Preferred Indianapolis Hotels for BOA-GN?

[utee94]

Hey all, as a band parent n00b making his first ever trip to grand nationals, I was hoping to lean on the collective wisdom of the TXBands crew, to figure out if there are any preferred hotels or a preferred area to stay and make sure we catch everything important?  We'll mostly just be doing the contest, probably not a lot of time for sight-seeing, so is it just a matter of being as close as possible to Lucas Oil Stadium?

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

(not sure if this is the best forum, mods please feel free to move if this should go somewhere else) 

[MikeKyu]

The Onmi is about 2 blocks away. The staff there is fantastic. It's very clean and It's a little more pricey but after a day seated in stadium seats it's completely worth it for me. 

[WoodlandsMom4ever]

We’ve stayed with the band at both of the Marriotts downtown.  The location is fantastic and the grilled cheese at the Marriott downtown cafe is perfect as a comfort food when you’re eating quick between semis and finals!  being on the walkways means you only have a few minutes of being outside in the cold- you don’t have to wear 10 layers of clothes to manage those few minutes outside.  

[utee94]

Ugh, cold in November.  Something this Austin born-and-bred boy never really thinks about.  Thanks for the reminder...

 

[LeanderMomma]

I love the hotels that are connected to the convention center for sure. They are definitely pricey though. Check out Springhill Suites behind the JW Marriott for a little better price but still mostly an indoor walk to Lucas Oil.  Wonderful hotel!  

[utee94]

OK so we had our big booster club meeting tonight, and it sounds like BOA centrally controls the booking of hotels for each band, with allowance for stated preferences.  I thought @LeanderMomma would be happy to hear that Leander and CP are using the same booking company and will be effectively traveling as one big happy family.  We know several families in the Leander band so that should be a lot of fun.  Stated hotel preference from our booking agent is the Hyatt Regency, and they want parents to book in the same block as their band so that bit will be taken care of for us, all we have to book are the flights.

But one thing that is confusing to me-- according to the itinerary, we're not traveling from Austin to Indianapolis until Thursday 11/14 and wouldn't be available to perform until Friday 11/15.  But last year I thought prelims were on Thursday.  So I'm not sure how that's supposed to work...

[J-Mike16]

34 minutes ago, utee94 said:

OK so we had our big booster club meeting tonight, and it sounds like BOA centrally controls the booking of hotels for each band, with allowance for stated preferences.  I thought @LeanderMomma would be happy to hear that Leander and CP are using the same booking company and will be effectively traveling as one big happy family.  We know several families in the Leander band so that should be a lot of fun.  Stated hotel preference from our booking agent is the Hyatt Regency, and they want parents to book in the same block as their band so that bit will be taken care of for us, all we have to book are the flights.

But one thing that is confusing to me-- according to the itinerary, we're not traveling from Austin to Indianapolis until Thursday 11/14 and wouldn't be available to perform until Friday 11/15.  But last year I thought prelims were on Thursday.  So I'm not sure how that's supposed to work...

Prelims is on Thursday and Friday with Semi's starting at like 6 or 7am on Saturday with Finals that night.

[LeanderMomma]

3 hours ago, utee94 said:

OK so we had our big booster club meeting tonight, and it sounds like BOA centrally controls the booking of hotels for each band, with allowance for stated preferences.  I thought @LeanderMomma would be happy to hear that Leander and CP are using the same booking company and will be effectively traveling as one big happy family.  We know several families in the Leander band so that should be a lot of fun.  Stated hotel preference from our booking agent is the Hyatt Regency, and they want parents to book in the same block as their band so that bit will be taken care of for us, all we have to book are the flights.

But one thing that is confusing to me-- according to the itinerary, we're not traveling from Austin to Indianapolis until Thursday 11/14 and wouldn't be available to perform until Friday 11/15.  But last year I thought prelims were on Thursday.  So I'm not sure how that's supposed to work...

Prelims begin on Thursday morning and go through Friday evening. Texas bands usually get Friday performance times since they’re coming from so far away unless they sign up really late or request a Thursday slot. 

[BDC]

On 1/23/2024 at 9:15 PM, utee94 said:

OK so we had our big booster club meeting tonight, and it sounds like BOA centrally controls the booking of hotels for each band, with allowance for stated preferences.  I thought @LeanderMomma would be happy to hear that Leander and CP are using the same booking company and will be effectively traveling as one big happy family.  We know several families in the Leander band so that should be a lot of fun.  Stated hotel preference from our booking agent is the Hyatt Regency, and they want parents to book in the same block as their band so that bit will be taken care of for us, all we have to book are the flights.

But one thing that is confusing to me-- according to the itinerary, we're not traveling from Austin to Indianapolis until Thursday 11/14 and wouldn't be available to perform until Friday 11/15.  But last year I thought prelims were on Thursday.  So I'm not sure how that's supposed to work...

I was REALLY hoping for a Wednesday departure, but it looks like it's Thursday.  I know it's easier on our pocketbooks, but not sure it's easier on us as a whole.  Going to be a whirlwind of a time for us though! 

