Help with Chicago Itinerary-Grandpa/Grandma and 10 Year Old Granddaughter-Additions/Corrections?
Jul 26th, 2006, 01:38 PM
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Help with Chicago Itinerary-Grandpa/Grandma and 10 Year Old Granddaughter-Additions/Corrections?
Our trip to Chicago for our Granddaughter's 10th Birthday is coming up the end of August. I've read most all the posts on Chicago and have come up with a few ideas but still need some input to make this a very special birthday present for her.
We'll arive on a Tuesday (ORD) and leave on Friday (MDW). Here's the tentative itinerary I've come up with.
Please let me know what else to add or take out. I've been there a couple of times before so I at least have a general idea of where things are. We're staying at the Hyatt on Wacker again (Priceline) The only things our granddaughter has said she really wants to see/do is the Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum. She's not into dolls or art so the American Girl store and the Art Institute are not a priority. She loves the outdoors, science and nature stuff and is very active.
Tuesday:
Arrive about noon at ORD-taxi to Hyatt - I thought this would be the easiest and it would be our granddaughter's first ride in a taxi.
Afternoon - head down to the Navy Pier. Thought maybe she'd enjoy "The Buccaneers" show in the Family Pavilion ? - shows at 2 & 3pm or take the water taxi over to the Field Museum-enough time left in the day for this or do it another day?
End the evening with a trip to the top of the Hancock building for glasses of wine for grandpa & grandma and kiddy cocktail for granddaughter.
Wednesday:
AM -Architectural boat ride - will purchase tickets ahead of time.
2 PM - Wicked at the Oriental Theatre - already have our tickets
9:30 pm Fireworks at the Navy Pier - any good vantage point to watch?
Thursday:
Shedd Aquarium with lunch at Soundings. Reservations needed?
Millennium Park or Lincoln Park Zoo
Friday:
Midway by 10:30 am to fly home - taxi again.
Do you think we should purchase a CTA visitor pass for the bus? My husband & I don't mind walking but we're not used to the little legs of a 10 year old and how far she'll be comfortable walking. Also not worried about eating places as we're not foodies so we will find places as we go and I have a list of suggested places from research on the board. We don't want to schedule every minute of each day either - leaving time for spur of the moment things.
Thanks for any ideas or suggestions you may have
Pam
We'll arive on a Tuesday (ORD) and leave on Friday (MDW). Here's the tentative itinerary I've come up with.
Please let me know what else to add or take out. I've been there a couple of times before so I at least have a general idea of where things are. We're staying at the Hyatt on Wacker again (Priceline) The only things our granddaughter has said she really wants to see/do is the Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum. She's not into dolls or art so the American Girl store and the Art Institute are not a priority. She loves the outdoors, science and nature stuff and is very active.
Tuesday:
Arrive about noon at ORD-taxi to Hyatt - I thought this would be the easiest and it would be our granddaughter's first ride in a taxi.
Afternoon - head down to the Navy Pier. Thought maybe she'd enjoy "The Buccaneers" show in the Family Pavilion ? - shows at 2 & 3pm or take the water taxi over to the Field Museum-enough time left in the day for this or do it another day?
End the evening with a trip to the top of the Hancock building for glasses of wine for grandpa & grandma and kiddy cocktail for granddaughter.
Wednesday:
AM -Architectural boat ride - will purchase tickets ahead of time.
2 PM - Wicked at the Oriental Theatre - already have our tickets
9:30 pm Fireworks at the Navy Pier - any good vantage point to watch?
Thursday:
Shedd Aquarium with lunch at Soundings. Reservations needed?
Millennium Park or Lincoln Park Zoo
Friday:
Midway by 10:30 am to fly home - taxi again.
Do you think we should purchase a CTA visitor pass for the bus? My husband & I don't mind walking but we're not used to the little legs of a 10 year old and how far she'll be comfortable walking. Also not worried about eating places as we're not foodies so we will find places as we go and I have a list of suggested places from research on the board. We don't want to schedule every minute of each day either - leaving time for spur of the moment things.
Thanks for any ideas or suggestions you may have
Pam
Jul 26th, 2006, 02:34 PM
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Can I come too?
Sounds like you have done your homework!
You can see the fireworks great from the Navy Pier ~ Bubba Gump Shrimp Co at the Pier is a fun place she might like if she likes the movie. Good menu.
They also have a Childrens Museum there also.
