First, the good stuff. If you are hungry, skip the sad sandwich. Terminal 5 has a Havana restaurant that serves a Cuban sandwich that will make you forgive TSA for making you throw away your water bottle. It is also home to a Starbucks that is always, always busy, but the baristas have mastered the art of moving at warp speed.
Chicago O’Hare International Airport Terminal 5 Expansion - HOK
The views are also surprisingly solid. You can watch planes from all over the world taxi around. You’ll see a Lufthansa jet next to a tiny Embraer, and you feel a little bit like you’re in a documentary about the wonders of flight. It’s oddly peaceful.
Now, the "oof." Terminal 5 is notorious for the walk. If you are on a tight connection, you will need your running shoes. The gates are stretched out like a long, long hallway. I once walked so far I felt like I needed a passport for the next gate.
My pro tip? If you land at Gate 30, do not stop for coffee. You have a fifteen-minute power walk ahead of you to get to baggage claim. Make sure you do your bathroom break before you get off the plane.
The Little Rituals That Matter
Here is why people care about this place. It is where you do the little rituals. You grab a magazine at the newsstand that you’d never buy at home. You spend seventeen dollars on a bottle of water and a bag of almonds because you are on vacation and money is fake now.
I once saw a young couple sitting on the floor near Gate 26, eating McDonald’s fries, laughing about how she forgot her neck pillow. They were not angry. They were just excited. That is the Terminal 5 energy. Even the small annoyances feel like part of the adventure.
Terminal 5 O'hare Map Food at Gabriel Basser blog
If you are just picking someone up, the challenge is timing. Parking at Terminal 5 is like a competitive sport. You circle the cell phone lot, watching your friend’s flight status on your phone, praying they land soon. When you finally pull up to the curb, and they jump in the car, it feels like a small victory.
For the locals, Terminal 5 is a reminder that Chicago is connected to the whole world. You can be in the Midwest, and in six hours, you can be eating croissants in Paris. That is pretty cool when you think about it.
