I lived there for a short period of time, right after I graduated from United Airlines flight attendant training in 1997. I forgot how much I missed it, what a fun trip for us, the girls had a blast.
Our itinerary...
Day 1:
- Took the "L" to the Skydeck at Willis Tower
- Rainforest Cafe for lunch
- Jay Pritzker Pavilion to see and hear the free orchestra music
- The Cloud Gate (aka the Bean)
- The Crown Fountain, the kids played in the water (it's okay, it's allowed)
- Buckingham Fountain, it has hourly light and water shows
Day 2:
- Shedd's Aquarium
- Lou Malnati's Pizzeria
- Navy Pier (caught the Cirque Shanghai show)
Day 3:
- Kiddos wanted to go back to the Crown Fountain and play
- Drove home
If I were to offer tips for those of you who may be planning a trip there, buy tickets ahead of time. Also, those who bought the Fast Pass, they cruised to the head of the line each time.
Try to eat a little earlier, say 4:30-5pm, just before the crowds. And for Navy Pier, it was a mad house, maybe because it was Saturday night and there were fireworks but next time I'd shoot for a weekday.
Also, the Bean and the Crown fountain are very close, next time (I was prepared the second day) I'd have the kids wear their bathing suit and there's a public restroom on the level just below the Bean where they can change into dry clothes.
Shedd's Aquarium has an awesome Stingray touch exhibit, I highly recommend it. The 4-D movie, on the other hand, didn't compare to the Bug's Life 4-D at Disney. So if that's what you'd expect you may be disappointed.
The cheapest mode of transportation would be the bus. We were too intimidated to try it though and ended up paying a fortune for taxi's.
We stayed at the Grant Park Best Western on S. Michigan. It was the cheapest around with a parking structure and it was one of the few that had a pool (on a roof, which the kids thought was cool).
Looks like a great time! I live in the Chicago burbs and I don't get to the city often enough, but it can be such a pain :) I heard it was packed this weekend with a lot of events like you said. Also, Lou's is my favorite pizza too!
ReplyDeleteIsn't Lou's fantastic! We live in the burbs outside of Detroit and we don't get down there nearly enough either...maybe for a Tiger game here and there. Then again, Detroit doesn't have as many attractions as Chicago either. I think any city can be a pain to maneuver, unless you live in the heart of it. Parking, driving, tolls, etc. :) Luckily we went the weekend before Lalapalooza, this coming weekend is going to be insane.
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