How To Get In and Out of Tampa Bay Air Fest in 1 Hour or Less
Getting in and out of the parking lots at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa on Air Fest day can be a nightmare. But I took a tip from a listener a couple years ago and was in and out of Tampa Bay Air Fest in MINUTES instead of hours. I didn’t get special treatment because I was a guy on the radio. I didn’t bribe someone or buy some VIP ticket with a secret entrance. Anyone can do this. It was free and so easy to do. It blew my mind that so few do it.
Tampa Bay Air Fest is coming up Friday and Saturday March 29th and March 30th. This year there will be a civilian flight performance featuring the United States Air Force Thunderbirds. The good part is the event is 100% free. The bad part is the obvious. MacDill wasn’t designed to have thousands of visitors. So getting in and out of Air Fest can take hours.
Before Air Fest
Gates open at 8am so the usual advice is to get your crew up super early. Once the parking lots fill up, they don’t let anyone else on the base. The night before, you should pack sunscreen, sunglasses, hearing protection, hats and a big water bottle. Be sure to wear comfortable sneakers too because if you don’t take my advice I’m about to give you, you’re going to be doing a LOT of walking from your far away parking spot to the main gate. Not me. I’ve got a parking spot just a few feet from the entrance. But more on that in a moment.
MacDill also suggests you bring stuff for the kids to do because there’s all that time spent in the car. Pack some games, a book or an iPad for them to play with. Kids aren’t known for their patience. But do you really need to get stuck in your car for hours? No. You don’t.
How to get in and out of Air Fest in 1 Hour or Less
You’ve waited long enough. The brilliant piece of advice a listener gave me was the game changer. Ride a bicycle into Air Fest. Breeze by the thousands of cars stuck in traffic and get the absolute best parking space in the lot… right next to the entrance. You won’t have to wake up early. You won’t even have to get there when gates open at 8am. Instead, drive to a nearby park – there are a dozen within a mile or two from MacDill. Park your car and just ride your bikes into the MacDill Avenue gate. Try not to laugh too hard at the poor people stuck in traffic as you pass them. It’s rude.
Getting in and out of Air Fest Fast
You’ll find bike racks right near the main entrance so bring a bike lock. Then just stroll in casually and pretend you’ve been stuck in traffic for hours too. While others will want to leave a little early and miss the best parts of the Thunderbirds performance so they can’t beat some traffic out, you can enjoy the whole show. Just like on the way in, you’ll ride right by all the cars stuck in traffic waiting to get out.
I went to my first Air Fest in 2022 when the Blue Angels were in town. After the big finale, from the time the show ended at MacDill, it was about an hour when we got back to Pinellas. An hour!
10 Pro Tips if You're Going To Tampa Bay AirFest
