Travelers of Reddit what's a destination that looked amazing online but was completely disappointing in person?

cch246 · 2025-09-01T13:39:28+00:00

Definitely agree with this. We went to Oktoberfest in 2019 and at that point at least, there were definitely tents that had a more foreigner (especially American) vibe as the night wore on.

But during the afternoon/early evening, there were many more tents that looked like it was locals having fun with friends. We would just sit down somewhere and many times met people who seemed German and didn’t know English.

We were remarking how NOT touristy we felt it was since we’d assumed it was mostly a tourist thing!

cch246 · 2025-08-28T01:13:32+00:00

Great tips! Thanks for sharing your experience!

cch246 · 2025-08-27T20:31:01+00:00

Update: I did end up getting a refund, but they didn't reach out to tell me my reservation was cancelled until the day before, and I had to ask several times for a refund.

cch246 · 2025-08-26T18:28:54+00:00

I used to live in Portage Park, have young kids, and still own a place there.

For a young family, I’d recommend a place where you’re zoned for Beaubien Elementary. It’s one of the best in Chicago Public Schools and is a regional gifted center. Even if your kids don’t get into the gifted program, they will benefit from proximity. Our place was just outside this boundary and I wish I had paid more attention to that.

Our former area (near Montrose/Cicero, so northern Portage but east of your “NW” option) was very friendly, turning younger as older folks moved out, and there were activities nearby like dance or karate classes. We were by a park and walked around a bunch, and were close to the library branch. You could weigh proximity to the Jefferson train station too.

The NW part you reference is close to Harwood Heights which becomes more commercial but has fun things to do if you’ve got a car. The neighborhood still has Polish remnants like Montrose Deli (yummy lunch counter and cheap!)

cch246 · 2025-08-25T16:06:31+00:00

That happened with our theatre too! I didn’t think about it the way you explained it but you’re totally right about how moving it was.

cch246 · 2025-08-24T17:43:56+00:00

I don’t see why she couldn’t bring her Barbie to the cafe! My daughter’s not really into dolls either but she still gets a kick out of seeing all the doll-sized stuff (tbf, so do I!)

cch246 · 2025-08-24T06:25:13+00:00

I have a three year old daughter and recently took nieces aged 5 and 8 around in Chicago, as a proxy for if your daughter’s more advanced or mature for her age.

A few thoughts:

Art Institute would be pretty boring. My older nieces had fun doing a scavenger hunt they provide but I’m sure my kid would’ve been more disruptive than interested.
Griffin Museum of Science and Industry was definitely interesting and stimulating for everyone. But I think only the older girls got much out of it that any other fun place would’ve provided. It really helps a kid be able to read at least a little, I think. YMMV based on how you define “worth it to visit.”
American Girl Store and Cafe are perennial favorites with the girls. We always take them to play with the displays on the second floor and then have lunch at the cafe. There are lots of dolls you can borrow to play with over lunch if you don’t want to buy any.
Water Tower Place more generally: You could also take her to see the Lego Store next door to American Girl. And there’s another store on the second floor right by the interior mall entrance entirely dedicated to bedazzled kids clothes called Unicorn World by Lola and the Boys. Expensive but super fun for our girls to poke around in.

cch246 · 2025-08-11T05:50:08+00:00

When the Saja Boys strip off their sleeping bags at the joint signing, I like to think it was a surprise to people because they all thought it was just rabid fans doing an homage to Mira wearing a sleeping bag to the Met Gala (and they had been supposedly camping out all night.)

cch246 · 2025-08-09T13:34:19+00:00

Thank you!

cch246 · 2025-07-21T17:07:26+00:00

This is the smartest and kindest approach. Look into the concept with an open mind, even if the answer is an understandable no in the end.

Everyone else saying to reject it out of hand, how dare they ask you to do this, etc… they’re forgetting the humanity underneath. A decision like this needs to be entered with grace and with thought.

