Since its invention, ice skating has brought us countless thrilling hockey games, scores of inspiring figure-skating routines, and one unforgettable NBA season. Be like Darryl Dawkins in the ‘82-‘83 season with this Groupon.

Choose from 17 Options

$9 for one weekday premium wristband ($20 value). Weekday options hours of operation are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Choose from the following dates:

• Monday, December 9
• Tuesday, December 10
• Wednesday, December 11
• Thursday, December 12
• Monday, January 6
• Tuesday, January 7
• Wednesday, January 8
• Thursday, January 9<p>

$12 for one weekend day premium wristband ($20 value). Choose from the following dates:

• Friday, December 6
• Saturday, December 7
• Sunday, December 8
• Friday, December 13
• Saturday, December 14
• Sunday, December 15
• Friday, January 10
• Saturday, January 11
• Sunday, January 12<p>

Guests receive rental ice skates for the Chicago Blackhawks indoor rink as well as access to the 13th annual festival’s attractions, including 50-foot indoor Ferris wheel, a 28-foot-tall indoor zipline, and an inflatable bounce house shaped like a huge snowman. See Winter WonderFest’s dates and hours here.<p>

Winter Wonderfest

Now in its 13th year, Winter Wonderfest transforms Navy Pier into a festive paradise with rides, games, and winter attractions. The pinnacle of the event is the Chicago Blackhawks indoor ice-skating rink, which grants visitors with 170,000 square feet of smooth ice to carve up to their hearts’ content. The ice rink isn’t the only lofty attraction, however—a 42-foot holiday tree dressed in sparkling lights and colorful ornaments complements the radiant lighting of a 50-foot-high indoor Ferris wheel. Adrenaline-pumping rides abound, from inflatable fun such as the Arctic Plunge inflatable slide and the Snowman Bouncer to the 28-foot-tall zipline known as the Ice Line Express. For younger visitors, a classic carousel lined with painted animals gently spins as aromas waft from the Pepsi Create-A-Cookie Cottage, which invites little ones to decorate their own sugar cookies with frosting and sprinkles.<p>

Navy Pier

Originally part of architect Daniel Burnham’s ambitious “Plan of Chicago” drafted in 1909, Navy Pier was designed to handle both recreational and freight traffic for the burgeoning metropolis. Its role quickly changed when it began serving as a barracks and training facility during two World Wars—it earned its nickname because of the more than 200 planes that littered the lake bottom around the pier, lost during exercises and sunk to intimidate fish with military technology. In the decades that followed, the pier was home to a University of Illinois campus, a convention center, and a venue for citywide festivals before falling into disuse. This ended in 1989, when the state moved to transform the venerable pier into one of Chicago’s foremost tourist attractions.<p>

Reopened in 1995, the revamped Navy Pier boasts 50 acres of parks, restaurants, shops, and entertainment, scenically located along Lake Michigan and the mouth of the Chicago River. The pier’s most striking denizen is its 150-foot-tall ferris wheel, whose glittering lights slowly rotate above the water and frame a beautiful view of the city’s skyscrapers for riders. Other attractions include a towering IMAX screen that shows educational films and Hollywood blockbusters, and the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, which treats audiences to bold stagings of the Bard’s greatest hits.<p>