Princess of Wales Theatre car service
Premieres at 300 King Street West, home of the Visa Screening Room during the Toronto International Film Festival. Dropped on the Mirvish block and collected there when the credits roll.
Princess of Wales Theatre Car Service rates
A premiere is an evening, not a drop. These are the published hourly figures from our rate card, and the car is yours for the block of time rather than the single journey.
Up to 6 passengers
Cadillac Escalade
The most booked festival vehicle
Up to 2 passengers
Mercedes-Benz S-Class Maybach
The car for a premiere arrival
Up to 14 passengers
Executive Sprinter
Fourteen seats for a delegation
All rates are plus HST 13% and gratuity 15 to 20 percent. Every figure starts from a GTA pickup. A Rolls-Royce is quoted separately on your date, with a five hour minimum.
Premiere nights at the Toronto International Film Festival
The princess of wales theatre at 300 King Street West is a Mirvish house that the Toronto International Film Festival takes over for premieres, and it holds the Visa Screening Room. That matters to a driver because a premiere behaves differently from a regular screening: talent and press arrive on a schedule, the pavement in front is managed, and the public queue runs along the same frontage.
The practical effect is that the kerb in front of the theatre is not always yours to use. On a busy premiere the drop moves a few doors along the block, which is a thirty second walk and a completely different experience from circling King Street looking for a gap. Knowing that in advance is most of the job.
Where the car actually stops on the King Street block
300 King Street West sits in the middle of a short, dense stretch. Here is what is around it and why it changes the drop.
Because the festival venues sit within roughly 200 metres of one another, an evening that takes in two of them is one booking and one vehicle, not two fares. That is the single most useful thing to know about transport during this festival.
Parking near 300 King Street West, and why most people skip it
There is parking under the theatre, reached off John Street, and more in the surrounding garages. On an ordinary night it is fine. On a festival night the maths changes for three reasons.
Being dropped
Escalade, four hours.
- No lot to find and no exit queue
- Dropped and collected on the same block
- Nobody in the party has to stay sober to drive
- The car waits while you watch the film
Parking yourself
Plus the walk and the wait.
- Garages fill early on premiere nights
- The exit queue empties into managed streets
- One person cannot drink
- You still walk the last stretch
Rideshare
Priced by the moment you need it.
- Fine going in, harder coming out
- The whole block requests at once when a screening ends
- No held vehicle between venues
None of that says never drive. It says that on the ten or eleven nights a year when this block is at capacity, the arithmetic tilts, and this is one of those nights.
Two venues in one evening
Festival evenings often run to a second screening or a dinner in between, and the venues are close enough that people underestimate the value of keeping the car.
An hourly booking covers the gap. The vehicle waits between the two, your coats and anything you have bought stay in it, and the second leg does not depend on what is available at the moment you walk out. For a party of six the Escalade at $175 an hour across four hours works out around $117 each before tax and gratuity, and that figure covers the whole evening rather than one direction of one journey.
If the evening ends at a party rather than at home, keep the same vehicle across it. That is set out on the party and afterparty page, and it is almost always cheaper than finding a second car late.
Princess of Wales Theatre car service: questions buyers ask
Do you serve the Princess of Wales Theatre during the Toronto International Film Festival?
Yes, and it is one of our busiest festival venues. The Princess of Wales Theatre at 300 King Street West hosts the Visa Screening Room during the Toronto International Film Festival, and premiere nights are booked hourly so the car is there before and after.
How much is a car to the Princess of Wales Theatre?
A Cadillac Escalade is $175 an hour from $525, and a Mercedes-Benz S-Class Maybach is $250 an hour with a four hour minimum, both within the GTA and plus HST 13% and gratuity 15 to 20 percent.
Where does the car drop off at 300 King Street West?
At the theatre frontage on a normal night. On a busy premiere the frontage is managed, so the drop moves a few doors along the block, which is a thirty second walk and avoids circling King Street.
Is there parking at the Princess of Wales Theatre?
Yes, under the theatre reached off John Street, plus garages nearby. They fill early on festival nights, and the exit afterwards empties into managed streets, which is why most festival bookings skip parking rather than pay for it.
Can one booking cover two venues in a night?
Yes, and it usually should. The festival venues sit within roughly 200 metres of each other, so the car waits between them on an hourly booking instead of you paying two separate fares.
How far is TIFF Lightbox from the Princess of Wales Theatre?
About two minutes on foot, west along King Street West. Roy Thomson Hall is around the corner on Simcoe Street. That proximity is the reason an hourly booking beats separate transfers during the festival.
How many people fit?
Six in the Escalade, two in the Maybach, and up to fourteen in an Executive Sprinter at $195 an hour from $780. Above fourteen we quote a 27-Passenger Mini Bus at $250 an hour.
Why hourly instead of a flat transfer?
Because a premiere evening is not a single journey. You are buying the arrival, the wait and the run afterwards. A plain one-way can still be quoted if that genuinely is all you need.
What if the screening runs long or there is a Q and A afterwards?
Hourly billing means it is simply more of the hours you booked, with no penalty and no surge. The vehicle is not released while you are inside.
Can we add a dinner stop?
Yes, and on this block it is common because the restaurants sit between the venues. Build it into the hours at the quote stage rather than adding it on the night.
Is gratuity included?
No. Every rate is plus HST 13% and gratuity 15 to 20 percent, stated separately so you are comparing the same kind of figure against another operator.
How far ahead should I book a premiere night?
Two to three weeks. Premiere dates clear the Maybach and the larger vehicles first, and those are the ones most people want for exactly that evening.
Do you handle press and industry bookings at this venue?
Yes. Multi-day industry bookings run as a held vehicle across the festival rather than a series of separate jobs, which is set out on the industry and press page.
Can you collect several people from different addresses?
Yes. Multi-address pickup is standard and each passenger gets their own pickup time so the whole party reaches the theatre together rather than in three arrivals.
What happens after the screening?
You message the chauffeur directly on the number you were given. The car is already held nearby, so there is no request to send and no fare that reprices because a theatre just emptied.
Do you serve the Royal Alexandra Theatre too?
Yes. The Royal Alexandra at 260 King Street West is on the same block and the same booking pattern applies, including evenings that take in both houses.
Is this only during the festival?
No. The Princess of Wales is a working Mirvish theatre all year, and the same hourly booking suits a musical or a play just as well. Festival week is simply the busiest version of it.
Do you take corporate bookings?
Yes, with invoicing rather than a card on the night, a named driver confirmed in advance, and one booking covering several pickup addresses.
What vehicle suits a couple in evening dress?
The Escalade more often than the sedan, for a practical reason: a floor-length gown and a low sedan seat do not get along. It is the most common correction we make to a booking.
Do you pick up outside Toronto?
Yes, from anywhere in the Greater Golden Horseshoe. Runs starting outside the GTA are quoted on distance rather than the GTA hourly figures here.
Can I book only the ride home?
Yes, though it is the harder half to secure late on a festival night. If you book one direction only, the ride home is the one worth locking.
How do I get a firm price?
Send the date, the screening, your pickup address and how many of you there are. A fixed figure comes back and nothing is charged until you accept it.
Related TIFF services
Book the evening, not just the drop
Send the screening, your pickup address and the party size. A fixed figure comes back and the vehicle is held for the block of time you need.