Thanks man!! Glad to know I'm not one of the only younger people around here as well!

---

Very good advice.

Were you thinking of Oshkosh? If you stay there, they have a museum that is centered around aircraft and the history of flight. They have an annual air show, but that is a completely different event. Either way - the museum is well worth checking out.

As far as parking - he is right. You will see some crazy tailgating if you park a distance away, which is part of the fun. I have had complete strangers offer me food and beer in passing. You will also see some neat custom vehicles.

The most important thing above all - give yourself lots of time to take in the experience.

---

I took my daughter to a pre-season game a year or so ago and we rode our bikes. It was a breeze! 🙂

The further away from the stadium you park, the less trouble you will have with traffic.


As others have said, hit up the Packers Hall of Fame and Packers Pro Shop. Take your time and be photo happy. You can't take too many.

There's a Kroll's on the East Side that is quite famous. Yes, there is one right across Lambeau too, but it's just not the same. Good hamburgers and some would not hesitate to say the best hamburgers.

If you click Packers > Schedule you can buy tickets quite easily through a partner of PackersHome.

Every place is a Packers social place. You'll see. We are all Packers all the time here, no joke.

---

For hotels, you can stay in Appleton. It is a D III college town about 30 miles from Mecca with a 4 or 6 lane road connecting them. They have bars if you like that. A mall and lots of places to eat. They have a ton of inexpensive and moderately priced motels.

As was mentioned just a short trip down the highway is Oshkosh. It is about 50 miles away on the same road. Legal speed is often 65 mph so it doesn't take an hour unless there is an accident. I see them from time to time. Yesterday it was on the bridge heading from Oshkosh to GB so we were kind of stuck for about 25 min. Rooms are less expensive here. I stayed at a Super 8 with my son. Mainly because by the time I booked a room there really wasn't anything closer for less than $150.

As I said traffic is normally pretty good. Even if there are no accidents there is always a couple of slow spots that last about 5 minutes. Also in Oshkosh is an outlet mall. It is right across the road from the aviation museum. It has been 10 years since I have be to the museum but they had a flight simulator. It spun you 6 directions based on your moving the joy stick. Back then it was $5 for about 5 minutes. My son was about 12-14 and he had a blast. I dropped $20-30 as I let him get back in line a few times.

You may find a few inexpensive (no chain/franchise) places in GB that don't require a 2 night stay. My wife and I stayed at one years ago but I can't recall their name right now.

It might be the Bay Motel  I am not sure. When I stayed there I had to call the hotel directly to make reservations. They did not affiliate with any of the hotel wholesalers like Expedia or Orbitz. I have not stayed there again because by the time I figure out my plans they are booked. One of the other members of the site told me about the hotel. I can't say if they are still a clean place or not.

Depending on if you stay in Green Bay or further south I can give you directions to some places to park that are free and show you how to get in and out of town the quickest way. When I first got season tickets hardly anyone parked in the area and no one took my route to or from the stadium. Now it is a lot more congested but it is still better than the way most people go.

As for what tickets to get- I recommend an early season game.

First the weather is warmer and you will not have the cold weather gear needed. I had 5 layers on yesterday including stuff my son wore in Afghanistan. I wasn't cold but I was not not uncomfortably warm either. The roads will be in better condition. They do a great job of keeping the roads clear but being from down home (My wife's family is from TN) you don't often drive in 3-4 inches of snow. Why take the chance of ruining a fun trip?

Second you are less likely to have the game flexed on you to another time. You are going to be more or less locked in to a certain travel schedule and I can not tell you how inconvenient it will be if they move the game even 3 hours later little alone from noon to a night game.

If you do get a cheaper room you will have a little extra cash for a second night. That is the best way to take in all the sights. You can easily spend several hours in the Packer Hall. You will certainly want to look in the Pro Shop but it is going to be pricy for most items. There is a local sports apparel shop near the stadium that is a little more reasonably priced. Another reason for an early season game is you will still have plenty of daylight when the game is over. Even noon games late in the season will be getting toward sunset by 3:30 or 4. It is more likely to be overcast and only compound the feeling of night coming on.

