Travel to Iceland while staying in Chicago
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Flyover's new show highlights the natural beauty of Iceland. Photo: Courtesy of Navy Pier
After trying and loving Navy Pier's immersive Flyover tour of Chicago last spring, I recently tried its new Iceland experience.
Why it matters: It makes sense for Chicago visitors and hometown loyalists to want to experience our city in this multi-sensory attraction, but I wondered if the Iceland show would be worth the dough ($24-$34) for locals and tourists.
The basics: Broken into three parts, your 30-minute journey staged in the old IMAX area of the pier, starts in a gallery displaying photos and videos of icy, volcanic, lush and mountainous terrain.
- Next, visitors move to a round theater to watch a breathtaking narrated film about Iceland's arctic origins and troll legends.
- The journey finishes in another theater where visitors strap into amusement park-like chairs that thrust into a 65-foot surround screen and simulate flying over mountains, valleys, volcanos, rivers, oceans and buildings in Reykjavik.
The feels: The experience sends you swooping and diving around Iceland while smelling fragrant flower fields and enjoying mountain breezes and ocean mists on your face and legs.
- Don't be surprised if it also sends you to the Iceland Air site looking for tickets to this stunning spot.
Iceland vs. Chicago: While the Chicago Flyover felt like an action film crossed with a rock show, the Iceland experience felt more like reading a thrilling fairy tale and attending the opera.
Pro tip: You can buy your tickets at Navy Pier or get better prices by reserving online.
- Chicago Public School students with ID can buy $10 tickets through this school year.
