Skydeck Chicago

(Overview and Facts): For those who don’t know, the Skydeck is essentially a giant glass box you can stand in to take in the view of Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. 103 stories up, the box offers extraordinary views of the city in three directions, including straight down towards the city below. There are five boxes, or ledges, each with clear glass about 1.5 inches thick and can support up to 10,000 pounds. When maintaining the ledges is needed, they can retract into the building for easy cleaning, including under the ledge. It’s complete with a gift shop and a station of where you can pick up physical printed copies of photos taken of you by the staff. (Price): Though the views are very beautiful, reserving a ticket for basic entry is… pricey 😬. For an adult, the price for one ticket is upwards of about $40, and one for a child is around $30. Because Chicago is a place where there are lots of family activities, tourists will likely bring their family along. For big families or groups visiting the Skydeck, the cost can rise fairly quickly. Also, photos taken by the staff members can be picked up physically at the end of your reservation, but picking up two photos (at least for me) cost more than $20 and is completely separate from the charge for the original access. This is why I’m personally deducting a star, but you can decide for yourself. If you’re a photographer or love city views, this may be worth every penny, but it might be expensive to others. I’ll also explain the process of check-in so you can better decide if this is a good place to visit. (Process Step 1 — Check in) We ordered our tickets online, and a barcode was made available on my phone. Once you’ve tracked down the barcode, find the elevator in Willis Tower and choose one that goes to LL2 (keep in mind this is below the main floor). Check the nearby displays to see if tickets for your reservation time are accepted, and then go to the check-in counter to display the code(s). A staff member will scan each one (if applicable) and allow you to pass through to security. (Step 2 — Security and Pictures) For safety, the team checks bags and people to ensure nothing crazy happens 100 stories in the air. If you have a bag, you’ll be directed to feed it into an X-Ray machine, and anything in your pockets or objects that aren’t in your bags will be set into a plastic bin temporarily. Then you’ll walk through a full-body metal detector in a similar manner as you would at an airport. You can collect your bags and items when you’re done with your check. You can walk through a photo shoot and have a picture taken of you (this is NOT for security reasons) and you’ll be handed a postcard. Then you may proceed onto the exhibit. Note you’re still on LL2, but you’ll go up soon. (Step 3 — Exhibit) There’s a brief walk through an exhibit that displays the history of Chicago, such as common foods, music, the L-train system, a fire, and famous people. There’s a bathroom in the exhibit. (Step 4 — Elevator and Navigation) At the end of the exhibit, take the elevator up 103 floors (which takes a minute). To get to the ledges, turn left after exiting the elevator and follow nearby signage. On your way there, you can also explore a gift shop and freely look out big windows over the city. Note these are average windows and are not the ledges. (Step 4 — The Ledge) You may now wait in the line for entrance to the ledge. A staff member will direct you to go to a specific one when it’s your turn, and will prompt you for the postcard that was given to you earlier. They’ll scan it, then direct you into the ledge. A photo will be taken that you can pick up later at the photo station after you get off the elevator down. After the staff member takes a photo, you have approximately 90 seconds to take your own photos or view the city from above before you must exit towards the elevator down. Staff members will time you via an iPad mounted to the wall by the ledge. If you want more time, you can rejoin the line. (Step 5 — Exit) Follow the line towards the elevator down to LL2.