Where to go before ULL game (with family)?

[J-Eye40]

My wife and I and our 3 kids (6 & 8 year old boys and 3 year old daughter) are heading to The Swamp for the homecoming game vs ULL and I was wondering which of these 3 pre-game activities would be best for the group:

1) Gator Walk
2) Gator FanFest
3) Homecoming and alumni BBQ.

I am looking for some advice and I appreciate any and all help.

We live in Ohio and it is our first time as a family to see the Gators at The Swamp.

Thanks!

[O&BGator]

Leonardo's pizza (by the slice or entire pan)
Listen to the band while they are entering the stadium by the Gator t shirt Store area (I think that's where they enter)

[law98gator]

There was a thread last week asking the same stuff. None of those answers change, IMO, just because you have your family with you, although there may be some extra places to see because it's homecoming.

Will you be in town for Gatorgrowl?

Most of the not "family friendly" places become so as it gets later and there is more of a party crowd.

[cuuf]

since your looking at a 12:20 kick-off, I would probably take in the gator walk at 10, good crowd, atmosphere, always neat to see the police escort, buses and players unload, depending upon your kids age, it is pretty neat.
From there I might head over to the Copper Monkey. Close enough to the mayhem and crowd to get that energy from tailgating, but family friendly enough and not as crazy as the swamp restaurant.
Head to the game after a monkey burger. And after, walk up stadium drive towards turlington and the quad to get a good look at the campus. Head over to Pizza by the slice or burrito brothers to cap off the afternoon. Should be good outdoor weather too.

[SavannahGator]

My wife and I and our 3 kids (6 & 8 year old boys and 3 year old daughter) are heading to The Swamp for the homecoming game vs ULL and I was wondering which of these 3 pre-game activities would be best for the group:

1) Gator Walk
2) Gator FanFest
3) Homecoming and alumni BBQ.

I am looking for some advice and I appreciate any and all help.

We live in Ohio and it is our first time as a family to see the Gators at The Swamp.

Thanks!

You have young kids. Forget the Copper Monkey (at least before the game), because your young kids are not going to want to wait for a table, and they are going to want to see things like Albert and Alberta, and all the other festivities (face painting for the kids, all of those other rah-rah things) in the Homecoming BBQ in the O'Dome. The BBQ is "family friendly", and is meant for young kids.

The other alternative would be the Gator Nation Tailgate at Emerson Alumni Hall, across W University, opposite the stadium, but you need to go to the UFAA website, http://www.ufalumni.ufl.edu/events/gatornationtailgates/ I think kids are free, but I'm not sure. UFAA members are free, but adults who aren't members are $25 per. And food is extra.

If you intend to go to the Homecoming and Alumni BBQ, have you ordered tix online? I don't think you can pay at the door. Here is the link from the UF Alumni Association to buy them online
http://ufalumnibbq2012.eventbrite.com/# And you don't have to worry about the tix being mailed to you, you pick them up at Gate 2 of the O'Connell Center. It begins 2.5 hrs before kickoff at 12:21, so you won't miss the Gator Walk.

One HUGE advantage of the BBQ is that since you have kids, it is inside the O'Connell Center, so your kids won't get overheated before kickoff. Trust me, I was tailgating in the shade with frat brothers from days gone by before the game, but the noon start for Mizzou was too hot for November. The entire game was mostly in the sun. There was not a cloud in the sky, my phone said it was 80, but even with sunscreen, I'm kind of pink today.

[ShowMeLove]

Go to Cafe Risque two hours before gametime for the Tuna Walk. Fun for the whole family.

[cuuf]

I have to somewhat disagree, The Monkey isn't too bad to get a table, especially at 10:30-11am. Its about about as close to seeing the "crazy college kids" that you would want your kids to see. I have met many a frat brother and their kids there pre-game. But again, it depends on the age group of your kids and your feeling about this. The weather is forecasted right now to be a high of 75, so it really should be a beautiful day to get around campus.

My 2cents, since I am coming in from Ohio, and probably not going to have my family back on campus again for awhile, if ever (assuming here, you may come every week). I would want to expose my family as much as possible to all the game environment and campus experience that makes going to UF so special. Sitting in the O-dome making face puppets is not it. The fan fest is pretty neat, but it really is just alot of loud music with vendors repping themselves nothing unique from any other NFL/college game. I would rather just walk around the stadium, and campus hitting all the highlights.

[O&BGator]

Go to Cafe Risque two hours before gametime for the Tuna Walk. Fun for the whole family.

