A place for the whole family.
Written: Sep 04 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Something for everyone, lots of different cruises leaving from the Pier.
Cons: Crowded
The Bottom Line: Fun for all ages, and not too expensive, but can be very crowded on weekends.
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| PHOTOGIRL814's Full Review: Navy Pier |
Navy Pier became a sort of central location for my daughter and I on our recent trip to Chicago. I found it easy to park there and from the Pier you can catch buses, trolleys, or water taxis to popular locations around the city.
Navy Pier was an old shipping Pier in the early 1900’s and was converted over the years to a family entertainment area. Running along the center of the Pier is a shopping complex with restaurants, and IMAX theater, Shakespeare Playhouse, Stained Glass Museum, Amazing Chicago, Crystal Gardens, The Children’s Museum, and The Beer Garden. Also at the entrance of the Pier is the world’s largest sculpture garden. There were many unique sculptures and a huge wagon that had to have been over 10 feet tall.
There are ample stores within the Pier to suit everyone’s tastes. From clothing shops to shops specializing in merchandise from around the world. Most of the shops are small kiosks in the center of the mall. There were also kiosks geared toward children, which my daughter enjoyed. There were candy shops, bakeries, and ice creams shops as well.
There are also a number of restaurants at The Pier. We ate a Joe’s BeBop Café and Jazz Emporium. They featured ribs, jambalaya, hamburgers, different sandwiches and salads. All over the walls are murals of jazz musicians and photographs of popular Jazz Artists. We ate there on a Friday night and a live jazz band was performing. The service was a little slow, but the place was packed. The food was very good. I really enjoyed their barbeque sauce, very sweet with a little zing to it! The pricing was fair as well. Also inside the Pier was a futuristic McDonalds. Every half hour they have a laser show with lights flashing and several special effects. There was also a seafood restaurant which we skipped as neither one of us likes seafood.
The Wizard of Oz was playing at the Shakespeare Theater and unfortunately we didn’t have time to check it out. Michael Jordan was playing at the Imax when we were there. The Stained Glass Museum is free and there were many, many stained windows to look at. Some were taken from old torn down buildings within the city. Not all were religious either. The Crystal Gardens was a quiet area with seating places among gorgeous plants and flowers. We checked out there newest attraction Amazing Chicago. I thought for the price, $7.00 or adults and $5.00 for children was very pricey. My daughter begged me to go and we did and I was disappointed. The displays themselves were neat, but not for the price. You go through a mirror maze and then through a dark room with mock buildings of downtown all lit up. It was short and expensive. We did check out the Children’s Museum. My daughter was a little bored with this. It was a very nice hands on museum, but mostly geared towards younger children.
Outside on the Pier is a miniature golf course, a carousel, those swings you see at amusement parks that swing you around on chains, and the giant ferris wheel which is the center of many pictures of the Pier. For $7.50 we got tickets to the carousel and the ferries wheel. The view from the carousel was fantastic. The ferries wheel is always moving slowly, but when you reach the top it seems as if you aren’t moving at all. My fear of heights was beginning to kick in!
From the Pier there are many boats you can board. There are dinner and lunch cruises, the duck boats which was more like a big speed boat, and Shoreline offered 30 minute Lake cruises, water taxis, and architectural cruises. We rode the water taxis to the Sears Tower. $6.00 for adults and $3.00 for children. Or an all day pass for the 2 of us was $18.00. We also took the 60-minute architectural cruise. This was $14.00 for me and $7.00 for my daughter. This was worth every penny in my opinion. We had a wonderful tour guide that explained a lot of the architecture and histories behind them. The boat cruises up the Chicago River and there were plenty of photo opportunities. The stories behind some of these buildings were very interesting, this is definitely a must do attraction. Also from the Pier you can catch sightseeing trolleys and double decker sightseeing buses. You can rent bicycles by the hour or the day as well and tour downtown that way as well. And like I said, it is very easy to catch a free trolley or buses from the Pier. They have signs for each bus route telling you exactly where that bus goes.
Parking was very expensive, but it is everywhere in Chicago. We paid $19.50 a day. I didn’t mind too much after driving around downtown and trying to maneuver through traffic and find a building. I thought this was much easier to park at the Pier and hop on a bus. Navy Pier was quite crowded when we were there, that was the only downside that I could see.
Navy Pier is a great family attraction. There is something there for everyone of every age. It was very clean and all the employees were very friendly and helpful. I would highly recommend this to anyone visiting the area.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Jun - Aug
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Epinions.com ID:
PHOTOGIRL814
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Member: Kathi L
Location: Ohio
Reviews written: 70
Trusted by: 47 members
About Me:
I'm slowly trying to work my way back. I'll start rating again pretty soon :)
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