Get ready to soar, Chicago. Navy Pier's latest attraction "Flyover" is taking thrill-seekers on a simulated aerial joyride through the heart of the Windy City. According to a Chicago Tribune review, the $40 million experience straps visitors into flight-motion seats that replicate the dizzying sensation of a drone zipping past Chicago's storied landmarks and glittering lakefront.
Replacing the now-closed IMAX Theater, "Flyover Chicago" extends over two years of meticulous filming, capturing the essence of the city. As Lisa Adams, the experience's executive producer from Melbourne tells the Tribune, this spectacle celebrates Chicago from colossal skyscrapers to the diverse faces that give the city its character. Tickets won't break the bank either, with a special offer of just $5 for students at Chicago Public Schools — quite a steal for a virtual jaunt around Chi-town.
Before the main event, visitors can mellow out in a room filled with narrative vignettes, setting the emotional tone for a 35-minute journey that includes wind, mist, and even an occasional splash of water for a touch of Lake Michigan realism. And as if a breathtaking flight wasn't enough, a 65-foot spherical screen submerges guests into a world of complete sensory immersion, per an NBC Chicago report.
However, don't get it twisted with the Navy Pier Flyover, the urban walkway project; this is a whole other beast aimed at delivering sights, sounds, and smells of Chicago in a package no observation deck or helicopter tour could match. "Through this immersive storytelling experience, we wanted to capture the rich diversity of Chicagoans, their resiliency and the vibrant neighborhoods that weave the fabric of such an exceptional city," COO Lisa Adams said in statement obtained by NBC Chicago. "Flyover" officially opens March 1 and will run daily offering an invigorating perspective many locals and tourists might never have encountered without leaving the ground.
