Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand. (800) 595-PIER

http://www.winterwonderfest.com/

At Winter WonderFest, you can experience the wonder and fun of winter without having to go outside. Navy Pier’s Festival Hall has been transformed into a 170,000 square-foot enchanted winter hamlet filled with festive lights, music, and décor. This year, Winter WonderFest features several new attractions. Extreme Alpine Dome allows skiers and snowboarders to speed down simulated slopes with multiple courses, Glacier Run is a simulated snowmobile ride, and the “Power Wheel” Mini Adventure track gives kids the chance to try out mini cars on a road course. Old favorites have also returned this year. These include an indoor ice rink, the Ferris wheel, the Extreme Ice Trail ropes course, huge inflatable slides, food, beverages, and much more. For the smaller visitors (those under 46 inches tall), Winter WonderFest Jr. offers a Gumball Bouncer, Snowball Blitz, and Tinsel Tunnels.

The free-admission holiday event features more than three-quarters of a million holiday ornaments, hundreds of decorated trees, an indoor Ferris wheel, musical carousel, large-scale inflatable games and enormous slides, indoor ice skating, holiday entertainment and more. Visitors from around the world come to the Bank of America Winter WonderFest to wander about the lavishly decorated holiday village and to enjoy an indoor adventure that includes exciting rides, huge inflatable slides, train rides, indoor ice skating, climbing walls, cookie decorating, live entertainment and so much more! New this year is a TV Sports Lounge, indoor sledding and a Bah Humbug Court and Jolly Jail for those not in the holiday spirit. Admission is free, but activity pricing varies.

Admission to enter: FREE