It was well organized, and every detail had been taken care of before we arrived. Being able to see all that goes into making this parade happen was so interesting. Tha hands on activities of working on a float and seeing the finished floats up close at the post parade viewing were my favorite parts. Do wear layers, comfortabe shoes, and bring scissors in your checked luggage. I can't imagine anyone not enjoying this fabulous trip!

We now how a greater appreciation of the hard work, talent and creativity that goes into the Rose Bowl floats. We also found the high school bands to be thoughly enjoyable. Lots of talent, precision and dedication by these young people

While there were some less-than-stellar components, the Rose Parade Road Scholar program was satisfying, informative, and worth while. Working on a float gave me a much greater appreciation of the complexity of the process, of the detail and planning involved in the decoration, and of the large numbers of volunteers necessary to produce this spectacle each year. Seeing the floats up close during the post-parade viewing made them even more spectacular than seeing them in the parade, which was way better than seeing it on TV. The trip to the Getty Villa added a grat deal to the experience, as did the presentation about how the floats were judged. The Orange Tribe leaders were all that could be asked for.
The over-crowded (ten at tables designed for eight) and noisy dining arrnagements, the dreadful (muddy sound, rather talent-free) music on New Year's Eve, the obviously "filler" programming on two other nights (western riders and some female), a former queen's un-inspired presentation, the distant location of the hotel from all activities, and eating in a mass rather than by "tribes" which made it more difficult to know your fellow "members" did not contribute to the quality of the program.
All-in-aall, I'm glad we did this in southern California in January rather than being in the Midwest at this time of the year.

Oh, the places we went!
Oh, the experiences we shared!
Oh, the fun we had!
Oh, the friends we met!
Oh, it was great!

Thanks to all for the memories.

Boyd & Julie Rimel, Syracuse, NY

The tournament of Roses program was very well planned & filled with fun & interesting things to do every day. Decorating a float was wonderful once in a lifetime event. My mother (who lived in Pasadena as a child & teen would have been thrilled.) The LaCanada float team was very friendly & we won the animation award! We also enjoyed the Getty Villa as we'd not been there on previous trips to CA. The Woodland Hills Hilton was very comfortable & the food & service were very good. Our leader, Jiggs Gallagher was well informed & entertaining. The handouts & advance info were very good. We many fun & interesting people. The only negatives were the length of the bus trips from woodland Hills to Pasadena & back. New Years Eve dinner could have been a but more festive. The large screen TV in the ballroom was on the wrong channel, so none of us actually knew when the ball dropped in NYC.

When I learned there would be over 300 people, I was worried. But the leaders did a good job breaking us down into manageable groups. The only real problem was in the room for common meals the noise level was so loud that conversations with thoes at your table was difficut. Otherwise the events exceed my expetations. After 50+ years of watching the parade on TV, seeing it live and actually helping to decorate Dino Soar is a memory not to forget. Live, the colors are so much better than TV. When ever I watch the parade in the future, I will realize the work that goes into each float. The cowboy evening program was obviously a filler and did not fit the overall intent of the program. I suggest you look hard and find another event to fill that slot. Jiggs was an excellent handler for our group. I will recommend the program to others. John and Connie Wood, Thomasville, Georgia.

Enjoyed working on the floats. I had ask to do that and my decorating company was very helpful. Met some very interesting people.

Great program, the experiences provided gave a pride of participation that made the Parade more fun to watch.

It was a wonderful experience! I thoroughly enjoyed learning what goes into making the Rose Parade, how the Queen and her court are chosen, how the floats are judged, and how the parade evolved over the years. But most of all, I loved helping decorate a float--from snipping roses and putting them into water-filled vials, to adding them to the Wisconsin float. It was exciting being part of the hustle and bustle of the last minute preparations in the float barn.

Barbara from San Diego, CA
This is was a FABULOUS opportunity to experience a NOT TO BE MISSED THIS LIFETIME trip. All details handled to perfection. The small group arrangement allowed for afeeling of comraderie. As an "ex band geek" I especially loved the BandFest activity. I am seriously considering ATTENDING AGAIN next year !!

An outstanding program, with remarkably effective logistics and fine presentors, plus the thrill of a hands-on experience, helping build the prize-winning La Canada float DinoSoar. We were even recognized in print by the volunteer organization as "Rhodes Scholar" volunteers! Congratulations to the entire team.

OUTSTANDING!! Our leader, John Callahan, saw to it that all the I(s)were dotted and the T(s)were crossed. Nothing and I mean nothing was left to chance.The meals and waitstaff,bus driver and speaker were first class.This is a most do activity with Road Scholars so put it on your bucket list.

Another Rhode Scholar winner. Everything was done flawlessly from check-in to the final post parade float review. We really enjoyed our chance to climb on the floats and glue flowers, rice, silver leaf and other varied plant materials in a very happily tiring day. I read the complaints below about hotel buffet lines. They were non existent for us. The Hilton staff is amazingly friendly and efficient. The food was excellent. Our speakers were outstanding during the week. Parade viewing from our front row bleacher seats couldn't be beat. In summary, this exceeded all my expectations.

If you ever thought about actually being at the Rose Parade instead of just watching it on TV, you need to sign up for the Tournament of Roses trip for2013--it was great!

Excellent organization, topics, presentations, accommodations and guides. Loved working on the floats and YES, our group placed over 1,000 roses of many hues in water vials. Really good to see static display of all floats the day after the parade. That way I was able to take all the pictures I missed. Seating for parade was conveniently near parking which was a big plus.

Liked having "my own group" for the entire stay.

Meals were adequate and understandable most were buffets for the hundreds of scholars attending.

Program well planned and executed. We stayed at the Hilton Hotel in Woodland Hills, very nice hotel. My only complaint (but it's a big one) was that the group was far too large for one hotel--Road Scholar allowed over 300 people to enroll in this program, and we all stayed at the same hotel. Upon arrival and check-in, we were divided into 7 groups of about 45 each, so much of it worked well until it was time for 300 people to go through the buffet line for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It took far too much standing and waiting to get our food. Also, with 300 people all dining in the same (huge) room at the same time, the talking was so loud that we had to nearly shout to be heard by the people at our own table (of 10). These two problems made dining a very unpleasant experience. Also, because we were all on the same schedule, the 3 hotel elevators were quickly overwhelmed by 300 people all trying to go up to their rooms or down to the lobby at the same time. Because these were very frustrating issues several times every day, I would suggest Road Scholar put each group of 45 into a different hotel next time.