Overview:
Earlier this month, I visited VAVA Toronto – a vibrant arcade filled with lots of fun claw machines and arcade games for you to play! There’s also a large variety of prizes you can win ranging from stuffed animals, keychains, polaroid cameras, lipsticks, and even luxury items – like a Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer, a pair of YEEZYs, or a Gucci handbag! The pink interior design theme is also perfect for photo opportunities (which is the main reason why I went haha). Interested in visiting? Keep on reading to learn everything you need to know about VAVA Toronto before going!
Address: 5451 Yonge Street 2nd Floor Toronto, ON M2N 5S1
Hours: Monday to Thursday (3-10pm), Friday & Saturday (1-11:30pm), Sunday (1-10pm)
Location:
VAVA Toronto is located in the heart of North York – an eclectic, multi-cultural city filled with various restaurants, bubble tea shops, and cute dessert cafés! It’s the perfect location to step into the city life and snack on some good eats. We actually had lunch at a Korean Corn Dog restaurant called Chungchun Rice Dog first before going to VAVA Toronto! I feel like that corn dog place became really popular after the Korean drama, “Start-Up” was released on Netflix haha.
Parking:
We parked along the street outside of Chungchun Rice Dog since VAVA Toronto was only a quick two-minute walk away. The cost was $3.00 per hour, or $9.00 for 3 hours (max duration). We used the Green P Parking App on our mobile phone to pay, which was very convenient and allowed us to watch our parking session on the go. I highly recommend downloading the Green P Parking App so you don’t have to physically pay at the parking machine and print out your ticket to place inside your car!
BEFORE YOU PLAY:
Once you arrive inside VAVA Toronto, walk straight to the cashier on your left where you can purchase a package of credits. Afterwards, you’ll be given a card that will act as your “wallet.” You can choose between a black or pink card. I chose pink! We also bought the $50 package since they were doing a promotion at that time.
HOW TO PLAY:
After purchasing your credits, get ready to play and win! All you have to do is insert your card into the reader machine, and you can leave it there as you play. Credits will automatically be deducted per round. Depending on which game you’re playing, it will cost either three or six credits per play.
GAME #1: CLAW MACHINES
The claw machines are one of my personal favourites! Each round costs three credits per play, and you can choose from a variety of different toys. I normally like to do a tour of the place to see which one I want to win, and then see which machine has the best chance at winning! One tip is to shake the claw quickly before you drop it down because it increases the chance of moving the toy. (Watch my above YouTube video to see what I’m talking about haha).
GAME #2: THE SCISSOR
I don’t know the actual name of this game, but I’m calling it, “The Scissor” because there’s basically a blade that moves back and forth, and you have to perfectly time the button when it aligns with the string that’s holding the toy. Once the string is cut, the prize is yours! Each round costs six credits (double the claw machine), so it’s a bit more painful when you don’t win anything haha. I actually found this game to be pretty tough and didn’t want to waste too many credits here.
GAME #3: PRIZE OUT
Moving on to the next game, this key machine is called, “Prize Out.” Each round costs six credits per play, and it’s similar to the scissor game where you have to perfectly align the key into the hole in order to win the prize. At first glance, I thought it was pretty easy… but it was actually pretty difficult too. I wanted to win the pink polaroid camera, but I had no luck haha.
GAME #4: LUXURY PACKAGES
The final game that you can play at VAVA Toronto is the “Luxury Package.” It costs six credits per play, and the prizes are the most worth it if you can actually win. Basically, there are three rounds where you have to shoot these virtual lipsticks onto a rotating wheel. If you can complete all three rounds without messing up, then you win! It sounds simple, but the wheel speeds up and rotates in different directions as you’re playing haha. The good thing is you can practice by playing their trial game before actually paying to play. The trial lasts for two rounds, and you can play as many times as you want!
FINAL THOUGHTS & CONCLUSION
I would say VAVA Toronto is definitely a spot that you want to visit if you’re interested in trying the claw machines and taking some nice photos! To be honest, I never enjoyed the idea of paying for claw machines here because I found it really expensive (in comparison to Taiwan), so the only reason why I decided to give VAVA Toronto a chance was because of the amazing photo opportunities there haha. The environment is so vibrant and alive, and the staff is also very friendly too! They do have some great prizes to win as well, so if you’re up for the challenge, I’d say go for it!
When we were there, we actually saw one couple win a giant stuffed animal from the scissor game AND a Gucci bag from the luxury package. The staff member told us that they only spent $30 for credits too… so if you’re skilled enough, you can definitely make the trip worth it! Just be sure to bring a friend so they can also help you take some nice photos too 😉 haha.
Anyways, hope you all enjoyed reading about my trip to VAVA Toronto! Feel free to leave a comment and share your experience with me below if you end up visiting! You can also follow me on Instagram @melindatse & subscribe to my YouTube channel to follow me on my creative journey! Thanks so much for reading, and I’ll talk to you all soon 🙂
Your travel friend,
Mel
