Navigating TIFF Part 4: Pearson Airport to Bell Lightbox for $3 via TTC

Previous posts have covered walking, driving, and bikng around the TIFF village. Today we'll cover how to get there from the airport without spending an arm and a leg.

There are tons of ways to get from Toronto's Pearson Airport to the heart of TIFF but the cheapest is via the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It takes about 90 minutes and only costs $3 Canadian . Here's a handy guide that will get you from the airport to within steps of Bell Lightbox.

1) After you leave your gate at Pearson go to terminal 3 and follow these signs:

2) Once you get outside go stand by the TTC pole:

3) Wait for the 192 Airport Rocket (For schedule click here). Before you board make sure you have $3 (Canadian) in exact change. The bus drivers will not make change. If you don't have exact change you can get TTC tokens from some of the shops in Terminal 3.

4) The bus will make 1 stop before it reaches your stop, Kipling station, which is the end of the Southbound line before the bus returns to the airport. Go inside the station and get on the train. This station is at the end of the Bloor-Danforth line so no matter what train you get on you will be heading in the right direction. The Bloor-Danforth line is the green line in the map below.

5) After 14 stops you will arrive at the Spadina station. Don't worry about counting stops, just listen to the conductor as they announce each stop as the train pulls into the station. There are also maps posted in the train so you can figure out your location pretty quicky. At the Spadina station you are going to get off the Bloor-Danforth train and follow the signs at the station to the Yonge-University-Spadina line heading towards Finch. Do not go to the platform that says Yonge-University-Spadina heading towards Downsview as those trains are going in the opposite direction of Lighbox. Yonge-University-Spadina is the yellow line above.

6) If the first stop you come to is St. George you are on the right train. If you arrive at DuPont, you went the wrong way. Don't worry, just get off the train an wait for the next train going in the other direction (trains come every 10-15 minutes). From St. George it is 6 stops before you arrive at your final destination of St. Andrew which is a short walk to the Festival Box Office.

Navigating TIFF Part 3: Biking to Venues using BIXI

We've covered walking and driving in previous posts so now we'll cover cycling between the venues. A few years ago, a bike sharing service call BIXI started up in the Toronto area. The picture below shows how a casual user can rent a BIXI bike at one of the many stations setup in the TIFF village.

The downside to BIXI is that it requires a credit card. That isn't big deal for locals, just be aware that there may be foreign transaction fees for those of you who aren't from Canada.You also have to be comfortable riding a bike in a big city where you'll be dodging cabs, pedestrians, bikes, etc. The BIXI website has all sorts of details on how to use the system and here are some maps indicating the BIXI stations nearest the TIFF Venues.

Before you rent a bike you should check the BIXI website to make sure that BIXI dock at your location isn't full.

On the maps below the venue is marked with this indicator:

The BIXI docks look like this:

We'll start with the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema located at: 506 Bloor Street West

Isabel Bader Theater: 93 Charles Street West

Jackman Hall, Art Gallery of Ontario: 317 Dundas Street West

The Princess of Wales Theater: 300 King Street West

Roy Thompson Hall: 60 Simcoe Street

Ryerson Theater: 43 Gerrard Street East

Scotiabank Theater: 259 Richmond Street West

TIFF Bell Lightbox: 350 King Street West

Elgin & Winter Garden Theater: 189 Yonge Street

Off Sale? Don't Panic!

I’m sure a lot of you have started to notice screenings are showing up as “OFF SALE” at the online box office (accessible here), “RUSH ONLY” on the boards at the Festival Box Office at 225 King Street West Concourse Level (entrance at Duncan Street), or generally unavailable by phone at (416) 599-FILM or 1-888-599-8433. Click here for a list of films currently Off Sale (Click on the button that says "Are You Just Browsing Today?" to see the list).

Don’t panic, there are still ways for you to get tickets. Here are a some options:

1) Don’t give up! Keep checking the various box offices listed above. 

Many of the seats for films listed as off sale were ticketed during the advance order process last week. Any of those ticketholders could change their mind between now and the screening and exchange their ticket for a voucher. I’ve had the most luck checking the systems at around 7:00 am (when the box offices open), but check all throughout the day as seats can become available any time.

2) If it is the day of the screening and you still can’t get a ticket at any of the box offices, your last resort is the rush line. 

Rush seats become available when people decide not to exchange tickets like I described above and simply just don’t show up. Remember, the festival's goal is to make sure that every seat in a theater is sold. The earlier you get in line the better. If the film is *HUGE* you want to get there at least 3 hours before the film starts. 

For midnight screenings the line will be crazy long, but it probably has a lot of people rushing a 9:00pm or 9:30pm screening. Once those people leave, you should be close to the front of the line. Make sure you are in the rush line (not the ticket holders line) and confirm which line you are in with a volunteer. The Ryerson seats over 1200 people so the odds are good if you are at the front of the line you've got a shot at a seat but there is no guarantee that seats will be available.

3) Your last option is to catch a repeat screening. 

The atmosphere is more relaxed than the midnight screenings and there is always a chance that some of the talent is still in town to do a Q&A.

Navigating The Festival Village

Showing 300+ films to thousands of people in 10 days takes a lot of theaters covering a bunch of real estate. Thankfully the blog is here to help you figure out the various ways to navigate around it.

On foot: Most of the theaters are within a 20-30 minute walk of one another. This post has a matrix showing foot travel time and distance between each venue.

TTC: Instead of driving downtown consider parking at a TTC lot outside downtown and taking the subway.Click here for a list of TTC stations that offer parking. Parking at these stations is ~$5 a day and free on weekends. Taking the TTC anywhere is only $3 so find the metro stop closest to your venue.

Streetcars also service downtown. The main north south streetcar is on Spadina and it will come in handy considering there is construction on Spadina which plays havoc with vehicle traffic.

TTC subways and streetcars shutdown at 2:00 am. Remember that when making your plans for Midnight Madness.

BIXI: BIXI bike rental stations are all over the festival village. If you need to get from the Ryerson to Lightbox quickly you can scan your credit card at the automatic bike rack, ride the bike to the rental station closest to Lightbox, park the bike and be done with the entire transaction. Click here for their website which includes more detailed map, pricing, and rental instructions.

Cabs: Cabs have a minimum fare of $4.25 to start, with an additional $0.25 for every additional 0.143 km (about two blocks) or for every 29 seconds waiting/non-moving time. They’re all over the festival village and easy to hail (just stick out your hand!)

Drive: Make sure to avoid the construction on Spadina. There are several parking decks downtown with most charging ~$5 per hour. Click here for the Toronto Parking Authority website which shows locations and prices of lots in the area.