Help Texan plan trip to see Cubs/Fighting Irish (Chicago: car rental, where to stay)

[TangoUniform]

Being a sports nerd, there are a quite a few things I have to do before I die. Going to Wrigley and South Bend are 2 of those things. I'm trying to plan a trip to go see both the Cubs and Fighting Irish in the same weekend. I also have to plan this around the UT football schedule since I have season tickets.

On Sept 21, the Cubs are at home against the Pirates, game time is at 1:20pm. The next day the Irish are at home playing the mighty Spartans of Michigan St. Looking at flights, the earliest I can leave Dallas Friday morning is 8:10, putting me in Chicago around 10:20. How probable is this schedule:


1. Land ~10:30 at O'Hare. No checked baggage.
2. Take train to hotel (Somewhere on Michigan Ave I'm guessing on the northside of downtown, any suggestions elsewhere are appriciated)
3. Check in
4. Take train to Wrigley
5. Be at game for 1:30 first pitch

Also, I hear Wrigleyville is a pretty cool place so if I hit up a couple bars after the game, is it safe to take the "El" back to the hotel later on at night after I have been drinking? Or would a cab be a safer option?

I also have another prediciment: Do I rent a car Saturday morning and drive to South Bend and maybe stay there that night? Or do I come back to Chicago after the game? Or do I skip the whole car rental and take the train to SB? I just want the easiest option possible.

Sorry for all the questions guys, but I have alot to do in a short amount of time so I'm trying to figure out the best plan of action.

[NSH]

to answer a couple of your questions... Stick with the cabs at night. If you are unfamiliar with the lie of the land & been drinking you'll be an easy target on a train.

I would rent a car and drive to SB you'll get there in about an hour and half, and I would get a hotel around ND for the night (half the cost of chicago hotels), that way you can party on campus after the game. The train is a viable option but its a good 2 hour trip out

[TangoUniform]

Originally Posted by NSH

to answer a couple of your questions... Stick with the cabs at night. If you are unfamiliar with the lie of the land & been drinking you'll be an easy target on a train.

I would rent a car and drive to SB you'll get there in about an hour and half, and I would get a hotel around ND for the night (half the cost of chicago hotels), that way you can party on campus after the game. The train is a viable option but its a good 2 hour trip out

Actually, the hotels I've found in SB are about the same price as a decent hotel on Michigan Ave (~$200/night). I'm guessing SB hotels jack up prices on home game weekends. If the cost is the same, I'd rather stay in Chicago and party there.

[Steve-o]

Leaving yourself only 3 hours from arrival to first pitch seems like a risky gamble to me.

[TangoUniform]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Leaving yourself only 3 hours from arrival to first pitch seems like a risky gamble to me.

Well that's the earliest flight I could get and I won't be too upset if I miss first pitch. My main concerns are just where to stay and when to go to SB for the ND game.

How long do you think it'd take me to get from O'Hare to a downtown hotel, then back up to Wrigley? I'd be taking the "El" the entire way I'm guessing.

Using this map: CTA | System Map - Downtown (broken link)

Would the easiest way to get from O'Hare to a hotel on Michigan Ave be getting off the Blue at Washington, then walking a couple blocks to Lake to catch the red? Any better plan of action?

[SloopyJ]

Your plan sounds like a good one, so long as you acknowledge that you have little room for delay at either airport. And yes to your questions - the Blue Line is the best way to get downtown from the airport; the Red Line is the best way to get to Michigan Avenue hotels.

Just be aware that the Washington stop on the red line is currently closed for repairs, so your transfer options are either to take the Blue Line to Clark/Lake and walk to the Red Line stop at State/Lake; or take the Blue Line to Jackson, where there is a direct transfer (one block underground transfer tunnel) to the Red Line. My personal recommendation, for transfer ease, is to transfer at Jackson.

As an ND alum and frequent game-goer, I'd recommend renting a car to get to SB. The train doesn't get you close to campus and doesn't run frequently enough to be worthwhile. You're right that SB hotels get more expensive on game weekends, and many will require a two-night stay. So I also recommend coming back to Chicago Saturday night as you suggested.

You won't miss much by leaving after the game on Saturday...the SB party scene isn't great after games, as most people are pretty pooped (as a UT fan, you know how draining it is to sit outside for 4 hours after tailgating all morning). Just get to campus early and take in the scene...visit the Grotto; walk through the Basilica; walk through the Administration Building and see the Dome from underneath; walk around the lakes (if you park in the remote lot, you can do a lap around the lakes as you make your way to campus - better than taking the shuttle from the remote lot). In fact, my favorite game morning is to park in the remote lots north of campus; walk south toward campus, doing a lap around the lakes and winding up at the Grotto; pause at the Grotto, then walk through the Basilica; walk over to the Admin Building, and then around the campus a bit on my way to the bookstore; then head over toward the stadium for some tailgating...damn, I can't wait until fall.....

One last point regarding Wrigleyville. Yes, there are tons of bars and it's worth hanging out. The train back downtown is perfectly safe at night, and any local would hardly hesitate to use it. But the earlier poster makes an obvious point...a drunk tourist is an easy target. So use your judgment.

[Fishtacos]

First of all, very fun trip and very doable.

You could arrive at 1030am and head to city, check in and head to Wrigley. Cab will run you $35 bucks range give or take. Train will run you a few bucks and is right at airport. Without any bags, you could take train from airport into city...process would take you 45 minutes ish......then cab or train out to Wrigley, after getting to hotel and checking in. You would get there fine. ....only thing would be any type of plane delay.(which happens sometimes). But you should be fine for 120pm first pitch. Not having to wait for bags helps you a lot. I would cab it at night from Wrigley area as an outsider, and drinking etc..a cab without traffic is $5 quick ride. Cabs are easy to hail on the street in Chicago. Allow yourself 2 hours or so to go to downtown, check in and get to Wrigley. Just a broad number, but in the range. You can walk from train to hotel or hail a quick couple of dollar cab if it saves you time, and easy to do. They will be right there. Walk if walkable, cab to hotel if needed.

