Rose Parade Novice
 

Attending 2016 Rose Parade. Family two young children traveling from East U.S. Considering flying into Las Vegas, driving to Pasadena. Fares advantageous into LV vs. LA or SF. Seeking pointers re. airport choices, typical driving conditions from Las Vegas to Pasadena in last week December, what to do during this time of year. It appears Sequoia National Park would be out of the question due to weather?

Thank you

Flying into Las Vegas makes no sense . . . <i>unless</i> you wanted to spend time there. But New Years Eve and just before are the busiest/most expensive time of year in LV.

And SFO is hundreds of miles away.

If you want to go to the Rose Parade fly into LAX (or possibly Burbank or Orange County or Long Beach)

janisj is right: Unless you're going to stop for a night or two in Vegas, flying into LAS makes no real economic sense once you factor in the car, gas to and from LAS, and the true value of your time for that 4-6 hour drive. Which at that time could be great (it was perfectly fine in late 2013 when we drove from Long Beach to Vegas), or could be stormy and a slog.

There are FIVE airports with major airline service into the greater Los Angeles metro area: LAX, Burbank (BUR), Ontario (ONT), Long Beach (LGB) and Orange County (SNA). Each is no more than 90 minutes from Pasadena, even with traffic. I'd definitely prefer one of these than that LONG drive from Vegas.

San Francisco is over <b>380 MILES</b> from Pasadena. Las Vegas is over 261 miles from Pasadena. Sequoia National Park is a HUGE detour on a drive from Vegas. You might want to take a good look at a map of California and Nevada.

Do you have your hotel lined up? And have you researched the actual parade and various issues about getting a good spot to view it? And how you'll get to and from the parade? How much time do you want to spend in the greater LA area? There are literally thousands of things we could suggest. What are your family's interests? I think we need a little more information from you before we make concrete suggestions.

You should buy bleacher seats to view the parade.

We made our hotel and seat reservations months ago. Before you purchase your airline tickets I suggest you secure lodging reservations and see if it's even feasible at this point.

How young are the children? Crowds are huge and traffic difficult. If you are talking toddlers this may be a really long haul for them and more than they are interested in.

Oh ... and Sequoia National Park is beautiful in the winter, especially if there is snow. Not out of the question at all if you have the time!

The OP needs to look at a MAP

Vegas is fine depending on airfare. I'm sure the smaller airports in the LA area will be more expensive than LAX, so if Vegas is considerably cheaper than LAX, go for it.

Since there are presumably 4 people needing airfare, I would think a $50 or $75 difference would more than offset the gas and driving time. I believe car rentals are generally cheaper in Vegas as well.

Death Valley is out of the way but a good park to visit in winter. Mojave or Joshua Tree would be good too.

You can work on bleacher tickets and hotels once you know for sure you are going. They are not sold out 6 months before the big day, trust me. If they were, where would all the football fans from two as yet unknown schools stay and how would they get bleacher seats for the parade??

>>so if Vegas is considerably cheaper than LAX, go for it. <<

Presumably they are considering the lower airfares in to Vegas because they are on some sort of <u>budget</u> . . . if so Las Vegas makes no sense at all. This will be on or just prior to New Years Eve. Staying in Vegas will be a budget buster.

>> If they were, where would all the football fans from two as yet unknown schools stay and how would they get bleacher seats for the parade??<<

Stub Hub mainly. Otherwise they watch from the curb like the vast majority. There are only about 60,000 seats and more than 1,000,000 attend the parade. You really REALLY need to book your parade seats first and only then book your flights.

Where does the OP say anything about staying in Vegas? The initial post mentions flying into Vegas then driving to Pasadena. Surely you don't think they would stay in Vegas on NYE and still make it to Pasadena in time for the parade the following day??

