Rose Parade Pasadena, CA
 

I'd like info on planning a trip to see the Pasadena Rose Parade. I always plan our own trips, but considering the logistics of this event, wonder if a packaged tour from the east coast would be better. Any suggestions as to where to stay, transportation, tickets, behind the scenes, etc would be appreciated. I'm not really interested in going to the football game.

The official website is www.tournamentofroses.com/index/html <BR> <BR>It lists tours, ticket prices etc. My Girl Scout Troop and I put seeds on the floats about 7 years ago and it was a real experience to see them being made. Wasn't much fun wearing the skin off our fingers but something I will never forget!! It a wonder to see "your" float gliding down Pasadena Blvd on the BIG day! <BR>

Suggested way to go: <BR>1) Get grandstand tickets from the official Tournament of Roses site. You don't need to order these a year in advance; but the sooner, the better. I mean, you KNOW what date it will be, so why not just buy them right away? <BR>2) decide how much extra time you want/need to spend in the Los Angeles area before and after the Parade. Depending on your tastes, you could spend a week before and after. Or maybe you want to get in and out as soon as possible. <BR>3) make a plane reservation based on the time you want before and after the Parade. The more days you place around the event, the cheaper the flight will be probably be.Be flexible; you may save 100's of dollars by changing your itinerary by one day. Remember that you can fly into LAX, John Wayne Airport, Burbank, Long Beach, or even Ontario; and it will all be the same. <BR>4) get a car rental appropriate for the number of people traveling with you and from the time you arrive till the time you leave. As December is actually a low time for tourists in Los Angeles, you'll be surprisingly able to find bargains IF you book ahead. <BR>5) get a motel room in the Los Angeles areas for all days you want to be there. The closer to Pasadena, the better, of course; but you should be able to find something easily if you don't mind some driving. The further you get from Pasadena, the less likely you'll have motel prices at "special events" prices. <BR>6) plan to arrive in Pasadena at about 6:00 in order to find a place to park, and walking a kilometer or two from your parking site to the viewing stands. This may mean waking up at 3:00 am (after staying up till midnight for New Year's Eve!), but that's part of the "fun." Or you may decide to stay up all night on Colorado Boulevard (NOT recommended for everyone!). In either case, just take your viewing seat an hour or so before the parade starts. <BR> <BR>Note:sunny Pasadena will be surprisingly cold on January 1st, so don't forget a jacket. Be aware that the Parade area is a prime spot for pickpockets and con artists, so keep your wits about you! <BR> <BR>I've enjoyed all three times I've watched the Parade in person, including one (and I mean ONLY ONE) night on Colorado Blvd, and doing this is a fairly simple matter of making a few phone calls to Pasadena, to travel agents, and to reservations services.

I've been to the Rose Parade, too, and it is so much fun! <BR>There are a ton of motels on Colorado Blvd, but be warned there are a lot of prostitutes, too. Maybe for New Year's there are more families and football fans, but just take it in to consideration if you have kids with you.

June, My husband gave me a trip to the Rose Parade two years ago as my Christmas gift. I had wanted to see this since I was a little girl. It did not disappoint. We took a tour with Al Brooks Tours and were treated wonderfully. I highly recommend a tour group for your first time. Al Brooks had great buses, drivers, and a police escort (you can rent a car but getting into Pasadena on parade day is a nightmare), they had the BEST grand-stand seats (right at the corner where all the network tv cameras were stationed), when we returned to our bus after the parade they had a surprise box lunch waiting (boy did that taste good). We stayed at a nice Hyatt at the airport along with all the Ohio State band and fans (participants that year). We also toured the float building barns the day before the parade as a part of our package(do NOT miss that). All in all it was one of the most outstanding experiences in my life. I would definately go again and next time I would volunteer to help build floats. Anyone can sign up and if you do you won't have to stand in the long line of tourists for a glimps of the floats in construction. If you want specific info on Al Brooks Tours, I can try to find ours, but we just used a good travel agent. I think any could get this for you. Do go - its marvelous. Take LOTS of film. We shot 12 rolls before running out.

I agree with much of what is listed above, and can only emphasize that you don't want to camp out overnight on Colorado Blvd. unless you like living on the edge. I did the parade 20 years ago as a college student and watched the parade from the street. Even though we arrived at 3 a.m., by parade time we didn't have enough room to even put our feet firmly on the ground. Miserable to say the least. Last year we did a package tour as part of the University of Michigan alumni tour and that package included bleacher seating for the parade along with transportation. You can buy parade tickets from the Tournament and used to be able to also buy a transportation package--I don't know if this is still true or not, but as I recall the transportation packages almost always included delivery of passengers to the game as well. <BR> <BR>I also agree with Tricia--you must go to see the floats being built. We attempted to visit the construction site at the Rose Bowl, but the lines were horrible. We visited the construction location at City of Hope and practically had the facility to ourselves--were able to take many pictures and talk to the volunteers. While you can't get on the floats, you can just about reach out and touch them at these places. Was a very enjoyable time for my wife, 11 year old daughter and me. Was also fun to see "our" floats in the parade. <BR> <BR>Have fun!