OT: Need Advice Re: Fenway Next Weekend | The Boneyard

OT: Need Advice Re: Fenway Next Weekend

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ChicagoGG

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Hope some fellow 'Yarders will help me out. We are meeting family from Chicago in Boston next weekend, including 8 year-old great nephew. Going to the Sox/Rays game on Saturday night. Any advice on 'must see' at Fenway, good ballpark eats, or tips on what to do/not do at the game?

The family regularly goes to Wrigley to see the Cubs, and this is part of the "see America's great ballparks tour" for the young'un. Glad they decided to come for the 100th anniversary of Fenway.

It has been 20 years since my last trip to Fenway, so all advice is welcome.

Thanks!
 
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My experience:
Good ballpark eats - your kidding of course; the food on Yawkey Way before the game is a little better and I like the crowd, gets you a great fan experience. Besides you can get your picture taken with a really tall guy.

Inside the park - mostly locked out of the best places unless you have a ticket (Wall seats, Budweiser Pavillion ). To get a feel of the park, go to the walkway behind the last row of grandstand seats - you can walk a fair distance around the park there.

Todo - The tour of Fenway (not as great as it as it was, some time ago you could actually go into the scoreboard and look out at the field. The signatures in there made the hair on my head stand up - the smell of what Manny left in there not so great) is still at lot of fun - Wall seats and Pavillion are included. They stop three hours before the game start - tours@redsox.com - 617-226-6666 for info.


Hope some fellow 'Yarders will help me out. We are meeting family from Chicago in Boston next weekend, including 8 year-old great nephew. Going to the Sox/Rays game on Saturday night. Any advice on 'must see' at Fenway, good ballpark eats, or tips on what to do/not do at the game?

The family regularly goes to Wrigley to see the Cubs, and this is part of the "see America's great ballparks tour" for the young'un. Glad they decided to come for the 100th anniversary of Fenway.

It has been 20 years since my last trip to Fenway, so all advice is welcome.

Thanks!
 

Waquoit

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Just know that you are going to get raped for parking. Have a plan in advance. Maybe take the T. But I found that to be a very long ride as a kid.
 
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Park at the Prudential Center. It's about a 1/2 mile walk through the Back Bay so they will see some of Boston. It's $16 with your ticket stub. There are also some nice restaurants in that area if you want to eat a good meal before or after the game. You could also eat virtually anywhere downtown and take the T to get to the park. As for ballpark eats, I usually buy sausage and peppers from one of the street vendors as I hate being ripped off by ballpark prices. UBurger in Kenmore Square (sort of a Five Guys type place with a local flavor and very good milkshakes) is also very good if you want to keep costs down. If you do insist on eating ballpark food the "Great Concourse" or whatever they call it these days in the right field corner (they pushed through into an adjacent building so it's one of the few areas underneath the park that is not incredibly cramped) has a decent assortment but, as always, it will be extremely expensive.

If you want to experience the Green Monster purchase a couple of Red Sox Nation memberships for $15 each. Each membership gets you a 2 for 1 discount on the ballpark tour. It also gets you early admission for 2 to the park with access to the Green Monster seats for batting practice. You won't get the membership card in time but according to the rules on the Red Sox site a print-out of the purchase confirmation will do (at least it says so for the BP admission but I assume for the tour as well). As an added benefit it also gets you MLB Audio so you can listen to any MLB game on your computer.
 
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CHI - There is helpful and good advice here already. I would just add to try to GET GOOD SEATS, if you don't already have them. Can be tough to do. Some of the nosebleed seats way down the lines can be pretty lousy and, on a hot humid night, brutal for old folks when sitting up under the overhangs.

If you do end up sitting up in there, and it is such a night, they do set up fans in the walkways down under the stands, and those do provide some relief.

