Birthday parties are quite unpredictable and typically don’t go well with our amazingly awesome (can you tell I am bias?) 7 year old daughter Maggie who has high-functioning ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). They are often hard for her to socially navigate and oftentimes she’ll end up removing herself from the party entirely, excusing herself to be alone, or to play on her Ipad, or she’ll just get agitated and upset. 
Which leads me to this blog post. Instead of having a party for Maggie we now offer her 3-4 Birthday options annually (it’s better when she gets to choose and is in control). Last year, we happened to be in Michigan around her Birthday so she chose to go to Avalanche Bay (one of Michigan’s biggest waterparks) and we had an unforgettable blast!
This year, out of the four options we gave to Maggie she chose Canada’s Wonderland. Her choice did not surprise me as she is completely and utterly fearless. (Which PS I find completely fascinating as she can’t even stand itchy pants or the smell of the meat aisle at the grocery store).
Wonderland Fun!
Canada’s Wonderland was such an amazing choice, and we ended up having an epic day. Given our five year old son is far from as fearless as his big sis (and not nearly as tall) we met up with my younger sister and brother-in-law to form a bigger (but not overwhelming) group that could easily be split up into the daredevils, and scaredy-cats. (I was a member of the scaredy-cat team of course, motion sickness is pretty much my middle name).
Maggie & Auntie Lo – Part of Team Daredevil – Loving the Coasters
Maggie got to spend the day riding GIANT roller-coasters and was in sheer heaven! We also got the fast pass at Wonderland, which for an added cost you get a wrist band and don’t have to wait in the regular line, making the line-waiting anxiety for Maggie disappear. (Soooo worth it!) At one moment during pizza lunch she leaned over to my husband and said: “Dad, this is the best day of my life.” Which in and of itself made the whole entire trek completely worth it.
Mom & Martin (aka the scaredy cats) enjoying the kiddo rides just fine! 🙂
We are a good 3 ½ – 4 hour drive from Toronto so to add to the Birthday experience we decided to head downtown Toronto and stay over for the night. We chose the Delta Chelsea hotel as they have a family suite which includes 2 bedrooms (one for the kids and one for us) and a pull-out couch.
Team Scaredy Cat meeting the peanuts characters
Although the highlight of the trip should have been Wonderland, unexpectedly, just as equally awesome was the hotel. Unbeknownst to me the Delta Chelsea caters to kids. From the moment we checked in and arrived they were presented with a “welcome” gift from the Hotel Manager which they both adored. They felt so special.
Kiddos loving their room service pizza party!
Their kid’s room was perfect with two beds – and their own TV! The real awesomeness was the amazing pool with the most impressive waterslide. Even after a tiring day at Wonderland the kids spent a good two hours at the pool riding up and down the giant swirly water slide. They started referring to it as the “city slide” as for part of the journey down the slide is exposed on the exterior to the city (which you can view from above).
Giant “city” swirly slide
In addition to the pool/waterslide there was a kid’s room which was incredible. It was loaded with kid’s toys and activities and even had real live big, fluffy bunny rabbits! How cool! Across the way from that was an arcade set-up which the kids also enjoyed, we got to play air hockey and pin ball.
Kids activity room
On top of all of that the kids got to eat their meals for free at the hotel (with the cost of an adult meal). They adored the café-styled restaurant with kid friendly meal options, and for free.
Amazing kids room set up
My kids really did think they died and went to heaven! They ask me every day to go back, and this time they want to stay a whole week. (What kid wouldn’t?) During our stay we kept running into the Hotel Manager around the hotel. The kids kept recognizing as he was the one who presented them with their welcome gift – so basically he was the hotel Santa-Claus. He was very friendly and chatty with the kids, and at one point when we ran into him both kids asked for a hug, and the Hotel Manager was kind enough to oblige.
Family pool
So, parents, if you are looking for a fun-filled weekend I highly recommend the formula of Wonderland (with the fast pass option) followed by a family-fun stay at the Delta Chelsea hotel, consider booking the family suite which offers ample room and separate bedrooms to make the most of your stay!
onthemmmove 