ok so i just landed at chicago o’hare like literally fifteen minutes ago and honestly my head is still spinning a bit but i wanted to jump on here super quick and drop some knowledge bombs for anyone flying through here because this place is a beast and you really dont want to get caught unprepared and its honestly a miracle i even made it to my next gate cause i swear i walked like five miles and then took a little train thing and then walked another five miles and its just alot and kinda overwhelming when you first get here.
first things first if youre flying into ord its not like some smaller airport where everything is just one big building and you can just kinda wander around and figure it out no this is a proper maze and you need a game plan especially if you have a tight connection cause that could be a disaster waiting to happen and i saw so many people looking totally lost and stressed out and i totally get it because its confusing and huge.
Navigating the maze
so basically o’hare has four main terminals right terminals 1 2 3 and then terminal 5 thats like the odd one out and honestly you really need to know which one youre going to or coming from because that makes all the difference in the world and its not always super clear on your boarding pass sometimes they just say like gate B12 and you have to know B gates are in terminal 1 or whatever and its just extra homework you gotta do but its worth it i promise and saves you so much grief.
terminals 1 2 and 3 are basically like domestic buddies and they’re somewhat connected so if youre flying united its usually terminal 1 delta and air canada are often terminal 2 and american airlines is typically terminal 3 but always double check cause these things can change and its just good to be aware and they all have like a core area but then they branch out into different concourses so its like a tree with lots of little branches and its easy to get turned around and lose your way.
terminal 5 though thats the big international guy so if youre flying like lufthansa or emirates or anything like that you’ll most likely be in terminal 5 and its totally separate from 1 2 and 3 and you cant walk between them like at all so dont even try it or youll just look silly and waste a lot of time and its not even close like literally miles apart almost.
The long trek between gates
now this is where it gets interesting because you might think oh its just a short walk but honestly sometimes its literally like youre training for a marathon especially if your gates are at opposite ends of the same terminal or even between different domestic terminals and its just exhausting.
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between terminals 1, 2, and 3:
you can actually walk between these three terminals and there are underground walkways and it takes a while especially if youre going from say the very end of terminal 1 to the very end of terminal 3 but its totally doable if you have like 30-45 minutes and its nice not to deal with security again if youre already airside but its a proper hike so wear comfy shoes and dont bring a ton of bags if you plan to do this it would be absolutley ridculous. -
to/from terminal 5 (international):
you absolutely cannot walk to terminal 5 from any of the other terminals because its literally on the other side of the airport and you have to take the airport transit system or ats and its a little train thing that goes around the whole airport and also connects to the parking lots and the blue line train to downtown and its super useful but it does add time to your journey so factor that in and its usually pretty efficient but sometimes it can be slow especially if theres a lot of people or mechanical issues which happens more often than you’d like when youre in a hurry. -
within the same terminal (1, 2, or 3) but different concourses:
most of the time you can walk between concourses within the same terminal like say from concourse B to concourse C in terminal 1 but again its often a very long walk and they have those moving walkways which are a lifesaver but they dont cover the entire distance and its just a lot of ground to cover sometimes and your legs will feel it trust me.
my best advice is to always check your gate and terminal numbers as soon as you land and if you have a connecting flight immediately look up how much time you have and where your next gate is located because if youre going from like terminal 1 to terminal 5 and you only have an hour you might be running for your life and missing your flight and nobody wants that especially not at ord because its already stressful enough and its just a big place that requires a bit of pre-planning so dont be like me and just kinda wing it because it might not work out and youll be stuck.
also if youre ever unsure just ask one of the airport staff they’re usually pretty helpful even if they look tired and its better to ask than to just keep wandering aimlessly and ending up in the wrong place and getting even more stressed out and missing your flight and its just a whole mess you want to avoid.
anyway good luck out there at ord its a monster but you can tame it with a little bit of info and comfy shoes and a good attitude even when its kinda sucking and your flight is delayed or whatever and i recomended getting a snack before you leave the airport cause its a trek to anywhere else.