I am going to chime in as an enthusiast that has lived in Royal Oak for 14 years and has been to every Dream Cruise prior to living in the heart of the beast.
- You will not find a random spot on Woodward Saturday morning as most are claimed and pay to park.
- As you are already doing, for a group you need to find parking before the event.
- After about 10:00AM on Saturday traffic between 12 and 14 mile is pretty much a crawl. By late afternoon Woodward from Maple (aka 15) to 11 mile is crawling. It can be hour (s)+ to get a mile or two.
- If you want to actually cruise, the week leading up to the cruise is the best time. It is still very busy and Woodward is are lined with people, but it is not official cruise time.
- Most car clubs use a night during the week to make their "run" up or down Woodward....The Corvette club is usually the largest and most impressive on I believe Wednesday night before the cruise.
- The week leading up to the cruise is heavily policed in all communities along the Woodward corridor. Most tickets are for careless.
Feel free to ask any general questions about the cruise or the area and I will try to keep and eye on this thread.
-Matt