I would also say rent a car for Saturday(have all of this stuff pre-planned obviously with reservation etc...) drive to South Bend.(pretty easy drive) Staying in South Bend or heading back to Chicago is your choice. If you don't know anyone, and South Bend Isn't exactly Madison Wisconsin or Columbus etc...for pre and post football. Great stadium, great campus and tailgaiting...nightlife lacking besides a few places....very doable to stay and enjoy yourself...but if you want more going on....you could drive back....there will be some traffic Sat night heading into Chicago as you get closer....but you could still be back in time to enjoy the night. Parking your car in Chicago(at a downtown hotel or lot) will run you $35 overnight. And considering you are not as familiar with the area I won't give recommendations of where else to park and avoid that cost and get ride to hotel. ...just something to keep in mind, and possibly worth it to you for convenience after all of the driving....

I would get up early and head to ND first thing, to enjoy all of the game day activities in South Bend and allow yourself some time to walk around...etc...see the campus, the traditions, you will enjoy all of that. I wouldn't be sleeping in and getting close to game time for that one...I'd get up fairly early(suck it up for a day) and get out to South Bend. IMO, a lot of the cool stuff takes place morning of and pregame etc...and you could always stay after or head to Chicago right away and enjoy a night out there.(Compared to South Bend, plenty of later evening things to do in Chicago) If it were me, I'd get up very early head to ND on Sat and come back to Chicago Sat night if I had interest in seeing a little more of Chicago. Move fairly briskly from terminal to train to city, to hotel, to Wrigley, without much dilly-dally. You can eat etc..out at or by the game.

Your trip is very doable, and if those are the times you have, you should still be fine.

[Drover]

Here's how I see your schedule happening:

• 10:55am: Plane that was scheduled to land at 10:30 finally touches down. Welcome to the most delay-prone major airport in America
  
• 11:40am: Board Blue Line train after disembarking from plane, gathering luggage and finding train terminal
  
• 12:10pm: Look out train window & wonder why a train with a top speed of 55mph is creeping along at about 17 mph (answer: because the track is rotting into the ground faster than it can be repaired and trains cannot safely traverse much of the O'Hare branch at full speed); quickly realize the CTA time estimate of 45 minutes from O'Hare to downtown is nonsense on stilts
  
• 12:50pm: Arrive downtown, transfer to Red Line or bus to hotel depending on its location
  
• 1:25pm: Hotel check-in complete
  
• 1:40pm: Hop on Red Line to Wrigley
  
• 2:05pm: Pull into Addison stop
  
• 2:25pm: Find your seat; enjoy remainder of game
  
• 4:40pm: Follow the locals you met during the game into one of the 3,742 neighborhood pubs
  
• 6:48pm: Lose track of and interest in the time somewhere around your 4th post-game beer
  
• Drunk:50pm (am?): Stumble out of pub toward train station (alternatively, hail a cab), blown away by the realization that you are currently standing the greatest city in America
  

It might not go EXACTLY as such, but probably pretty close

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by Drover

Here's how I see your schedule happening:
[list][*]10:55am: Plane that was scheduled to land at 10:30 finally touches down. Welcome to the most delay-prone major airport in America
[*]11:40am: Board Blue Line train after disembarking from plane, gathering luggage and finding train terminal
[*]12:10pm: Look out train window & wonder why a train with a top speed of 55mph is creeping along at about 17 mph (answer: because the track is rotting into the ground faster than it can be repaired and trains cannot safely traverse much of the O'Hare branch at full speed); quickly realize the CTA time estimate of 45 minutes from O'Hare to downtown is nonsense on stilts

Don't know if you saw the news, but Huberman just released a plan to eliminate all slow zones on the blue line and red line S of Addison by the end of the year. Apparently this can be done by reapportioning 15 million dollars. This is only 4 months after Kruesi told us fixing the blue line slow zone alone would take 3 years and 100 million dollars.

So maybe, just maybe, our Texas friend can get downtown in 45 minutes by the time he gets here, and I won't spend an hour more a day on the train than necessary.

[reppin_the_847]

Yeah the Blue Line pretty much sucks in terms of speed, there is no way around it really. I wouldn't recommend this particular route for TangoUniform (from TX) since this can get rather confusing if you don't know the area, but for others, if you're in a hurry to get from O'Hare to the West Loop (or the Wacker Drive area), and there's an inbound Union Pacific Northwest Metra coinciding with your CTA Blue Line train, I'd take the Blue Line down from O'Hare, and transfer to the inbound Metra at Jefferson Park station. It's really well organized, and setup perfectly for CTA - Metra (and vice-versa transfers). At least the Metra portion of the ride will be faster, more comfortable, and even will have bathrooms on board (or you can sip on a brew if you happen to be holding one lol).

Originally Posted by jdiddy

Don't know if you saw the news, but Huberman just released a plan to eliminate all slow zones on the blue line and red line S of Addison by the end of the year. Apparently this can be done by reapportioning 15 million dollars. This is only 4 months after Kruesi told us fixing the blue line slow zone alone would take 3 years and 100 million dollars.

So maybe, just maybe, our Texas friend can get downtown in 45 minutes by the time he gets here, and I won't spend an hour more a day on the train than necessary.