I have read through this board a lot and totally trust the view points from the local specialists. Your advice/opinions on this itenerary would be appreciated:
travellers: Family of five, kids are 15, 13, 11. Middle one is a boy, other 2 are girls. DH and I have been to Chicago once together, and couple other times seperate for work. Kids first trip.
We arrive on Sat. 6/23 in the morning. Drive from Omaha, NE all night. Hubby and I will trade off driving. We have done this successfully on several trips, saves on one night hotel cost, and we ';gain'; a day on our trip.
Sat. 23rd - Tues 26th staying at Comfort Suites in Schaumburg. Planning on purchasing cta visitor pass and driving to cta stop and parking there - probably around the airport unless other suggestions. Also buying the CityPass.
6/23 Sat. light day - since we arrive, we are not making definate plans, probably navy pier for mostly sight seeing, maybe a boat tour. And also riding the El around to get some great views. If it%26#39;s a great day, prossibly some time at lakefront/Beach.
6/24 Sun. Mich. Ave day, with youngest dd and I going to American Girl Place. If no lakefront time on Sat. then possibly today.
6/25 Science %26amp; Industry museum all day. Hancock in the evening.
6/26 we drive to Sandusky, OH for a couple of days at Cedar Point.
6/28 arrive back in Chicago around noon. Staying at Hilton on S. Michigan across from museums.
Spend afternoon at Mill. Park/loop, evening at Art Institute to take advantage of the free night.
6/29 Field museum and Shedd aquarium. We really think that our kids won%26#39;t spend a whole lot of time in Field. Youngest will want to see Egyptian area (bummed that we missed Tut last fall). We saw Sue when she was travelling around when we lived in Kansas City. We really think they will want most of the time in Shedd. One of our fave parts of the zoo here in Omaha is the Aquarium.
One of the first days we will go up to Wrigley to take pictures. I waited too long to get some cheap seats to a cub%26#39;s game.
What I notice that is missing is evening activities on Sat., Sun. (and only hancock on Mon.!). I don%26#39;t want to spend the evening in the hotel or at the mall in Schaumburg. We also don%26#39;t really have it in the budget to go see a show. Any suggestions?
Also, how is lunch at the museums? Is it ok food? How expensive? Do you recommend one place for lunch over the other (field or shedd). Also, which order should we do them?
I will firm up our dining plans next week after pooring over metromix. We are planning on eating lots of pizza and dogs! Probably a steak somewhere in there!
Thanks in advance for your input!
Lisa
How is this for Itenerary?
There%26#39;s minor league baseball in Schaumburg - http://www.flyersbaseball.com/ It looks like they%26#39;re in town during your visit.
Museums aren%26#39;t known for their food. IMO, nothing special there. Hit the Shedd first thing in the AM. The lines will get long later in the day. The Field is easy to get in.
How is this for Itenerary?
kinda what I figured for museum food.
thanks about the info on the ball team. we have the omaha royals here that is pretty affordable. but since we are looking for evening activities, this may work...how do they do for crowd activities?
lisa
The Flyers do a pretty decent (not great) program with crowds. The ballpark itself is OK, nothing special. Too much concrete.
If you%26#39;re willing to take a drive a bit further west - http://www.kccougars.com/index.html
The Cougars have more of a minor league feel. The park is out in farm country. The food%26#39;s much better.
If you are planning on taking the CTA, park at the Cumberland stop. Don%26#39;t get sucked into the airport (especially with construction!).
Do the math on the City Pass. It won%26#39;t necessarily save you money.
There are less expensive shows than the big name, big budget ones. You can see a play for about $15 a person - see hottix.com. Check chicagoplays.com for listings and chicagoreader.com for reviews.
You might want to consider doing the Museum of Science and Industry on your last day, and then heading towards Ohio after an early dinner to save a lot of backtracking. Also, the MSI is the most inconvenient to get to on public transportation. You are looking at a long commute from Schaumburg to Hyde Park via CTA. Having your car would also allow you to take a look around the University of Chicago campus.
As for food, find the listings of inexpensive restaurants here and plan to eat there, getting by on as little as possible at the museums. (Can you pack sandwiches for lunch?) You%26#39;ll probably spend a minimum of $10 a person for lunch except at McDonald%26#39;s. Aiming for an early dinner at a place like Rosebud or Maggiano%26#39;s, where you can split entrees, will be not that much more expensive. Thai food is usually reasonable, and Greektown is pretty reasonable.
A few thoughts:
* Cubs play at night on Monday 6/25. Tickets are available on Stubhub now for under $30. I would guess that you can find some cheaper via Craigslist or on the street before the game.
* Are you going to the show and/or lunch at the American Girl Place? If not, it won%26#39;t take all that long. It%26#39;s really just the catalogue on display.
* Buy your MSI tickets in advance. Otherwise, the line can be LONG. Also, OmniMAX movies will sell out.
* Consider going to Lincoln Park zoo that weekend. Nice little zoo, close to beach, and free.
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