Rose parade
- Thread starter Herky1982
- Start date
My Badger friends have said it's absolutely worth going to. They went to it in college and soon after graduating the last time, so it's not just for the older crowd.
We have been to three. Absolutely, and if you can manage to get there the night before, Colorado Blvd is unbelievable!
I really don't like parades but went three years ago. Would highly, highly recommend. You can buy tickets to sit in the stands or sleep along the street the night before. Either way, I would suggest getting there early enough to look at the floats before the parade, they are unbelievable.
When I went to the Rose Bowl game on a tour, the parade
was included with reserved tickets in the grandstand. What
really fascinated me......you could actually smell the roses
as their aroma at 8 am in the morning was fresh. It is a
great spectacle to see all the floats right in front of you.
was included with reserved tickets in the grandstand. What
really fascinated me......you could actually smell the roses
as their aroma at 8 am in the morning was fresh. It is a
great spectacle to see all the floats right in front of you.
We went two years ago when Michigan State played Stanford. It's absolutely worth going to the Rose Parade if you haven't been. However, a few things to keep in mind. Like others have said, you have to get there early. We had grandstand tickets, but still had to get up at 3:00 AM to fight all the traffic, etc. and find parking. The traffic after the parade is just flat out stupid. So, no matter if you are driving or using Uber, etc., it's going to take a lot of time to get out of the parade area. Keep in mind that the game starts at 2:00 PM PST, so you will not have much time to take in the pre-game stadium festivities, if at all. Oh yeah, crazy PETA protestors hijacked a couple of floats and shut the parade down for a good 20-30 minutes. So there's that.....
If you go to the parade, you will not be able to park at the stadium. The Rose Bowl has shuttle buses that leave from Pasadena City College - 1570 East Colorado Boulevard - Pasadena, CA 91106 - that will drop you off at the stadium. They have a lot of buses, but be prepared to stand in line for a good 30 - 45 minutes or so. After the game, the bus lines to go to back are extremely long. It took us 90 minutes to finally get a bus back to Pasadena City College. My wife walked the 4 miles back instead of waiting in line for the buses after the game and she got to our car about 30 minutes sooner than we did. I was with my brother and his wife, but we couldn't walk due to my sister in law's bad knee.
Side Note: The Rose Parade puts a lot of the floats on display at the staging area at the stadium on New Year's Eve. You can get up close to the floats and see the all intricate details, etc. The float creators were handing out roses to people, so my wife collected enough for a two dozen bouquet.
All in all, I would say, if you have not been to the Rose Parade, you should take it in for sure as long as you are willing to forego the Rose Bowl Stadium atmosphere, pre-game tents and festivities. Just be prepared for stupidly insane traffic and one hell of a long day! We were absolutely exhausted by the end of the day, but in a good way!
Hope this helps!
If you go to the parade, you will not be able to park at the stadium. The Rose Bowl has shuttle buses that leave from Pasadena City College - 1570 East Colorado Boulevard - Pasadena, CA 91106 - that will drop you off at the stadium. They have a lot of buses, but be prepared to stand in line for a good 30 - 45 minutes or so. After the game, the bus lines to go to back are extremely long. It took us 90 minutes to finally get a bus back to Pasadena City College. My wife walked the 4 miles back instead of waiting in line for the buses after the game and she got to our car about 30 minutes sooner than we did. I was with my brother and his wife, but we couldn't walk due to my sister in law's bad knee.
Side Note: The Rose Parade puts a lot of the floats on display at the staging area at the stadium on New Year's Eve. You can get up close to the floats and see the all intricate details, etc. The float creators were handing out roses to people, so my wife collected enough for a two dozen bouquet.
All in all, I would say, if you have not been to the Rose Parade, you should take it in for sure as long as you are willing to forego the Rose Bowl Stadium atmosphere, pre-game tents and festivities. Just be prepared for stupidly insane traffic and one hell of a long day! We were absolutely exhausted by the end of the day, but in a good way!
Hope this helps!
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Heard it's the most overrated thing on the planet. I also think it's extremely expensive. Tickets were like 75 bucks (or more) for Iowa's last Rose appearance. I shudder to think what there at now,.
First of all, congrats from an MSU alum who was in the stands Saturday. Your team is tough as nails and deserved its high ranking.
