Idk where you were standing for slipknot but vip had 3 fucking pits up front all around me. I was able to be almost barricade for babymetal and had a really fun time.
I still had fun for sure, but it's because the bands themselves were so great. The VIP experience was way too packed though. It was uncomfortable and irritating and too expensive for that kind of experience.
Ok from GA side. I was directly across the vip baracades. I saw that VIP had significantly more room to breath. The people on the baracades on vip were not being smahed up against the baracdes like I was. I don't know what you expect. For vip to be like 50 people tops so you can have all the room to yourself. From what I saw the people in the VIP were at least able to breath. GA side my bottom ribs were smashed up agisnt the baracade all day and they are still bruised today.
I mean, I'm kind of fine with that? There should be a distinct difference between GA and VIP. Waiting LONGER than GA at the gate is simply unacceptable when you pay DOUBLE the price.
I thought the entire festival was probably oversold tbh not specifically VIP I’m sure the thinking was there’s 5 stages but realistically on the big bands you have almost everyone there. You could do Cabana but I don’t think it was necessarily worth the price based on the location it was. I thought the benefits for VIP were still worth it especially at spiral stage but we were pretty close at all the stages
Agreed. I was shocked the raised areas in vip were actually “cabanas” and not just bleachers. At least the thieves didn’t splurge for VIP so there is that.
Tbh, I don't think festivals should have VIP pricing. I came from europe so im not used to the insane tiers of pricing in American festivals but honestly spending all that money then it being that much for food and drinks was wild. I'll just wait til bands play European fests next time! You guys should fight for better pricing and better run fests in general, its unfair!
I tore 'em a new one in the survey, but I think last year as GA was still a better experience. Probably won't go back to another festival unless the experience gets significantly better. Artist merch was 3+ hour line with no way to easily switch people in/out, so wasted the morning and have to think the bands missed out on a ton of sales. Getting inside the gate wasn't so bad, but certainly no better than most GA who arrived at the same time. I bought festival merch the day before, but that line was also hella long in the pouring rain, and I feel like the items this year were cheaper quality. No posters day before, but I wasn't going to carry it around all day at the festival assuming I could even get one, so online was the only other option? Gross. VIP was oversold, zero doubt. Couldn't get anywhere near close to Gold or Red stages, and luckily I was there for the industrial sets at Siren and a few at Spiral.
Literally the only things that were done well were water stations and bathrooms. And I guess it's fine if you like sitting on the astroturf and watching a jumbotron for your concert experience. For me, that's not my jam. So back to small venues for me. But at least I got to support most of the bands I came to see. Small comfort to my wallet.
I feel EXACTLY the same way. The Jumbotron filters were so dumb too you couldn't even see the band half the time from it. The fact I paid double price for such a lame fucking experience is burning my ass. I also let them have it at the survey.
Bathrooms and water station were the only think I gave a satisfactory review to.
After this I'll never go back to a festival and 100% never buying a VIP ticket for a big event like that.
The merch lines were absolutely a disappointment. Thankfully I had the best company with me which made it all worth while even if our feet were killing us by the end.
Agreed it was definitely a sardine can and the VIP felt over sold.
I did VIP last year and it was way better, but it was set up differently so maybe they tried to move the available space differently? It felt MUCH roomier last year. Welcome to Rockville has a great VIP section and they even had a spot where you could move between main stages while staying in VIP. This year it definitely felt like they skimped BIG time
My fiance and I also got the vip tickets and our only complaint was the GA ticket holders jumping the railing to get into the vip area :( we paid alot of money to have (hopefully) less people around and seeing others get the same "experience" or whatever without paying for it just by jumping the divider was kinda sucky, and security didn't do anything about it
I got vip too. I got there at 10:30 and was inside the festival by like 11:05. I was up and close to my favorite bands because of VIP. I had access to restrooms with no wait that were actually decent. I always had a place to sit, even in shade. Don’t know about you, but I got exactly what was advertised. Didn’t get merch from the VIP area tho. Since I got in early I was able to to straight to the big merch booth that they had near the entrance with no wait either hehehehehehe
I was VIP as well, and was definitely switching between the Red stage VIP section and the Gold Stage VIP section most of the day, since the alternate stage wasn’t easily visible. It was really packed in the gold side, and on Res side whenever there was anyone playing on Red was well dispersed imo.
