For those who have traveled with Tauck longer than we have…does anyone have experience with this tour? They’ve brought it back for 2024/25; it sold out immediately and there are now several groups scheduled. Would love to hear your thoughts. Thx.
mfrancis - I have not taken the tour but have witnessed the parade--only because I had relatives flying in from the east coast and I was obliged to see them. I was not impressed with the parade (too many unruly people with their trash strewn about) but did enjoy viewing the flowers up close the next day. There are parts of Pasadena that were lovely but I am not a fan of Los Angeles overall. This is merely my opinion and I'm sure there are others who have taken the tour and will give you a better and more recent perspective.
I have done that same tour once with a local bus tour out of Las Vegas and once later with Tauck. I concur with kfnnfzk's comments and also although the grandstand seating was a bit better with Tauck, it still was not better than staying home and watching it on TV. It seemed that all of the bands playing did not ever play no matter what area in the grandstands we were seating, i.e. they only seemed to be playing in front of the TV cameras locations (NBC and ABC). I had a better experience after the Tauck tour meeting a local Santa Monica (CA) friend, who picked me up at our hotel and she drove us to the Beverly Hills hotel, where we dined at the famous "Polo Lounge" there. :-) I also remember that after the local bus tour I had first gone on there, even after the "official rose parade" had finished it still took us almost an hour to get out of the grandstand seating as there were more non-rose parade people coming behind the "official parade." Sigh.
I cannot comment on the tour, but only as a person who lives a few miles from the parade route. The Rose Parade is fantastic to see in person at least once in your life. The artistry that is created with all the different flowers, plants and seeds is pretty phenomenal. However, getting to your seats is difficult and getting out can be a nightmare, as noted above. It requires a great deal of patience. And no matter how sunny it looks on TV, at 6 am (when you arrive) it will likely be 45 degrees and feeling colder on those metal bleachers. Locals bring a pad to sit on, or usually there are vendors selling them if Tauck does not supply. The floats are parked at a location near the end of the route and you can buy tickets to view them right after the parade through the day after, but they do not always activate any motion features of the floats there.
I'm not sure how much easier any of the above would be if you were in a tour group. The best bleacher seats are located close to the intersection of Orange Grove Blvd and Colorado Blvd, near the beginning of the route, across the street from the Norton Simon Museum. As I recall, parking for these seats is farther away, a minimum of half a mile. I can't imagine that a tour bus would be able to get any closer. Doesn't sound far but there are SO MANY people.
There is another large section of bleachers in front of Pasadena City College where parking may be closer, but this location is 3 miles from the start of the route.
The comment about the marching bands is puzzling. My daughter marched with her high school band about 15 years ago and I can assure you that except for a few quick breaks to catch their breath, they played for the entire 5 mile route.
I have not taken the Tauck Tour to see the Rose Parade, as the cost was more than I could afford at the time. However, I did travel with a local Tour Company out of North Carolina back in 2014 and it was totally amazing. My tour also included additional sites in California with the Rose Parade being the hi-lite, so overall I really enjoyed the entire trip. If I remember right, I think the Tauck Tour was about 4 days and mainly focused on the parade and an option to also attend the Rose Bowl. This was a "bucket list" trip for me and it did not disappoint. There is absolutely no comparison to watching the parade on TV versus seeing it in person. The colors and aroma of the flowers have to be witnessed in person. I agree with several of the previous comments in that it is quite chilly in the morning but warms up nicely so it is important to wear layers. Our bus used a parking lot that required a few blocks of walking, perhaps a half mile or so, and after the parade we returned to the bus where lunch was provided. In this manner we avoided the overwhelming crowds of people and traffic grid lock and were able to return to our Hotel more easily. I enjoyed going thru the preparation barns and surrounding areas to get a very quick overview of the floats being decorated. I can't quite remember the location of our seats, but I have to agree with TomH that the bands played very little music as they went by, just the beating of drums. It could be that our location happened to be the area where the bands took a pause to catch their breath, which is understandable. Just pack your patience! The crowds can be overwhelming at times and I do remember that the line to walk thru the main decorating barn was an hour or more for a quick 1-2 minute view of the activity below us. Of course with Tauck being Tauck, the experience could be much different in a positive way.
My wife marched in one of the Rose Parade bands many, many years ago. I don't understand why people want to see it in person when you get a great view on TV.
