Most of these also on Dooyoo, where I'm much more active.
Most of these also on Dooyoo, where I'm much more active.
Member since:20.02.2008
Reviews:123
Members who trust:10
As a frequent traveller, I find myself connecting through Chicago O'Hare (ORD) at least once a year, and it has become my preferred airport to connect in.
The airport is located in Rosemont, IL, 18 miles from the city of Chicago. By car it is approximately a half-hour drive, and there are also bus and rail links which run to Chicago and neighbouring counties. If you are going to Chicago to stay rather than connect you might want to use Midway Airport as it's closer to the city, although is likely to be a more expensive option.
Upon arrival at the airport from the UK, you must obviously first clear immigration. In my experience Chicago is by far the fastest I have experienced in this respect, usually getting through to baggage claim in as little as 15-30 minutes. I have never waited longer than 45 minutes at this airport even if more than one international flight has landed at the same time.
After
clearing immigration, you must pick up your bags which are generally there before you and go through customs. You then drop your bags off for connecting flights if you have them, or leave the airport following exit signs. I don't want to make this seem like a dummies guide to plane journeys but it's really fast and efficient.
To take connecting flights you must get to Terminal 3, using the train which arrives every couple of minutes. It only takes a few minutes. You then must go through a security checkpoint and baggage scan but queues are generally fairly short, 15 minutes at the most.
If you are connecting via Chicago, I would recommend leaving at least an hour and a half, because while things tend to run smoothly, it can be quite a long walk to some gates. If you have trouble walking, you might want to arrange for a wheelchair as it really is quite a hike sometimes.
So you get airside and check the screens for news of your connection...here's where Chicago can let you down. I had never until last week been through that airport in the winter, and when I did, I experienced delays both ways. While I appreciate they can't help it if planes are late from other airports, and they also can't do anything about the weather, I did notice that almost all of the flights were either delayed, some by several hours, or completely cancelled. So, don't panic if you don't have a very long connection and you travel in the winter, you're unlikely to be in the air on time anyway!
Having such long delays has meant that I have been able to see a whole lot of Terminal 3, in fact I could probably draw you a map and review each shop individually from the 14 hours total I spent there this time! (Note - my flights weren't delayed by 14 hours, I had long connections due to my first flights being cancelled/changed).
I can't really tell you what other parts of the airport have to offer, but Terminal 3 is the main airport hub and airlines it serves include American and Delta. The layout of the entire airport is kind of like a skewed 'U' with Terminal 3 being the right hand side. Four 'legs' come off this which make up Concourses L, K, H and G. Each of these concourses has its own toilets, payphones and food and drink of some kind.
Eating: There is a food court located fairly centrally with pizza, bagels, Chinese, McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, smoothies, burritos, etc. There are also Starbucks, bars and grills, cookie/pastry and frozen yoghurt shops dotted around the terminal.
Shopping: Terminal three offers several Hudson News and book shops, most of which also sell some Chicago souvenirs/clothing, a decent-sized book store, Brookstone (travel accessories, electronicsaccessories, etc), a large World Duty Free shop, a jewellers, Spirit of the Red Horse (Native American gifts and jewellery), Sunglass Hut/Watch Station.
Other services: Pay-per-day/subscription wifi, ATMs at each terminal, interfaith chapel in Terminal 2.
There is also a Hilton Hotel located right at the airport which you can walk to through a tunnel. Although I didn't stay there, prices range from £80-100 a night per person, but there are lots of cheaper hotels nearby and shuttles can be caught at the bus centre in the Terminal 5 car park.
I will certainly keep using Chicago for most times of year, but after my delays I may be tempted to look elsewhere in the winter. Then again, at any airport you will encounter delays in the winter which are unavoidable due to planes coming in late from other locations, and there really is a lot to keep you occupied whilst you wait at ORD at least! The interior is fairly clean and inoffensive-looking and the staff I did come into contact with were friendly. It's a busy airport, but it doesn't seem packed, there is always somewhere to sit even right before departure which isn't always the case. I'd definitely recommend!
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Some good travel tips there. I had a look at your other reviews and already your standard is pretty good - look forward to reading more!
Lizamabug 25.02.2008 07:22
Welcome to Ciao, not seen you before. A helpful review here. I've stopped over en route to Florida here and have to say I thought I'd mistakenly got off the plane in Alaska! Elle x
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Feb 25th, 2008
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