Two years ago when MSU was in the Rose Bowl, I took some advice from my brother in law who has been to a few Rose Bowls with Michigan. He said the single best piece of advice he could give me was to skip the parade and go straight to the golf course and just tailgate in the prettiest setting you can imagine. He said the parade was beautiful but not worth all the logistical issues, and it all but eliminates your prime tailgating time. It involves dealing with parking for the parade, long lines for busses to the stadium from the parade route, etc.
We took that advice and couldn't have been happier. The setting is second to none, and you don't want to miss a minute of it. We ended up meeting up with friends that went to the parade and they were stressed out from the hassle of it all.
Either way, enjoy the trip. Well-deserved.
Two years ago when MSU was in the Rose Bowl, I took some advice from my brother in law who has been to a few Rose Bowls with Michigan. He said the single best piece of advice he could give me was to skip the parade and go straight to the golf course and just tailgate in the prettiest setting you can imagine. He said the parade was beautiful but not worth all the logistical issues, and it all but eliminates your prime tailgating time. It involves dealing with parking for the parade, long lines for busses to the stadium from the parade route, etc.
We took that advice and couldn't have been happier. The setting is second to none, and you don't want to miss a minute of it. We ended up meeting up with friends that went to the parade and they were stressed out from the hassle of it all.
Either way, enjoy the trip. Well-deserved.
If there is any parade worth seeing at least once, it is the Rose Parade. And it's even better if you can sit in the area around where the TV broacasts are set up on Colorado Blvd. just around the corner off Orange Grove. I went in 1982 and 1986 with the Hawkeyes, and I went again last year--unfortunately--a year too early for the Hawkeyes.
I love this thread because while it has not helped me with my decision in any way, it has STRONG views for both "go" and "don't go". I personally think it sounds like too early of a wake up, yet another large crowd to deal with, and eliminates tailgating. But yet people say you "have to do it!!!"
You don't have to do anything. Do what you want, but I think you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who attended who wished they hadn't. But it's absolutely true you have to get up in the middle of the night and tolerate the traffic to get there. And there's the fact that 700,000 people or so do spend the money and go to the trouble to attend every year while over 54 million watch on TV.
And, if you don't want to get up that early on game day and deal with everything, the floats are available for viewing in advance as well as after the parade. Do a little web research and you'll see plenty of options. Have fun.
And, if you don't want to get up that early on game day and deal with everything, the floats are available for viewing in advance as well as after the parade. Do a little web research and you'll see plenty of options. Have fun.
The thing I am noticing from the replies is: Everyone that has gone has said you must do it.
The only people saying to skip it, are those that have never seen it.
The only people saying to skip it, are those that have never seen it.
I have heard directly from people who have seen it that it's stupid. If you would like to form your own opinion, by all means, please do so. For me personally, I can think of approximately 10 million other things on this planet that I would rather do than watch a freaking parade, but to each their own.
I've gone several times the day after the game. They have the floats lined up throughout the streets, which are closed to traffic. It is a good compromise, and really cool as you can get up close to all the floats.
I'm not a huge parade guy. My wife insisted we go. Was skeptical having to leave the Hyatt on Sunset (aka, the Riot House from Almost Famous) at 3 or 4 am. Had parking pass and grandstand tickets. Turned out I really enjoyed it. Was a beautiful event to attend.
Be ready to walk. And walk. And walk some more. I think our parking pass was a mile plus from the parade route. Then we walked post-parade to the Rose Bowl, another 2-3 miles IIRC. Then after USC beat Northwestern, did it all in reverse, letting traffic subside while we found a nice dinner spot near where we had parked 12+ hours before.
Be ready to walk. And walk. And walk some more. I think our parking pass was a mile plus from the parade route. Then we walked post-parade to the Rose Bowl, another 2-3 miles IIRC. Then after USC beat Northwestern, did it all in reverse, letting traffic subside while we found a nice dinner spot near where we had parked 12+ hours before.
i'm staying a couple exits away from pasadena, so trying to understand why we'd have to leave at 4:00AM. (not doubting you, just trying to figure it out).
4:00AM leave house
5:00AM get to parking area
5:30AM arrive at parade route (figure we're walking a mile)
5:30AM to 8:00AM - stand around and wait??
what am i forgetting?
