We loved the Explorer pass.. It did indeed saved us .. The 5 attractions we picked were:
1 SkyDeck Chicago
2 The art institute of Chicago
3 Hop ON - Hop OFF Bus tour
4 Architecture Tour departing from Navy Pier
5 Centennial Wheel Navy Pier
Overall - The explorer pass is great and gives you much more flexibility comparing it to the CitiPASS.
Easy to use and lots of activities! Definitely worth the money. We purchased the 5 activity pass. Just wish the Shedd was included.
If you are going to any of the museums on Museum Campus in the fall, be sure to note the home football schedule. Soldier Field is right there and traffic can be insane.
Very handy knowing the places I wanted to go were covered in the card. If you want to use your card for the bus that you can hop in and off. I suggest you get your tickets early in the day as I wasn't able to get them after 5pm.