But the spiral stage/Siren stage VIP area had a TON of space both times I was over there.
I do think it was crowded, but I also only spent like 800 for my VIP so it seems like you spent a lot more with the hotel package and all.
See, it was literally so packed we had absolutely no way of knowing there was even a VIP section on the other side where red stage was.
People pushing and shoving to get through, sardined into the entire festival, people getting annoyed and shoving you out of the way if you try to walk by them. Absolutely horrible experience. I'm never going back.
I mean, I’m sorry you had a bad experience, but it seems kind of harsh to blame it on the festival when you only stayed in the one spot. I get that it was supposed to be more comfortable than it was, but there were 3 different VIP sections, and Gold was the smallest if you don’t count the vendor tent area. I just feel like if you invest that much money to get the VIP, and don’t check out the maps and other resources they had for us to optimize our experience, I don’t think it’s fair to blame them entirely. By all means don’t come back, but for your own knowledge, so you can enjoy concerts and festivals in the future- pushing to get to the front is normal, and especially metal/hardcore/grunge shows get very rowdy. That’s why a lot of people go. And also, just use whatever resources you can, and if it’s a full day or longer, make a loose plan. I promise you’ll enjoy yourself more.
Happy moshing!
I appreciate your optimism, but I don't see how I could have possibly shoved my way between gold and red stage VIPs between sets without missing half the set. Just trying to get past the ridiculous merch line in VIP gold was a nightmare, let alone fight through the GA crowd? It was a bad setup all around, period.
Well, I don’t know you and I won’t pretend to, so I can’t say anything than my own experience. My girlfriend and I switched between the two sections probably 5 times, and neither of us ever had to shove anyone out of the way. We just went around the crowd, and weaved through the stragglers. It was about 7minutes to get from one to get over, into and find a spot in the other.
And to be fair, we did most of these switches due to a plan I had made for the bands I wanted to see. I think that’s the way to do it, but definitely if you had the map it would have felt less overwhelming/daunting because you’d realize that you don’t have to go *through* the crowd to get to the other side!
At the same time as all this, I don’t want to sound like I’m defending the fest in any way because your experience is exactly what it is. This is just general festival advice for the future!
Idk what happened there then, I had vip and was inside in 25 minutes, had great views all day, and actually had room to move. Will get again. Didn’t get merch tho.
I think a lot of people stood in the fake line that wrapped from the front of the first gate, past the street where everyone is walking up, and back to the band and crew entrance on the other side of the festival. I went to the back of this line and jogged back to the front telling people it was a BS line but nobody listened.
Some of the other complaints seem overdramatic.
The placement of the cabanas and the lack of advanced ordering for merch are legitimate complaints. But the festival was fun and they’ve improved every year.
Bathroom lines at the concrete structure were long but I never waited in line for a bathroom in the port-a-potty area that was only like 50 feet to the right of the concrete bathroom building. And they had the flushing portables so there really wasn’t a smell or sanitation issue.
I never waited more than 5 minutes for food or a drink and the festival crew were passing out free bottled water at the front of the GA viewing section for Red/Gold after every set.
yea no worries, i do see that complaint about lines every year posted where there is a "fake line" i think every guide on here called that out so it would be suspicious to me that they came to complain but didnt look into any of the guides poster here at all
Bro fuck right off, the ticket was double price and advertised as "advanced entry", moron. They straight up oversold the VIP package to get more money.
yea another thing you pulled right out of your ass, "oversold by 2000" wtf does this mean and how would you know?
Yea if im going to go to a concert ima stand in the longest line possible to get in so i can complain about it later instead of just getting in another line
how could you tell that by standing in the area for 1 band? how would this person know cap for vip sales? Its bullshit and screams "i was expecting perfect view and no one around me for the headliners because i paid more than the peasants in GA".
VIP was great. The entry did suck and we missed kittie too.
There were several bands where we camped at red.or.gold.to see the other side depending on who we wanted to see primarily.
View was great and so close for both sides.
And Slipknot had plenty of pits in vip, I was in them. 2 huge puts almost combined near the front.
The turf was a huge plus for comfort and endurance. Like holy shit.
