<p>This thread is primarily directed at parents/students who have been through this before (eadad, ldmom, etc)... And for other (clueless) graduating seniors like me! ; -)</p>
<p>My family has been reading about Graduation Day, and we would really appreciate some advice about where to park, etc. The ceremony starts at 9:30 (students have to be there at 9), but everything we have looked at says that traffic will be gridlocked by 8... My understanding is that there are places you can park and then a shuttle can take you to the stadium? Or you can park at University Mall and then take a shuttle/bus as well? My mom is wondering if we should just get there ridiculously early to beat traffic. Any tips/advice would be wonderful. If it were up to me I would probably be skipping the ceremony altogether (ha - only half kidding) but since my grandparents are flying in that isn't an option. We're praying for good weather. Thanks in advance, y'all!</p>
<p>D1 graduated last year. We parked at the Friday Center at 8am-ish and had no
real problems with traffic and got very nice seats at the stadium. Getting the shuttle back was much more of a problem - huge lines then.</p>
<p>If you don’t mind walking a little, I’d suggest parking in Carrboro and walking in from there.</p>
<p>Agree with ahokiemom. We actually stayed at the Courtyard across the street from the Friday Center and walked over to the Friday Center parking lot where we caught the shuttle. Lines to board moved very quickly at the FC…a little slower on the way back. Altogether very pleasant experience and easy on the feet. We didn’t leave the hotel horribly early…maybe about an hour and half before ceremony. And we still had time to take pictures of ldgirl and her friends before they lined up. (Take a sweater if it is cool, even if you don’t think you’ll need it. For a portion of the morning, most of the seats are in the shade and I was COLD!)</p>
<p>btw…highly recommend booking dinner at the Carolina Inn. Enjoyed having drinks in the bar before we were seated…lovely room, very relaxing. The dinner is expensive, but very good food. We also made reservations at Top of the Hill for another night. I’d make dinner reservations for both restaurants far ahead of time. (And don’t book Top of the Hill before sunset…half your party will be blinded by the sun if you are seated outdoors. )</p>