Two nights in Chicago. With Kids. Advice.

In My Humble Opinion
1

I am taking my kids to Chicago in July. Probably July 5th and 6th.

We want to do the Sears tower and American Girl store My son is planning on going into a coma when he enters into this estrogenfilled store. and Lego Store ( Not really sure at this point where it is, but I want to hit it.) Along with the Shedd Aquariaum and the art institute ( because CULTURE must be imposed on my progeny, dammit.) There is also a store, which escapes me now, that is called like BrainStore or the Mind Store . For brain stuff [size=1]derp.[size] to expand the cranium. Yanno, completely not video games.

I need advice on where to stay that is affordable ( if there is such a thing in a big city.) Something with a pool would be nice, but I would prefer something with free continental breakfast and free parking.

Any other side trips that we can do.

I am always up for hitting thrift stores, book stores and knitting shops, but the latter will cause my children to take a hostage.

They are 10 and 12. Girl and boy and I will be taking them El Solo Mom. As my husband has no more time off of work.

2

Marbles. Found it. I could spend HOURS in a place like this. ( Along with knitting and thrift shops. My body might be found along the highway and my kids doing a Thelma and Louise.)

3

I am going to make a recommendation, which is to see the John Hancock building instead of the Sears Tower. The Hancock building is on Michigan Ave., much closer to the other attractions you’re interested in, as opposed to the Sears (now Willis, actually) Tower, which is in the business district and a fair jaunt away. There’s an excellent observation deck at the John Hancock building, and you’ll get that tall building experience, but it’s much more convenient and somewhat less expensive than the Sears/Willis. That’s JMO, though.

We just got back from a 2-day stay in Chicago last week, actually. I used nextag.com to locate an inexpensive motel with a pool and continental breakfast. Ours was in Elk Grove, near to O’Hare, so not really that close to the downtown attractions, but the price was right.

4

I meant the Hancock Tower.

5

Free museum days in Chicago - most of them say check the calendar, but each museum’s website is linked for convenience.

6

Also, on that Monday, the fifth I am working until I dunno and will probably have to arrive late to very late at the hotel. ( Or sleep a few hours and throw the kids in the car at 4 am to drive there.)
Just an FYI.

7

I avoided it for years, but Millennium Park really is worth checking out. The Silver Bean (officially known as the Cloud Gate or some shit) is indescribably cool. Mesmerizing. And then turn your back on it and walk east to the Lurie Gardens, which are a neat little project in urban gardening and plant restoration. There are also bound to be projects or presentations on site, maybe from one of the museums or zoos or other cool things. Across the street from the Lurie Gardens is some sort of small art museum thingy (sorry, don’t know the name) with some pretty cool modern stuff in it. If you walk south through the garden along the western edge, there’s a pedestrian ramp up into the second floor of the nameless museum, then you can look at stuff as you make your way back down. Cost for all of these: nothin’.

In fact…yes! You’ll be in town for the Family Fun Festival, at Millennium Park. Free entertainment and activities. Last year WhyBaby made paper, spun hula hoops, built stuff and had a great time. She was a wee bit young for some of the stuff, but we all had fun anyhow.

As **MsWhatsit **says, Elk Grove Village is a good place for a hotel. It’s about a 20 minute cab ride into The Loop if traffic is cooperating. Anything in The Loop itself is just crazy expensive.

8

I too like the Hancock observatory better than the Willis (Sears) Tower, but the Willis Tower has the glass bottom observatory now. So that would be worth going to.

I would say for kids go to the Museum of Science And Industry. That is your best bet to keep them interested. Remember most of these museums have fees for other parts. For instance the aquarium has a sepearte fee for the oceanarium inside it.

The Brookfield Zoo is spectacular though it’s in the suburbs. The Lincoln Park Zoo is OK but it’s free and in the city (north side) and easy to get to via public transit.

Visit the CTA site for information on bus/train schedules and passes

The cheapest hotels are in the suburbs. It’s a heck of a lot cheaper to get a suburban hotel and take the Metra (Suburban commuter train) into the city

I would use sites like Priceline and Hotwire to get a room in Chicago. The ADR (average daily rate) of hotels in Chicago, has fallen a lot. An advanced booking should get you a hotel in the $100 - $150 range depending on which type of hotel you stay at.

Hotwire and Priceline can cut this down to between $60 and $100 per night. Of course you don’t know where you’re booked at and you have to BE VERY CAREFUL about booking and refunds (usually none) and schedules and such. But if you’re flexible those two are great. But if you have special requests, like handicapped needs skip them.

A pool will only jack up the cost of the room a LOT in downtown Chicago and you have Lake Michigan Beaches a few blocks away. If you stay in the burbs you can usually find pools at little or no extra cost.

If you want thrift stores and boutiques and such, there are two fun options. The real experience is Milwaukee Avenue. Start at Milwaukee and North Avenue and move NORTH on Milwaukee. You get all sorts of thrift stores, and fancy boutiques because Bucktown / Wicker Park is changing to Yuppie.

