<p>Book the refundable and you can change dates or rebook if prices go down.</p>
<p>I almost crapped myself when I saw how much the parking was per night! Has anybody used this service? </p>
<p>spothero.com</p>
<p>Apparently if I prepay I can get a rate of $13 a day instead of $42 for self park through the hotel! Itâs the same garage. Wow. </p>
<p>Also has anybody booked their rooms through hotels.com? They have executive rooms but it has the free breakfast x-ed outâŠ</p>
<p>Iâm hoping we can bunk in with friends that live in downtown Chicago. Iâd be interested in the veteranâs thoughts on staying at the Palmer House vs other venues. Iâm thinking Iâd rather have my daughter stay elsewhere so she can relax and get away from the insanity at the end of the day.</p>
<p>Reading all these posts really takes me back. My D is a rising junior now - how the heck did that happen?! I had almost all of the same questions and fears that you all are having now. And you know what? It all ended up just fine. Actually, it ended up just great. Intellectually I know there are some things that we should have done differently. But had we made those changes, my D might not have ended up where she is. She loves where she is. She has grown as a person and as a performer. She has a supportive network of faculty and peers. She has been given so many opportunities. So emotionally Iâm happy with the âmisstepsâ we made along the way since those are the same steps that sent us down this path. So hang in there. Enjoy your kidsâ senior year with them. Hug them when itâs a yes and hug them harder when itâs a no. </p>
<p>I hope each of your children finds their place just as my D did. All the best!</p>
<p>@jeffandann: our high school takes a large group each year and stays at the Palmer House. This minimizes time out in the elements, avoids transportation hassles (it could snow!), eliminates any time allowances for getting to-and-fro, etc. Our kids seem to thrive on the atmosphere, maybe thatâs because they are PA HS kids that have to audition and do juried scenework in front of a panel in a pressure-cooker environment frequently for four years, or whatever. I can see how some other kids (and parents!) would prefer to get away from the madding crowd.</p>
<p>They actually head out in the evenings to catch shows.</p>
<p>Some other advantages about staying at the Palmer House that other people on this site have posted are: if you have some free blocks during your audition day and you want some quiet rest time, youâre right there in the same hotel to do that. Another plus is that if your child gets their audition clothes dirty or spills something on them then they can simply go to their room in the same building and change. </p>
<p>I didnât even consider the parking costs since we will not have a vehicle while we are there anyway.</p>
<p>To Walker1194: We booked through booking.com and it did have the free breakfast and snacks/hâors doevres included.</p>
<p>In regards to staying at the Palmer House . . . it was really nice to be able to have all of my daughterâs âstuffâ right there and we still schlepped a lot of bags around . . . iPod player, dance clothes, water, sheet music binders, etc. It was convenient for her daughter to rest between auditions and we pretty much stayed in the hotel the whole time, except for in the mornings I would walk to a bakery (canât recall the name!) and get her a sandwich and fruit for lunch (we put it in the ice bucket in a baggie as there are no refrigerators in the rooms). And, as momarmarino mentioned, my girl DID spill something on her dress and she was able to run upstairs to change into a spare. :0)</p>
<p>More about the Palmer; the atmosphere is really not 'competitive" but loads of fun! Kids were so polite and encouraging to each other in warm-ups, waiting, in the elevators . . . I was really impressed! It was so FREEZING outside that I would have hated having to go back and forth. Audition appointments can be anywhere from 30 minutes to 4 hours, can run early or late, and so itâs nice to have a room you can easily go back to whenever. I even checked out the walkin signups while my daughter was napping! Iâm the one who keeps suggesting the executive floor, and everyone who has heeded that advice has been very pleased. Do compare the hotelâs own prices on their website with the mass hotel sites - not sure how theyâll match up . . . Also, depending on what schools you are looking at, you can easily get in 4-5 auditions in a day, and we have a friend who did 16 total! Another perk, if you are coiming to chicago from other auditions, or moving to more after, the Palmer has a quick turnaround drycleaning service. We were able to make it through 10 days of auditions with 2 dresses by using that!</p>
<p>I took your advice about the executive floor! Advice about transportation from OHare? I donât want the train- either cab or shuttle.</p>
<p>I booked it. Executive floor. Does that room come with a turn down and benzo under the pillow service? I am going to book my parking through spot hero.com though. I just canât stomach $42 dollars a day in parking. </p>
<p>Does anybody know how to find out what non-unified schools will be in the area?</p>
<p>You can find a thread with the schools at this yearâs Chicago Unifieds posted by kksmom5 at <a href=âHow many schools attend each Unified session? - Musical Theater Major - College Confidential Forumsâ>How many schools attend each Unified session? - Musical Theater Major - College Confidential Forums; or click on her name and other posts by her and it will show up.</p>
<p>We took a cab from Midway to Palmer House. Funny thing was, I spotted what surely was another mom and daughter on our plane, approached them at the baggage carousel, and sure enough, they were going to Palmer House for Unifieds, so we shared a cab!</p>
<p>I wish our school took a group to unifieds. Our theater teacher never mentioned them. We only go to the Texas Thespian convention and that is all. If more kids went we could share the price of a room. Can you reserve a room without paying for it now?<br>
My daughter was crying because she has worked for years to get to this point but it still might not be enough. It is harder than getting into a medical program. She keeps telling herself, when she hears directors from colleges saying they only need six girls that ânow you only need five more.â. She says she might be crazy but that is how she keeps going.
