4 Day Trip to Chicago with LOTS of kids... (living, price)

[Steve-o]

Im pretty sure the Shedd has some whales (ie Belugas). Im also not sure whether Brookfield does, they have the cool dolphin show though.

[SloopyJ]

As someone who lives downtown with four kids (6, 3, two babies), I thought I'd mention what our kids like and don't like in the metro area:

-Both zoos (Lincoln Park and Brookfield) are great;
-The aquarium is great;
-Our kids - and most of yours - are too young for the Adler Planetarium and the Field Museum;
-The Museum of Science and Industry is great; be sure to stop by the children's area first, because if it's crowded they give out (free) tickets with a designated time to come back later.
-I hate Navy Pier. My kids LOVE it.
-The Botanical Gardens in Glencoe are great, with a huge children's garden including mazes, stuff to climb, etc. Beautiful that time of year, too. Well worth the side trip.
-The Garfield Park Conservatory is an easy trip that my kids love. It's all indoors, and it's much larger than the Lincoln Park Conservatory, so it's great if you have a rainy morning to kill.

Regarding pizza - I still like Uno the best, but we typically go to Giordano's as it's very good and seems easier with the kids. My kids don't all like pizza, especially deep dish, and Giordano's does better with pasta and kids dishes.

Chinatown - Joy Yee's is good for noodles and is quick and casual. For a regular sit-down Chinese restaurant, Phoenix and Evergreen are good bets with kids.

[BlsdMama]

1. Lincoln Park or Brookfield? I always like the free option. *However* we'd only have to pay $16 for dolphin show passes and $8 for parking. So, it's not too expensive.

2. Joy Yee's or Phoenix? My kids like EVERYTHING!

3. How to travel around the city? Obviously we'll need to drive to Brookfield.
But for a trip to the Navy Pier, or Chinatown, or the Science & Industry Museum? Is the el the subway? From what I understand we could get a 3 day pass for like $7 bucks... and it's three children free with each adult? That would be really cheap! It's a pretty safe experience, right?

[jessiegirl_98]

Originally Posted by BlsdMama

1. Lincoln Park or Brookfield? I always like the free option. *However* we'd only have to pay $16 for dolphin show passes and $8 for parking. So, it's not too expensive.

2. Joy Yee's or Phoenix? My kids like EVERYTHING!

3. How to travel around the city? Obviously we'll need to drive to Brookfield.
But for a trip to the Navy Pier, or Chinatown, or the Science & Industry Museum? Is the el the subway? From what I understand we could get a 3 day pass for like $7 bucks... and it's three children free with each adult? That would be really cheap! It's a pretty safe experience, right?

Brookfield is bigger, but is much farther away than anything else you want to do. Shedd aquarium does have some whales and a dolphin show (better to do this at shedd....99% sure it's free). Lincoln Park is still nice and you could take a bus there.

The el is safe as long as you can keep track of the kids! You can go to Chicago Transit Authority | 1-888-YOURCTA and enter your starting and ending destination and it will give you instructions on how to get everywhere via this. For Navy Pier, you need to take a bus or a trolley. There is a free trolley that goes around downtown (to navy pier, shopping, etc). You can find info at
City of Chicago

and a map
http://egov.cityofchicago.org/webpor...rolleyFall.pdf

[cdc3217]

I'd still encourage you to go to Lincoln Park Zoo. Its very scenic and easier to get around, and there's no add-on fees for special exhibits. Plus, if its rainy, there are other museums right nearby that you can go to as a backup plan.

There are marine mammals including whales at the Shedd, that section does cost more than the basic admission, and on free days you still pay that upcharge.

Regarding transit -- it sounds like you can use the bus or subway/el system (CTA) to get pretty much everywhere you want to go in the City. (I had earlier suggested taking a *Metra* train to the Museum of Science & Industry, which is a *separate system* where kids ride free on weekends.)

I just learned that there are visitor transit cards for the CTA that cost (per person) $12 for all you can ride 3-days, and other combinations. Kids fares work like this: under 7 yrs are free. 7-11 yrs is a $1 per ride. 12 & up is adult ($1.75) So you can do the math and decide what you need. Here's a link: CTA | Chicago Transit Authority - Fares (http://www.transitchicago.com/maps/fares.html - broken link)
Using CTA buses and subway/el is a safe way to get where you're going.

I hope you have a great visit!

[SloopyJ]

Originally Posted by BlsdMama

1. Lincoln Park or Brookfield? I always like the free option. *However* we'd only have to pay $16 for dolphin show passes and $8 for parking. So, it's not too expensive.

2. Joy Yee's or Phoenix? My kids like EVERYTHING!

3. How to travel around the city? Obviously we'll need to drive to Brookfield.
But for a trip to the Navy Pier, or Chinatown, or the Science & Industry Museum? Is the el the subway? From what I understand we could get a 3 day pass for like $7 bucks... and it's three children free with each adult? That would be really cheap! It's a pretty safe experience, right?