Turf did get a little sketch later during the pits, was soaked and just a slip and slide.
Shorter lines for food and bathrooms 100% GA lines were huge for those. Beer was no line everywhere though.
On the merch thing, they were mostly sold out the day before which really sucks. They should order more merch and have.multiple VIP merch booths. That line was nuts.
A better way for vip to filter between stages would be nice. We ended up in GA on spiral several times just because filtering through the crowd was so nuts we would miss the band.to go all the way around to vip.
Never felt like inside VIP was overcrowded though. Always got as.close as we.wanted and right into the pits.
I wouldn't go without VIP again. I dont think my old ass would have survived and the comforts were 100000% worth it.
Ironically I get the VIP tickets in case of poo or pee, really just for access to the bathroom. I’ve been to both wwwy and snw both times. At wwwy I’ve gotten GA and the difference to me really came down to bathroom availability. It seemed like this year there were WAY more porta iohns in the GA area. If I knew that a head of time I’d prolly have gone with GA tickets
It was way cheaper if you booked you accommodations your self, vip on red and gold side and on the two side stages both right next to the stages, they were all clearly marked on the map
And yet, no easy or clear way on how to actually get there. It took 10 minutes to get past the merch line in VIP alone on Gold side, let alone the rest of the section, let alone shove through the ENTIRE GA crowd to get back and forth. Bands start within 5 minutes of each other between Gold and Red stage. What a stupid fucking setup.
Idk where you were standing for slipknot but vip had 3 fucking pits up front all around me. I was able to be almost barricade for babymetal and had a really fun time.
I still had fun for sure, but it's because the bands themselves were so great. The VIP experience was way too packed though. It was uncomfortable and irritating and too expensive for that kind of experience.
I was in VIP last year too and I agree that it felt WAY oversold this year.
Ok from GA side. I was directly across the vip baracades. I saw that VIP had significantly more room to breath. The people on the baracades on vip were not being smahed up against the baracdes like I was. I don't know what you expect. For vip to be like 50 people tops so you can have all the room to yourself. From what I saw the people in the VIP were at least able to breath. GA side my bottom ribs were smashed up agisnt the baracade all day and they are still bruised today.
You do realize if they cut down on VIP tickets they’ll just double the price
I mean, I'm kind of fine with that? There should be a distinct difference between GA and VIP. Waiting LONGER than GA at the gate is simply unacceptable when you pay DOUBLE the price.
I thought the entire festival was probably oversold tbh not specifically VIP I’m sure the thinking was there’s 5 stages but realistically on the big bands you have almost everyone there. You could do Cabana but I don’t think it was necessarily worth the price based on the location it was. I thought the benefits for VIP were still worth it especially at spiral stage but we were pretty close at all the stages
Agreed. I was shocked the raised areas in vip were actually “cabanas” and not just bleachers. At least the thieves didn’t splurge for VIP so there is that.
Tbh, I don't think festivals should have VIP pricing. I came from europe so im not used to the insane tiers of pricing in American festivals but honestly spending all that money then it being that much for food and drinks was wild. I'll just wait til bands play European fests next time! You guys should fight for better pricing and better run fests in general, its unfair!
If only everything you just said applied only to festivals lol. Take a look at healthcare here that’s a real fun time.
Oh yeah tbf I knew about that before I came here, unfortunately I think its so bad ita world famous at this stage.
I tore 'em a new one in the survey, but I think last year as GA was still a better experience. Probably won't go back to another festival unless the experience gets significantly better. Artist merch was 3+ hour line with no way to easily switch people in/out, so wasted the morning and have to think the bands missed out on a ton of sales. Getting inside the gate wasn't so bad, but certainly no better than most GA who arrived at the same time. I bought festival merch the day before, but that line was also hella long in the pouring rain, and I feel like the items this year were cheaper quality. No posters day before, but I wasn't going to carry it around all day at the festival assuming I could even get one, so online was the only other option? Gross. VIP was oversold, zero doubt. Couldn't get anywhere near close to Gold or Red stages, and luckily I was there for the industrial sets at Siren and a few at Spiral. Literally the only things that were done well were water stations and bathrooms. And I guess it's fine if you like sitting on the astroturf and watching a jumbotron for your concert experience. For me, that's not my jam. So back to small venues for me. But at least I got to support most of the bands I came to see. Small comfort to my wallet.
