I no longer mourn the closing of the Navy Pier IMAX now that it has been replaced by Flyover Chicago, a ride every bit as thrilling as a top-notch roller-coaster that takes riders on a high-flying virtual tour immersing them in a gorgeous city that’s second to none over the course of nine glorious minutes.
The technology, which is similar to the hang-glider-themed Soarin’ Around the World ride at Disney World’s EPCOT, has been employed by hospitality company Pursuit at Flyover attractions in Las Vegas, Reykjavik, Iceland and Vancouver, Canada. Its fourth outpost, across from the Chicago Children’s Museum, is quite simply spectacular in its execution.
The pre-show staging area (shown in the photo above) whets visitors’ appetites for what’s to come with multiple screens showing snippets of great city footage ranging from an envelope-pushing rehearsal of the Soul Children of Chicago choir to a trip inside Manny’s Deli to watch the inimitable Gino Gambarota sling some pastrami.
And then it’s time to strap in for the ride. Facing a gigantic 65-foot spherical screen, a total of 60 riders sit in single rows of chairs stretching across multiple pods on three levels. The seats are wide and comfortable, and there’s space underneath each one to stow bags, backpacks and purses. All that’s left is to buckle the individual seat belts and get ready for the adventure. In terms of accommodations, there’s a small built-in loop on each belt to better position it for children, and people of size will greatly appreciate that there is no harness to pull down or crossbar to yank back. It’s lovely.
After everyone is secured, a gate lowers in front of the pods, which then get a hydraulic push over the brink, where they hover as the immersive film experience begins. Throughout the ride, the pods move a bit to and fro. In addition, there are brief blasts of wind and spritzes of water vapor to enhance trips over Buckingham Fountain, the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. (One hopes no actual Chicago River water is in use here.) When riders swoop down over a film shoot featuring a cops-and-robbers car chase in the Loop, a hint of burning rubber even wafts into the room.
But almost all of the work here is done by the film itself, giving us the sensation of zipping close by the Gothic spires of Tribune Tower as trumpeter KaiAlim Peyton-Moore comes into view playing “Sweet Home Chicago” way up there just before we plummet down to the river and underneath one of the bridges that cross it in the Loop.
A word of caution: All of this zipping and zooming can make folks prone to motion sickness feel queasy. Seats at the outside of the pod enhance the motion effects, so anyone nervous about that should grab a middle seat. I love a good thrill ride, so I sat near the outside of a pod. It was exhilarating.
More than that, Flyover Chicago has created an immersive love letter to the city that highlights much of what we cherish about living here: the stunning architecture, the amazing food, the ever-present fun in, on and around the water, and, of course, the vibrant multicultural energy that brings us everything from a parade of hydraulic low riders swaying down the street to young men dunking on playground hoops to mouth-watering delis and the shiver-inducing sounds of the Soul Children of Chicago choir showing us how all that practice paid off as we zoom inside the Chicago Theatre to glimpse their performance.
As a shot of civic pride that shows off Chicago’s best face to the world, Flyover Chicago is unbeatable. Will those of us who live here chuckle when we zoom past a CTA train where happy riders dance and perform backflips in the aisles? Well, yes, but that’s also an aspirational reminder of what we need to get back to–a train system people feel good about riding again.
Flyover Chicago may be the best tourism campaign for the city since Michael Jordan captivated the world with those Bulls championship runs. (Like Jordan, Flyover’s Chicago journey will hit the road, to be featured at other Flyover locations later this year.) It’s also a welcome reminder to shake off our housebound habits and experience this beautiful city more often, from the beaches and parks to the soaring skyline. That goes for you, too, suburbanites. Don’t hold your breath waiting for Flyover Schaumburg.
As the ride ends by taking us inside a series of exploding fireworks in the sky over the pier, it drives home the technical brilliance of this attraction. The film feels as high-res and seamless as real life even as it takes us places in and around the Loop that we could never experience up close under our own steam. (Future versions of the experience that take riders further away from downtown into the city’s vital neighborhoods and perhaps drop in on big sporting events would be very welcome as well.) Whatever AI has in store for us on the entertainment front, it won’t make a thrilling, visceral attraction like this obsolete.
The one quibble I have with Flyover is that entering and exiting the attraction requires climbing up and down multiple flights of stairs. There is a single elevator to accommodate people who need it, but if you’ve got a bad back, creaky knees or sore feet, encountering so many stairs is not a welcome development. Note also: Children must be at least 40 inches tall to ride. Those 13 and under must be accompanied by someone 14 or older, which means kids can ride with an older teen sibling, cousin or friend in lieu of a parent or other adult if they wish, leaving moms and dads prone to motion sickness to relax in the main floor gift shop.
Speaking of which, this is a fantastic place to send out-of-town visitors, especially if they are unfamiliar with the city. By all means, take yourself and your loved ones as well. You’ll likely want to return. I know I’ll be back.
Flyover Chicago is a uniquely special attraction in this city. Once word gets around, it’s going to be one of the hottest entertainment tickets of the summer.
Flyover Chicago is now open daily at Navy Pier.
Photo by Frank Sennett
