Never been to Chicago ... never been to The National

[crazy4kinsler]

Which Harry Carry's would you suggest? We were just going to do the Italian place in Rosemont. Is there a better one?

Originally Posted by Grid

Ive taken players there to do signings. Its very far from the convention center. Its in the Water Tower Place mall in the heart of downtown. Its honestly not very good. Basically its a side attraction to Harry Carys restaurant next door to it in the mall. Yet they charge you $10 to get in.

[PoPCulture]

Originally Posted by crazy4kinsler

Which Harry Carry's would you suggest? We were just going to do the Italian place in Rosemont. Is there a better one?

We went to the one at Navy Pier a couple years ago. It was fine but nothing really memorable. We had a better time at the Billy Goat Tavern the next night.

[crpalmi]

Sorry to piggyback off this but this will also be my first time at the show and I have a silly question, would general admission tickets purchased on the day of ever sell out? I could buy a ticket now but it’s the same price at the door but just want to make sure there’s no such thing as selling out.

[scotthenrichs]

Originally Posted by crpalmi

Sorry to piggyback off this but this will also be my first time at the show and I have a silly question, would general admission tickets purchased on the day of ever sell out? I could buy a ticket now but it’s the same price at the door but just want to make sure there’s no such thing as selling out.

Don’t think they’ve ever sold out, they are $5 more than buying them early, but I think that window has already passed anyways.

[JPSportshack]

As long as you've got money they'll be happy to take it.

[thepilluh]

Lollapalloza is taking place show weekend in Grant Park.

[Sluggerrr]

Originally Posted by crazy4kinsler

Didn't know the Home Alone house was in Chicago. I will definitely have to check that out.

I wouldn't bother. It's probably an hour commute from Rosemont and it's not in the city so not much else around there that I would want to see.

[here2havefun]

Originally Posted by Itsmeagain

Tourist trap? You are a tourist. Enjoy!

I was going to post this hah. Y'all are tourists, it's okay to do touristy stuff. The Navy Pier and city beach is fun to see and walk around. I absolutely love the Fine Arts Museum. There are so many hip/trendy restaurants with outdoor seating right on the sidewalk, it's fun to sit and people watch with a drink. Chicago in the summer is about as good as it gets.

For the card show, be prepared to be completely overwhelmed. There's no way you're going to see every table if you're only there for one day, just keep that in mind and be okay with that. If you try to see _everything_ you will get stressed. Just start at one side of the room and work your way through, skip right over the tables that don't have what you want, i.e. if you're looking for vintage, no need to stop at a table that's all graded shiny cards.

[here2havefun]

Originally Posted by thepilluh

Lollapalloza is taking place show weekend in Grant Park.

Oh wow, that's going to be nuts. 2 years ago, wife and I spent a few days in the city after the National, they were in the process of setting up for Lollapalloza the following weekend, and even just the set up made that whole park kind of crazy.

[crazy4kinsler]

Thank you for this. I think my wife is more excited than I am about going to Chicago. She wants to spend every day downtown. My plan right now is to do the show on Wednesday and Thursday. Not sure how that will work out.

That said, I am only interested in seeing vintage cards, mainly slabbed cards. So I can skip right over all of the modern, shiny stuff. Not really a collector of newer, unless it's the Rangers. But putting that collection on hold for now.

Originally Posted by here2havefun

I was going to post this hah. Y'all are tourists, it's okay to do touristy stuff. The Navy Pier and city beach is fun to see and walk around. I absolutely love the Fine Arts Museum. There are so many hip/trendy restaurants with outdoor seating right on the sidewalk, it's fun to sit and people watch with a drink. Chicago in the summer is about as good as it gets.

For the card show, be prepared to be completely overwhelmed. There's no way you're going to see every table if you're only there for one day, just keep that in mind and be okay with that. If you try to see _everything_ you will get stressed. Just start at one side of the room and work your way through, skip right over the tables that don't have what you want, i.e. if you're looking for vintage, no need to stop at a table that's all graded shiny cards.

[jkampis]

Originally Posted by mjohnatgt

Field Museum?

I'm a fan of the Weber Grill restaurant chain; I try to hit that each time I visit on business trips to Schaumburg, but there's one in Chicago as well. https://webergrillrestaurant.com/locations/

There are some riverboat casinos less than an hour away if you like to gamble.

Every day you don't go to the National is a day someone else is buying the card you would have gotten, from what it sounds like on Net54. Going on Wednesday, you'll have a better chance of finding more rare items before they get snatched up.

There’s actually a casino just down the road from the convention center in Des Plains, about 5 minutes away.

[hammerva]

I saw that AEW was running shows in Chicago the weekend of the National but looking at the tickets available for Dynamite on Wednesday and the cost of Uber to get to the Ballroom there, it is already putting my budget in a hole and I haven't even gotten to the actual show. Maybe I can go to the National on Wednesday and then depending on how good that day and most of Thursday, maybe I can go to Collison on Thursday

Going on vacation on a budget sucks

[crazy4kinsler]

What is AEW? I know Lollypoplooza is going on that weekend. But I don’t know anything about they either. Well probably over up town or take a train. As I said I’m a germaphobe. Not sure I want to be in a subway in a city with, what, probably a million people.

Originally Posted by hammerva

I saw that AEW was running shows in Chicago the weekend of the National but looking at the tickets available for Dynamite on Wednesday and the cost of Uber to get to the Ballroom there, it is already putting my budget in a hole and I haven't even gotten to the actual show. Maybe I can go to the National on Wednesday and then depending on how good that day and most of Thursday, maybe I can go to Collison on Thursday

Going on vacation on a budget sucks

[hammerva]

AEW is All Elite Wrestling the #2 promotion in wrestling

[here2havefun]

Originally Posted by crazy4kinsler

As I said I’m a germaphobe. Not sure I want to be in a subway in a city with, what, probably a million people.