It seems pretty clear they are looking to do some sightseeing during the last week of December with the parade being the ultimate destination, so they are looking for the cheapest airfare within reasonable distance. Given that there are 4 people any price differential will be magnified, so I'd say Vegas is fine if the price difference times 4 is significant. Driving 5 hours and sightseeing along the way while saving a few hundred dollars makes a lot of sense.

Talking about NYE hotel prices in Vegas doesn't make any sense.

>>The initial post mentions flying into Vegas then driving to Pasadena.<<

So you think landing in Vegas and driving straight to Pasadena makes sense?

Okaaay

(And to continue the 'savings' they'd need to return to LV to drop the car and fly home (to avoid drop off fees) so it makes even less sense.)


Lets wait and let the OP clarify what they <i>really</i> meant.

@WhereAreWe remarked:

"I'm sure the smaller airports in the LA area will be more expensive than LAX, so if Vegas is considerably cheaper than LAX, go for it."

Not always. In fact, fares to the smaller LA-area airports can be MUCH, MUCH cheaper than LAX. It's all dependent on airlines and their arbitrary fare assignment systems. The smaller airports are invariably much more user-friendly than huge, overutilized LAX. I'm looking at ultimate vacation experience and the value of time spent in useless activities.

Like, say, the four to five hour drive on I-15 from LAS to Pasadena. Have you actually DONE that drive? Other than the spectacle of the Vegas Strip skyline, it's not a sightseeing treasure trove. On the way, you'll see the world's largest thermometer in Baker, CA; and you can stop for a bit of 50s roadside nostalgia at Peggy Sue's Diner in Yermo (the town's name is perfectly descriptive-- it's Spanish for "Barren"). And that's basically it.

My husband and I argue constantly about whether to drive or fly to Vegas. He likes the drive and the ability to have the car with us on the Strip. I prefer rolling out of bed and catching a JetBlue flight out of LGB, where the TSA screening process takes less than 10 minutes and where I can park my kiester on a stool at a wine bar and start the party. Long dull drives don't particularly float my boat.

Long story short: Search for good fares at any of the area airports. You could even fold in Palm Springs (PSP) or San Diego (SAN), although fare deals are less likely for PSP. But lock in parade arrangements and hotel FIRST, then worry about airfare.

Many hotel blocks of hotel rooms and blocks of bleacher seats have been purchased long ago by corporations and tour companies. In fact, tour packages have been on sale since early 2015... so this is why those of us who are familiar with this event are suggesting that you secure hotel reservations and seats for the parade first before airfare. ( We secured our reservations in February and at that time Pasadena hotels were almost completely booked.)

Below is where you can purchase grandstand tickets. I've already done so for 2016. Living near the parade, I've been to a bunch of these parades, and bleacher seating is the only way to go. I would get the tickets on the corner of Orange Grove and Colorado Blvd. They are right across from the television cameras, so you get to see all the action and hear music from the bands. If you're along the route, they might just be beating the drums as they pass by.

If you get this tickets, a cool thing to do is park about 1/2 mile away (free street parking until 6 a.m….then they block off the street, and you can walk down Orange Grove and see all the floats close-up. Your kids should love it.

I have also included my write-up (with photos) of the Rose Parade. It shows how close you get to the floats when you walk. The seats I had that year, were in a different spot, but still near the action on Orange Grove. Dress warmly…as it becomes lighter…it gets colder. Of course, since it's the Rose Parade, the day will be sunny and my property value once again goes up (:

If you do get Orange Grove tickets, post here and I'll give you directions on where to park.

Oh yeah, definitely fly to L.A. I can make it to Vegas in about 3 1/2 hours by car from Pasadena, but I drive very, very fast.

http://www.sharpseating.com/Rose-Parade-Route.php

http://travelswithmaitaitom.com/the-...rade-pasadena/

((H))

By the way when I say fly to L.A., that includes Burbank, Ontario and Long Beach, too. OC is usually more expensive but is an option.

((H))

Also important…where are you staying here? Many, if not most, hotels around here have minimum night stays during this time. I would check that out first.

((H))