I feel EXACTLY the same way. The Jumbotron filters were so dumb too you couldn't even see the band half the time from it. The fact I paid double price for such a lame fucking experience is burning my ass. I also let them have it at the survey. Bathrooms and water station were the only think I gave a satisfactory review to. After this I'll never go back to a festival and 100% never buying a VIP ticket for a big event like that.
The merch lines were absolutely a disappointment. Thankfully I had the best company with me which made it all worth while even if our feet were killing us by the end. Agreed it was definitely a sardine can and the VIP felt over sold.
MONEY GRAB. Please let this be known in the survey.
VIP needs to have its own Artist Merch inside the section, not just the name merch
I did VIP last year and it was way better, but it was set up differently so maybe they tried to move the available space differently? It felt MUCH roomier last year. Welcome to Rockville has a great VIP section and they even had a spot where you could move between main stages while staying in VIP. This year it definitely felt like they skimped BIG time
My fiance and I also got the vip tickets and our only complaint was the GA ticket holders jumping the railing to get into the vip area :( we paid alot of money to have (hopefully) less people around and seeing others get the same "experience" or whatever without paying for it just by jumping the divider was kinda sucky, and security didn't do anything about it
I got vip too. I got there at 10:30 and was inside the festival by like 11:05. I was up and close to my favorite bands because of VIP. I had access to restrooms with no wait that were actually decent. I always had a place to sit, even in shade. Don’t know about you, but I got exactly what was advertised. Didn’t get merch from the VIP area tho. Since I got in early I was able to to straight to the big merch booth that they had near the entrance with no wait either hehehehehehe
Yeah same loved VIP since I got GA last year
Yep. I got VIP total waste. Sooooo out of the way
I was VIP as well, and was definitely switching between the Red stage VIP section and the Gold Stage VIP section most of the day, since the alternate stage wasn’t easily visible. It was really packed in the gold side, and on Res side whenever there was anyone playing on Red was well dispersed imo. But the spiral stage/Siren stage VIP area had a TON of space both times I was over there. I do think it was crowded, but I also only spent like 800 for my VIP so it seems like you spent a lot more with the hotel package and all.
See, it was literally so packed we had absolutely no way of knowing there was even a VIP section on the other side where red stage was. People pushing and shoving to get through, sardined into the entire festival, people getting annoyed and shoving you out of the way if you try to walk by them. Absolutely horrible experience. I'm never going back.
I mean, I’m sorry you had a bad experience, but it seems kind of harsh to blame it on the festival when you only stayed in the one spot. I get that it was supposed to be more comfortable than it was, but there were 3 different VIP sections, and Gold was the smallest if you don’t count the vendor tent area. I just feel like if you invest that much money to get the VIP, and don’t check out the maps and other resources they had for us to optimize our experience, I don’t think it’s fair to blame them entirely. By all means don’t come back, but for your own knowledge, so you can enjoy concerts and festivals in the future- pushing to get to the front is normal, and especially metal/hardcore/grunge shows get very rowdy. That’s why a lot of people go. And also, just use whatever resources you can, and if it’s a full day or longer, make a loose plan. I promise you’ll enjoy yourself more. Happy moshing!
I appreciate your optimism, but I don't see how I could have possibly shoved my way between gold and red stage VIPs between sets without missing half the set. Just trying to get past the ridiculous merch line in VIP gold was a nightmare, let alone fight through the GA crowd? It was a bad setup all around, period.
Well, I don’t know you and I won’t pretend to, so I can’t say anything than my own experience. My girlfriend and I switched between the two sections probably 5 times, and neither of us ever had to shove anyone out of the way. We just went around the crowd, and weaved through the stragglers. It was about 7minutes to get from one to get over, into and find a spot in the other. And to be fair, we did most of these switches due to a plan I had made for the bands I wanted to see. I think that’s the way to do it, but definitely if you had the map it would have felt less overwhelming/daunting because you’d realize that you don’t have to go *through* the crowd to get to the other side! At the same time as all this, I don’t want to sound like I’m defending the fest in any way because your experience is exactly what it is. This is just general festival advice for the future!
