Strollers and transit

Strollers, transit, and the lines nobody warns you about

Union Station and the indoor SkyWalk, GO and UP Express with a stroller, the security bag check, and the ear-popping trick that keeps small children calm in the lift.

Getting to the harbour with children is mostly a question of how much weather you are willing to absorb. From Union Station you can stay indoors almost the whole way via the SkyWalk toward the stadium and the railway lands. It is warm, flat, and stroller-friendly, and in January it is the difference between a good day and a cancelled one. Follow the SkyWalk signs rather than surfacing onto Front Street, where the wind arrives off the lake with intent.

GO Transit and the UP Express both land in the same Union complex, which makes the trip easy from the airport or the suburbs. Elevators exist but are not always where you expect them, so allow an extra ten minutes the first time. If you are arriving by car, budget a garage and a walk; the drop-off circle on Bremner is fine until a tour bus, a construction fence, and a stadium event arrive at the same moment.

The bag check is the part families underestimate. Bags go through screening at the base and the line can extend across the plaza on a weekend midday. A stroller does not exempt you from it, and a full stroller basket means more to unload. Pack so that the whole thing can be lifted and folded in under a minute, with snacks and documents in one small bag you can hand over separately.

Inside, the lifts are fast and the pressure change is real. Small children often feel it in their ears on the way up and complain on the way down. Swallowing, a sippy cup, or a plain yawn usually settles it. If a child has a cold, the descent is the moment to expect tears, so plan something calm for the first two minutes after you land rather than a sprint to the exit.

Strollers are allowed in the main lookout, but the ring is a walking space and a parked double-wide becomes an obstacle for everyone. We fold ours and carry the child, or leave it with the other adult at the seating wall. The upper pod is tighter again. Current rules, lift status, and access notes belong to the operator, not to us. We have described what our own strollers have survived.