Try the red snapper

[Tunaboat]

Go to Cafe Risque two hours before gametime for the Tuna Walk. Fun for the whole family.

That's frickin' hilarious right there!

[Sasquatch Gator]

I know a place that has great ham sammiches.

[PowerGator79]

You might want to take the kids to Lake Alice around 9 a.m. to see live alligators. FYI: It's against the law to feed them.

After that, seeing the Gator walk two hours before game time is really cool and your kids would enjoy that.

Then you can get something to eat near the stadium or attend the BBQ at the O'Dome.

You might want to take your kids' pictures in front of the player statues by the stadium, and/or the mascot statues by the Alumni Hall. There are also alligator statues outside the north end and south ends of the stadium.

After the game you can enjoy a nice walk around campus.

Good luck and a have fun.

[SavannahGator]

I have to somewhat disagree, The Monkey isn't too bad to get a table, especially at 10:30-11am. Its about about as close to seeing the "crazy college kids" that you would want your kids to see. I have met many a frat brother and their kids there pre-game. But again, it depends on the age group of your kids and your feeling about this. The weather is forecasted right now to be a high of 75, so it really should be a beautiful day to get around campus.

My 2cents, since I am coming in from Ohio, and probably not going to have my family back on campus again for awhile, if ever (assuming here, you may come every week). I would want to expose my family as much as possible to all the game environment and campus experience that makes going to UF so special. Sitting in the O-dome making face puppets is not it. The fan fest is pretty neat, but it really is just alot of loud music with vendors repping themselves nothing unique from any other NFL/college game. I would rather just walk around the stadium, and campus hitting all the highlights.

The guy who posted has a family with kids 8, 6, and 3. The kind of stuff going on in the O'Dome is precisely what kids of that age would want to do. If the kids were older, or even teens, that's a different story. Having taken two boys to Gainesville for years, from when they were 6 until now that they're adults, I have tailored our pre-game activities to their ages. When they were young, it was stuff like the fan fest and the BBQ events. Of course, as they got older, those kind of events were not on our schedule. Yesterday my adult son and I were drinking bourbon with my frat brothers at a tailgate before the game.

It's just a matter of their ages. And kids that are 8, 6, and 3 aren't interested in sitting in a crowded restaurant watching ESPN GameDay on HD at 11 in the morning.

[Swamp82]

Go to Cafe Risque two hours before gametime for the Tuna Walk. Fun for the whole family.

No, no, no do not go to Cafe Risqué unless your wife like breast and J J's with with her club sammich, besides they wouldn't let the kids in. It's a nude restaurant/strip club just south of Gainesville in case you haven't guessed already.
I would go to the O Dome for the BBQ and kid friendly events.
I personally like Pizza by the Slice across from the Swamp on University Dr. It's a walk up pizza window NY style very good in my opinion, I dislike corporate pizza.

[Sasquatch Gator]

Go to Cafe Risque two hours before gametime for the Tuna Walk. Fun for the whole family.

No, no, no do not go to Cafe Risqué unless your wife like breast and J J's with with her club sammich, besides they wouldn't let the kids in. It's a nude restaurant/strip club just south of Gainesville in case you haven't guessed already.
I would go to the O Dome for the BBQ and kid friendly events.
I personally like Pizza by the Slice across from the Swamp on University Dr. It's a walk up pizza window NY style very good in my opinion, I dislike corporate pizza.

[Swamp Queen]

Go to Cafe Risque two hours before gametime for the Tuna Walk. Fun for the whole family.

No, no, no do not go to Cafe Risqué unless your wife like breast and J J's with with her club sammich, besides they wouldn't let the kids in. It's a nude restaurant/strip club just south of Gainesville in case you haven't guessed already.

[ufgator812.]

Go to Cafe Risque two hours before gametime for the Tuna Walk. Fun for the whole family.

Try the red snapper

Just don't rough it. They will throw a flag.

[J-Eye40]

Thanks a lot for the advice guys. I appreciate the help. Oh, and I appreciate the comedy too.

[Swamp82]

Good advice cost, the humor is always free but hard to tell its comedy sometimes. Lol
Enjoy the game, Go Gators

[WobbleGator]

Go to Cafe Risque two hours before gametime for the Tuna Walk. Fun for the whole family.

No, no, no do not go to Cafe Risqué unless your wife like breast and J J's with with her club sammich, besides they wouldn't let the kids in. It's a nude restaurant/strip club just south of Gainesville in case you haven't guessed already.