Toronto CityPASS Review: Recommended but Time Limit Could Pose a Problem For Some

We purchased the Toronto CityPASS well in advance of our late August 2014 trip which was a convenience greatly appreciated. We intended to visit at least the Zoo and the CN Tower on this trip, just the two of us (adults). It is a good price for multiple attractions.

We did get into the zoo without much of a wait thanks to the pass - only two people ahead of us. We enjoyed the zoo thoroughly even though we only got to see a fraction of it. It would be nice to see a discount for cityPASS holders for parking ($10 per car) or the Zoomobile (regularly $8 per person) as we were not interested in nor able to use the discounts for the carousel or climbing attractions.

Picking up the pass was no problem and keeping it for each attraction's agent to remove the appropriate pass is simple enough; however, I would really appreciate the pass being valid for a whole year or at least longer than 9 days (maybe 30 days/ a month?). We were in town for 13 days but had other commitments for many of the days, leaving only a few to choose from on which to visit the cityPASS attractions. The Zoo and the CN Tower are largely reliant on good weather, too, which makes scheduling difficult. Additionally, if you have personal health issues (ie, chronic pain, allergies, etc) which can dictate how you feel and what you can do from day to day sometimes randomly and sometimes according to the weather, getting to enough attractions within the 9 day limit to make the pass a worthwhile expense could be a problem.

So, yeah, we did not make it to any other attraction for an amalgamation of these reasons and ended up spending approximately $60 each to JUST see the Zoo. Now, obviously, we knew these risks ahead of time and chose to purchase the pass anyway so I'm not complaining. I simply want to point out to other purchasers some potential problems they might not have thought to consider. And it can't hurt to pass on the same to the cityPASS company.

Therefore, I RECOMMEND THIS PASS if:

-- you're someone who knows that you will not need to stray from a strict vacation schedule or timeline for health reasons and/or weather

-- you're mostly interested in the attractions that don't rely on good weather

Preparing for my First Trip to the Archives of Ontario

I'm crazy excited to be in Toronto this August for not one but TWO genealogy conferences before hubby drags me along to four days of geekery and shenanigans at FanExpo!* IMO, that much of a trip alone is cause for some serious SQUEE but imagine my surprise when I realized we're going to be staying at a hotel not 10 minutes from the Archives of Ontario.

*blink*
O.O
WHAAAAAAT?????

Let the preparations begin!!! HUZZAH!!!

First on the list: reorganize trip schedule so that visit to the zoo takes place on the only day the Archives is CLOSED, rendering all free and clear to drag hubby to a FULL day of research on a day on which it is OPEN! [Shhh!! Don't tell hubby!! lol]**

Next, determine what records they have that A) I want to see in person, B) I can't get anywhere else and C) I'm ready to look up and, frankly, understand. After all, there's much info out there, lying in wait beneath the surface of the "regular" sea of records, that I still have no clue about -- and I only have 1.5 months to be organized enough to make this one, lonely little day [sigh, I always wish there could be more TIME! ...more hours in the day, more money in the bank... ] as productive as humanly possible.

Thus began the Spreadsheet of Death -

DUHN-DUHN-DUHHHHNNNNNNN

otherwise known as a comprehensive list of all the estate files and wills in the province that I still require. Which is a lot. I think I have my father's, both my grandmothers' and that someone in my family has a copy of my biological grandfather's and hubby's great grandfather's... but that's it. So my list is pretty long.

Then I have to go through the list and, according to county at time of death and date, discern whether or not the record of each person will be available to me at the archives. For many of them - those less than 40 years old - I have to contact the local courthouse. [P.I.T.A.]. For the rest... there's a mess of microfilm indices and inter-library loans to work through so that I can obtain the correct file numbers for each record. I'm not sure if I can view the indices at the archives AND see the stuff I want to look at on the same day. It's all kinda complicated... at least for someone relatively new to it all and especially for a zombie, like me, whose brain is akin to mush at times.

So, in the interim, as I make additions to the Spreadsheet of Death [DUHN-DUHN-DUHHHHNN!] and further investigate the AO website I have a plan. I'm going to start going through the printed materials for the course on Canadian Archival Centres for which I'm registered through the National Institute for Genealogical Studies (NIGS). It will likely help me as I prepare for this EPIC JOURNEY in August.




Yes, The Asterisks Mean Something

*Technically, he's not dragging me. I even brought it all on myself when I bought him the Premium tix for Christmas (what a good spouse I am, eh?). I'm actually looking forward to going - though I'm not so thrilled with the lineup so far... but that's another post for different blog.

**Actually, I've already told him and he's fine with it. Really! For now anyway. LOL His tune may well change around the fourth hour of forced labour as my little zombie research gopher... [ha!] But, in all honesty, he is very supportive and didn't bat one eyelash at my exclamation of glee upon discovering our pending proximity to the repository into which I've been dying to dig my grubby little- erm, I mean, my gentle and cautious white-gloved paws.