You could also look around Broadway and/or Clark. Start at Armitage and move NORTH or SOUTH. Tons of overprice little shops and thrift stores (they’re VINTAGE stores over there)

You indicated your driving. OK beware parking is NOT free in Chicago. In the suburban hotels it’s free (but not the close in suburbs near O’Hare). That can run you $30 a day up to $100 a day. Some places have in/out privledges (meaning you can come and go as often as you like). Some places do NOT have in/out privledges so you pay the fee each time you go in and out.

You don’t need a car in Chicago. Busses and subways and el trains are safe, provided you use common sense.

As for Elk Grove, look for a hotel with free transport to O’Hare. You hop their shuttle and take it to O’Hare and take the Blue Line Subway/El from O’Hare to Downtown. It’s an hour trip and $2.25 one way for adult fare. A daily pass on the CTA (Chicago Transit) is $5.75 and is unlimited rides.

Note that if you buy a pass, Elk Grove is suburbs and the Pace (suburban transit) doesn’t accept CTA passes (except Monthly passes and special marked weekly passes). Otherwise your 1 or 3 or weekly CTA passes won’t work on Pace. The regular fare cards between Pace and the CTA work with each other.

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I used to work at the Shedd Aquarium! Back in the early '90s. I consider it a must-see.

Depending on how old your kids are, they might appreciate the Field Museum of Natural History more than the Art Institute. The Adler Plantarium is right there by the Shedd and the Field if they’re into space. The Museum of Science & Industry is way cool but a little bit further away.

Lincoln Park Zoo is nice, and free IIRC.

Also, when is Taste of Chicago this year? It’s usually around the July 4th weekend. Lots of crowds but an opportunity to eat your way through the city without leaving the park. It can be a bit expensive if you go overboard but it’s also a chance to sample some exotic foods.

Also, Navy Pier might be fun.

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Here is one of my biggest fear/problems:

Growing up in the Automotive Capital, the thought of reading a bus or train map scares the crap out of me. Driving, no problem. But, The entire read this map thing is so furren to my brain it rejects it instantly.

Wacky, no?

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You don’t have to read a map anymore. Go to here, plug in where you’re starting from and where you want to be and when and it does all the work.

Just…don’t show your itinerary to a local. The website has some weird-ass ways of getting you around, but they work. Show it to a local and you’ll hear 20 minutes of “What? No, that’s silly, take the Red Line to the Whooseewhersit past the park that’s not there anymore and switch at the new school, not the old school! and then walk 4 fathoms and a yardarm and you’re there!” :wink:

12

Yes, the Bean is awesome and the kids will probably love standing under it and looking at their reflection waaaaaay high above them. The nearby Crown Fountain is not to be missed, either. The artist ran with the idea of those classic cherubs-spouting-water fountains. He took photos of everyday Chicagoans, which are displayed under glass bricks on the inner faces of the two pillars of the fountain. When the face is about to change to the next one, the face’s lips purse and water (from an embedded spout) spurts out onto the black granite between the pillars. The picture in the linked article shows the spouting right before the changeover.

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Very cool! I will definately look into this!

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I love crawling underneath it, laying on my back and searching for my reflection. :smiley:

(Because of the way the thing is curved, your reflection is rarely where you expect it to be. It’s surreal.)

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That’s my recollection as well. I haven’t had time to run around Chicago for years. My latest trips there I’ve seen little except the airports and hotels. Chicago is one of my favorite cities. The zoo is one of the best parts. It is like a wonderful public park that you can wander through and check out animals at your own leisure. It being free and open makes it much more comfortable then other zoos.

The Hancock building is definitely a better view and being on miracle mile makes it more convenient to boot. It’s like a block from the loop(hub for the subway system). It also has a Cheesecake Factory in the base of it which to me is a plus, one of my favorite moderate priced restaurants.

16

The glass floor is very cool and very terrifying. I almost couldn’t bring my self to stand on it.

If you decide to do the Willis Tower, get there first thing in the morning. My friends and I went there on a random Friday in April and, after getting there at 11:15 am, we had to wait two hours to get to the top.

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Excellent advice! Thanks!

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Lots of great suggestions in this thread. I highly second the Museum of Science & Industry for kids. The Field Museum is cool, but a little boring. Not as much “hands on” stuff for the kids to do.

You mentioned wondering where the **Lego Store **was. Its right around the 500 block of North Michigan Ave, on the Magnificent Mile. It’s in a mall right where Grand Ave runs underneath Michigan Ave. Third floor right up the escalators.

That **Marbles **store is awesome and just west of Grand Ave from the Lego Store.

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The HoJo downtown has free parking (first come first serve), but it is not much of a place. Otherwise plan on paying for parking.

We did Chicago last year with two little ones. They thought Ed De Bevic’s was very funny, and really loved the Sears Tower and riding the trains and busses. They also enjoyed the Zoo, Navy Pier and Millenium park. We only had a couple days, so we didn’t go whole hog, but there is a LOT to do in Chicago, and a LOT of walking, so be prepared.

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Oh, and most busses are free for kids (not sure the ages) so you can buy one of those daily pasees and ride them for the whole day for like 7 bucks or something…and they work on the trains, too (only the in-town trains, though, not the ones that run to the burbs).