The Zoo is a very nice....not too large. Also has some paddle boats still I believe. Near there is a place to get a different kind of pizza.....Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder (2121 N Clark) You might want to GOOGLE it.
I think the city has some trolleys that run around and are free. You might want to check out one of the City of Chicago sites. Will try to find my link and post for you.
Water taxi is very cool. I think it also runs down by the Hancock....might be the Sears.
Sounds like you have done your homework!
You can see the fireworks great from the Navy Pier ~ Bubba Gump Shrimp Co at the Pier is a fun place she might like if she likes the movie. Good menu.
They also have a Childrens Museum there also.
The Zoo is a very nice....not too large. Also has some paddle boats still I believe. Near there is a place to get a different kind of pizza.....Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder (2121 N Clark) You might want to GOOGLE it.
I think the city has some trolleys that run around and are free. You might want to check out one of the City of Chicago sites. Will try to find my link and post for you.
Water taxi is very cool. I think it also runs down by the Hancock....might be the Sears.
Jul 26th, 2006, 03:37 PM
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I want to go too. what a great trip! My kids (8 and 10) like Bubba Gumps (and they haven't seen the movie). Water taxi is a great idea. Check the hours on the Field Museum as you may not have much time for it after the show. Please post a trip report when you return.
Jul 26th, 2006, 03:37 PM
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Nice assortment of ideas, glad to see you know and understand your granddaughter so well!
On Tuesday, there's no way to squeeze in Navy Pier and the Field - the Field won't let you in after 4 p.m. The secret to the Field is to get there EARLY in the morning. They are open at 7:30 some days. Save Navy Pier for Wednesday night with the fireworks, and go to Millennium Park or Lincoln Park Zoo on Tuesday afternoon. Since they are free, you can leave whenever you get tired. You can walk to Millennium Park easily from the Hyatt; for the zoo you'll need to take a cab. If the weather's bad, try the Notebaert Nature Museum in Lincoln Park.
Wednesday looks fine, but it helps to prepare a 10 year old for an architecture tour. Buy a guidebook in advance for her to refer to - I used to be a CAF docent and know that most children get a little fidgety on the tours. On a walking tour, you could just leave, but you're stuck on the boat.
Looks like Thursday will be your big Field Museum and Aquarium day. They are next door to each other, so you won't have too far to walk between them. Don't plan much for Thursday night as you will be exhausted!
Have a great trip!
On Tuesday, there's no way to squeeze in Navy Pier and the Field - the Field won't let you in after 4 p.m. The secret to the Field is to get there EARLY in the morning. They are open at 7:30 some days. Save Navy Pier for Wednesday night with the fireworks, and go to Millennium Park or Lincoln Park Zoo on Tuesday afternoon. Since they are free, you can leave whenever you get tired. You can walk to Millennium Park easily from the Hyatt; for the zoo you'll need to take a cab. If the weather's bad, try the Notebaert Nature Museum in Lincoln Park.
Wednesday looks fine, but it helps to prepare a 10 year old for an architecture tour. Buy a guidebook in advance for her to refer to - I used to be a CAF docent and know that most children get a little fidgety on the tours. On a walking tour, you could just leave, but you're stuck on the boat.
Looks like Thursday will be your big Field Museum and Aquarium day. They are next door to each other, so you won't have too far to walk between them. Don't plan much for Thursday night as you will be exhausted!
Have a great trip!
Jul 26th, 2006, 04:27 PM
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You may want to buy your tickets for the Field Museum ahead as they sell out on some days because of the current King Tut exhibit.
A cab from ORD to downtown will cost about $40. If you buy a 3-day visitor pass for $12 each, you can take the Blue Line to Clark/Lake (it has elevators) and catch a cab from there to the Hyatt for only a few dollars. Then, your GD can experience both the train and cab. Near O'Hare, the Blue Line runs in the middle of the expressway, then it heads up to the "L" and then goes underground downtown. The passes will be good until you leave as a "day" is 24-hours from when the pass is first used.
To get from your hotel to the Lincoln Park Zoo, you can take the Number 151 bus north from Michigan and Wacker. It stops at the zoo entrance. The Number 146 bus will take you to the Museum Campus. Catch it on Wacker just west of Michigan. For bus schedules, maps and a trip planner, check www.transitchicago.com.
For your outbound journey, you can take a cab back to Clark/Lake and catch the Orange Line to MDW.