We went out and bought a huge calendar and colored pens and started marking dates.</p>
<p>scaredstiffmom - There are some great programs that go to Texas Thespians! And having those in the fall is so helpful because not only is it a great way to see the response to your material, you can walk out of there with acceptances before heading into the crazy spring audition season.</p>
<p>scaredstiffmom, itâs important that neither your D, nor you, get into a negative mindset in this process. Itâs stressful enough without starting off so emotionally. Try to get her to concentrate on preparing herself to be the best she can be, and compile an appropriate list of schools so that she has options come April. There are many ways to pursue this crazy career and if you do your research and apply broadly, sheâll be ready to go this time next year. Best of luck!</p>
<p>Scaredstiffmom⊠Great advice from alwaysamom and others. Your D needs to focus on the things she can control rather than the things she cannot. Preparing material, completing applications, staying in a positive mindset throughout the process are all things she can control. If she chooses to stick with this career path for the long haul life will be full of important auditions. The coping skills she develops now will serve her well over the course of her career. Hang in!</p>
<p>Thank you all for your sweet advice. I think it is more me stressing than her. I am so glad there is this forum so that i can talk to all of you without stressing her out. My D is a very strong girl who has known what she has wanted since she was little. She has a list of ten schools she wants to audition for and she has already written her essays. We just returned from visiting five of them and she really loves three. We are in the process of getting prescreens done and making sure all the dates donât overlap. My D has been performing since she was six, performs beautifully at auditions and has handled rejection well. Thank you for the dose of encouragement it was greatly needed.</p>
<p>Scaredstiffmom, it sounds to me like you and your D are both well-prepared and on track, planning and preparing ahead of most others, so no worries! Best of luck to you both, and I hope you can enjoy this process. Iâm finding that getting organized with it all (as you are doing also) seems to help reduce the stress and makes it seem more manageable. Swallowing small bites instead of trying to consume the entire process all at once! 
Weâre all in this together. I agree it has been SO helpful to have CC as a support group along the way. I feel like itâs therapeutic to find other parents who understand and can relate to the workload of an MT kid (and their parents) throughout the audition process!</p>
<p>Kat, Scaredstiff, austinmom and Christie, thanks for all of your advice in this. Weâre just getting into this and trying to finalize the college list. We did make our Palmer reservations (thanks Christie!) and started coaching with MTCA. Itâs reduced some of my anxiety about the process by feeling a little more organized and that Iâm handing off the coaching to professionals who are out of our little theater bubble. I think it helps to get a more national perspective about this whole competitive process. My D hasnât participated in any national competitions, only statewide, so itâs broadening our world, as are you great CC parents.
Austinmom, you said your daughter is a rising junior and happy where she is. Do you mean that sheâs a college junior? Where did she end up?</p>
<p>Heartsongmom - She is a rising junior at Coastal Carolina University! Itâs a school that we would have never known about if it werenât for CC. Thatâs one of the reasons I stick around and post here (not to mention that you get to âmeetâ some really terrific parents and kids here.) </p>
<p>Donât hesitate to ask questions as you go through this! I was hesitant to do that when I first got on CC. I would read and wonder but wouldnât ask. I finally got over that and it made so much of a difference.</p>