4:00AM leave house
5:00AM get to parking area
5:30AM arrive at parade route (figure we're walking a mile)
5:30AM to 8:00AM - stand around and wait??
what am i forgetting?
also - if i'm going to miss out on the tailgating, can i grab a bloody mary at any fine establishments along the parade route?
Some posts in this thread remind me of when I was planning to take a group of high school seniors to the Royal Gorge. One of the straight A kids who had never been there spoke up: "I wouldn't bother. It's just another bridge."
And the Grand Canyon is just another ditch.
And the Grand Canyon is just another ditch.
Went every year as a kid. We lived nearby in Monrovia. Some of my fondest memories were getting up early, finding a spot with the family as close as we could and watching the parade. That was back in the late 70s but still think that if you're going to be there you must go. It's one of those things that you'll always wish you had done if you don't. I'm not much of a parade person either but it's a spectacle.
I've seen it and I don't say skip it, but I wouldn't go again. Maybe my opinion is colored by the fact that the Iowa float was sabotaged that year. Plus, if you go, dress warmly, even if it is California.
Didn't care for it. Would have much rather been tailgating around the stadium. The Rose Bowl is the most beautiful setting for a football game and I would spend as much time there as you can.
Poor analogy. You see, we're planning on going to a FOOTBALL GAME first and foremost. To make your analogy accurate, you'd need to find something that happens near the Royal Gorge that you're going to take in along the way. "Well, if you're going to the Royal Gorge, then you really ought to stop at the world's biggest ball of yarn..."
Anyway, I am going to a football game that day. I really hope my group doesn't decide they "have to see it", because I'd rather go straight to the stadium and enjoy that area without having to feel like I'm battling a Black Friday crowd on my way to the game.
I think we got there after 8 pm. A friend of mine lives in Burbank. We had dinner at his house and then drove over. We stayed late. Maybe that is why I didn't enjoy the parade as much as hangin' in the streets the night before. It is all a fog now as that was in 95-96 - Northwestern's last trip to The Rose Bowl.
Here is my thought (hope?)
Game is at 2. Inside stadium at 1:30.
Tailgate 11:30-1:30
Walk to Stadium 10:30-11:30
Parade from 8:30 - 10:30.
Although it sounds like imbibing is frowned upon/outlawed at the parade that hasn't stopped me before, and I'm sure it won't this time.
Those in the know, is this wishful thinking?
Game is at 2. Inside stadium at 1:30.
Tailgate 11:30-1:30
Walk to Stadium 10:30-11:30
Parade from 8:30 - 10:30.
Although it sounds like imbibing is frowned upon/outlawed at the parade that hasn't stopped me before, and I'm sure it won't this time.
Those in the know, is this wishful thinking?
Well, I assume you will wake up at 4:00 AM, shower, get dressed, pack some gear, etc. before heading out the door. So, out the door at 5:00 AM ish...
Anyways, allow for plenty of crowd/traffic time.
4:00 AM - Wake up
5:00 AM - Leave House or Hotel
6:00 AM - Arrive in general parade area
6:30/6:45 AM - Park
7:00/7:30 AM - Walk to seats, buy program, get coffee, high five other Iowa fans
8:00 AM - Parade starts
I called Sharp Seating today. I'm staying all the way out in Santa Monica so I was curious about this.
She said if your seats are at the beginning of the parade (mine are) you have to be in your seats by 7. Since I am parking at the stadium she said try to park by 6:30 for the mile walk.
She also said freeway traffic is no problem, just traffic in Pasadena. If you're like me parking at the stadium come down from the 210 to avoid the traffic.
You're comparing a freaking parade to one of the greatest natural wonders on the entire planet?
smh
I don't care if it's the greatest parade that has ever existed in the history of the planet, it's still just a parade. Unless some naked strippers are popping out of one of those floats, my life will continue on just fine without ever having witnessed it. Of that I can guarantee you 100%.
God damn, but thank you. Staying on Colorado, should save at least an hour.
Why are you posting in this thread if that is your opinion? A million people flock to this parade every year, and there are posters here saying it is worth it. Strange that naked strippers, something you can get literally anywhere for cheap, would somehow improve your miserable existence.
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