Chicago with Kids

We just took a super fun family vacation to Chicago with our girls (7 and 8), and I had a few people ask me about things we did with the kids. So I’m writing it all down and sharing all my thoughts about Chicago with kids.

Chicago really surprised me. We’ve talked about going for years and have never pulled the trigger. So glad we finally did it! AND took the kids. The girls say they liked it more then NYC and I kinda doubt that because they talk about NYC all the time! It’s fresh. So I’m interested to hear what they say six-months from now.

Anyway, if you're planning a family trip, here's everything I'd tell you before you go.

Don't Skip the Parks

This was probably my biggest surprise of the trip! I had no idea they had such amazing parks. I had read about Maggie Daley but wasn’t prepared for how lovely it truly was.

Everyone walks to The Bean and we did too. But seriously, grab your picture, then keep walking! We walked past a yoga class in the pavilion and great lawn and they had a free concert schedule posted. Brian was in heaven and actually grabbed a show one night while the girls and I slept. So check that but keep going and cross the BP Pedestrian Bridge and head straight to Maggie Daley Park. Trust me!

It's one of the coolest playgrounds we've ever visited. There are climbing structures, slides, towers, bridges, splash areas, a secret garden, and enough room that even on a busy day it never felt crowded. Our girls could have played for hours. They also have mini golf! We ran out of time but really wanted to play.

Another favorite was Lakeshore East Park. It's tucked away between the buildings and feels like a little neighborhood oasis. We happened to just walk through on accident but went back with breakfast the next morning and sat, ate, and then watched the girls play. Beautiful scenery around too.

If you're traveling with kids, don't underestimate the value of letting them just play!

Shopping on the Mag Mile Was SO Fun

I knew we'd do some shopping in Chicago, but I didn't realize how much Brian AND the girls would love the Magnificent Mile. It felt like an attraction of its own.

Lola and the Boys was a dream for the girls. If your kids love pink, sparkles, bows, sequins, and anything even remotely over the top, they will be in heaven here! It was one of their favorite stops of the whole trip. Emily even listed it as one of her honorable mentions! We also waited in line for Jellycats for at least 30 minutes, which sounds slightly ridiculous when I type it, but the happiness level made it worth it.

There were so many fun stores to pop into with kids, from American Girl to the Harry Potter store. Brian found this store called Mugsy and loved it, and he also had fun shopping at Nordstrom while we waited in the stuffy line! It was a really fun morning! 

Skip the Starbucks Reserve

I know this may be unpopular, but I would absolutely skip Starbucks Reserve. People make it sound like a Chicago must-do, and maybe if you're a huge Starbucks fan it's worth seeing once, but for us it was overcrowded, overrated, and just not all that enjoyable. And honestly, I make better lattes at home! Chicago has so many genuinely great places to eat and drink that I wouldn't waste time here again.

Museum of Ice Cream: Great Marketing...Average Experience

I wanted to love this one. The branding is adorable. The pictures online are amazing. It's all over Instagram! But once we got inside, it felt underwhelming. You start by a slow briefing. But you are really just waiting on the group ahead of you to move on. The entryway was dirty and the once pink floor was kind of gross. And you’re packed in there with tons of people. Once we got started, we moved through the entire experience much faster than expected. They recommend planning for 60 to 90 minutes. We were completely finished in about 30 minutes, and that even included the introductory presentation at the beginning.

Yes, you do get ice cream in most rooms but the flavors were all weird fruity and we didn’t really like any of them. The girls still enjoyed it, Emily even put it on her top three list!! But if I had to prioritize attractions, this probably wouldn't make my must-do list.

Museum of Science and Industry: Plan Ahead

This place is HUGE. You could easily spend an entire day here. We didn't see nearly everything. One thing I wish I'd known beforehand is how many experiences require separate tickets or reservations.

The U-505 submarine tour would have been amazing, but we didn’t know that yet. We also didn’t buy tickets ahead of time and it had already sold out by the time we arrived. Lesson learned!

We did add on the coal mine experience, and it was interesting. We did that one on-site but had to wait an hour or so. If there are any add-on experiences your family wants to have, I’d recommend reserving them before your trip.

Shedd Aquarium Was Even Better Than Expected!

We loved the aquarium! All of us!

Don't miss one of the live animal shows. It ended up being one of the highlights of our visit. We got to check out the beluga whales and then you can go underneath and check them out swimming and still doing tricks. So fun! There were plenty of opportunities to touch aquaculture and just some really, really awesome displays. 

We also added the 4D penguin experience, and it was really neat! I just expected 4D, but the seats vibrated, wind blew through the theater seats, water sprayed during parts of the film, and everything felt incredibly immersive. Definitely worth the extra few dollars.

American Girl Place

I gave this one its own blog post because...it deserves one!! If you have little girls, you already know.

Enough said. If you need further convincing—check out this post!

The Architecture Boat Cruise Is Lovely

I mentioned this in one of my posts but hitting a boat within the first few hours of being in town was amazing! It really gave us the HELLO Chicago and got us pumped for the trip. Didn’t hurt that the weather was lovely and the water was so gorgeous!

Being out on the river gave us a completely different perspective of the city, and it was one of the most relaxing parts of the trip. The kids stayed engaged much longer than I expected. Scratch that, Kate enjoyed and Emmy fell asleep. Poor thing was exhausted.

We also learned a lot about Chicago architecture and history and were able to use that knowledge the rest of the trip!

Our Cubs Game Was Rained Out...

Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans. We actually held off on buying the tickets because we thought it might rain and the refund/reschedule provisions were weird. Good call on our part! Cause they rescheduled for August! We'll just have to save Wrigley Field for next time.

We LOVED the Restaurants

One thing that surprised us was how family-friendly Chicago's nicer restaurants were. I expected we'd have to choose between good food and kid-friendly restaurants. Instead, we found that many of the places we wanted to try had kids' menus without sacrificing the quality of the adult menu. And the kids actually loved some of the regular menu items and didn’t rely so much on the kids menu. It made dinner each night so much easier than we expected.

A Few Quick Tips

-Walk past The Bean, but don't spend your whole day there. 

-Head straight across the BP bridge to Maggie Daley Park. So fun!

-Plan some downtime at a park into your itinerary. Your kids and your feet will thank you. 

-Book museum add-ons in advance, especially at the Museum of Science and Industry!

-Shedd Aquarium is worth your time, and the 4D experience was a hit!

-Skip Starbucks Reserve. SKIP Museum of Ice Cream, too. 

-Leave room for shopping on the Mag Mile, especially if you have girls (and a husband) who love fun stores.

-If American Girl is on your list, just accept now that it will become a major event and you'll have to dedicate hours there!!

-Don't overbook every minute. Some of our favorite memories happened when we slowed down! 

Chicago completely exceeded our expectations. It's clean, surprisingly easy to navigate, incredibly family friendly, and there really is something for everyone. We'll definitely be back!

And last but not least, here's our rough itinerary.. if you're into that kind of thing! 

Outside of the above, we also had these places on our list.

Food

312 Fish Market

Giordanos - Pizza on Michigan Ave

Bar Tutto - Joe Flamm, Italian

Mirra - Mexican Indian Fusion

Tanta - Peruvian 

Homeslice

Taqueria Chignon

Topolobampo - also Rick Bayless

Tanoshii - omakase

Dimmi Dimmi

Ithaki Estiatorio - Greek

Pizz'Amici

Sights

Winter's Jazz Club

Andy's Jazz Club

Hyde Park

Robie House

Willis Tower