April was Mom's turn to pick an adventure, and it was one the family won't soon forget: indoor skydiving! The kids received "gift certificates" in their Easter basket for the coming weekend, and the wheels were in motion for an adventure that is quite unlike any other we've had as a family!
Pictured: Augie and Harper prepared to fly in their jumpsuits.
THE PROCESS
To book a flight indoor skydiving, I used iFLY out of Naperville, Illinois. However, there are quite a few iFLY sites across the United States. The prices vary per location, but our flights were approximately $84/person (*Note-this does NOT include flight photos/videos or high flights). Once a flight is booked, waivers need to be signed to ensure every flyer's safety, and then the wait begins! On flight day, be sure to arrive early, since you'll need to weigh in (to determine how much air is required for your flight), as well as attend flight school and suit up. There were about 10 people in our flight session, but for 30 minutes, all 10 people bond and support one another!
Pictured: Toby and Heather suited up and ready to fly.
1, 2, 3 ...GO!
Once suited up and flight school complete, it's time to get in the tunnel. It's important to note that because of the noise, it is incredibly difficult to communicate with one another once seated in the tunnel and ready for your flight. The four of us sat at the back of the line to watch everyone else go first. I will be the first to tell you that it looks MUCH easier than it is! Keeping all parts of your body where they need to be, while communicating with the instructor through hand signals for 60 seconds is rough!
Pictured: Augie's first, very successful, flight.
Pictured: Harper's second, high, flight. **This does cost extra to go high, but 3/4 of the Johnsons said it was worth it.
Pictured: Heather, probably regretting her decision...but not really!
Pictured: Toby loving every second of his first flight.
The process allows flyers to take two flights. The second round offered flyers the chance to participate in a "high" flight (see Harper, above). Harper, Augie and Toby all took advantage of the high flight, a cost we were charged for AFTER our flights were over. Because we couldn't have our phones with us for the flights for videos or pictures, we had to purchase them after; however, because we purchased three high flights, we were able to score a deal that allowed us to get our videos for free. It was definitely a deal since we had no one with us to take photo or video! If we did it again, I'd drag along non-flyers to be our photo/videographers!
Video: Augie on his initial flight.
REFLECTION
When it was all said and done, it was an experience well-worth the time and money. For a mother who won't let anyone in her house go traditional skydiving, this was all the thrill without the danger! I would highly recommend this to anyone who has the means to give it a try! While it is probably the most expensive 8 minutes I have ever paid for, it was a great memory maker for our family.
In addition, after our experience, we were able to explore downtown Naperville for lunch, where we ate a Giordano's pizza and Cookie Dough Creations!
Pictured: Augie with his chocolate chip cookie dough from Cookie Dough Creations.
FINAL COST: $531.02
* iFLY tickets
* iFLY pictures/videos
* Pizza lunch--family of 4
* Cookie Dough Creations--family of 4
#FamilyAdventure #Travel #TravelWithKids #IndoorSkydiving #SkydivingWithKids #Chicago #Naperville #iFly #Giordanos #Adventure #FamilyTrip #Vacation #Travel #Staycation
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