TILT

TILTing at the top of the John Hancock tower in Chicago

Excuse me, what is that supposed to mean? TILT as in lean forward? Exactly, and this attraction allows you to be tilted from the top of the John Hancock tower in Chicago! Do I have your attention now? Great, keep reading.

Most big cities in the United States of America offer some sort of unique experience up in the air. And I am not talking about admiring the view from the top of the skyscraper. You will indeed be at the top of the skyscraper, but your experience will be much more thrilling than just looking.

For example, one of the skyscrapers in Los Angeles has a glass slide! I am visiting Los Angeles in June, and doing that glass slide is very high on my priority list. Read: this will be the first thing I will do when I get there! Then, think of the Stratosphere tower and hotel in Las Vegas, which has a small amusement park on the top of the tower!

And, last but not least, Chicago. Chicago actually offers two ‘sky - high’ attractions, and they take place at two different buildings. The more famous one is the so - called Skydeck, which is basically just a glass ledge that you can sit on, and you will probably see it on a picture from every person that ever visited Chicago. Well, except me, because I did not bother to wait in line for two hours.

The second attraction is much more thrilling. It is, like I already mentioned, called TILT, and it is basically just a big glass cube with handles in front of you, where you will hold on for dear life, and then the cube will tilt forward. I am a skydiver with over 500 skydives so far and I love everything thrilling, and I have to say that I was just a little terrified, looking straight down almost a hundred floors. Well, I am used to have a parachute on my back! (Excuses, excuses…)

How to get there?

If you decide to walk to the John Hancock tower and have no idea what to look for, you are in luck - the building is very easily recognizable. Not only is it the tallest building on that side of the city, it also has two big antennas on top that are its trademark.  

This is John Hancock tower at night. See the two antennas? Like I said, it is pretty hard to miss.

This is the view of Chicago from the John Hancock tower. It is pretty neat even on the ground - now imagine the view from the top of the tower!

If you will rely on your GPS, John Hancock tower is situated on 875 North Michigan avenue. If I were you, I would not drive in Chicago because of two reasons. First, public transportation in Chicago is very cheap and it will take you basically anywhere, and secondly, speaking from my own experience, people in Chicago drive like crazy. The only time I was more terrified when I was driving, was in New York, and I promised to myself I will never drive in a big city again.

Prices and best time to go

TILT is not the cheapest attraction in Chicago, but it is definitely the most unique. The TILT experience will cost you almost twenty five dollars, but it is well worth it.

If you would like (almost) the same view and pay nothing for it, you can go up to the Sky Lounge on the top of the same tower for free, but you do have to order a drink. The drinks up there are, of course, ridiculously expensive, but their price will still be much cheaper than the observation deck, if you are looking to save some money. One small Coca Cola zero costs six dollars, just saying.

I would say there is no bad time to see Chicago from John Hancock tower’s observation desk. If you can, go there at sunset, which is what me and my friends did.

We were actually super lucky, because at first, we did not plan to see the sunset up there at all. In fact, TILT was not even on our list of things to do in Chicago. We were just strolling around there after dinner, and one of my friends saw the TILT way up there and said: ‘Hey, let’s go tilt ourselves!’ So we went, and just as we came to the top, we were rewarded with one of the most amazing sunsets I have ever seen. I mean, all the sunsets are great, but this one truly was something special. As the sun coloured the sky in vivid red and orange tones, the Chicago city lights started turning on, and it was just magical.  

This was our sunset view at the top.

I was surprised at how far Chicago stretches.

The TILT experience

When me and my friends arrived to the top of the tower (I made it sound like we were walking, but do not worry, there is an elevator), there was one group in front of us, and we were able to see how the TILTing looks like. You will stand inside a glass cube that will tilt forward just a little bit, and then move back inside.

When I saw that, I said to myself: ‘That’s it? What a ripoff!’ But then the cube started tilting forward again, and this time, it went way further out. It was funny to see some people shaking and trying not to fall face first on the glass, but before I started laughing, I remembered that it is our turn to go next, and it immediately stopped being funny.

When I stepped inside the glass cube, I suddenly realized how high we actually are, and then a horror movie style music started playing, and then the cube moved for the first time. All I could do is look straight down. One of my friends was pointing out different buildings all the time, but I was too busy holding on to actually realize what he was telling me.

Then, the cube moved back in, and it was time for the second tilt, which was even scarier than the first tilt, if such a thing is even possible. And remember how I said the first tilt does not look scary at all? Well, it actually is! Once we were back on the safe ground, I realized my legs were shaking, but I was so happy that I did it!

By the way, do not forget to take a free sticker (or three) before you exit, and also take a look around the observation deck to get a 360 degree view of Chicago!

Professional pictures

There is a professional photographer on site, who takes really cool pictures. You get pictures before, during and after the experience, and it is actually quite funny. Because, at some point during tilting, the photographer shouted to us to look back, and the look of surprise on our faces was hilarious.

The pictures will actually cost you more than the TILT experience, and even if they are really good and I regret not buying one (just a little), I just could not justify paying that much for one picture.

Gift shop

TILT Chicago also has a gift shop (obviously), and they are selling a lot of really cute, but way overpriced souvenirs. The most unique thing there was a tilted glass, but it cost twenty five dollars, so, surprise surprise, I did not buy it. But I did take a picture of it, and that is almost the same, right?

The gift shop is not selling only TILT themed souvenirs. You can also get regular Chicago souvenirs, but everything is so expensive up there. There are some great stores that sell souvenirs close to the Millenium park, where you can get cool things for just a fraction of the price of the souvenirs on the top of John Hancock tower.

A few words for the end…

When I travel, I try to do a mix of touristy stuff and unique stuff. And TILT was such a perfect mix of both! I am also a big fan of great views, and Chicago from so high up looked pretty amazing. So if you are in Chicago and you are trying to decide between Skydeck and TILT, definitely try TILT! The wait is much shorter (there was almost no wait in our case) and the experience is much more thrilling!