Chicago with Kids

I have done the City Pass twice with out-of-town family and friends and we went to all the museums and John Hancock. If I were to do it again I'd do Sears (Willis) Tower, since they have added the glass-floored deck where you can stand and look straight down below you...cool!!

It might be more cost effective to get a hotel near O'Hare and then take the El into the city. You can get unlimited visitor passes for pretty cheap. The Marriott Suites O'Hare is really nice, not too pricey, has free parking for guests, and is RIGHT next to the Rosemont stop of the Blue Line train. Yes, it'd be about a 40 min ride into the city, but if cost savings is a priority, this is a good way to do it. When you get a hotel in the city, you have to pay for daily parking--usually an extra $30/day or so.

If you use priceline you can pick what you want out of a hotel. Free breakfast, free parking, swimming pool etc. It looks like there are only two hotels downtown that offer free parking according to priceline. I love priceline and use it for all of our vacations in some way shape or form.

We just went this past wekeend! Stayed at the fairfield Inn for $199 a night with a free breakfast. Parking is so hard in Chicago so we did the valet parkign for $42 a day...you wont want to drive around they are crazy! LOL You can take a free trolley to the Navy Pier and buy a one day bus pass to see Shedd's and the Science Museums. Skip the aquatic show and the 4D movie at Shedds though....really was NOT worth it. My 6 yr old kept asking when they would start the aquatic show and all they did was show you how they handle the animals so they wouldnt be upset during a vet check up. They had a very cool sea turtle, penquin exhibit and lots of other stuff to entertain you. Food at Shedds was very expensive over $50 for 4 of us for lunch and that only included a personal pizza and some grapes with a drink. The highlight of our trip was the carriage ride $40 for a 30 minute ride, but so worth it...we had Javier (driver) and Jeanie the horse...very sweet guy. Since you have a few days the city pass would be good, with older kids..mine are 3 and 6 we did the navy pier, shedds and the carriage ride in a day and a half. At the navy pier they have boat rides you can take but be prepared to spend some $ on it. Hope you go, we had fun!

Oh! I'm glad you are going to Shedd--I was there YEARS ago and it was awesome!
There's also a lake tour cruise you can do from the pier, I think and that was cool too. Have fun!

My husband and I went in early May. We too were on a budget. We stayed at the Best Western River North. It was a great hotel, clean, recently remodeled, but no frills, just the basics, which is fine since you'll spend most time out in the city. The rate then was $116 for Thursday night and $142 for Friday and Saturday night. this was a corporate rate our travel agent friend got for us. The best thing about this hotel - FREE PARKING! We also got free breakfast. There are very few hotels in Chicago which offer free parking. the hotel is located on Ohio Street, (a straight shot to Navy Pier), about 4 blocks from Michigan Ave. Great location.

We did not use the CityPass...from what I could tell, you have to do A LOT to make it worth while, maybe more than a few days would allow. However, the hotel offered discount tickets to many places, including Shedd. We paid $27 and got the show, extra exhibits and best of all - VIP access, which meant no waiting in line! unfortunately, we didn't know about this before we bought our tix to the Sear/Willis tower, and we overpaid there. so, if you stay there, ask about all the deals they offer.

Have a great time!

Shed Aquarium - preorder tickets. We tried two days in a row to go and the line both days was 2.5 hours long. This was just last week. So sad we never went.
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While you're here check out Millennium Park - your kids will love it! It's right by the lake so you won't be far if you go to the Shedd (which everyone is totally right about ordering your tickets online in advance). Millennium Park has concerts every weekend night throughout the summer...check the calendar, here's the link to it.

http://explorechicago.org/city/en/millennium/Music_in_Mil...

You're in for a real treat if you go to the Shed Aquarium...Word of advice because its so popular...Pre-Order your tickets. :)

I would also take the water taxi a cheap fun way to look at the views from the Chicago River. from Navy Pier to the train station 9 It is around the corner) then go up to the top of the Willis Tower.