Ready, set... shop!

The best thing about Black Friday is shopping! The worst thing? Trying to find parking. Bargain hunters, it's time to plan ahead and spend less time in your car, and more time planning what deals you'll be hitting up first.

I've done a little research for you and below are the best tips I could find.

Happy shopping!
Jenni

GENERAL TIPS:

Don’t always try to find the parking spot closest to the door. Most people circle and circle looking for a spot close to the entrance creating a traffic mess, it is often times faster to park a little farther away and walk the extra distance.

SOUTHHILL MALL:

Trying to get into South Hill Mall on Black Friday can be challenging. If you are headed east on highway 512. Follow the signs and take the 9th Street – 94th Ave. East exit. If it’s backed up onto the highway (which can happen) just take the next exit toward Eatonville and Route 161 South. This exit puts you right out onto Meridian. Keep right and the shopping center is in sight! Turn right into the center for parking nearest to Target.

The best place to park is near Sears and enter between Macy’s and Sears for quickest entry. Or park near the future home of JCPenney’s facing Meridian (enter through the Old Country Buffet doors).

A secret entrance that may work well is to enter the mall behind the Regal Movie theaters, or through the Movie Theater via the food court. That way you can pick up a cup of coffee as you shop. If you're there early, you’ll probably need it.

Finally, here are some deals you may want to check out: - Free Gemstones from South Hill Mall and Zales (a limited number so get there early) - Free Disney Mickey Mouse Snow Globes from JCPenney (includes a $10 coupon too) - An MP3 Player from Old Navy

WESTFIELD SOUTHCENTER:

When traffic is heavy, try and avoid the main roadways and entrances. Some alternative options are: - Use one of the two entrances on Strander Blvd. on the south side of the shopping center - Use one of the three entrances on Andover Parkway on the east side of the shopping center - Use West Valley Highway on the east side of the shopping center as alternative to I-5

Arrive early. Early arrival is always a good policy and in this case Westfield Southcenter opens the doors to the shopping center at 3:30am, that's before most stores are even open. This way if you arrive early you can wait inside out of the cold wet, weather. Then when you finish shopping your car is in a close spot to carry your bags to.

Parking throughout the lots at Westfield Southcenter is free; including the two covered parking structures. So if you want to park in covered lot to avoid the weather, go to the south side of the shopping center where the covered lots are located.

A secret tip for you is to cross over from the covered parking structure and park on the 3rd level roof top lot above the AMC Theatre.

DOWNTOWN SEATTLE:

There are more than 62,000 parking spaces downtown. The top two cheapest parking garages are Pacific Place ($2 per hour) and the Washington State Convention Center ($4 per hour). The rates of these and other parking areas are listed on this site.

Another option is to leave the car keys at home and take the bus. There are great tools on Metro Transit's web site for planning your trip and finding out when the next bus will arrive.

My secret parking tip would be to park near the Seattle Space Needle and catch the monorail. You can leave your packages that are too big to carry at the conceirge desk (Nordtrom, Macy's and Westlake all have a desk). Drive back to pick them up or wait until a less busy time to collect them. These stores also offer free delivery in the downtown area. That means they could deliver them to your car!

VIEWER TIPS:

Do you have a secret parking tip? E-mail me at jhogan@kirotv.com and we'll share your tip with other.

Dave from Tacoma says -
"The Tacoma Mall lot is always really full. I suggest going straight for the spots kind of far from the stores, you can park quicker then walk off the holiday eating binges!"

Chad from Bellevue says -
"Avoid N.E. 8th Street at Bellevue Mall. 8th is always way jammed up and you always have to stop at every single light. I find it best to either take 520 West and jump on Bellevue Way or get off on the N.E. 4th Street exit and get to the mall from streets other than N.E. 8th. Plus to save money, park in one of the several Bellevue Square lots instead of Lincoln Square since Lincoln Square is now charging for parking during the day. They do validate for movies and such though."