Soulriders, THE GATHERING!

[Dracos]

Okay, merging in.  Want to have some details and take it to a little more level.  Have tour book but awesomely NOT IN FRONT OF ME :P hah.

Is there bus/subway passes?  should we get them?  

08:00:00 PM   Pirates of Penzance - this seems to be an opera?  Do we need to grab tickets ahead of time?

[Dracos]

I'm still shaky on when Cy and Music will be arriving on sunday.  I'd like to pencil in 'We meet them Here' so that it's easier to find each other, but I need a little more info to do so?

[Dracos]

Updated http://www.soulriders.net/forum/index.php?topic=1654.msg1019835#msg1019835 with Friday, Sat, Sunday.

I'll try and get to monday and tuesday updates later today.

[odin]

Is there bus/subway passes?  should we get them?

There are, but passes don't make sense for only a week.  We'll get subway tokens when we arrive.

08:00:00 PM   Pirates of Penzance - this seems to be an opera?  Do we need to grab tickets ahead of time?

We should.  They're cheap.  $52ea for the cheap seats.

http://www.stlc.com/index.php?id=930

[Dracos]

Okay, I'll add that to the main post.  Still intending that we can each print that post and it covers all the 'need to know' at any point.

[Dracos]

Added a couple questions, formatted, and added a little more.  Covered costs and things people should order ahead of time where possible.

I've marked empty spots, so that we can ideally add stuff folks want there. 

For corwin, I think hitting the Ontario Science Centre sometime should be well doable.

[odin]

Thanks for combining everything!  A couple revisions:

Ontario Science Centre here?  Odin, your thoughts?  Can we get here and have enough time?

Definitely not enough time.  The CN tower will take a couple hours, so we'd get out around 3pm - assuming we get there at 1pm, which I think is optimistic.  The Ontario Science Center is way up by Pape & Eglinton.  That's a subway, then a bus ride... probably 45-60min to get there, so 4pm.  They're only open until 5pm, and it's big.  It's probably best to do it on Monday.

Other things might be better done after the CN tower... Yonge St or Bloor St shopping, seeing what waterfront stuff is open (we'll already be down on the water), the world's biggest bookstore, or something else random and fun.

Lion King - likely to run 50-80 a person.  Just heads up.

Probably more like $70-$100 assuming we're lucky and get last-minute seats.

-Dan

[odin]

We need to go rent a car at this point

You'd probably save money by getting the car in the morning.  I'd call ahead to make sure it's ready to be picked up first thing, but I wouldn't get it the night before.  Then you just pay extra for the rental *and* have to pay to park it overnight.

Avis, National, Budget, Thrifty, and Alamo all have rental offices within a 2-block walk of the hotel, so it'd be nothing to get there early in the morning.

-Dan

[Music-chan]

If everything goes correctly,we should leave Niagara Falls on Sunday sometime around 9am, maybe earlier if we can swing it, but neither one of us are really morning people.  I'd like to get into Toronto around 10am or earlier.  To be safe, I'd say we can meet up between 9 and 10am on Sunday. Does that work for you guys?

Not sure what time we can check into the hotel but I was planning on meeting people there just to make things easier.


No one seems to have mentioned any specific places they'd like to eat on Tuesday. 

1. IF you want to eat where CyMage works, it would be anywhere from $30-40 CND a person if we make reservations as a group (group size doesn't really matter; just has slightly more limited menu choices).  If you just want to show up and order from the full menu, we're talking more $30-100 per person, depending on what you get.

2. There's this Japanese restaurant we love to eat at, http://yukiguni.ca/   It's got sushi but it also has other Japanese dishes, like BBQ Eel and Sukiyaki.  It generally runs around $25-35 a person, depending on what you get.

3.  There's this restaurant right around the corner from our apartment that we've been meaning to try.  It sells vietnemese food and is suppose to have some really great noodle dishes.

Those are just some options I thought of off the top of my head.  There's this burrito place that has some really tasty and huge burritos.  There's a Denny's, a ton of Italian places, steak houses, fast food, etc etc etc.  There's even the Flying Saucer if you like greasy diner food.



Aaaaaaanyway, here's my idea of what might happen on Tuesday.

It takes about an hour to get to NF from Toronto, depending on traffic.  What time we leave would really depend on how bad the morning traffic in the GTA is going to be.

I figure we get to NF mid to late morning.  We can stop at our apartment if you want and we'll give you the five second tour.  Then we can either walk to the Falls from our building (about 3 blocks) or we can drive to the Skylon and mooch off of Cy's free parking privledges.   If you want to park REALLY close to the falls, such as in the big parking lot across from the Horseshoe falls, it'll probably cost around $10-15 a car. It's still the off season so I don't think it'll be $15 but I haven't checked prices.

