Thankfully the hardest thing we encountered on our way there was navigating a few closed streets and tolerating the cold while we waited. Our spot was in the middle of Times Square at Duffy Square which provides the tkts red steps. These steps provided a great view of the bands, floats and balloons.
Kids around us fussed a bit as we waited but come 9:30am their eyes were as big as saucers and they were enthralled. You could hear kids shout, "Mommy, Mommy here comes the American Guy (aka Uncle Sam)" or "Look, look it's Buzz Lightyear." Their happiest moment though was when Santa rode in on his sleigh.
The biggest surprise came though after the parade ended. We were sure the crowds would be endless and would swallow us up. Instead, we walked down the steps, across 7th Ave and the crowd thinned. We expected a long wait for a train since 3.5 million people came out to watch the parade. Nope, the station was relatively dead and only a handful of people were waiting on trains. We were amazed and hopped on our train only after a few minutes and were home by noon.
If you have been wanting to come to see the parade yourself, it is worth the trip, just bring warm clothes and some hand warmers for the wait.