I enjoyed just walking around the outside of the stadium and seeing some of the sights. I didn't look this year but in the past they have painted a new message on one or two of the fences north of the stadium. That is easier to do when it is warmer or on a Saturday before the game. Same for the Donald Driver #80 statue. It use to be outside the old Packer HoF but it has been moved to another area.

Zero is going to tell you to have lunch or dinner at HuHot. We had a great time when we went there.

As it gets closer we can talk some more. If you get the game that I have tickets to maybe will will have a chance to meet up.

Something else to consider is getting your tickets on the street. It is rather a big gamble but After kickoff any tickets still raining will be sold at a discounted price. It is a long way to go to take the gamble but it is an option.

---

That last post is getting Wade-ish in proportions-

Someone has a blog about the gameday experience. is it nerdman? dhazer? keep an eye out someone has more info on this.

---

My son and I went to Lambeau last year for the first time. Link below has where we stayed, what we did, and where we got good deals on Packers stuff.

http://www.packershome.com/forum/posts/t20014-Redskins-Game#post257294 

You'll have a blast. We did.

---

Its a blast and its something every Packers fan should experience at least once.

As for what was already said I agree early season games are better weather wise. I've only stayed overnight one time (sat and sun night) but it was a free ticket with everything included because someone had to back out at the last minute. If I were looking for a 1 night stay I'd certainly look to Appleton or somewhere a bit further out. If you are going to stay 2 nights closer is OK (you will most likely be required to get 2 nights if you want to be close by) If you are driving it might even be cheaper to get a place for 2 nights in Appleton or something and drive in both days, its not that far.

If you can swing a Monday off I'd also recommend a 3:00 or even a Sunday night game. The last game I was at was Favres last game at Lambeau (vikings game) and it was a night game. My cousin and I started about 10 in the morning and walked like what seemed to be 100 miles around the stadium until about 4 in the afternoon. It may have been the best part of the experience and we got so much free food and free beer even from the viking fans, The vast majority of whom were really great. We also stayed up until about 3 am after the game in the hotel lobby celebrating with other fans.

If I ever had a chance again I would do it like this. Find and early season game that was either 3:00 or a night game. Get there early Saturday and take in the stadium tour and the HOF and other stuff like that. Its also fun to check out some of the antique stores. There was a place called Packer city antiques at one time but I don't know if they are still around It was kind of like going to the HOF but with old stuff you could buy. Most of the Packer memorabilia will be too expensive to buy but you can see some pretty unique stuff. Then I'd spend most of Sunday just roaming the area around the stadium (Kmart parking lot a few blocks down is just one place that fills up with tailgaters) and take in the game later in the afternoon. Go back to the hotel after the game and hopefully celebrate a great victory. Heck, I'd even consider it if I didn't have a game ticket. I saw several people with big screen TVs outside their motor homes and I'm sure if you offered up a case of beer and package of brats they would let you watch the game with them.

The thing is I don't think you can really go wrong no matter when you go although cold weather games can be a real bitch so dress REALLY REALLY warm.

Have fun.

sschind, the antique store is still there. They mentioned it during the last part of yesterday's game when they ran out of other things to talk about. They said it has been there for more than 20 years.

KMart parking lot is probably not going to be there next year. The Packers bought the building and are tearing it down. I have no idea what it will be like next Fall. It could be set for parking and tailgating or it could be a giant mud puddle.

---

OK, I had heard they bought several properties but I wasn't sure which way it was in relation to the stadium. I have a better picture now. Something tells me whatever becomes of the property it won't be as conducive for tailgating. At least not the way K-mart was.

I think the owner of the antique store even a published a price guide for Packers memorabilia many years back.

bump

---