Christmas Boat Parade

It was quite a let down for my wife and I also who flew down from Sacramento

AMAZING PARADE!
I can not believe the other reviews I just read!!! Do they realize the time and effort it takes to decorate those boats. And the time commitment to actually do the ²¹⁄₂ HOUR Parade for 5 straight nights… all volunteering their time to give the restaurants, the bars, and the spectators along the Parade Route the best lighted boat parade in the world! Seriously… voted «top 10 Christmas events in the Country by The New York Times» and recently made #2 in Yahoos Travel top ten list of Christmas Events in the U.S. My family and friends have made it a tradition every year… good times! And they can not control the weather!

I went last year and was thoroughly not impressed. I felt so silly having dragged my mom and sisters out to brave the chilly night for this waste of time. Maybe it is fun for the boaters but for bystanders, not so much.

OMG I am so with Scott C. This is a let down!
On the website you see people laughing carrying on and junk. A happy Santa’s even there! Who doesn’t want to join in on the fun, right? Wrong!!!
Well let me tell ya (hope you have a minute) there was no damn Santa on the boat. No nice wood paneling or a comfy bar to cozy up to. Well not on the boat I was on!
First off the parking was horrendous I mean I arrived early 6:20. I thought it was early, but I guess that’s late for this event.
Finally I found a parking spot after an hour of driving thru the town pissing off residents and drivers alike!
This spot was literally 1 mile away. This is no problem for me but when I spoke to these bozos on the phone I was told that there wasn’t enough room for a stroller. So I listened like an idiot and didn’t bring it. This meant that me, mom, sperm donor and baby are walking a mile to get to this boat. With a ½ hour to spare, Mom’s got a bum leg and no cane were half way there and realize she’s allllllllllll the way back behind us.
Then we get to the pier and chaos ensues. We have no idea where the hell this place is. The pier is mad packed with people from all over (mom is from NY, she was excited & just wanted to see this parade on her trip to CA) finally found the effin LONG line only on accident I figured we all must be here for the same reason. Mean while attitudes are brewing (FYI New Yorkers never lose there attitude come with the territory) were ready to pitch a fit. Even other people were looking around like where do we go. Is this the SHIP?
Then after all the confusion, bummed legs, attitudes, spilled milk etc. We get on the boat. OMG this freaking fishing boat that was like a box on water. The bar was so ridiculous. I have more liquor in my bar at home! (Well the liquor cabinet) and two hours later were cold and tired and not so excited. Yeah we saw boats and were on the water but the events that led up to it soured our mood and made the trip horrible. All in all I wasted 105.00 per head on this stupid trip it would have been better to just drive into town and watch from the side of the pier like every one else but you live and you learn right. I did however get a discount card on a future whale watching trip which I am going to use crazy as that sound but anyway truth be told you would have more fun just watching from the sidelines. Save your money and bring your own booze and leave the sperm donors behind!

What a letdown. You would think with all the hype and crowds this thing would be impressive. I heard people started getting there up to 4 hours early! There was security all over the parking lots so people wouldn’t park for the parade and people walked over a mile to see it.
Fortunately, we didn’t try getting there until about a ½ hour before and of course we couldn’t find parking on Balboa Island, so we parked on a hill and watched from above. There were a few cool boats, but when it ended we were shocked at how weak it was. Some boats only had white lights on them. I hope this was the recession edition or else, there must be low standards in the OC.
DO NOT plan your day/​night around this!