First Saturday of the Oktoberfest

So, I have some friends coming this year and was thinking about going on the first day with them. I haven't done this before, so what is the procedure? As far as I know, the main tent is the Schottenhamel and is where it all kicks off. How easy is it to get a non-reserved seat in there on the day? If I show up at 8am, should that be ok?

What about first beers? I hear that doesn't happen until about midday. When do you reckon it's likely that I'll get my first beer? What happens before 9am up until midday when it kicks off? Can you bring some food in?

Any other advice for the first day would be great.

Thanks

Advice from an amateur here but we have done it both ways:

1) 2005 - we went to Wiesn just before noon to see the parade etc. - this is a nice option because I enjoyed the whole festivities but we were meeting up with peeps in Fischer-Vroni and we only just got in at noon because we basically begged and said our friends were inside (which they were) but there were really no seats for us - that was just luck because all the other tents had huge queues - most stuff is already filled up by this point

2) Last year we went to Fischer-Vroni at about 9:30 a.m. and walked in without incident - but it picked up shortly after that and seats filled up - there were no seats left at noon when the beer was poured nor were they just letting people in. It can be fun with a good group of people - bring food to nibble, card games, etc. but you miss all the outside stuff and you are sitting for a long time.

So I think it depends on the people you are taking and what they like better, tradition or beer hehe.

In answer to some of the questions, no beer before noon, you can bring food in, most of the parade stuff is outside so you don't see much 'fest' by sitting in the tent (not sure about Schottenhamel though).

The one thing they did in Fischer-Vroni was have a countdown to the beer which was kind of fun.

My advice:

Do not try to get into the Schottenhamel on the first day without a reservation. Since it's the place where Oberbürgermeister Christian Ude taps the first barrel (O'zapft is!), a lot of dignitaries take up space.

I will be lining up for the Schützenfestzelt bright and early at 8am.

Forgot to add this:

Yes, it is not possible to get a Maß before 12pm. In fact, since the first Maß is poured at 12pm, you probably won't get yours until between 12.15 and 12.30, depending on the wait staff. In general, most tents do not allow you to bring your own alcohol, but bringing your own food is ok. To get around the alcohol problem, I usually bring some champagne cleverly disguised in an Apfelschorle container.

Hmm.. if I can't get in the Schottenhamel, then maybe I won't bother on this day.. anyone had any first hand experience with the Schottenhamel on this day?

IIRC we were in the Schottenhammel on the first day last year (for some reason my memory of this event is a little cloudy). It was probably a bit harder to get into than some of the other tents but not impossible.

I think we got there around 7:30

any bets on how many hits for Ude this year...will he do it in one?

Most likely, I will have friends visiting from out of town that weekend as well. I'm all about the first Sunday. I think that's when I'll do my all-day event.

Normally I do the first Sunday as well.. it's a good day, but I thought I might try something different this year.. but let's see what happens..

I think I'm going to the Wiesn every day this year. I'm so excited.

You may have to change your user name afterwards!

Lucky!!! I have never gotten a place in the Schottenhamel on the first day!! (Granted, I haven't tried in three or fours years...)

OOH! Just remembered this little tactic that my friends and I use on the first day:

You should have at least 10 people all looking for a table in the same tent, and all placed at different entrances. All doors don't open at the exact same time, and you improve your chances of getting a good table by covering as many entrances with as many people as possible.

Definitely a good tip about having friends waiting at each door. It really pisses me off how they open the doors at random intervals. You get there at 8am and stand by the main doors, only to end up getting in after a load of lucky bastards who have turned up on the spur of the moment and happened to be near a side door.

nope, we got into the Paulaner, and it was full around 9, and you cannot bring your own food into that one... but they did have softies and water to buy and food on special at 10.

i bet quite a few men had softies after 10 Maß or so.

For those of you effected, take a look in your spam folder and there are loads of adverts for viagra!

Oops sorry, my mistake. One too many beers for me.

I remember because of the Paulaner on the Maß glasses in the photos.

So everyone reckons it's a no-go for the Schottenhamel on the first day? Ganz-muenchen.de's page suggests that it might be possible, but seems a bit of a frenzy..

I would say it's a no go if you don't get there till 8am. Camp out in front of the tent, or get the first U-Bahn and join the queue at 5am, and you might stand a chance...

The best way to get into the Schottenhammel on the first day is to offer some money to the security man on the door (also other weekend days). Never try to get in through the front door.

I will try again this year, of course I wont pay for it.

Good luck!!!

