How About Wasting Your Money And Precious Time?
Written: Sep 17 '02 (Updated Sep 18 '02)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: friendly, elevators are fast, glass floor, location
Cons: dirty, crowded, lines, lying staff
The Bottom Line: So why waste your money and time at the CN Tower?
|
|
|
| jetbluefan1's Full Review: CN Tower |
Hmmm.....the CN Tower. Where to start? Oooh I got it! Okay, here is goes......
The CN Tower is so-called the “tallest building in the world.” I actually do not think this way. I personally think the Empire State building is taller, but what do I know? I can see why some people may think this, because the CN Tower is the first building you see when coming into Toronto. Yes, the thin building with two elevators running up and down each side of the tall thick pole. Ah and yes, the circular part about three fourths the way up. Yes, that is what catches everyone’s eyes, even when walking down Harbourfront Centre, or when tanning on the beach at Lake Ontario.
P As In Parking -
Surprisingly there is no parking for the CN Tower. Can you believe it? When we were driving by the main entrance, I asked a police man where we can park. He said we are not allowed to park on the bike congested street (the main street where the CN Tower is). So we went down to the end of the block just before Air Canada Centre. There was a small rocky lot where about 25 cars could park. We paid a very helpful and friendly man $10 Canadian, which is a bit more than $6 American. This “lot” was not opened by the CN Tower, but instead is owned by one person who was very smart. Yes, making good money for convenient parking for the CN Tower.
Alternative parking lots would be the Air Canada Centre, and Crowne Plaza Hotel.
Parking was very disorganized, and poorly thought out.
The First Line....Not The Last -
Okay now. What is your first thought when you see a massive crowd around several windows? Um....run! Run as if your life depended on it! Run all the way to Niagara Falls! Run all the way to Buffalo! Just run as fast as you can as far as you can!
Okay...now that everyone has run off, back to reality. Once we got through the crowd, we found that there was a long window with CN Tower staff on the other side. There, we paid for our tickets to go to the top. Admission for us was $16 per person, Canadian. There were not any discounts for children or senior citizens. This price included a trip to the observation deck. This was the cheapest ticket. The other ticket included a trip to an even higher level, but when we got to the top the wait to the higher level was another two hours.
Zigging And Zagging = The Main Entrance -
After receiving your tickets, you will enter through automatic doors. Staff members will then check your ticket, and will then let you wander around. If you go all the way to the left in the lobby, you will find restrooms down a steep staircase. Or, if you go straight ahead, you will see several more staff members dressed up in outfits such as the JetBlue flight attendants wear. There, they said the wait to the tower would be only 25 minutes. Great, only 25 minutes! So we went down a hallway filled with photos and television screens with information on the CN Tower.
The Real Lines-
After a short five minute wait in the dim hallway, we started to hear the sound of air conditioners? Actually yes, a security machine that uses air to sense drugs and weapons. When going into this machine, a small sign says “stop” as the air goes on. There are six air ducts on every side. Two in one area, as there are three areas. The top area with two ducts tests your face to see if you are hiding anything in your hair. The second area tests around your center point, to see if you are hiding anything in your pockets. The third and last area is at the bottom to see of you are hiding anything in your shoes.
These security machines may be installed in airports within the U.S.A.
Once passing security, we went down a wide hallway that overlooked a large gift shop located below us. Once at the end of the hallway, we were made to be in a picture. It was basically that you were a giant as tall as the CN Tower. You basically stand next to the “CN Tower” which is on a screen behind you.
You know what is really pitiful? They forgot to offer us the picture to buy afterwards.
Once we passed this, we waited in yet another line for about 45 minutes. We were all crowded together like the cheese in a grilled cheese sandwich. You know how tight that can be, right? It is basically like flying on a sold out flight with no air conditioning. Oh wait, there wasn’t any air conditioning in the CN Tower either! Yikes!
After getting through ”this part of the line”, we entered a large and dark room which had many uncomfortable benches in it. In this room, there was a large screen in the front for a three minute film on how the CN Tower was built. We decided to skip this film and exit from the room with the crowd that was using it before us.
We then waited for about.....hmmm.....another 30 minutes! Can you believe this? It all turned out to be a one hour and a half wait to get in an elevator. The staff members had told us it would only be a 25 minute wait! So this is great. A staff member lies to me for business reasons. Well, she has lost my business now...for good! If she had told me otherwise, I would have returned the ticket and came again another less crowded day. Therefore, I would have been able to give the CN Tower a higher rating. Perhaps she meant that that we would get through security in about 25 minutes, and actually start doing activities like taking pictures, and watching a film.
Elevators -
There is a total of eight elevators. The ride to the top is only 58 seconds. It is claimed to be the fastest elevator in Canada. When at the top, there is a small crack in which you can see all the down! Whoa that’s a long way!
At The Top....Don’t Fall Now! -
There are two levels when reaching the top. They are both very crowded, and dirty. They are also both filled with drink and snack stands.
The Lower Level includes the outdoor observation deck.
Outdoor Observation Deck, It’s Windy Out Here! -
The outdoor observation deck is located around the rim of the lower level of the two decks. It is surrounded by these bars that not even a quarter could fit through. This prevents you from dropping anything while on the deck. It is very windy there, and chilly. This is how it is for most skyscrapers, since the winds are a lot stronger and high elevations.
The Glass Floor......Hopefully The Glass Won’t Break! -
The glass floor is nothing major. It is basically an 8x2 piece of thick glass. It is set so you can see all the way to the bottom. It makes you feel as if you are floating in mid-air. It is a great Kodak Moment (picture opportunity). You can lie down and put your head on the glass. Therefore it looks like you are lying down on a cloud.
The “Revolving” Restaurant....Does It Really Revolve? -
This restaurant is said to be revolving constantly. As I went to get a glass of water, I did not notice myself “revolving”. The restaurant was staying in just one place. Perhaps that is because it moves extremely slowly. I have learned (thanks to mjfrombuffalo) you will notice that you have moved if you have sat there for about 30 minutes. I did not eat anything there, but they were generous to give me a glass of water for free.
View -
Next to the revolving restaurant are slanted windows to view Toronto. Everyone says that it is a spectacular view. Too bad! I went on a crystal clear day, and I couldn’t see anything! Yes, it was humidity! I could only see the top of the skyscrapers, and then everything else seemed to disappear. If not, they were very hard to see, and very blurry. The view was as if it was a foggy day, when arriving on an airplane into the Pearson Airport.
Conclusion -
We ended up staying at the top for about 20 minutes. Honestly, I started to get bored. What was there to do? My conclusion is two stars.
Pros - The pros are the friendliness of the staff members, fast elevators, location, and the glass floor.
Cons - A staff member lied to me, the lines were absolutely horrible. Where is the parking lot?
It is not the CN Tower’s fault that the view wasn’t clear though, so I can not take away credit from the CN Tower.
Going to the CN Tower is basically Spending Your Money And Precious Time!
Recommended:
No
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.