As a first time visitor to the Toronto area I was impressed with how the city welcomes it's would-be visitors in style. Toronto Pearson International Airport is up there with Chicago O'Hare in terms of size but wow is it much cleaner. It's one of the cleanest airport I've ever been to. I arrived pretty early in the morning on a Saturday and the place was practically empty. The way to customs was quite a distance to get to but once there it was so quick to get through the check-point and out to the waiting transportation. The hotel has complementary WiFi which is a big plus for it's customers and there's even a gym that has numerous cardio and weight lifting machines. I guess some people really need their gym fix even while on vaca. Anywho I wasn't going near that at all. Another cool feature trinket that they have is their dinosaur exhibit near the outside of the terminal. Refer to attached pictures for more details. I thought it was cool to have museum quality fossils in an airport. That would probably be jacked if they placed it in Newark. Haha I kid, I kid...no not really.
Departing from the airport can be quite a hassle though. If you are coming back to America they have a pre-clearance for U.S. Customs which you have to go through with all your baggage. I really mean ALL of your baggage, even ones that you're going to check-in. To make things worse the lines can get really long which means you better come two hours before your flight or you're majorly screwed. This is all even before you get checked by security. I was thankful that I only had a carry on 'cause I would have been complaining the whole time if I had to lug around a heavy luggage. But once you get through everything, there are numerous restaurants inside the terminal to fill your time and mobile entertainment devices that you can pay to use to keep you occupied. Once again this is only possible in Canada because if it was Newark those things would get jacked. Sorry but you know it's true! Overall my visit to Toronto was phenomenal and my gateway to the city couldn't have been any better than YYZ airport!