s dream. It was situated on the way to the waterpark so of course we had to pop in to see what goodies they had. let’s just say that they didn’t disappoint. Nate decided to pick up SpongeBob teddies for him, his sister and to bring back for his cousins. Of course as any gift shop, expect it to be a bit on the pricier side but you are on vacation after all so you might as well go for it.
Let’s talk dinner options. This was one thing I would change but I can’t blame the resort because we were the ones that booked last minute. Every single restaurant we wanted to go for dinner were all fully booked. So our choice of the night was the Sugarcane. It wasn’t a bad choice at all to be honest. Check the website for a list of restaurants that are available.The kids, hubby and I ate and we loved the healthy options they provided. My husband even had the chef prepared him fried fish and he said it was really delicious. They had a few performances during our meal that the kids enjoyed. Our little princess was so tired that we came back to our room. She was of course knocked out on the patio as seen in my video clip below and hubby, Nate and I danced and chatted the night away.
The next morning, finally the rain had stopped and we headed to the Sugarcane restaurant for breakfast. Mommy made a boo boo. I thought that the characters were going to be there to greet everyone for breakfast rather than having to pay to meet and hang with everyone. Silly me! Of course, at that time, it was already too late to book it and if we had more than a day, we definitely would’ve made arrangements. Our son was a little disappointed at first but he understood the situation.
After breakfast, we took a stroll to see the famous pineapple house, took photos and enjoyed the morning just having fun. After our stroll, it was already time to head out. It was a delight to see the smile on the kiddos faces when asked if they enjoyed the resort.
Although there were so much more to do and see, we had to move on as we had made other arrangements. Had we known that this resort was going to blow our minds, we would’ve chose to stay for the remainder of our trip. We do hope to return or visit the new location that open in Mexico and I will be sure to write a proper blog because honestly, this has been the best family resort by far.
Until next time…