Mike - I don't understand why people want to see it in person when you get a great view on TV.
Too funny. One of my brothers said something similar to me when I went on the K&T Safari trip - Why do you want to do that, when you can see all of those animals in a zoo?
Experiencing anything in person (parade or football game or doing a safari) is always different that seeing something on TV or at a zoo. Experiencing something in person is more than just the visual experience (which is all that you get on TV).
PS - Over the years I've been to three Rose Parades, in conjunction with, when the University of Washington played in the Rose Bowl football game.
MFrancis: It is Christian Tours out of Newton , NC. This was my first experience with this company and it was very good. Prices reasonable. Flew from Charlotte to San Diego and return from Los Angeles to Charlotte. One week in length. Hampton and Courtyard Hotels. Very comfortable bus with bathroom for land portion of tour. Along with the day long Rose Parade event, we also toured San Diego Zoo , Mission San Diego De Alcala, Guided Tour of LA, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum and more. I would definitely travel with them again. I just checked their website and they have a Tour for the 2025 parade. Price is $2389pp double, air is additional but not yet listed.
The Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley is one of my top 3 favorite places to take visitors in the Los Angeles area. The other hidden treasure is the Nethercutt Collection at the Nethercutt Museum in Sylmar.
Wan: Yes, the Library was totally amazing. I didn't know what to expect until we arrived. Such an interesting library/museum and the grounds are just beautiful.
@Smiling Sam - I guess it's "different strokes for different folks". I would much prefer to sit in my warm living room, and have a bathroom nearby. Fighting traffic and crowds to get to a venue and then fighting traffic and crowds when leaving is just not appealing to me. I don't feel anything special about seeing one of those events in person. To me, it's just a lot of inconvenience.
As I noted above, I tried the Rose Parade tour twice, first at lesser cost on a local bus tour out of Las Vegas; then a few years later at a higher price with Tauck, hoping to get a much better experience than the first time with a local company. Unfortunately, I was disappointed both times, although Tauck did have a nice tour of the Warner Brothers movie studios and a few other sights on their tour. However, that said, I was disappointed with the main event, i.e. the Rose Parade itself (seating, etc.). Just my experience.
Comments
mfrancis - I have not taken the tour but have witnessed the parade--only because I had relatives flying in from the east coast and I was obliged to see them. I was not impressed with the parade (too many unruly people with their trash strewn about) but did enjoy viewing the flowers up close the next day. There are parts of Pasadena that were lovely but I am not a fan of Los Angeles overall. This is merely my opinion and I'm sure there are others who have taken the tour and will give you a better and more recent perspective.
I have done that same tour once with a local bus tour out of Las Vegas and once later with Tauck. I concur with kfnnfzk's comments and also although the grandstand seating was a bit better with Tauck, it still was not better than staying home and watching it on TV. It seemed that all of the bands playing did not ever play no matter what area in the grandstands we were seating, i.e. they only seemed to be playing in front of the TV cameras locations (NBC and ABC). I had a better experience after the Tauck tour meeting a local Santa Monica (CA) friend, who picked me up at our hotel and she drove us to the Beverly Hills hotel, where we dined at the famous "Polo Lounge" there. :-) I also remember that after the local bus tour I had first gone on there, even after the "official rose parade" had finished it still took us almost an hour to get out of the grandstand seating as there were more non-rose parade people coming behind the "official parade." Sigh.
I cannot comment on the tour, but only as a person who lives a few miles from the parade route. The Rose Parade is fantastic to see in person at least once in your life. The artistry that is created with all the different flowers, plants and seeds is pretty phenomenal. However, getting to your seats is difficult and getting out can be a nightmare, as noted above. It requires a great deal of patience. And no matter how sunny it looks on TV, at 6 am (when you arrive) it will likely be 45 degrees and feeling colder on those metal bleachers. Locals bring a pad to sit on, or usually there are vendors selling them if Tauck does not supply. The floats are parked at a location near the end of the route and you can buy tickets to view them right after the parade through the day after, but they do not always activate any motion features of the floats there.
I'm not sure how much easier any of the above would be if you were in a tour group. The best bleacher seats are located close to the intersection of Orange Grove Blvd and Colorado Blvd, near the beginning of the route, across the street from the Norton Simon Museum. As I recall, parking for these seats is farther away, a minimum of half a mile. I can't imagine that a tour bus would be able to get any closer. Doesn't sound far but there are SO MANY people.
