My wife is traveling to France without me and with two small children -- girls 4 and 2 -- and is 20 weeks pregnant with twins. She recently discovered she has a layover in Toronto that is 9 hours long. A little research has shown that people reviewing airports on the internet have a poor opinion of the Toronto airport. Moreover, since it is an airport and in Canada, she wouldn't have an easy time exiting and re-entering the airport during her wait. So, the question is: what should she do for 9 daylight hours with 2 small children in the crappy Toronto airport?
I once spent 14 hours in Denver overnight and 26 hours in LAX. Jogging on the horizontal escalator is always fun.
There isn't much she can do, there is a prayer room where she can rest, you might want to tell her to check it out....it isn't too hard to exit the airport and re-enter, it's just that there is nothing really close by...
wow...that sucks....I would think she could leave the airport, take a taxi and take the kiddos and find some activity to do.
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9 hours is a LONG time....don't know why she couldn't take a cab somewhere? Her luggage is probably booked through. I assume everyone has passports, and if you're American, there are no other visa requirements. Even if she needs to be back 3 hours before the flight, she could still get 5 hours or so away. At 2 and 4, though, depends on what your kids like to do. Maybe find a park nearby and at least let the kiddies burn off some energy?
The Toronto airport is in the suburbs though. If she wants to go downtown, it might take an hour and at least $50 each way (Assuming the airport is Pearson). She's probably better off staying in the airport. It's not a terrible one...
if she is in terminal 1 at pearson it is actually a very nice terminal. terminal 3 on the other hand is older. i would reccommend paying the $40 per person and go into the maple leaf lounge.
Man, you better invest in a portable dvd player so the kids have something to watch all day. Make sure and have a bunch of cartoons or something for them to watch. That sounds so brutal. Perhaps there is some sort of park or something that they can go to nearby? If the airport is in the suburbs, I would assume that there are some nearby places that are kid-friendly, like a park or some sort of Chucky-Cheese-type spot. Use the interweb and check it out
Thanks for the advice. If she leaves the airport, they would pull her checked luggage out and search it for a bomb. Fortunately, she doesn't believe in checking luggage, so that won't be an issue. But, she'll still likely have to go through Customs to get out, since she's on an international flight, and then go through security to get back in. I think that's worth it given it's 9 hours, but she doesn't think so. I think she's pretty screwed here. I will advise her to check out Terminal 1. lol.
See if she can check her luggage into a locker. This link indicates that lockers are available, but it says that they're "pre-security" so I don't know if that will work for you. If she's able to store the luggage, that takes a little bit of burden off of her. From there - yeah: portable DVD player. Find a spot where she can plug it into an outlet and put in a movie or two. Call the airline, tell them your circumstances, and see if they might be able/willing to let her hang out in their "admiral's club" lounge. Also ask them if there are any facilities in the airport that might be accommodating to children.
She's traveling with two young kids, is pregnant, and doesn't believe in checking luggage. I say, just be glad you wont be stuck with her!!