For a one shot deal, no matter where you sit, it is something you and the kid will always remember (When I was just starting my career, I used to live in a place on the Charles across from the MIT dome, from which I could see the famous Citgo sign from the bedrooms.) Try to fit in a meal in Boston's North End (Italian section).
 
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Hope some fellow 'Yarders will help me out. We are meeting family from Chicago in Boston next weekend, including 8 year-old great nephew. Going to the Sox/Rays game on Saturday night. Any advice on 'must see' at Fenway, good ballpark eats, or tips on what to do/not do at the game?

The family regularly goes to Wrigley to see the Cubs, and this is part of the "see America's great ballparks tour" for the young'un. Glad they decided to come for the 100th anniversary of Fenway.

It has been 20 years since my last trip to Fenway, so all advice is welcome.

Thanks!
 
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CHI - PS..........try to spend some time with the street musicians, especially the drummers......very memorable.
 

ChicagoGG

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Many thanks, Mike, Waquoit, Kibbles and Win!

We are staying near the Pru, so are planning on walking - just under a mile, I am told. We are trying to do the Fenway tour, and possibly the BP. As for seats, my sister-in-law bought them, so I will not know till I get there, but I live in hope for good sight lines! Thanks also for all the tips on food, the park, and the entertainment outside. You folks are the best!

Thanks again from ChicagoGG!
 
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Do it right, drive to The Bronx and take in a Yankee game at the THE STADIUM!! Forget Boston.
 
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If you are staying near the Pru then I have a few additional recommendations. Take a walk down Boylston Street to the Common and the Public Garden. Take a ride on the Swan Boats and then head over to Fire and Ice on nearby Berkeley Street to eat. You gather all your ingredients (meat, fish, pasta, vegetables, etc.) in a bowl, choose a sauce (watch for the "fire ratings" to see how hot it is), and then take it to a giant grill in the center where they cook it for you. It's kind of like a grilled stir fry and the food is delicious. My kids love it - we were just there again on Sunday - and I'd recommend it highly. It can get crowded so going a little early or late is advisable.

If you are staying more than one day there is also a really fun comedy, murder mystery called Shear Madness that plays in the tiny basement theater of the Charles Playhouse (near the Common in the Theatre District). It's been there for more than 30 years and is a bit of a Boston institution. I won't give away the secrets, but suffice it to say there is some audience interaction and every family member we've taken has loved it. It includes everything from political comedy to slapstick so there is something for all ages. AAA members get a 25% discount. The Blue Man Group also plays in the theater upstairs so that is another option.

Lastly, since you'll be in the Prudential Center area, if you want kind of a casual dining place that is OK for all ages, there's a restaurant across the street from the Sheraton and Hines Convention Center on Dalton Street called Summer Shack (there are a few of them including at one of the casinos here in CT). In a city of fine seafood restaurants there are certainly better and more upscale options, but if you want a place that is convenient to your hotel, not too expensive and comfortable it is a good choice. Last year we parked at the Pru for a game, walked across the street to eat at this restaurant and then walked off our meal for 10-15 minutes on the way to Fenway.
 

ChicagoGG

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Kibblesnbits - Thanks so much for the extra info. We are planning to go to the Summer Shack for dinner on Friday night. And Fire & Ice sounds very cool!
When we are over Public Garden way (I confess, I must have another Swan Boat ride - it's been years), we will stop there.

I know the young 'un wants to do quite a bit of the Freedom Trail. I am thinking of sending them over to the Constitution first thing in the morning on Saturday, as I bet the lines there are crazy on the weekends.

I had to break it to my sister-in-law that Filene's, Jordan Marsh and the Basement were no longer. She is crushed that she can't get a Jordan's blueberry muffin. Ah, well. She can take in Nordstrom's and the Pru.

The niece wants to do Fanueil Hall - meaning the shopping! I have not been there in some years. It seems to have cycles of good and bad years, hope this one is good....

Thank you so much for taking the time to make those great suggestions!

We are off to Boston in the morning!
 
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