There is another large section of bleachers in front of Pasadena City College where parking may be closer, but this location is 3 miles from the start of the route.
The comment about the marching bands is puzzling. My daughter marched with her high school band about 15 years ago and I can assure you that except for a few quick breaks to catch their breath, they played for the entire 5 mile route.
Thanks, Wan. Great info.
I have not taken the Tauck Tour to see the Rose Parade, as the cost was more than I could afford at the time. However, I did travel with a local Tour Company out of North Carolina back in 2014 and it was totally amazing. My tour also included additional sites in California with the Rose Parade being the hi-lite, so overall I really enjoyed the entire trip. If I remember right, I think the Tauck Tour was about 4 days and mainly focused on the parade and an option to also attend the Rose Bowl. This was a "bucket list" trip for me and it did not disappoint. There is absolutely no comparison to watching the parade on TV versus seeing it in person. The colors and aroma of the flowers have to be witnessed in person. I agree with several of the previous comments in that it is quite chilly in the morning but warms up nicely so it is important to wear layers. Our bus used a parking lot that required a few blocks of walking, perhaps a half mile or so, and after the parade we returned to the bus where lunch was provided. In this manner we avoided the overwhelming crowds of people and traffic grid lock and were able to return to our Hotel more easily. I enjoyed going thru the preparation barns and surrounding areas to get a very quick overview of the floats being decorated. I can't quite remember the location of our seats, but I have to agree with TomH that the bands played very little music as they went by, just the beating of drums. It could be that our location happened to be the area where the bands took a pause to catch their breath, which is understandable. Just pack your patience! The crowds can be overwhelming at times and I do remember that the line to walk thru the main decorating barn was an hour or more for a quick 1-2 minute view of the activity below us. Of course with Tauck being Tauck, the experience could be much different in a positive way.
I had a friend who helped decorate the floats one year.
Travelmaven - do you recall the name of the NC tour company you used? Just looking at our options once Tauck prices the trip. (We live in NC.). Thx.
My wife marched in one of the Rose Parade bands many, many years ago. I don't understand why people want to see it in person when you get a great view on TV.
I feel the same about football games.
Too funny. One of my brothers said something similar to me when I went on the K&T Safari trip - Why do you want to do that, when you can see all of those animals in a zoo?
Experiencing anything in person (parade or football game or doing a safari) is always different that seeing something on TV or at a zoo. Experiencing something in person is more than just the visual experience (which is all that you get on TV).
PS - Over the years I've been to three Rose Parades, in conjunction with, when the University of Washington played in the Rose Bowl football game.
MFrancis: It is Christian Tours out of Newton , NC. This was my first experience with this company and it was very good. Prices reasonable. Flew from Charlotte to San Diego and return from Los Angeles to Charlotte. One week in length. Hampton and Courtyard Hotels. Very comfortable bus with bathroom for land portion of tour. Along with the day long Rose Parade event, we also toured San Diego Zoo , Mission San Diego De Alcala, Guided Tour of LA, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum and more. I would definitely travel with them again. I just checked their website and they have a Tour for the 2025 parade. Price is $2389pp double, air is additional but not yet listed.
The Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley is one of my top 3 favorite places to take visitors in the Los Angeles area. The other hidden treasure is the Nethercutt Collection at the Nethercutt Museum in Sylmar.
Wan: Yes, the Library was totally amazing. I didn't know what to expect until we arrived. Such an interesting library/museum and the grounds are just beautiful.
@Smiling Sam - I guess it's "different strokes for different folks". I would much prefer to sit in my warm living room, and have a bathroom nearby. Fighting traffic and crowds to get to a venue and then fighting traffic and crowds when leaving is just not appealing to me. I don't feel anything special about seeing one of those events in person. To me, it's just a lot of inconvenience.
As I noted above, I tried the Rose Parade tour twice, first at lesser cost on a local bus tour out of Las Vegas; then a few years later at a higher price with Tauck, hoping to get a much better experience than the first time with a local company. Unfortunately, I was disappointed both times, although Tauck did have a nice tour of the Warner Brothers movie studios and a few other sights on their tour. However, that said, I was disappointed with the main event, i.e. the Rose Parade itself (seating, etc.). Just my experience.