A cab from ORD to downtown will cost about $40. If you buy a 3-day visitor pass for $12 each, you can take the Blue Line to Clark/Lake (it has elevators) and catch a cab from there to the Hyatt for only a few dollars. Then, your GD can experience both the train and cab. Near O'Hare, the Blue Line runs in the middle of the expressway, then it heads up to the "L" and then goes underground downtown. The passes will be good until you leave as a "day" is 24-hours from when the pass is first used.
To get from your hotel to the Lincoln Park Zoo, you can take the Number 151 bus north from Michigan and Wacker. It stops at the zoo entrance. The Number 146 bus will take you to the Museum Campus. Catch it on Wacker just west of Michigan. For bus schedules, maps and a trip planner, check www.transitchicago.com.
For your outbound journey, you can take a cab back to Clark/Lake and catch the Orange Line to MDW.
Jul 26th, 2006, 04:47 PM
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Hi, Pam,
This trip sounds like a lot of fun! Chicago is a wonderful city for young and old alike. The view from the Hancock is spectacular, the Pier is a lot of fun, and of course the Field.
For some of your traveling you might be able to take advantage of the city's free trolley service. They make stops at a lot of the big tourist attractions like Water Tower Plaza, Navy Pier, the aquarium, Field Museum, State Street, etc.
The link's pretty long so I don't know if it will work: http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/w...lName=HomePage
or just go to http://cityofcigago.org and search for trolleys.
This is kind of fun and a great way to get off your feet when you've been walking around having fun.
Might I also suggest you check out what events are happening in Grant Park while you're in town? The park is beautiful and the festivals and concerts that take place there can be a lot of fun for all ages. Last time I was there, the Celtic festival just happened to be going on as we were walking through and it was a lot of fun. To find out what's happening, go to that same city of Chicago website and click on events.
Have fun!
Joanne
http://www.vacationing-with-kids.com
This trip sounds like a lot of fun! Chicago is a wonderful city for young and old alike. The view from the Hancock is spectacular, the Pier is a lot of fun, and of course the Field.
For some of your traveling you might be able to take advantage of the city's free trolley service. They make stops at a lot of the big tourist attractions like Water Tower Plaza, Navy Pier, the aquarium, Field Museum, State Street, etc.
The link's pretty long so I don't know if it will work: http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/w...lName=HomePage
or just go to http://cityofcigago.org and search for trolleys.
This is kind of fun and a great way to get off your feet when you've been walking around having fun.
Might I also suggest you check out what events are happening in Grant Park while you're in town? The park is beautiful and the festivals and concerts that take place there can be a lot of fun for all ages. Last time I was there, the Celtic festival just happened to be going on as we were walking through and it was a lot of fun. To find out what's happening, go to that same city of Chicago website and click on events.
Have fun!
Joanne
http://www.vacationing-with-kids.com
Sep 8th, 2006, 01:53 PM
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I'm sorry to reply to this post because of the long url that Joanne posted but I wanted to post my trip report. So accept my apology and here's my report.
8/29/06
Left home around 6am and picked up our DGG(dear granddaughter) on the way. She is not a morning person but was still excited about going.
We live a good 2 hours from the Minneapolis/St Paul airport and knew we'd have to deal with rush hour traffic so we thought we'd allowed plenty of time for our 10am flight.
Well about 45 minutes into our drive, I had happened to look down at some paperwork I had and all of a sudden my DH says "Oh no". This is not a good sign. I look up and as I do we hit a bald eagle that had swooped down on the highway to pick up some dead meat for it's breakfast. Well, needless to say hitting a bald eagle is alot like hitting a deer and the wings are just massive!! Luckily, the eagle was on it's way up and so no damage to our car, but the eagle didn't fare quite as well. We didn't kill it but it wasn't moving very good. So my DH calls 911 and they connected him to the Conservation/DNR department and we have to tell them where we are, etc etc. Meantime, our DGG is sitting in the backseat, saying Grandpa You're going to jail - they're protected and that's illegal!
Long story short, the eagle is at a raptor center hopefully recovering, and my DH is not in jail
On to the airport without any more hitches, nice short flight to Ohare - first flight for DGD. She loves it.
In Chicago, we're interviewed by Channel 2 news doing a piece on how safe you feel flying 5 years after 9/11. I babbled but my DH had some good sound bites, so they took his name and hometown. Forgot to ask when it would be aired though - so much for 5 seconds of fame!
We purchased the 3 day visitor passes. Great buy and we used them all over Chicago.