Yikes, there's probably going to be whole sections/areas of the National show floor that you will want to avoid. Last Chicago show, I had a hard time even pushing through some sections, let alone seeing what dealers had in their cases.

The floor area straight inside from the outdoor taxi loop was the most wide-open, lots of room between tables, and I think that's where most of the vintage was.

[Grid]

Originally Posted by crazy4kinsler

What is AEW? I know Lollypoplooza is going on that weekend. But I don’t know anything about they either. Well probably over up town or take a train. As I said I’m a germaphobe. Not sure I want to be in a subway in a city with, what, probably a million people.

2.7MIL, but whos counting?

[crazy4kinsler]

I just got my tickets for the show. I got 3 tickets. If my wife decides to go Wednesday, then I will go Wednesday with her then go Thursday by myself. I might go back Saturday if I have money and things on my list to buy. I did make a list with about 25-30 cards. I'm going to be looking for those, and I probably won't buy much outside of that. I'm more excited to see the exhibits, memorabilia from the auction houses and meet folks in the hobby. Looks like nice, cool weather once Wednesday afternoon gets here, so that will be nice. It's supposed to be 73 and clear skies on Friday for the game.

[crazy4kinsler]

Well, we are back from The National. Got home late last night. Just wanted to say thank you to everyone for the tips. And of course, I overthought everything. Here's a recap (daily recaps are now on my Youtube channel too).

We arrived Tuesday around lunch time, took a shuttle to our hotel at the Sonesta Inn O'Hare and we grabbed an uBer over to the Fashion Outlets of Chicago. From there, we walked over to Fat Rosies for lunch. It was really good. We then walked back to the Outlets and grabbed the shuttle to the convention center. Saw folks out in the lobby trading and pricing cards, and I wound up buying my first card. Took an uBer back to the hotel after that, rested for a couple of hours then had dinner at Harry Caray's in the hotel. It was really good.

Wednesday, we slept in, grabbed an uBer over to Giordano's and ate a deep dish pizza. It was fantastic. From there, we went to the show, got there right at 4 and walked right in with no wait. We checked out a lot of the corporate area, loved looking at the auction house exhibits and just walked around checking out cards. It was super cool, and even my wife enjoyed it. I did buy 1 card before leaving the show that night.

On Thursday, I got up early, went to the show by myself and got there right at 10. The line was almost back to the Loew's Hotel. But it moved quickly. I went in, did more walking around and bought a card. I then walked over to Gibson's to meet the wife for lunch. Afterward, she walked to the outlets, and I went back to the show. I wound up buying 2 more cards before leaving. After the show, I attended the Youtube meet up at the Embassy Suites. It was really neat to meet up with lots of YT content creators and just people that watch vintage stuff on YT. That was the end of the show for me, and I came home with 5 new cards and a lifetime of memories.

On Friday, we grabbed an uBer and took it to Wrigley Field. We walked around a bit, visited Tom Brady's new card store, which had just opened that day across the street from the stadium. My family flew in from Dallas just for the day to meet us since it was my 50th birthday. It was so amazing, and I was shocked as I had no idea they were coming. We ate at Brickhouse for lunch, took in the game, which lasted a whole hour and 46 minutes. After I put my family back into an uBer for Midway and their flight home, we walked around some more, visited the team store and bought a few things and again went to Brickhouse. We finally took an uBer back to the hotel and sat outside and enjoyed drinks and apps in the 65 degree weather at Harry Caray's.

We didn't do anything yesterday except sleep in, pack up and check out, walk over to Panera Bread for a sandwich and then sit in the airport for a couple of hours waiting on our flight home.

Now, I can't wait until the 2026 National. I hope the Cubs are in town that week so we can catch another game. But I really, really enjoyed the entire experience of Chicago and The National, even though we never truly went into downtown Chicago. I was definitely overwhelmed at the show on Thursday, but it was still enjoyable. And I'll do it again.

So thank you everyone for the tips, tricks and advice leading up to this past week. One of the most unforgettable trips of my entire life.

[mrb842]

Originally Posted by crazy4kinsler

I just got my tickets for the show. I got 3 tickets. If my wife decides to go Wednesday, then I will go Wednesday with her then go Thursday by myself. I might go back Saturday if I have money and things on my list to buy. I did make a list with about 25-30 cards. I'm going to be looking for those, and I probably won't buy much outside of that. I'm more excited to see the exhibits, memorabilia from the auction houses and meet folks in the hobby. Looks like nice, cool weather once Wednesday afternoon gets here, so that will be nice. It's supposed to be 73 and clear skies on Friday for the game.

It takes 2 days just to see the show, look through stuff and then another day to really zero in on what you want and explore and that was before they added upstairs. They could honestly make it tuesday-sunday passes and add dealers upstairs and people would still do the thing.

[Dacubs2]

That's awesome... Glad you had such a good time

[here2havefun]

Sounds like you had a fantastic time, great re-cap. Glad that it turned out great for you and your family. And happy belated birthday!

[Itsmeagain]

How much was the Uber?

[crazy4kinsler]

We were at the Sonesta Inn - O'hare. It was about $6-$9 per trip to the show. It was $32 from the hotel to Wrigley. We checked after the game, and it was going to be $93. We waited, though, until about 7 (game started at 1:20 and was over at 3:05ish). And it was $63.

Originally Posted by Itsmeagain

How much was the Uber?