I also hadn't been there since I was a kid so didn't know what to expect. Our kids are 5 and 8 and had a ball. There are quite a few rides for younger ages (toddler-pre-school) as well as for older kids (up to young teen years). Easily you can spend a long day there and not get bored. They offer a pretty detailed description of rides etc. at
www.ontarioplace.com.
There are three main sections. The first section contains rides geared for mostly younger kids (ages 2-8 I would say). The second section contains a waterpark, marina area, and cinesphere (IMAX). We were there from 10 am- 6 pm and did almost everything except the water park due to cool temps. If the weather had been nice we would have somehow tried to squeeze it in. It looked quite good and I could see a family easily spending a few hours or a full afternoon there. The third area consists of a mix of rides for toddlers - to young teens. They offer two really decent rides in this area ( a log/water type ride and a Mars trip simulator ride). These rides are great but very tame to any thrill rides WDW would offer.
Since Ontario Place is on the water there also offer water type activities such as bumper boats (one ride for young kids up to 42 ", and one you had to be 48"to ride). They also offer paddle boats (included in price) which were fun.
The cinesphere films were included in the price and they showed 5 over the course of the day. They were each approx. 40 minutes in length. We were able to view one. It was great. We would have seen more but didn't due to time constraints.
Things run quite different then WDW and when things aren't busy they let you stay certain rides a lot longer. ex. DH and DD8 were on the bumper boats for about 30 minutes.
They also offer a really nice playground area as well as three HUGE inside play areas for children. The play areas were nice and clean and great for younger kids (2-8).
I didn't buy an souvenirs but the shops looked less expensive then WDW. They had nice Ontario place plush bears (maybe about 6 inches high) for only $3.99.They had a lot of souvenirs for under $10. There are quite a few dining options as well but they looked pricey.
I can't see someone going there and not having a great time.
Regarding getting there, we live near Peterborough and we put Ontario Places address and ours into Mapquest and simply got driving directions. Without Mapquest we would have been totally confused since it is a busy part of Toronto but with Mapquest, no problem.
If you go on their web site and register that you want to be e-mailed specials/events you might get a coupon of some sort. I did this and was e-mailed a 2 for 1 coupon, which cut the cost down considerably.
Any more questions, ask away. It was a great way to spend our 10th anniversary and we are hoping to go again next spring/summer.
Suzy V.
Take care and see you at the dismeet in Aug.
