COCOA BEACH, Fla. – The biggest Christmas party in Central Florida, and perhaps the entire world, returns Christmas Eve with a major crackdown on parking.
Cocoa Beach police are warning, if you’re coming to Surfing Santas on Wednesday morning, don’t park on residential streets or you could be ticketed or towed.
Mason Sapp, the executive director of the Florida Surf Museum, which Surfing Santas funds, said there’s going to be extra officers on patrol.
Downtown parking fills up early every year.
[WATCH: 2024 Surfing Santas in Cocoa Beach]
So, for the first time, Sapp said Surfing Santas will have a shuttle for anyone who parks at off-site parking lots at Fischer Park, Lori Wilson Park, Freedom 7 Elementary School, both Hilton hotels in Cocoa Beach, and Club Zion Church.
Sapp said some neighbors complained over the years about having their driveways blocked.
“It’s clear, it is a small beach town,” he said. “There’s not a lot of available parking.”
One of the closest neighborhoods to the event is Sunset Drive, where resident Doug Sonosky told Cocoa Beach Community Correspondent James Sparvero, parking has been a problem on Christmas Eve.
“Each year, progressively worse, more and more cars,” Sonosky said.
With warm weather forecasted for Wednesday, Sonosky said he thinks the crowd could be a record-breaker, and that makes him happy police aren’t allowing people to park on his street.
“I think it’s a good thing because they could block people in from getting out of their own homes, or if they’re parked on both sides, definitely would be rough for emergency vehicles,” he said.
A firefighter told Sparvero that last Christmas Eve, firefighters couldn’t get down a street because cars were blocking their truck.
The Surfing Santas website has parking information, along with information about free shuttles.