[LeanderMomma]

15 hours ago, BDC said:

I was REALLY hoping for a Wednesday departure, but it looks like it's Thursday.  I know it's easier on our pocketbooks, but not sure it's easier on us as a whole.  Going to be a whirlwind of a time for us though! 

I remember in 2016 those poor Leander kids rode the bus straight from UIL state on Wednesday afternoon back to the Austin airport and literally flew overnight to Indy. It was definitely a whirlwind and a lot of the kids were dealing with injuries by that point, but they had a blast!  I’m hopeful they will be a little more rested this time. 🥴😊

[BDC]

1 hour ago, LeanderMomma said:

I remember in 2016 those poor Leander kids rode the bus straight from UIL state on Wednesday afternoon back to the Austin airport and literally flew overnight to Indy. It was definitely a whirlwind and a lot of the kids were dealing with injuries by that point, but they had a blast!  I’m hopeful they will be a little more rested this time. 🥴😊

Well, at least that isn't the case this time since state is the week before, but I also heard that in 2019, they went straight from GN finals to the airport and basically slept there on the floor waiting on their early morning flights home and that was absolutely miserable. I know this year, we are getting to go back to the hotel after awards and then flying out during the day on Sunday. I really wish we were leaving Wednesday night, but I'm sure it will all work out while also saving some money.  

[utee94]

1 hour ago, LeanderMomma said:

I remember in 2016 those poor Leander kids rode the bus straight from UIL state on Wednesday afternoon back to the Austin airport and literally flew overnight to Indy. It was definitely a whirlwind and a lot of the kids were dealing with injuries by that point, but they had a blast!  I’m hopeful they will be a little more rested this time. 🥴😊

I haven't noticed injuries as too much of a problem so far, but my goodness, the sickness!  I'm only two years in,  so can't speak from TOO much experience, but in both years so far, pretty much the entire CP band has caught the flu, COVID, or just the general creeping crud, during those first couple weeks of November.  This past year, by the time we got to State Finals, probably half the band was marching with the flu. My daughter missed the rest of school all week long.  And I heard (probably on this forum) that the same thing happened to Leander.  

Marching band just requires so much energy, even the healthiest kids are just totally worn out by that time.  I'm a little worried that packing UIL State, BOA-SA, and BOA-GN into a 2-week span, is going to make it even worse this year.  I obviously hope not!

 

 

[BDC]

4 minutes ago, utee94 said:

I haven't noticed injuries as too much of a problem so far, but my goodness, the sickness!  I'm only two years in,  so can't speak from TOO much experience, but in both years so far, pretty much the entire CP band has caught the flu, COVID, or just the general creeping crud, during those first couple weeks of November.  This past year, by the time we got to State Finals, probably half the band was marching with the flu. My daughter missed the rest of school all week long.  And I heard (probably on this forum) that the same thing happened to Leander.  

Marching band just requires so much energy, even the healthiest kids are just totally worn out by that time.  I'm a little worried that packing UIL State, BOA-SA, and BOA-GN into a 2-week span, is going to make it even worse this year.  I obviously hope not!

 

 

You aren't lying!  Yes, most of Leander had all the sickness at state, especially state finals! Even our tubabone soloist played with 103 fever.  Their dedication is unwavering! A bunch of them did, however, miss the rest of the week from school.  This is another reason I'm worried about leaving on Thursday - I was hoping they could get there and chill on Thursday, maybe have a rehearsal, and be rested.  

[utee94]

3 minutes ago, BDC said:

You aren't lying!  Yes, most of Leander had all the sickness at state, especially state finals! Even our tubabone soloist played with 103 fever.  Their dedication is unwavering! A bunch of them did, however, miss the rest of the week from school.  This is another reason I'm worried about leaving on Thursday - I was hoping they could get there and chill on Thursday, maybe have a rehearsal, and be rested.  

That tubabone solo was so great!  I really loved hearing it, every time CP performed with Leander!  Really enjoyed your whole show of course.

And I'm already unreasonably excited about next year, too, it's going to be a lot of fun to see what the LISD bands come up with, along with everyone else around the state and country.  The kids are begging the directors to pull-in the Show Reveal, it didn't happen until May 8th last year and I don't think anyone can stand to wait that long this time.

 

[BDC]

1 hour ago, utee94 said:

That tubabone solo was so great!  I really loved hearing it, every time CP performed with Leander!  Really enjoyed your whole show of course.

And I'm already unreasonably excited about next year, too, it's going to be a lot of fun to see what the LISD bands come up with, along with everyone else around the state and country.  The kids are begging the directors to pull-in the Show Reveal, it didn't happen until May 8th last year and I don't think anyone can stand to wait that long this time.

 

HA unreasonably excited is the perfect way to describe how we feel! My daughter is a junior this year and a drum major. I couldn't ask for a better way for her to finish her senior marching season than competing at Grand Nats. I can't wait to find out about the shows either.  You know we will both pull out all the stops and it will be fantastic!  Feel free to reach out through private message if you want to chat about it!