Anyway, from there we can walk around and oogle at the falls, take pictures, etc.  IF the Maid of the Mist is open, odin and anyone who wants to do that can.  It'll be around $15 a person and probably takes around 20 minutes from start to finish, depending on if there's a line.  There's also the Journey Behind the Falls which might be a few dollars less and would take about the same amount of time.

After that, seems like a good time for Lunch at the restaurant of your choice.

After lunch, if people are interested in walking across the Rainbow Bridge to the US Niagara Falls, that would take up another hour or two to walk through the park and oogle at the falls from the other side.  You'd need your passport, as you have to go through the walk-through customs, and 50 cents for the bridge fee.  Driving across costs more like $3-4 and we'd probably have to pay for parking on the other side as well.  (this shouldn't be an issue, but bikes are not allowed on the walking path over the bridge)  I'm not sure if it'll be open, but the Cave of the Winds (walking beside the US falls) is about $11USD and a very awesome experience.  They also have a Maid of the MIst which is exactly the same as the Canadian one. Just starts at the other side.

If no one's up for a walk across the bridge, there's always Clifton Hill which has the most touristy stuff possible.  Or a trip down the gorge to look at the Whirlpool, butterfly conservatory and Botanical Gardens, Flower Clock, etc.  There's also a few other nooks and cranies around Niagara Falls that I've found if you like nature.

There's also two casinos in NF though I've never actually been on the gambling floor of either.

And of course, if you don't mind driving to Niagara-on-the-Lake, we could tour a winery or two.  If you were hoping to take some quality Niagara wines home with you, this would be a good option.  My sister has never had any problem getting multiple bottles across the border, but I'm not sure what it would involve on a flight, since we always drive across.  I'm fond of Inniskilling and Jackson-Triggs, but Peller Estates has a really nice looking building, and I've gotten some nice wine from the Reif Estates.  There are tons to choose from.

Wineries and tourist attractions tend to close around 5pm on the off season though the casino and restaurants are always open later.  If you didn't mind getting back to Toronto late, you could stay in NF for dinner (it's going to be a bit expensive because everything here is) and drive back later.  IF you stay past dark, you could see the falls lit up for the evening, which is quite nice.  Though that probably won't happen until 8 or 9pm.

[CyMage]

http://www.skylon.com/pdf/skylon-lunch.pdf  should give you a quick idea the prices and menu items during lunch.  Lunch runs between 11:30 and 3pm.

[Music-chan]

After reading the schedule more in depth, I would love to visit the castle on Sunday. Since we're planning on being there around 10ish anyway, wait for us!

Cy and I are not really into watching The Lion King. While I usually love Disney stuff, I'm not so much into the weird stage things.  Cy is against the cost in general. =p  So if you guys do end up doing that, we'll probably just spend some time in the hotel.


On a general note, we could bring some DVDs or Blu-Rays if people want to watch anything.  I just recently got Tron: Legacy and Tangled (see my note about Disney stuff) and we have a lot of the now-older animes and a bunch of other movies and TV shows.  I wouldn't want to list all the stuff we have, but we have a pretty eclectic collection, from movies like The Transporter to Avatar the Last Airbender series.

[Ragnar]

I will be bringing anime and games.

[odin]

If everything goes correctly,we should leave Niagara Falls on Sunday sometime around 9am, maybe earlier if we can swing it, but neither one of us are really morning people.  I'd like to get into Toronto around 10am or earlier.  To be safe, I'd say we can meet up between 9 and 10am on Sunday. Does that work for you guys?

That'd get you there in time for Casa Loma. :-)

1. IF you want to eat where CyMage works, it would be anywhere from $30-40 CND a person if we make reservations as a group (group size doesn't really matter; just has slightly more limited menu choices).  If you just want to show up and order from the full menu, we're talking more $30-100 per person, depending on what you get.

This sounds fun and the price isn't an issue for me.

2. There's this Japanese restaurant we love to eat at, http://yukiguni.ca/   It's got sushi but it also has other Japanese dishes, like BBQ Eel and Sukiyaki.  It generally runs around $25-35 a person, depending on what you get.

If it's really excellent, I'd give that a thumbs-up too, but we'll be in Toronto for a week and have an opportunity for some really good sushi (already planning on Aji Sai).

3.  There's this restaurant right around the corner from our apartment that we've been meaning to try.  It sells vietnemese food and is suppose to have some really great noodle dishes.

Vietnamese restaurants rarely have veggie options.  If you'd be willing to phone ahead and find out whether we'd have anything to eat, I'd definitely put this on the list.  I've liked Vietnamese food every time I've had it.

