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California

Rose Parade®: A Heritage to Celebrate

Program No. 10515RJ
Celebrate New Year’s Day at the Rose Parade® in Pasadena, learning about the parade’s history, watching award-winning bands and helping decorate a signature Rose Parade® float.
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  • Rose Parade Float Production
Festivals, Misc.HolidaysMost Popular
Length
6 days
Rating (4.96)
Activity Level
Starts at
2,899
Special Offer
Itinerary
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. Read More.
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
Duration
6 days
5 nights
What's Included
13 meals ( 5B, 3L, 5D )
3 expert-led lectures
3 expert-led field trips
1 hands-on experience
2 performances
An experienced Group Leader
5 nights of accommodations
Taxes and customary gratuity
Road Scholar Assurance Plan
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Activity Note
Hotel check-in from 3:00 p.m. Remember to bring your nametag (sent previously). Important Note: Participants will be assigned to one of twelve groups of up to 40 participants for organizational purposes. If you are traveling with other individuals and wish to be in the same group, please be sure to identify one another via "Participant Information and Your Preferences" on your Road Scholar account at least four weeks in advance.
Afternoon:
Program Registration: 2:00 p.m. After you check in and have your room assignment, join us at the Road Scholar table in the lobby to register with the program staff, get any updated information, and confirm the time and location of the Orientation session. If you arrive late, please locate your Group Leader and let them know you have arrived. Orientation: 4:00 p.m. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the program theme, the up-to-date daily schedule and any changes, discuss safety guidelines, emergency procedures, roles and responsibilities, and answer any questions you may have. All program-related transportation will be via private motorcoach. Lunch at the Getty Center on Day 4 is on your own. If you wish to eat at the Getty Restaurant, reservations are recommended. Make reservations for the restaurant by calling (310) 440-6810. Reservations should be made between 12:00 Noon and 2:00 p.m. We have set aside some free time in the schedule for your personal independent exploration. Program activities, schedules, and personnel may need to change due to local circumstances. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.
Dinner:
In the hotel banquet room.
Evening:
Crossing Points is a time for getting to know one another better and what we may have in common beyond a love of learning. Then settle in, relax, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach. Depending on the float organization, we will work a minimum of 6 hours and a maximum of 8 hours including a lunch break. You will be standing, bending, and reaching while working on floats as directed by float organizers. Some floats will require an early morning departure, as early as 6:00 a.m., from the hotel. Please read the "Special Notes" section for more details about float decorating.
Breakfast:
In the hotel banquet room.
Morning:
This is what you’ve been waiting for: experience the magic that goes into actually creating the Rose Parade® floats! We’ll transfer you by motorcoach to one of the "float barns" to work alongside experienced professionals and help apply materials under their guidance. Rose Parade® rules require that every inch of each float be covered with flowers or other natural materials such as fruits, vegetables, leaves, seeds, or bark. Our participation will be a significant factor since parade officials estimate that it takes 60 volunteers working 10 hours a day for 10 days to decorate just one float.
Lunch:
Boxed lunches at your float decorating site.
Afternoon:
Continue decorating a float/floats at your designated facility. Afterwards, we will return to the hotel.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
At leisure.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach. Seats for Bandfest are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Early arrival to get a good seat involves standing in line 30-60 minutes until the stadium opens. To enter the stadium, climb a flight of stairs. To reach the seats, go downstairs to seats (elevator available in rear of stadium). Our metal bleacher seats have backs, but you may wish to bring a stadium cushion since we will be seated for several hours.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
From the hotel, we will transfer by motorcoach to a local auditorium for a series of morning presentations. We will hear from members of an equestrian unit that will appear in the Rose Parade®. They will share information about the application process and what it takes to participate in the very special tradition. The equestrian talents are a unique aspect of the parade entertainment. Next will be a talk given by a member of the Community Relations Committee of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses® Association. We will learn about the parade and, in particular, the 935 “White Suiters”. These volunteers wear clearly distinctive uniforms and work tirelessly to ensure the success of the parade and football game. We will then meet a former Rose Queen who will share her personal story about the Rose Queen selection process and responsibilities. Through an intensive selection process, the Tournament of Roses® “Queen and Court” committee seeks participants with the best combination of poise, personality, public speaking ability and scholastic achievement. Approximately a thousand young women from over two dozen area high schools apply each year. They are required to complete a detailed application meeting age and academic requirements. Those selected meet in person with the committee members over the course of a month. That number is reduced to approximately 250 who are invited to return for further interviews, then 75, then about 25 finalists. The committee selects the Royal Court from this group.
