ChiIL Mama's Adventures on The Chicago Trolley Holiday Lights Tour #OriginalPhotos #Review

Take that Bucket List. I've wanted to do the acclaimed Chicago Trolley Lights Tour for years and we finally did it. In 2013 we were booked to do the press tour and the whole family was down with the stomach flu. This year we were invited again and already booked to cover Frozemont and the opening of Polar Peak. 



Thankfully, they were able to switch us to another date and my husband and I had an awesome tour together on a trolley named "Buddy". 




I've taken my son on several other summer Chicago Trolley and Double Decker Bus tours which we loved and highly recommend. The actor/narrators we've gotten are always a hoot! And it's a great way to see the city without exhausting everyone. The hop on/off tours are an excellent way to get around. And though the Light Trolley requires you to hop back on the same trolley, they do make a couple half hour stops so you get a mini taste of two Chicago holiday favorites. We've been promoting the tours for years.

There's still time to take the visiting relatives on the Holiday Lights Tour. Tours run through January 4th!



Christkindlemart--Old world German flair at a huge, open air market in the heart of Chicago.



The tour is a great length for all ages and abilities, running approximately 2.5 hours. The schtick is hilarious and informative and the trolley makes two quickie stops to let riders check out Christkindlemart in Daley Plaza and Lincoln Park Zoo Lights for a half hour each. At the end, everyone gets a coupon for a free cookie and hot cocoa at The Hersheys Store across from the original Watertower.



Zoo Lights at Lincoln Park Zoo is a colorful abundance of lights, live ice carving, and crafts for the kids.



Pros:
Hilarious & Informative Tour: Our guide was knowledgable and funny. We had a lot of laughs, had a romantic tour of the city lights and a mini, festive taste of the holidays in Chicago without a lot of exhausting walking. Highly recommended.

Cons: 
Ditched at the Zoo: Time waits for no man... and neither do the Chicago Trolley drivers. We were just a few minutes past 9pm (meet up time) and running for the stop when we got ditched at the zoo! In all fairness, the driver did repeatedly say that he'd leave people, so the fault is ours. Thankfully we'd caught the first 2 hours of the tour and only missed the ride back to the car. So we ended up paying a cabbie the $10 we would have left our driver/guide as a tip, to get back to our car downtown. Ah well. 

Too Long To Wait For Treats: We had the cab drop us at Hersheys, but the trolley rider line for free cocoa & cookies was out the door and down the block, so we skipped it. Maybe our driver had the right idea to get outta dodge and get to the front of the cookie line before the pack of trolleys arrived and made the wait times too long. 

Despite the disappointing end, the tour was fun and worth the price. We recommend it as a great way to show off the city to your visiting friends and relatives that's not too touristy for the locals to love.

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More of our Favorite Photos:


Sights around town. Here are some of our top spaces and places.

One of the Christmas busses--all decked out for the holidays!

Light up the darkest days of the year in style with these amazing star lanterns.

We tried Puffs of Doom at the recent One of A Kind Show at Merchandise Mart and they are decadently delicious and selling at Christkindlemart!

 We review a LOT of theatre year round, and The Oriental remains our architectural favorite.

The world renowned Goodman Theatre is one of our top picks for great shows, traditional and edgy.