Where to pick somebody up at O'Hare by car?
 

This question might sound a bit weird:
Where is it the hardest to miss each other when picking up people by car?
My parents are arriving on LX (which I think is Terminal 5), I will be coming from MKE to pick them up, I won't be able to be there on time for their arrival though.
Where should they go to wait for me, to be picked up easily, and what place can I access the easiest. Is the bus stop for the long term parking accessible by car?

Thanks!

Do they have a cell phone?

If you are sure they will arrive before you do, before you arrive have them walk outside and pick a door number that they want to meet you at. Then they can go inside or wherever they want. When you pass through the toll booth, pull over to the side of the road (using hand held cell phones while driving is illegal in Chicago) and phone them to ask which door they will be standing by. Then drive to that door to pick them up.

Otherwise, there is the Kiss & Fly area in Remote Parking Lot E where the Airport Transit System (ATS) train line ends and the buses stop. The ATS is out of service until November, but there are shuttle buses from Terminal 5 that will take you to Remote Parking E. To access the Kiss ‘N Fly area from I-190, use the International Terminal exit to Bessie Coleman Drive. Turn left at the traffic light on Bessie Coleman Drive and follow it north to the Kiss 'N Fly entrance. You are not supposed to wait at the Kiss & Fly, but hardly anyone uses it so you won't get in trouble for a SHORT wait.

If terminal 5, I've always found that picking up people near where the rental car shuttles pick up is a good spot as most people waiting never stand there. But if they have time & can handle their luggage, I'd suggest taking the tram to Kiss N Fly stop as MessyEater suggests.

By the way MessyEater, there are a number of Flyertalk dining dinners in teh Chicago area, please come out to one, I want to see if you are really messy!(bolding mine) it is stated that one may wait 15 minutes for someone at Kiss N Fly lot but it is most rare to never that any cop checks the lot for folks waiting. In other words no one is watching what time someone arrives in a car to wait for someone. But if you think you can leave your car in the lot & take the tram to meet someone, you most likely get a ticket. I'm amazed that more people don't meet their arriving guests at the kiss n fly during peak hours when getting to &/or from the terminals is a nightmare by car.

And if you are picking up or dropping off someone at Kiss N Fly location, don't be a ... and park where the busses pull up!

The problem with "Kiss and Fly" is that there really isn't any decent place for people to wait for someone to pick them up, so that makes it a bit less than ideal.

I'd recommend that they wait for you in Terminal 5 and that you call them when you get to Kiss and Fly. They can then make the quick trip on the ATS to K&F.

Or, just pay a couple bucks and park in the INTL short term parking and go in to meet them.

This is what I do. For $2, seems simpler and more convenient than other options.

What I've been doing with friends is telling them to go up to the departures level of T5, grab a seat and have a soft drink or water at the Goddess and the Grocer. Then when pick up time approaches is to walk outside to the end of T5 down towards TK (to the east) where it's not too busy.

Which LX are they arriving on? the LX2608 flight always seems to run earlier than the LX008.

Thank you for the input, kiss-n'-fly sounds like a good option!

Your decision, but why make your parents go to kiss-n-fly dragging their luggage? If you get stuck in traffic, will they have rest rooms, water fountains, snacks and beverages there? Instead, for all of $2 in parking, they could sit in a chair in an area with access to all this, and you could come into terminal and help them with the luggage to you car.

The OP never said whether the parents have a cell phone. But there is a big shoulder on the right just past the last toll both where many cars pull over. If he phones them from there, they will arrive at the kiss-'n'-fly at about the same time. If they have phones, there is no need to leave the terminal any earlier.

I know of the area you're talking about and you're going to start seeing Illinois State Police ticketing folks there soon. It's going to be an eye opener for some people.

I realize this is FT where a complex devious scheme is cherished above all else, :) but still can't get over what people are willing to do/suggest in order to avoid $2 parking?

I sent my parents a prepaid US SIM-card in the meantime.

The reason, why I think the kiss and fly might be the better choice for me, is that I do not have to expose myself to the terminal-curbside-craziness on a Friday afternoon.

Understood. Those of us familiar with T5 will say that if you spend a couple bucks to park it is really very easy to navigate. Arriving pax go up a level from arrivals and then there is a overhead walkway that takes you right to the parking area, no craziness, you don't even cross traffic until you hit the lot. The only trick is to watch for the signs to International short-term parking as this is very separate from the other parking areas. The lot is sort at the closest edge of ORD, so you never hit any of the main access areas, just a quick entrance/exit into the T5 lot.

The SIM probably cost you more than $2 that parking would have. Plus I hope their phone has US frequencies and they know how to change the SIM. Plus they have to drag their luggage to the train and then Kiss&Fly.

What craziness on Friday afternoon? It is the highways that are crazy (I-190 and then whichever one you take), not the T5 parking lot. Unless you live right by O'Hare, you will have to deal with the highways anyway. (When I-90 is choked, I usually take Cumberland north, then Devon east into the city. Probably doesn't take less time, but the drive is more pleasant.)

Anyway, good luck, and I hope that all goes smoothly.

traffic (when 190 is backed up heading eastbound)

from the kiss n fly lot, it is far easier to hit Higgins east/west, or Mannhiem north/south