Those are just some options I thought of off the top of my head.  There's this burrito place that has some really tasty and huge burritos.  There's a Denny's, a ton of Italian places, steak houses, fast food, etc etc etc.  There's even the Flying Saucer if you like greasy diner food.

I'd like to avoid chains (Denny's), Italian (unless it's non-Calabrian ... ie non-red-sauce Italian, then I *really* want to go there), and fast food if at all humanly possible.  Greasy diner food is often worthwhile, and steakhouses often have good asparagus and interestingly-prepared potatoes.  I'm all for that.

I figure we get to NF mid to late morning.  We can stop at our apartment if you want and we'll give you the five second tour.  Then we can either walk to the Falls from our building (about 3 blocks) or we can drive to the Skylon and mooch off of Cy's free parking privledges.   If you want to park REALLY close to the falls, such as in the big parking lot across from the Horseshoe falls, it'll probably cost around $10-15 a car. It's still the off season so I don't think it'll be $15 but I haven't checked prices.

Anyone who can't walk three blocks is going to be one hurting unit after our time in Toronto anyway.

Anyway, from there we can walk around and oogle at the falls, take pictures, etc.  IF the Maid of the Mist is open, odin and anyone who wants to do that can.  It'll be around $15 a person and probably takes around 20 minutes from start to finish, depending on if there's a line.  There's also the Journey Behind the Falls which might be a few dollars less and would take about the same amount of time.

Woo to both!

After lunch, if people are interested in walking across the Rainbow Bridge to the US Niagara Falls, that would take up another hour or two to walk through the park and oogle at the falls from the other side.  You'd need your passport, as you have to go through the walk-through customs, and 50 cents for the bridge fee.  Driving across costs more like $3-4 and we'd probably have to pay for parking on the other side as well.  (this shouldn't be an issue, but bikes are not allowed on the walking path over the bridge)  I'm not sure if it'll be open, but the Cave of the Winds (walking beside the US falls) is about $11USD and a very awesome experience.  They also have a Maid of the MIst which is exactly the same as the Canadian one. Just starts at the other side.

Count me in for all of that (except the driving across... walking sounds much more fun).

If no one's up for a walk across the bridge, there's always Clifton Hill which has the most touristy stuff possible.  Or a trip down the gorge to look at the Whirlpool, butterfly conservatory and Botanical Gardens, Flower Clock, etc.  There's also a few other nooks and cranies around Niagara Falls that I've found if you like nature.

I'd say all the stuff above sounds more fun than this, but this all sounds fun if there's time.

There's also two casinos in NF though I've never actually been on the gambling floor of either.

If everyone else is going, I'd do a casino, but it's *way* low on my priority list.

And of course, if you don't mind driving to Niagara-on-the-Lake, we could tour a winery or two.  If you were hoping to take some quality Niagara wines home with you, this would be a good option.  My sister has never had any problem getting multiple bottles across the border, but I'm not sure what it would involve on a flight, since we always drive across.  I'm fond of Inniskilling and Jackson-Triggs, but Peller Estates has a really nice looking building, and I've gotten some nice wine from the Reif Estates.  There are tons to choose from.

You can only take me on a winery tour if Ricey is willing to drive back.  :-)

Wineries and tourist attractions tend to close around 5pm on the off season though the casino and restaurants are always open later.  If you didn't mind getting back to Toronto late, you could stay in NF for dinner (it's going to be a bit expensive because everything here is) and drive back later.  IF you stay past dark, you could see the falls lit up for the evening, which is quite nice.  Though that probably won't happen until 8 or 9pm.

Lit up falls sounds nice too.  I've never seen that in person.

-Dan

[Dracos]

I'll try and get more of this into the post schedule.  Again, big props on the help to both Music and Odin.  I really appreciate how much you two are pitching in with making this awesome for everyone :D

Casinos really aren't on my radar.  I like a good game of cards, but I really am not into serious gambling.  I figure it'll be a lot more fun just having evening games between friends with just fake tokens at stake.  Done that way, it doesn't have to compete schedule-wise with anything but late night entertainment.


My thoughts on the falls (and my jot up will reflect this):  I've never been there at night either that sounds fun.  The Maid of the Mist is cool, I rec it!  And we should totally walk the path. =)

Also seconded for avoiding real general chains.  I mean seriously, traveling across the world to get 'genericeveryfood' is pretty lame :P  I'd almost wave off sushi but not everybody has a sushi joint everywhere and I do like me some sushi. ^_~ 

[Ragnar]

So, I'm trying to figure out exactly what I need to do beforehand - Mainly I'm planning on just going with the flow once I get there, but what are the things that I will need to set up in advance? It sounds like Pirates of Penance is something I should get tickets for; also, have we worked out bus/train/whatever passes?