Took the blue line to downtown and got off at Lake/Clark and grabbed a taxi to our hotel - Hyatt on Wacker which I got on PriceLine.
After unpacking and freshening up, we caught the bus to the Lincoln Park Zoo where we happily spent the "drizzly" afternoon visiting with the animals and enjoying our DGG. Wonderful zoo and free admission is almost unheard of these days!
We didn't plan anything for the first night because we knew she'd be tired from the long day. We were right and she was in bed by 8:30 sound asleep. I had wanted to go to the John Hancock building but she wasn't interested so we didn't bother since my DH and I had already been.
8/30/06
Today was the day we decided to go to the Field Museum. We had orginally thought about doing the architectural boat ride, but after thinking about it, we decided that she wouldn't appreciate the architecture like we did when we took the tour 2 years ago.
She loved the Museum and as luck would have it we got in free that day. We did not do the Tut exhibit because she said she wasn't interested in it.
We stayed until about noon and then headed back to the hotel to change and get ready for the 2pm performance of "Wicked". We took a taxi to the Oriental theatre, getting there in plenty of time to purchase our CD, t-shirt and program (OUCH!)
She loved the play and even though it was a tad long (3 hours) for her she enjoyed it.
We taxied back to the hotel and put on warmer clothes for the walk to the Navy Pier. It was very windy and somewhat cool, but we managed to do several rides on the Pier, ate at Bubbagumps, walked to the end of the pier and back, shopped inside for awhile and stayed long enough for the fireworks at 9:30pm. Long day so we taxied back to our hotel and were in bed before 11 I think.
8/31/06
We let our DGG sleep in this morning because of the previous late night. She finally got up around 8. Today was the Shedd Aquarium day so we took the bus again. What a great aquarium - even my DH who does not like aquariums said it was great We had lunch at Soundings, watched the porpoise show, saw the komodo dragon, DH & DGG attended the Spongebob in 4D (she loved it!!) and she got her face painted as well. So great day and a lot of walking. We were done sometime in the later afternoon so we got back on the bus and then my DH asked her if she'd like to go to the American Girl Store. Now I didn't think she was really into dolls, but boy did her ears perk up and it was a definite YES!
So off we go to the store of stores (what a racket!) She did get her doll, and a few accessories to boot - YIKES! - I think the MasterCard had a major attack......
Now the doll goes everywhere with us so back to the hotel and Grandma needs a drink! So we had a couple at the hotel bar while she happily plays with her doll. That evening we took a taxi to Ed Debevics for dinner. DGG LOVED this place and the irritating waiters. She said it was one of her favorite things
9/1/06
Home today so up early and after breakfast took the orange line to Midway to fly home.
Wonderful memories with our DGG on this trip! I highly recommend anyone who has a grandchild to do this if you're able. It's such a nice "bonding" experience. And of course something they will never forget.
Other items that I'd like to mention - I didn't realize how much this girl LOVES to shop!! Every museum, zoo, hotel etc she'd ask where the gift shops were. I actually got sick of shopping And of course we had to bring stuff back for EVERYONE!!
The other thing was eating. You forget what picky little eaters they are. We started off ordering an entree for her and one for each of us but after throwing most of it out, we finally figured out that we'd let her order from the child's menu, DH would order something and we'd split everything.
Most mornings we ate at the Corner Bakery. Great food and something for everyone and good coffee!!
That's it - great trip for her and us as well. She's still talking about it and the doll still goes everywhere with her - go figure!
PamT
8/29/06
Left home around 6am and picked up our DGG(dear granddaughter) on the way. She is not a morning person but was still excited about going.
We live a good 2 hours from the Minneapolis/St Paul airport and knew we'd have to deal with rush hour traffic so we thought we'd allowed plenty of time for our 10am flight.
Well about 45 minutes into our drive, I had happened to look down at some paperwork I had and all of a sudden my DH says "Oh no". This is not a good sign. I look up and as I do we hit a bald eagle that had swooped down on the highway to pick up some dead meat for it's breakfast. Well, needless to say hitting a bald eagle is alot like hitting a deer and the wings are just massive!! Luckily, the eagle was on it's way up and so no damage to our car, but the eagle didn't fare quite as well. We didn't kill it but it wasn't moving very good. So my DH calls 911 and they connected him to the Conservation/DNR department and we have to tell them where we are, etc etc. Meantime, our DGG is sitting in the backseat, saying Grandpa You're going to jail - they're protected and that's illegal!
