#1
Jul 21, 2011Hi everyone! I've never flown before and I'm flying alone, so please bear with me. I'm flying out of PIT into SAT and a 4 hour layover at O'Hare. Since I don't have the privilege of traveling nearly as much as I would like, or at all really, I would love to check out downtown Chicago even if it's only for an hour. My question is, will I have time to make it to the city and walk around for an hour or so if my layover is only 3hrs 40mins? I really appreciate any help! Thank you!
#2
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No, sorry, that's just not enough time. If you took the train into town and everything went perfectly, you would still need two hours to travel, plus time to walk from the gate to the train - probably a minimum of 15 minutes. Upon your return, you would need that same walking time, plus security. A trip to the city by cab could be much shorter than the train, but depending upon the time of day and the traffic, it could be much longer.Originally Posted by SQuinn14
Hi everyone! I've never flown before and I'm flying alone, so please bear with me. I'm flying out of PIT into SAT and a 4 hour layover at O'Hare. Since I don't have the privilege of traveling nearly as much as I would like, or at all really, I would love to check out downtown Chicago even if it's only for an hour. My question is, will I have time to make it to the city and walk around for an hour or so if my layover is only 3hrs 40mins? I really appreciate any help! Thank you!
#4
Agreed. The so called 4-hour stop is from touchdown to takeoff, it will be more like 2 hours in real life. Not enough time to do anything outside the airport. If it is award ticket and you can change to a later flight without penalty, look into that. Otherwise enjoy our beautiful airport. 
#6
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I don't believe it's open in T-3.Originally Posted by japaik
if you're going to be terminal 1 or 3, check out tortas frontera, the rick bayless restaurant. you can at least check that off your chicago experience...
#7
I'm going to have 3 hours to kill at ORD tomorrow (my wife gets in on a later flight). Flying LHR-ORD on UA, presumably I get into T5 - is there any way to get to Tortas Frontera, or would that involve leaving security? I'm guessing so, but...
#8
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You have to leave Security.Originally Posted by tsg20
I'm going to have 3 hours to kill at ORD tomorrow (my wife gets in on a later flight). Flying LHR-ORD on UA, presumably I get into T5 - is there any way to get to Tortas Frontera, or would that involve leaving security? I'm guessing so, but...
#9
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Are you connecting to a domestic flight or is Chicago your final destination?Originally Posted by tsg20
I'm going to have 3 hours to kill at ORD tomorrow (my wife gets in on a later flight). Flying LHR-ORD on UA, presumably I get into T5 - is there any way to get to Tortas Frontera, or would that involve leaving security? I'm guessing so, but...
In order to kill 3 hrs, you can start out with a relaxed walk to the immigrattion and customs and not joining the mad dash. The immigration and customs process funnels everyone outside security (landside). Now, unless you are connecting to a domestic flight or you buy a refundable ticket, there is no way to get inside security (airside) in other terminals, where the Tortas Frontera are.
At T5, the lower (arrivals) floor has more comfortable chairs to sit on, but only McDonalds for food. There are monitors where you can track the ETA for your wife's flight (assuming she too is coming into T5).
The upper (departures) floor has more interesting food options in a food court, and also a bookstore/newsstand.
Divide your time between the two.