How to see the Tournament of Roses Parade in person
It made me
Smells Great! 
"A long wait, but well worth the experience. What was totally unexpected was the amazing smell!"
How I did it: I contacted the city of Pasadena for questions about disability seating (my son has a disability) and they sent me a form to fill out and email back, which I did.
Each person with a disability could get up to five wristbands total. Filling out the form was easy, didn't require doctor documentation (although we have it if we needed it) and the guy from the city was very pleasant to interact with.
Within 5 days from returning the form via email, the wristbands arrived in the mail.
Lessons & tips: First, I did not expect the AMAZING smell of all the floats. This was a huge surprise. The disability seating (which was ample) is at the end of the parade route. I did not realize that the route was so long, (5 miles) and the floats go about 2.5 mph. This means that the parade that started at 8 am did not get to us until about 10am.
Parking in a residential neighborhood close to our seating area and at the end of the route was a breeze.
Go far out of your way to take side streets out of Pasadena when leaving to hit less traffic. Also, being at the end of the route means that people at the beginning have already left :)
Everyone wants to be at the beginning, but really being at the end was OK and I think a lot easier.
Bring with you your own chairs, food and drink, comfortable clothes and a blanket.
The vendors charge a fortune ($4.50) for a can of soda or bottle of water and $2 for a pastry. Bring everything you can need, or a lot of $1 bills.
We arrived about 4:30 am, and was able to sit in the front. I think because it was the disability area, we could have even arrived at 5:30 and had a great view. It was cold, but eventually warmed up.
Sit facing west so the sun is not in your eyes.
Restrooms did not open until 6:30, FYI
Resources: Rose Parade website
Email
US Mail