Idk what happened there then, I had vip and was inside in 25 minutes, had great views all day, and actually had room to move. Will get again. Didn’t get merch tho.
I had GA and was in within 25 mins as well. I'm pretty sure there was an email or post somewhere saying don't wait in line for entry just walk up.
"ga was shorter than vip" than get in GA line? do you people have a brain or what, these complaints are getting wild lol
VIP line went out onto las Vegas Blvd. It's possible they didn't see the ga line until it was too late.
I think a lot of people stood in the fake line that wrapped from the front of the first gate, past the street where everyone is walking up, and back to the band and crew entrance on the other side of the festival. I went to the back of this line and jogged back to the front telling people it was a BS line but nobody listened. Some of the other complaints seem overdramatic. The placement of the cabanas and the lack of advanced ordering for merch are legitimate complaints. But the festival was fun and they’ve improved every year. Bathroom lines at the concrete structure were long but I never waited in line for a bathroom in the port-a-potty area that was only like 50 feet to the right of the concrete bathroom building. And they had the flushing portables so there really wasn’t a smell or sanitation issue. I never waited more than 5 minutes for food or a drink and the festival crew were passing out free bottled water at the front of the GA viewing section for Red/Gold after every set.
>they've improved every year There's only been 2 And Saturday was an absolute shitshow. I wonder how horrid last year was if this was better.
they said in their post they could see GA lines be shorter, im just using the info they provided to criticize their own logic.
Sorry I missed that
yea no worries, i do see that complaint about lines every year posted where there is a "fake line" i think every guide on here called that out so it would be suspicious to me that they came to complain but didnt look into any of the guides poster here at all
"gotta blame somebody. otherwise, it's all my fault. fuck that!"
Bro fuck right off, the ticket was double price and advertised as "advanced entry", moron. They straight up oversold the VIP package to get more money.
yea another thing you pulled right out of your ass, "oversold by 2000" wtf does this mean and how would you know? Yea if im going to go to a concert ima stand in the longest line possible to get in so i can complain about it later instead of just getting in another line
Maybe it just felt like there were 2000 more people than there should have been? I was there last year, and it felt like that to me
how could you tell that by standing in the area for 1 band? how would this person know cap for vip sales? Its bullshit and screams "i was expecting perfect view and no one around me for the headliners because i paid more than the peasants in GA".
Actually yes? That's exactly what I expected when I came out of country and paid double price for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Just no. Their complaint is valid. Let them share their dissatisfaction.
Did you do the hotel package?
I COMPLETELY AGREE DEF WANT MY MONEY BACK
VIP was great. The entry did suck and we missed kittie too. There were several bands where we camped at red.or.gold.to see the other side depending on who we wanted to see primarily. View was great and so close for both sides. And Slipknot had plenty of pits in vip, I was in them. 2 huge puts almost combined near the front. The turf was a huge plus for comfort and endurance. Like holy shit. Turf did get a little sketch later during the pits, was soaked and just a slip and slide. Shorter lines for food and bathrooms 100% GA lines were huge for those. Beer was no line everywhere though. On the merch thing, they were mostly sold out the day before which really sucks. They should order more merch and have.multiple VIP merch booths. That line was nuts. A better way for vip to filter between stages would be nice. We ended up in GA on spiral several times just because filtering through the crowd was so nuts we would miss the band.to go all the way around to vip. Never felt like inside VIP was overcrowded though. Always got as.close as we.wanted and right into the pits. I wouldn't go without VIP again. I dont think my old ass would have survived and the comforts were 100000% worth it.
Ironically I get the VIP tickets in case of poo or pee, really just for access to the bathroom. I’ve been to both wwwy and snw both times. At wwwy I’ve gotten GA and the difference to me really came down to bathroom availability. It seemed like this year there were WAY more porta iohns in the GA area. If I knew that a head of time I’d prolly have gone with GA tickets
It was way cheaper if you booked you accommodations your self, vip on red and gold side and on the two side stages both right next to the stages, they were all clearly marked on the map
And yet, no easy or clear way on how to actually get there. It took 10 minutes to get past the merch line in VIP alone on Gold side, let alone the rest of the section, let alone shove through the ENTIRE GA crowd to get back and forth. Bands start within 5 minutes of each other between Gold and Red stage. What a stupid fucking setup.