I had fun last year on the first day, even if you do have to wait til noon for the first beer, but looks like this year my group of friends will be attending at the FischerVroni tent where I will not attend (fish smell makes me gag), so, if there is a group of people planning on another tent, let me know.

on the first day our flight doesn't arrive till 4pm, so will just enjoy atmosphere, however what time do you recommend we turn up on the Sunday morning??

thanks

Chockster

When the sun comes up, literally.

Me and five of my friends are going to Oktoberfest for the first time this year. We are getting there Friday night of opening weekend and will be attenting Oktoberfest that weekend and the next. I was hoping I could get a little advice on wheather we should try and get a seat in one of the tents the first Saturday morning or if it would be just as much fun to spend the day outside watching the parade and drinking in the beer gardens outside of each tent. Are seats easy to find outside of the tents on opening day and is the parade something you would recomend seeing? It sounds like if we watch the parade we will have absolutly no chance finding a seat in any of the tents, is that the case or are some of the less popular ones not as crowded? I was also wondering if they sold beer all around the fair grounds and not just at the tents, and if they do are they about the same size and price as the ones the tents offer? Im sorry about all of the questions, I tried to read through all of the posts but couldnt find all of the answers I was looking for. Its all coming up so fast I just want to make sure I get it right.

Well Flash, I will beat some others to the punch and let you know that the enter key is your friend : )Try and lay your posts out well and they will be received better ; )
But to help you out, I came with a friend in 2005, and went to the parades on opening day, did not know about Toytown so we were pretty much in the dark about how things went. We enjoyed the parade then rushed to get into a tent, we got to Hippodrome at about 11:30am and joined the mass of people at the doors trying to get in.
This lasted until about 12:30pm when the beer started pouring, and we realized that we could get beer at the tables outside the tent!
We grabbed a table and made some friends and had a blast. The weather was pretty shitty, so it probably wasn't as busy outside as it would be if the weather was nice.
But we drank and had a blast out there, and by about 6pm we wiggled our way into the tent and had a great evening.
Alot of the people in the tents on opening saturday get there very early ie:8am or so, and thus by 7pm they are getting pretty tired/drunk and a fair amount leave, or so it happened in 2005.
So basically, there is fun to be had outside the tents, and there is a decent chance of getting into the tent later in the day!
Hope you have a great O'fest! and the I helped ya a bit!

Thanks for the reply, it sounds like outside might be the way to go that day. The thought of getting up that early and waiting that long before I can have a beer sounds like a lot to deal with the morning after we get there.

Does anyone else have any advice or suggestions?

I'll be there Friday night. Have no plans for Saturday. I won't be waking up at standing in line at 5am. It goes against all beer drinkers morals. I would like to see the parade and all the pageantry, but in the end, I really don't care. As long as I'm a good host to my bro who is visiting from Seattle and he's happy, then I'm happy.

I actually can't wait but I'm not going to sweat it. I'll get in somewhere and have a great time!

It sounds to me the parade is a good thing to see.
Where does it start, go, end? What time?
Perhaps there is a schedule somewhere that I can babelfish.
Thanks TT for such an essential service. Kala

Forget getting into a tent if you go and see the parade. Maybe you'll get a seat in the beer garden if it's a crappy day, but that's about it.

Last year we went and watched the first half of the parade then left (looks the same after a while) and had no problems getting into a tent as it was practically empty at the fairground. (compared to when the parade is finished) I really think it all just depends on luck in a way as each year it can be different.

Virtually impossible - last year we turned up at just gone 8am and the tent was already 20 deep at all entrances, it was not possible to get within 10m of the tent for teenies all crammed together. IIRC they opened the doors something around 9am, closed them again at 9:02am when the tent was full after a shoving scrum that was ugly even by German standards, and almost nobody got in the rest of the day without a reservation.

Best tips to get in - get there as early as possible and scan all the tents. The tents do not open at the same time and do not fill up at the same rate, last year we were sitting in Ochsenbraterei having a nice breakfast (but no beer) while the teenies were still fighting outside across the road. Seeing what the weather is doing this year it's a bit of a risk to rely on the biergartens being open, and they will also fill to capacity fairly quickly. Generally the tents furthest away from Theresienwiese U-bahn, or those whose names are not recognised by tourists, fill up slowest. After 10am don't expect to find a free complete table anywhere...

Edit: A few years back we went at about 8pm and had no trouble finding places (in Winzerer Pfandl I think) and caught the tail end of the party, which was still highly amusing.

I think it's becoming increasingly likely that I will just go on the Sunday.. this seems like a lot of hassle, considering you can only start drinking at midday.. last year we organised something for the Sunday on here, and we had a good turn out.. might do the same again this time..

Forget about the first Saturday, but if you go on the first Sunday around 4.00pm when a lot of the clubs who took part in the Wies,n procession are breaking off for home it's always possible to get a seat