Chicago 3-Day Senior Trip

CHICAGO, IL - OCT 1: Navy Pier and skyline on October 1, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois. It was built in 1916 as 3300 foot pier for tour and excursion boats and is Chicago's number one tourist attraction.

Day 1 You'll See:

  • Millenium Park
  • Chicago's Magnificent Mile
  • 360 Chicago
  • Water Tower Place

 

Day 2 You'll See:

  • Six Flags Great America

 

Day 3 You'll See:

  • Navy Pier
  • Seadog Cruise Lake Tour
  • Shedd Aquarium

 

They did it - and you’re planning to treat your accomplished young charges to a well-deserved getaway in the Windy City. What better place to sightsee from a variety of vantage points so unforgettable your grads will be talking about their trip for years to come? And the shopping? Out of this world…almost as amazing as a full day at Six Flags Great America! You’ll get around to Chicago highlights and hotspots young travelers love most on this exhilarating 3-Day excursion.


Day
1

Millennium Park
Kick off your Three-Day Grad Getaway with a stop at this extraordinary 24.5 acre public space situated atop a parking garage on the world-renowned Loop District! It’s Chicago's definitive modern showplace – a popular destination and gathering spot for locals and visitors, alike. Stunning architecture, breathtaking landscape design, fantastic concerts and more share the spotlight in this remarkable park in the heart of the Windy City. The Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Cloudgate (a gargantuan reflective sculpture nicnamed “The Bean”), beautiful Lurie Garden and ultra-cool Crown fountain are absolute must-sees on any Chicago agenda; outstanding photo ops right here – especially in front of Cloudgate!

Chicago’s Magnificent Mile
Out-of-this-world shopping, fabulous dining, top-notch accommodations and plenty of historic sites - including the Chicago Pumping Station and a water tower that survived the Great Chicago Fire – await grads hoofin’ it on this prestigious stretch of Chicago’s Michigan Avenue, world-renowned for its diversity of upscale attractions and notable points of interest. Wonderful seasonal events draw the crowds, while many of the world's leading retailers - Bloomingdale's, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, and Barneys New York – keep them shopping. Luxury boutiques abound here, and designers, too - heavy hitters and industry standards, alike; three “urban shopping centers” tender all the traditional mall trappings along with plenty of attractions and entertainment- Magnificent Mile style. *Attention, People Watchers: Again, with the photo ops!

360 Chicago (Hancock Observatory)
The view from the top just got a whole lot better, thanks to TILT at 360 Chicago, the city’s hottest new thrill attraction, conveniently located along the Magnificent Mile in the former John Hancock Observatory. 360’s 1,000-foot perch treats guests to sweeping views of Lake Michigan, four neighboring states, and the Windy City’s dazzling downtown. Grads brave enough to check a daredevil’s angle on the spectacular panorama can “TILT” outward an unsettling 30 degrees from the building for a vertigo-tripping “free-fall” view of the street below!

Water Tower Place
Water Tower Place is Chicago's premier shopping destination, situated along Michigan Avenue at the pinnacle of the Magnificent Mile, and featuring a stunning eight-level atrium showcasing more than 100 popular stores and restaurants along with a sprinkling of distinctive and delightful specialty shops and boutiques. Its zippy elevators whoosh you and your grads from one floor to the next in the blink of an eye, facilitating a unique, high-energy “vertical” urban shopping experience unlike any other in the Windy City. Water Tower Place warmly welcomes mall-aholics in need of a spree and confirmed power shoppers with a mission in mind!

Day
2

Six Flags Great America
Day two, watch your grads dive into a well-deserved play day at Six Flags Great America, a regional favorite rolling into its big 40th season of entertaining endless hordes of amusement park aficionados! In true Six-Flags tradition, the park serves up more rides, eats, attractions and “shopportunities” than you can shake a stick at. Dozens of mild to wild options ensure thrills for everyone; May through Labor Day, Hurricane Harbor’s waterpark attractions cool you off faster than you can say “Mega Wedgie!”

Day
3

Navy Pier
Day three begins with a stop by historic Navy Pier, Chicago's own lakefront playground and the Midwest's foremost leisure destination, featuring fifty awesome acres of parks, promenades, gardens, shops, eateries and attractions! Take a spin on a fifteen-story Ferris wheel or a turn on the old-fashioned carousel, hit the links for a little mini golf or catch a 3D thriller like Tornado Alley at the IMAX® Theatre. Get lost in Amazing Chicago’s funhouse maze, board a cruise or speed boat departing from Navy Pier's South Dock and browse Family Pavilion’s tantalizing retail shops for that perfect Chi-Town souvenir. Summertime on the Pier brings spectacular twice-weekly fireworks shows perfectly synchronized to music on Lake Michigan; “The People’s Pier”- has it all!

Seadog Cruise Lake Tour
To date, Navy Pier’s Seadog Cruises have thrilled more than 1,000,000 guests. Whether you're a history buff champing at the bit to experience the highlights of local architecture or a speed freak hankerin’ for a good rush, Seadog is the way to go! Landlubbers and old salts, alike will enjoy these rockin’ 30-minute speedboat tours. You and your grads depart Navy Pier and zip south to Museum Campus, where you’ll get the scoop on Chicago's lakefront landmarks, architecture and history, then jet past Navy Pier to cruise the Magnificent Mile, where you’ll catch fantastic views of the Sears Tower, Buckingham Fountain and Grant Park before heading back to the “dog house” on Navy Pier!

Shedd Aquarium
Conservation-minded Shedd Aquarium is a true Windy City treasure and the world’s largest indoor aquarium, to boot. A trip to its Caribbean Coral Reef at once amazes and delights as divers feed lumbering nurse sharks, vicious barracudas, hawksbill sea turtles and other ravenous residents impatiently awaiting a fresh fish lunch. In the Oceanarium, you and your grads are a rapt audience as skilled trainers guide their enthusiastic dolphin charges through a repertoire of leaping dives, tail walks and other slick tricks! The “Wild Reef-Sharks at Shedd” experience gets you way too close and personal to sharks and other predators as you carefully observe them through the tenuous barrier of a floor-to- ceiling window.