Long story short, the eagle is at a raptor center hopefully recovering, and my DH is not in jail
On to the airport without any more hitches, nice short flight to Ohare - first flight for DGD. She loves it.
In Chicago, we're interviewed by Channel 2 news doing a piece on how safe you feel flying 5 years after 9/11. I babbled but my DH had some good sound bites, so they took his name and hometown. Forgot to ask when it would be aired though - so much for 5 seconds of fame!
We purchased the 3 day visitor passes. Great buy and we used them all over Chicago.
Took the blue line to downtown and got off at Lake/Clark and grabbed a taxi to our hotel - Hyatt on Wacker which I got on PriceLine.
After unpacking and freshening up, we caught the bus to the Lincoln Park Zoo where we happily spent the "drizzly" afternoon visiting with the animals and enjoying our DGG. Wonderful zoo and free admission is almost unheard of these days!
We didn't plan anything for the first night because we knew she'd be tired from the long day. We were right and she was in bed by 8:30 sound asleep. I had wanted to go to the John Hancock building but she wasn't interested so we didn't bother since my DH and I had already been.
8/30/06
Today was the day we decided to go to the Field Museum. We had orginally thought about doing the architectural boat ride, but after thinking about it, we decided that she wouldn't appreciate the architecture like we did when we took the tour 2 years ago.
She loved the Museum and as luck would have it we got in free that day. We did not do the Tut exhibit because she said she wasn't interested in it.
We stayed until about noon and then headed back to the hotel to change and get ready for the 2pm performance of "Wicked". We took a taxi to the Oriental theatre, getting there in plenty of time to purchase our CD, t-shirt and program (OUCH!)
She loved the play and even though it was a tad long (3 hours) for her she enjoyed it.
We taxied back to the hotel and put on warmer clothes for the walk to the Navy Pier. It was very windy and somewhat cool, but we managed to do several rides on the Pier, ate at Bubbagumps, walked to the end of the pier and back, shopped inside for awhile and stayed long enough for the fireworks at 9:30pm. Long day so we taxied back to our hotel and were in bed before 11 I think.
8/31/06
We let our DGG sleep in this morning because of the previous late night. She finally got up around 8. Today was the Shedd Aquarium day so we took the bus again. What a great aquarium - even my DH who does not like aquariums said it was great
We had lunch at Soundings, watched the porpoise show, saw the komodo dragon, DH & DGG attended the Spongebob in 4D (she loved it!!) and she got her face painted as well. So great day and a lot of walking. We were done sometime in the later afternoon so we got back on the bus and then my DH asked her if she'd like to go to the American Girl Store. Now I didn't think she was really into dolls, but boy did her ears perk up and it was a definite YES!So off we go to the store of stores (what a racket!) She did get her doll, and a few accessories to boot - YIKES! - I think the MasterCard had a major attack......
Now the doll goes everywhere with us so back to the hotel and Grandma needs a drink! So we had a couple at the hotel bar while she happily plays with her doll. That evening we took a taxi to Ed Debevics for dinner. DGG LOVED this place and the irritating waiters. She said it was one of her favorite things
9/1/06
Home today so up early and after breakfast took the orange line to Midway to fly home.
Wonderful memories with our DGG on this trip! I highly recommend anyone who has a grandchild to do this if you're able. It's such a nice "bonding" experience. And of course something they will never forget.
Other items that I'd like to mention - I didn't realize how much this girl LOVES to shop!! Every museum, zoo, hotel etc she'd ask where the gift shops were. I actually got sick of shopping
And of course we had to bring stuff back for EVERYONE!!The other thing was eating. You forget what picky little eaters they are. We started off ordering an entree for her and one for each of us but after throwing most of it out, we finally figured out that we'd let her order from the child's menu, DH would order something and we'd split everything.
Most mornings we ate at the Corner Bakery. Great food and something for everyone and good coffee!!
That's it - great trip for her and us as well. She's still talking about it and the doll still goes everywhere with her - go figure!
PamT
Sep 9th, 2006, 05:00 AM
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We actually have 5 grandchildren, so now of course the others (all boys) are plotting/planning "their" trip when they turn 10. Luckily the next won't turn 10 in 2008 so we have some time to save some more $$ But it's nice to know they are looking forward to it at least.
Faina -hoping you too someday have a grandchild to share "the world" with - they're pretty special. Pam
But it's nice to know they are looking forward to it at least.Faina -hoping you too someday have a grandchild to share "the world" with - they're pretty special. Pam
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