A few first timer questions…
We are taking my dad to the Indy 500 this year as a bucket list trip, as he has always wanted to go. We are coming from Wisconsin and have never even been to Indianapolis, let alone IMS, so we have some logistics questions…
I dropped the ball on getting shuttle tickets before they sold out, so we will be doing rideshare. Our hotel is near the airport and we already have an uber reserved for 6am. I’m not worried about getting there but I am concerned about getting back. I know there is one specific area that Ubers can pick up at and know there will obviously be major surge pricing and long waits. I will probably try to reserve one ahead of time, but I have read lots of posts of people doing that and then still getting cancelled. First question is if I do reserve one from IMS to our hotel ahead of time, what time would you reserve it for? We want to see the end of the race and we are in Stand H, which I understand to be about half an hour walk from the rideshare spot. Follow up question is - would we be better off walking to a bar or restaurant nearby and waiting a bit and getting an uber from there? Google Maps makes it seem like there are a lot of bars nearby, but I’m not sure if the streets are blocked off/one way near them too. If you were to go to a bar nearby, which one would you go to that’s within a mile walk?
Next - how are the seats in Stand H as far as comfort goes? Are they just bleacher seats or do they have backrests too? Would you recommend we bring a cushion seat for my dad (he’s 64).
Finally - is there a lot to do and see at the speedway beforehand if you don’t but extra passes to anything? We’ll be getting there plenty early and have a decent walk to our seats, but I wasn’t sure if there will be activities or entertainment going on before the race that is free to watch without buying an extra pass to anything.
Thanks in advance for your help!!