Tinley Park

[ColdBloodedCarnival]

What do you guys think. Is there really that much to see?? How long does it take to get thru the entire show?? I would hate to drive that far and pay for hotel and only spend 2 hours at the show - again, I've only attended the little Taylor MI show so I have no idea.

Definitely make a vacation out of it! I usually come up from St. Louis on Friday and stay till Monday. I promise you'll have a good time!!

You really can spend a lot of time at the show. I usually get there 30-45 minutes before the doors open - there is always a HUGE line outside the doors and it takes a while to get in. I always feel a little rushed when the doors open - I'm always worried that someone will grab that "perfect snake for the perfect price" before I get a chance to see it/buy it! Once I have made may way around the entire show I settle down a bit and go over the show again - but I really take my time and make sure to talk to as many people as I can. At that point it has been 2-3 hours so I usually go out for some breakfast (since I was too excited to eat anything when I woke up, at this point I'm starving!). Then I usually make my way back to the show for another round - and every time I end up seeing a handful of animals I missed the first 2 times I went through!!

I would say I usually end up spending 3-5 hours at the show on day one. I always attend the PIJAC auction afterward which is a lot of fun - it usually goes on for a good 3 hours!

Day 2 tends to feel a little more relaxed. I take my time to go over everything and I always see things I missed the first day. A handful of the vendors have more animals then they do display space so whenever they sell an animal they will replace it with a new one. On day 2 prices become much more negotiable so I spend a LOT of time walking around, looking at great deals, wishing I had more money!

After spending a few hours at the show I usually end up making my way to the city. I have a friend that works at the Shedd Aquarium so I'll make my way over there for a bit (if you've never been I recommend it - great aquarium). Plenty of fun things to do in the city. I usually don't stay out for long though - I always want to get back to my hotel room so I can visit all the beautiful new animals I purchased!

Oooohhh I'm getting all excited just talking about it.