MLB Tour Stop 2: Toronto

Number 2 on our tour of MLB stadiums was Toronto and I honestly don’t know how it can go up from here! We had the BEST trip and if you haven’t already, check out my IG highlight for some videos on all the things we did.

We planned this trip to Toronto back in January and purchased our Blue Jays tickets and hotel room then, but we’ve had so much going on between work and travel and our new river house that we really didn’t plan much for this trip until the last minute! I was given so many amazing recommendations on what to do that it was tough to choose, but doing a day on Centre Island and seeing Niagara Falls were at the top of the list.

HOTEL

The hotel room we stayed in was an absolute MUST if you’re here to watch a game. The price varies depending on whether there is a game or not but it cost about $380USD/night while we were there. We got a room with a king sized bed and asked for two pull outs- our 3 year old slept with Phil & I and then our 8 & 6 year old had their own beds. There’s a window you can open to watch the game and since the stadium roof opens (based on weather) it feels like you’re in a box but with a bed and all your stuff there! With the window closed it cancels out the vast majority of noise and there are blackout curtains since the lights in the stadium stay on 24/7. We were there for 3 games and although the hotel is attached to the stadium, you do need tickets to get into the game. We bought tickets behind the Astros dugout for one game and watched the other two in our hotel room, but you can also buy standing room only tickets to get into the stadium for about $20USD. Tuesday was dollar dog night and they sold over 45k hot dogs!

WHAT WE DID!

Besides the game, we had the best time touring the city! Centre Island was a 5 min ferry or water taxi ride and it’s worth spending the day there! The boys wore swim trunks and I brought a backpack with stuff to be there all day- they have an amusement park that’s great for younger kids (most of the rides are geared towards under 10yrs I’d say, my 8 year old had a blast but I didn’t see many older kids there). We also rented a quadricycle which will be the last time we rent a quadricycle, we were a WHOLE mess and it was not nearly as fun as I imagined it being. Theres a beach there which was FREEZING for us Texans so we didn’t stay there long, but there’s so much space to have a picnic and the grounds are just beautiful to look at.

Another thing at the top of our list was Niagara Falls, none of us had seen them before and we figured if we were this close we should cross it off our list. From the CN tower it’s about an hour and a half drive, you can take a train there (cheapest option), Uber (costs about $300CAD each way!) or rent a car for the day and I’m SO glad we rented a car! The falls themselves were beautiful but it’s like any other major tourist destination and we wanted to leave after 5 minutes so we did! Niagara-On-the-Lake was about 30 min away and it was absolutely worth going to! It almost reminded me of a lake version of 30A, super cute shops, lots of places for kids to run around and plenty of great places to eat.

WHERE WE ATE

With the boys being younger and SUPER active/loud, we don’t plan around eating at nicer restaurants but we did eat at a few we liked!

Siempre- this is a breakfast/lunch spot within walking distance of our hotel. There’s a SUPER cute patio/boozy brunch area and also a place to dine inside, the food is good and the service was wonderful!

Sportsnet- this is the restaurant in the hotel and there are huge windows to watch the game in the stadium being played while you eat! The food and drinks were really good we even ordered lunch to bring to our room one day!

Rec Room Toronto- this is a big arcade and restaurant/bar with a huge outdoor dining area within walking distance of our hotel. The boys loved the arcade games and the food here was good!

Shaw Cafe & Wine Bar- this was in Niagara-On-the-Lake and was the cutest spot! This was the least family-friendly place we went with no options for picky kid eaters but they grazed from the cheese board and the wait staff was so kind and welcoming! The sangria was great and they had flights I would order if we weren’t with kids and had to drive back!

We also toured a little in downtown Toronto. Kol Kid is a children’s boutique that has the cutest stuff, I specifically didn’t let the boys bring a snuggly on the trip because I saw this place has tons of unique jellycats so I let them pick a snuggly there! There are lots of shops with fresh fruit outside too so we grabbed some to bring back to the hotel.

Ripleys Aquarium was super impressive and although it was pretty crowded we were all happy we went! Tons of beautiful creatures and the displays were fun to look at, I also liked how they had a whole section dedicated to the filtration process teaching you how it all works!

The CN tower was right next to our hotel but the line was always SO long and none of us really wanted to see it enough to stand in the line. No regrets!

Overall this was just the most amazing experience and I feel like we spent the perfect amount of time in Toronto, Cananda was so welcoming and the Boue Jays fans were much kinder than others. 😂 This trip put Roger’s Stadium at the top of our list and we will definitely be back!