Lunch:
Boxed lunches will be distributed before boarding the bus to Bandfest. We will arrive to Pasadena City College (the site for Bandfest) early in order to be one of the first to enter the stadium. A boxed lunch provides you with the flexibility to eat while we wait for the afternoon performance (either inside or outside of the stadium). You may choose to eat your lunch while waiting in line or you may opt to enjoy your lunch while sitting on the grass - Pasadena City College does not have any formal picnic areas on campus. There are few benches outside the stadium.
Afternoon:
Marching in the Rose Parade® is a coveted honor, with bands from all over the world as well as some of the nation's top high school, college, and organizational marching bands participating. While a few of these bands are invited guests, most compete for a limited number of spaces. The winners take part in Bandfest — a two-day event that displays each band and its auxiliary performers in their victorious routines. We will watch these talented musicians, dancers, and auxiliary performers in action. Event occurs rain or shine, bring rain coats or ponchos in case it rains.
Dinner:
At a local restaurant.
Evening:
At leisure.
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach. Walking and standing at your own pace at the Getty Center. Walking between the buildings at the museum on flat, paved surfaces; access to the bottom of the Central Gardens involves a slight incline.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
For a change of pace, we will board the motorcoach and take a field trip to the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, which houses European paintings, drawings, sculpture, illuminated manuscripts, decorative arts, and European and American photographs. Jean Paul Getty was an American industrialist, who was named the richest living American and the world’s richest private citizen by the Guinness Book of World Records. An avid collector of art and antiquities, he established the J. Paul Getty Trust, which remains the world's wealthiest art institution. The Museum is accessed from the parking structure by a 3/4 mile hovertrain. The Getty Center is one of the most visited art museums in the United States and presents the Getty's collection of Western art from the Middle Ages to the present against a backdrop of dramatic architecture, tranquil gardens, and breathtaking views. This stunning collection features works by Titian, Rembrandt, Manet, and Monet. Take this opportunity for personal independent exploration of the Getty Center.
Lunch:
This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like on the grounds of the Getty Center.
Afternoon:
Continue your free afternoon exploring the Getty Center. After the Getty Center, we’ll return to the hotel for dinner.
Dinner:
At the hotel. Ring in the New Year with a champagne toast.
Evening:
New Year's Eve! We will celebrate together according to Eastern Standard Time. Get a good night's sleep, as tomorrow will be an exciting day! We will be departing the hotel early in the morning.
Activity Note
Motorcoaches depart the hotel for the parade as early as 5:45 a.m.; check your schedule for your exact departure time and location. Upon arrival (in front of Pasadena City College), we climb bleachers to our reserved seats. These metal bleacher seats do not have backs so as not to restrict leg room for people sitting behind. You may want to bring a stadium cushion (without a back) since we will be seated for several hours.
Breakfast:
Early at the hotel.
Morning:
The Rose Parade® is an unequaled spectacle and celebration of flowers, music, and sport. Pasadena greets each new year with spectacular pageantry. As you watch the beautiful floats — including the ones we decorated! — glide by, marvel at the brilliance and imagination that went into creating each and every one. After the parade, we will return to the hotel. Event occurs rain or shine, bring rain coats or ponchos in case it rains.
Lunch:
In the hotel banquet room.
Afternoon:
Free time. This period of time has been set aside for your personal independent exploration to see and do what interests you most. Please refer to the list of Free Time Opportunities. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Please note that the period scheduled for free time is subject to change depending on local circumstances and opportunities for independent exploration. If you are interested in attending the Rose Bowl Game®, make arrangements well in advance.
Dinner:
At the hotel. Share favorite experiences and enjoy camaraderie with new Road Scholar friends during our farewell dinner.
Evening:
At the hotel, we’ll enjoy live musical entertainment just for us! Prepare for check-out and departure in the morning.
Activity Note
Check out of the hotel before our field trip and take your luggage to the front desk for holding. Airport transportation should be arranged in advance. Motorcoaches depart for Post Parade at 6:15 a.m. Roundtrip walking distance is 2.4 miles; elevation change is 80’ loss in the first 0.7 miles; return to bus includes 80’ elevation gain up the hill in the last 0.7 miles; allow twice as much time for the return trip up the hill. No seating along route.
Breakfast:
Early at the hotel.
Morning:
After every Rose Parade®, the floral masterpieces are parked and on exhibition for the public to examine the design and workmanship that goes into these floats in close detail—a Pasadena tradition for more than a century. You can walk almost within arm's reach to appreciate the imagination and work that created these floral displays. Bring your camera! Event occurs rain or shine, bring rain coats or ponchos in case it rains. We will return to the hotel by approximately 11:00 a.m. This concludes our program. If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!
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Please Note: This program has itinerary variations on certain dates.
Dec 28, 2025 - Jan 02, 2026
Dec 28 - Jan 2, 2026 Itinerary Differences: This departure begins on December 28, 2025 for the January 1, 2026 parade.