Our WWE Royal Rumble 2025 Experience in Indianapolis

 

Last year, my boys and I finally got to check a HUGE item off our bucket list: we went to WWE Royal Rumble 2025 in Indianapolis.

We had wanted to go to a Royal Rumble for years, so when we finally got the chance, there was absolutely no way we were missing it. We drove up from Central Kentucky, stayed downtown in Indianapolis, and spent the weekend doing something all three of us had talked about forever.

This isn't really a review of the actual Royal Rumble matches—there are approximately nine million wrestling websites better qualified for that. 😂 This is about our trip: getting to Indianapolis, where we stayed, what it was like going to the event, and whether I'd do a Royal Rumble weekend again with my boys.

Spoiler: absolutely. 

Driving From Kentucky to Indianapolis

Coming from Central Kentucky, Indianapolis really wasn't a bad trip at all. I HATE driving on the interstate, so naturally I turned what could have been a faster drive into about a four-and-a-half-hour back-road adventure. 😂

We left ridiculously early Saturday morning—around 4 a.m.—and honestly, I loved the drive. The roads were basically empty, we passed through a bunch of cute little towns, and it made the drive feel like part of the trip instead of something we just had to get through.

If you're coming from Kentucky and you're like me and would rather drive through seventeen tiny towns than merge onto an interstate, the back-road route to Indy is actually pretty enjoyable.

Driving Into Downtown Indianapolis

The part I was actually the most nervous about wasn't the four-and-a-half-hour drive—it was driving into downtown Indianapolis. I am NOT a big-city driver. 😂 I had completely worked myself up beforehand, convinced that getting to our hotel was going to be some kind of terrifying six-lane nightmare.

It ended up being so much easier than I expected. As we got closer to Indianapolis, I was surprised by how spread out everything felt, with different pockets of hotels, restaurants, and shopping outside of downtown.

Once we actually reached downtown, getting to our hotel was pretty straightforward. It was basically a straight shot in, and our hotel was only a couple of blocks into the downtown area.

So if you're planning a trip to Indianapolis and big-city driving makes you nervous too, downtown Indy was much less intimidating than I had built it up to be in my head.

Where We Stayed in Indianapolis

We stayed at the Hilton Indianapolis Downtown, and the location worked really well for our Royal Rumble weekend. We got into Indianapolis around 9:30 a.m., which was WAY earlier than our 4 p.m. check-in time.

Since I wasn't sure whether we'd be able to check in early, I tried to have a parking plan before we ever got there. I used SpotHero to reserve a parking space in the same garage connected to our hotel. That way, even if our room wasn't ready, we could park the car and start our day without driving around downtown trying to figure out where the hell to leave it. 😂

That little bit of planning made arriving downtown much less stressful, especially since I had already spent the previous several days convincing myself that driving in Indianapolis was going to be terrifying.

Going to WWE Royal Rumble 2025

The whole reason for this trip, of course, was WWE Royal Rumble 2025—and by the time we were heading to the event, the boys and I were ridiculously excited.

There's just something completely different about seeing a WWE event in person, especially one as big as the Royal Rumble. Walking into the stadium and seeing everything set up for an event we'd watched on TV for years was one of those holy crap, we're actually here moments.

Once the show started, the atmosphere was insane. The entrances, everyone counting down together before each new Royal Rumble entrant, the surprise appearances, and thousands of wrestling fans reacting at the same time just can't really be recreated watching it at home.

And for me, the best part wasn't even one particular match or wrestler. It was getting to experience the whole thing with my boys after we'd talked about going to a Royal Rumble for YEARS.

By the time it was over, we were exhausted, our voices were shot, and I was completely convinced that going to a major WWE event had been worth the trip.

Royal Rumble weekend with my boys? Absolutely a bucket-list experience—and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Would We Go to Another WWE Royal Rumble?

In a heartbeat. 😂

Royal Rumble 2025 ended up being so much more than just going to a wrestling show. It was the ridiculously early drive, staying downtown in Indianapolis, seeing the city for the first time, being surrounded by thousands of other wrestling fans, and finally getting to experience something the boys and I had talked about doing for years.

If you're thinking about traveling to a Royal Rumble or another major WWE event with your family, I'd absolutely recommend making a whole trip out of it instead of treating it like you're just going to a show. Book somewhere convenient, figure out your parking ahead of time, give yourself plenty of time on event day, and enjoy the whole experience.

The boys are obviously a lot older now than they were during the early days of Flip Out Mama, so getting to make memories like this with them feels a little different these days. And I'm really glad this is one we got to check off the bucket list together.

Now the only problem is that we've done it once...which means we're definitely going to want to do it again. 😂