If you aren't overly concerned about price, I would think about which zoo experience you want. Brookfield is by most measures the "better" zoo - it's far bigger, spread out, more variety of animals and shows, etc. - but Lincoln Park is certainly a better location and is probably more unique. Brookfield has large, well-manicured lawns and fountains. It also should be considered an outing for the better part of a day given the time to drive out and park there and see the very large zoo. Lincoln Park is a classic urban zoo-in-a-park. In its own way it is beautiful, set among its namesake park with lagoons and the Chicago skyline looming to the south. It can easily be a half-day outing, as there's less to see than at Brookfield. It's certainly more "Chicago" than Brookfield; Brookfield is a non-descript suburb and the zoo there could be located anywhere in the U.S.. Lincoln Park zoo is unique to Chicago.

RE: Chinatown - take the El down there and walk around. Joy Yee's is in the newest section of Chinatown which is designed to look like a real Asian village. Phoenix is much larger, easy to find along Cermak Avenue, and is a more typical Chinese restaurant. You won't need reservations at either, so walk around the area a bit, look at the menu, and see what appeals to you. Don't stress about this one.

Re: travel - you can get to Navy Pier by trolley (ask your hotel concierge for a map) or bus, but the El leaves you pretty far away. Parking prices at Navy Pier are horrendous, so the trolley or bus is a good way to go. You will want to drive to the Museum of Science and Industry. Parking is reasonable there and the underground garage is very easy.

[via chicago]

Originally Posted by SloopyJ

If you aren't overly concerned about price, I would think about which zoo experience you want. Brookfield is by most measures the "better" zoo - it's far bigger, spread out, more variety of animals and shows, etc. - but Lincoln Park is certainly a better location and is probably more unique. Brookfield has large, well-manicured lawns and fountains. It also should be considered an outing for the better part of a day given the time to drive out and park there and see the very large zoo. Lincoln Park is a classic urban zoo-in-a-park. In its own way it is beautiful, set among its namesake park with lagoons and the Chicago skyline looming to the south. It can easily be a half-day outing, as there's less to see than at Brookfield. It's certainly more "Chicago" than Brookfield; Brookfield is a non-descript suburb and the zoo there could be located anywhere in the U.S.. Lincoln Park zoo is unique to Chicago.

Theres nothing more chilling than hearing the wolves howling at the moon from Lincoln Park zoo at night when coming home from a night out. Where else in the world can you experience that in a metro area...

All that said, they're both excellent zoos. It should also be noted Brookfield Zoo was built entirely as a WPA project. So theres very cool architecture for the animal houses, lots of old murals on the walls, etc. And while Brookfield itself is kind of boring, its right next to Riverside, which was entirelty designed by Frederick Law Olmstead (designer of Central Park). So kids probably wouldnt get anything out of it, but it is a very cool town to just drive through.
Riverside, Illinois Community Web Site - History

Anyway, it just comes down to if you feel like driving out there or not. And its really not that far.

Also, definitely try to do the Botanical Gardens. Kids will probably turn their noses up when they hear that, but I think they'll get a kick out of it once they see it. Theres all sorts of lagoons, formal gardens, waterfalls, a kids section...the place is enormous. it really is cool.

[SloopyJ]

One possibility to consider when hitting Chinatown is to walk around a bit, and when you get hungry head over to Joy Yee's (or wherever else) and get takeouts. Then walk over to the beautiful Ping Tom Park just a couple blocks north (19th Street just west of Wentworth). Ping Tom is a striking park along the river designed in Asian style with a large pagoda plus a huge fenced-in playground and nice landscaping in addition to tables for eating your food. Our kids enjoy seeing the boats go by on the river, the El go by overhead, and of course letting off some steam in the playground.

[Earniefan]

We just got back from four days in Chicago. You have to take the kids to Gino's east so they can write on the walls. We went to the Shedd Aquarium it's definately worth the visit, they have a good variety. You should try out a Chicago style hot dog while you're there too, there are little stands outside the auquarium that were as good as the place we went to downtown. As far as American Girl I can't wait to take my daughter there next year, they even have a salon where you can get your doll's hair styled. I can't imagine what little girl wouldn't love this. We also went to the Field Museum, we were told that the Museum of Science and Technology is better, I would take their advice and go there. The field wasn't very exciting. Oh so you know, parking for the museum is in the Soldier Field parking garage, we had trouble locating this when we went the first time. And, the dolphin show at the Shedd is worth the time, it only lasts about half an hour but you need to get there half an hour before it starts to get a good seat. Have Fun!

Im pretty sure the Shedd has some whales (ie Belugas

The Beluga whale had just had a baby so we didn't get to see them. I believe they said it would be closed for nine weeks, so it may be open when you get there.

[BlsdMama]

Okay I think we've got 'er down.

Sunday - China Town & Navy Pier
Monday - Brookfield
Tuesday - Museum of Science & Industry
Wednesday - Shedd's


"Have To" eats:

Gino's East
Joy Yee's
Ed Debevic's
A Hotdog Stand outside of Chicago


We're staying at a hotel with an eat-in breakfast, but who knows where???? Out of Chicago, in Chicago.... aHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Ya'all have expensive hotels.