Thanks everyone for the input about Toronto. I’m hearing great things! Now the planning process. I’m looking at Airbnb’s and hotels. I don’t know enough about the area when it asks what part of the city is want to stay in. Are there good parts and bad ones, as in where the crime might be high and you wouldn’t want to stay in that area?
I've lived in Toronto for most of my life, and there's very few areas that I wouldn't want to stay in for safety reasons (Jane/Finch, Regent Park), but personally I'd also avoid the King West area because it can get pretty noisy and party-some at night. I knew someone who had a condo there and chose to move because of the noise.
For a family staying multiple days, I agree that AirBnB or VRBO are good choices -- I like having some kitchen facilities, and there's usually a washer/dryer too. Perhaps consider the Annex, Kensington Market, Yorkville, or the area around Queen's Park and the University. There are lots of great areas, but those are probably most central to walkable areas where you'll see the things most first-timers want to see.
We stayed in a gorgeous Airbnb on the lakefront. It was a room in a home - but the room looked like a 5 star hotel, with the lake in the back yard, private bathroom and I believe your own deck off the room. The owners were lovely folks. We weren't too far from a subway stop - we ended up parking (it was a weekend so parking was free) at the subway stn. Lovely park nearby - it was past 'The Beaches' area.
Here's the link if you're interested...https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/1604069?source_impression_id=p3_1582545491_4%2FPn%2FzRZcke0XpsB
We actually stayed in two spots as we spent 6 nights in TO - 3 nights there and 3 in a basement apartment closer to the city proper. I actually took a day from Niagara Falls as I loved the look of the airbnb and wanted to spend an extra night there.
What are you looking to do in the city? That would help guide where to stay. Toronto is a very safe city and as a previous poster mentioned there are very few areas that I would choose not to stay in.