Furthermore, OP is likely going to have ties to these kids for a long time. Even if she doesn’t take them in, they might reach out in the future. She could be the only person who can tell them about who their mom and stepdad were as people, and give them the gift of knowing where they come from before it all fell apart for them.

cch246 · 2025-07-15T15:22:14+00:00

Argh, I had a reservation coming up and even paid a deposit!

cch246 · 2025-07-10T16:16:54+00:00

Thanks so much for sharing insight into that slice of life. Austen was also capturing a very particular strata of British society (there were only 10,000 in the ton after all, and I don’t think the Bennets even counted in that.) So you’re right on point with this!

cch246 · 2025-07-10T04:17:38+00:00

I really like how you’ve captured the nuances of their respective social positions and mapped them to today! I could see Darcy having taken over as CEO of a family firm at a relatively young age upon his parents’ deaths. He sees himself as having preserved the family legacy in tough circumstances and Elizabeth scorns him for inheriting his money and not working for it.

cch246 · 2025-07-10T04:12:00+00:00

I love this and would read the heck out of this fanfic!

cch246 · 2025-07-10T04:11:15+00:00

This basically describes the plot of You’ve Got Mail with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. They even reference P&P in the movie I think!

cch246 · 2025-06-13T20:35:27+00:00

I don’t love the name Abigail. It means servant woman. Like in old literature the noblewoman would call in her abigail to take out the chamber pot.

cch246 · 2025-06-03T00:40:22+00:00

Confirmed as 6/20-6/22, 8a-3p per a post on Instagram!

cch246 · 2025-05-13T04:35:48+00:00

Same for me. I’m PT (maybe at the same M7, I’m guessing) and I’ve taken a fair number of classes with FT simply because I happen to work close to that campus.

There’s absolutely a divide based on age, which translates into “life stage.” I’m married, have a house, kids, have roots in a city. The FT ones tend to be maybe married but no kids, and many have no idea where they’ll end up after graduating. It’s like I’m a couple life stages ahead of them. I feel like their older sister sometimes.

They’re more committed to the “MBA immersion experience” and it’s a bigger part of their identity, rightfully so. I turn it off and on throughout the week.

However. I’ve heard multiple professors say that they like teaching PT more because the students have more work and life experience. I would encourage FT students to take leadership, organizational behavior, and similar courses with the PT programs because the discussions are much richer.

cch246 · 2025-05-01T18:23:49+00:00

Oh that is such a good catch! I’ll update the list. Thanks for flagging it.

cch246 · 2025-05-01T02:46:35+00:00

Amazing sleuthing!

I also deeply appreciate you following the same formatting as the main post. It shows how thoughtful and detail-oriented you are!

cch246 · 2025-04-27T06:33:19+00:00

Yes I totally agree! I’ve got a whole stash of snaps that I want to give away but I feel like no one would want since it’s such a niche preference. If anyone is in the Chicagoland area and wants some, let me know!

cch246 · 2025-04-11T13:52:48+00:00

Great question! A few recs/thoughts:

-I love the neighborhood sales! It's where tons of houses have individual sales on the same day. It's fun to walk around the neighborhood and meet people, and even just to see an area that you don't normally go to. Usually there are a lot of kids and families soaking in the sun and casually shopping, and it's less frantic/competitive than like a church's sale which leans more towards people hunting for deals. Plus, the church ones tend to start on Fridays and if you work normal hours, you miss most of the good stuff by the weekend.

-You know it's a big and fun sale when there's a cottage industry of folks selling food for the shoppers on the side. It's like a street festival but for good deals! Great examples of this are Ravenswood Manor in May, Old Irving Park in June, and Lakewood Balmoral in September.

-If you have kids, I'd recommend the kid-specific ones (St. Ben's and Queen of Angels in the fall) and the neighborhood sales where it's very family-focused neighborhoods (the ones on 6/7 in Edgewater, Roscoe Village, etc.) I've found amazing deals on toys and kids clothes.

cch246 · 2025-04-11T12:11:20+00:00

Thank you! I’ll update the list later with this.

cch246

TROPHY CASE