Grand Entrances (or) How I Got to the Prom

I drove my own car to the prom, but it’s been so long I don’t remember if I bothered to wash it. In this century, high school students want to make the ride to the prom something they -and their friends- will always remember.

Parade Float

(image credit: World’s Best Prom)
12 promgoers in Racine, Wisconsin rode on a homemade parade float to the Park High School prom in 2004. The float was built onto a flatbed trailer, highlighted by 1,500 twinkling lights powered by a generator. The teens and their families designed, built, and painted the float.

Horse-Drawn Carriage

It’s hard to beat a romantic leisurely ride behind horses. Bee Tree Trail Horse and Wagon Tours transports students to proms in horse-drawn wagons in Pennsylvania. This picture from their website is of a 2007 prom in Fogelsburg, Pennsylvania.

Armored Military Vehicle

A group of year 11 students from Abbey College in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, arranged to ride to their prom in an armored vehicle from Commando Elite Paintball Games of Monkswood.

“The journey was really exciting with all of us allowed to take turns in the two gun turrets of the vehicle. Inside it was more comfortable than we had imagined. We certainly got plenty of attention en route and when we arrived at the hall.”

Tank

Gary called Tank Limo to hire a tank for his son and his friends to ride to the prom in Dorset, England.

Fire Truck

(image credit: LT MA Byard)
Firefighter Mike Shultz and his date Amy Cochran traveled to the North High prom in 2006 aboard a Long Meadow (Maryland) Volunteer Fire Department truck, chauffeured by Deputy Chief Eckstine (scroll down to the bottom of the linked page for the story). Yes, it helps if you or your date is a firefighter! But there are commercial fire trucks you can rent. Renting a fire truck is easy in Britain, with many resources like Casey’s Cars, where you can rent a red or pink fire truck as well as an ambulance. There are a few rentals available in the US, such a Hire a Fire Truck.

Helicopter

(image credit: George Austin)
Nikki Kennedy was delivered to the Muhlenberg South (Kentucky) High School prom in 2006 in a helicopter! But you won’t want to earn the ride the same way she did. In 2005, Nikki was seriously injured in a traffic accident that left her in a coma for two weeks. She was pronounced dead at the scene, but recovered and finished her senior year as a homebound student. The Air Evac Lifeteam later voted her as a “miracle patient” and awarded her a ride to the prom in the air ambulance.

Heavy Equipment

MacKenzie Stevens and Cally Hardy from Moncton, New Brunswick went to the 2007 JMA Armstrong High School prom in the bucket of a front-end loader!

Movie and TV Vehicles

You can rent a limo, or a bus, or a hearse, but if you really want to make an impressive entrance at your prom, you can rent a replica of a famous vehicle from TV or the movies. If you live in the UK, there are quite a few places you can hire such vehicles. We’ve featured the A-Team Van on Neatorama before. Star Car Hire in Britain has replicas of the General Lee from The Dukes of Hazzard, the Delorean from Back to the Future, James Bond cars, and more movie and TV cars available for your prom. If you want a particular movie car in the United States, check out Star Car Central, a database for movie and TV cars. These are privately owned, and only a few are available for hire. Some that are (if you are in the right area) include the ‘66 Batmobile, the Mad Max Interceptor, and the Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine. If you do, please send us a picture!