We've attended the Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) since 2014 and have attended every year except for 2017 (we went to Tomorrowland!), so we just might be qualified to give you guys some tips and tricks on how to survive EDC - The most insane music festival out there! Our first time was overwhelming and that was in when the festival was a lot smaller so we can only imagine how it feels now to walk through the gates your first time. We really didn't know what to expect stepping into our first festival but we hope our tips help prepare you for a wild weekend!
No. 1 Be Prepared For The Heat.
It's goings be over 100 degrees at night and about 115 - 120 degrees during the day, so be prepared to dress accordingly and to stay hydrated. Make sure you have sunscreen, hats, and glasses to protect yourself from the sun. Everyone at the festival will be semi-naked so don’t be alarmed. You’re in the desert so wear breathable clothes, and don’t forget your bandana there is a lot of dust that gets kicked up and you will be blowing out black boogers.
No. 2 Wear Comfortable Shoes
Literally You want to wear a pair of shoes that you don't care about, because they're gonna be destroyed by the end of the night. Leave your brand new sneakers at home, or you will regret it. Make sure the pair you use are really comfortable so you can dance all night and walk/run miles around the amazing festival grounds. Trust me you will be running from set to set trying to catch your favorite artist, especially when line ups cross and come too close to each other.
No. 3 You’re Going To Get Bumped Into (Don’t take it personal)
There are so many people that they are no doubt going to bump into you. People are running to the front of the stage to see their favorite DJs, running to find their friends, or drunk going through crowds, and there are people laying down catching their breath, you just have to get used to is. Sometimes you might get a train of people that come through trying to get a better position with their friends, let me through and people do the same for you. Oh and they’re all sweaty! Also be prepared for the LOVE, there a lot of sweet people who will randomly want to hug you and compliment you, they’re really friendly and it’s beautiful. The love around this festival is something amazing to witness and join in.
There might be a few rude people-It might be their first festival where they don't really know the vibes, so they won't be so cool, but you just have to brush it off and have fun. You can’t let it ruin your night.
No. 4 If Someone Asks For Some Of Your Water, Ask The To Waterfall
People may see your water bottle and come up to you and ask you if they can have some of your water. If you do decide to share your water make sure to let them know they can waterfall, as herpies and other diseases can be transferred easily.
No. 4 You Won’t Get To See All Your Favorite DJs (But You Will Still Have An Amazing Time)
It’s a three day festival, there's so many DJs playing and they will definitely overlap set times. For instance, you might want to see Dillon Francis, but DIPLO is playing at the same time across the festival. You can either see a little of each or just enjoy a whole set of one. Sometimes your crew may want to see a different DJ at a different stage and you may need to compromise and see a little of each of your favorite DJs. Compromising is how you're going to have a great time.
You will not see it all. You will miss a lot but you will also see a lot so just enjoy what you can take in. One thing I don't recommend is splitting up. It's such a huge festival, and there's like almost no cell service so you may not have a chance to see your friend again for the rest of the night.
No. 5 Do Not Expect Cell Service
In past there was no service what so ever, you would never get a text, call, no internet connection, NOTHING. Now you can kind of get a text, but you need to timestamp it, and you might get it 30 minutes later or an hour later so the reciever needs to know when you sent the text to know if it is still relevant. Otherwise, you could send a text “Lets meet at Kaskade at 12:00“ but they won’t receive it until 1:00 am when his set is already over.
No. 6 Stick Together!
We do not recommend splitting up with your friends, make sure to have a clear leader that is leading the pack around. It only takes a moment to lose your friends. As soon as you enter the festival pick a clear specific meeting spot that not EVERYONE at the festival is also going to pick.
If you do get lost, try maybe for an hour at the most to find your friends but if you can't then theres no point in spending the rest of your time searching, just enjoy the festival! There's so many other people there that you can enjoy it with and make random friends with in the crowd especially at stages that you love since you’ll already have a lot in common. Our first year we got lost and we got lucky enough to found each other within another hour.
No. 7 Go With The Right People (MOST IMPORTANT TIP)
Going with the right group of friends sets the tone for the entire weekend. Make sure your group is filled with people you can vibe with, trust, and can have fun with all weekend. Going with people who love the music is key and even better if they share the same taste in genre and Djs as you. Even if it is their first festival as well make sure they are open-minded as well to experience all that EDC has to offer. So if you have any friends that are kind of stuck up or like not really caring to go, don't try to force them because it just might not be their thing.
Bringing the wrong people can bring down your experience, they may not have fun or want to go home way too early for you and really ruin your weekend. The festival is from 7:00 PM to 5:30am so you really want to enjoy being with them all day and all night.
No. 7 If You Are Driving / Shuttling Prepare Yourself For Hours Of Traffic
This year we are trying out camping! But for the past 6 years we have always stayed on the strip and drove to the event and took the shuttle once. Getting into to the event could be anywhere from two to three hours to get in.
Driving: Driving will be bumper to bumper and and you will be taking up to 2-3 hours to get in depending on what time you head out. If you go when it opens at 7:00PM there is minimal traffic. Try to remember where you parked, as it can be really annoying running around the parking lot in the morning after a full night of dancing and running around. Getting out of the event is just as painful, we have waited 4 hours just to leave the parking lot bumper to bumper. There are lines to get out but impatient people began making their own line to get out and then merging with lines ahead causing a huge mess and headache. I wish insomniac would help direct traffic better when the festival is over.
We highly suggest having waters and snacks in your trunk for this time as you will be waiting a long time. Have sunglasses in the car because the sun comes up and will be right in your face as you wait stuck in your car.
Shuttle: We have taken the shuttle the second year it was implemented and we have to say it was a complete disaster. Getting checked and onto your shuttle took us almost 3 hours and then the buss ride was another hour and a half. We were sorely disappointed and we missed our favorite DJ and arrived late into the festival on Day 1. Coming back they seem to have contracted more shuttles and we came home fairly quickly. I cannot say I have seen people talk about it's improvement in 2018 so I do not recommend shuttles unless you leave early to the event and come back early from the event or get the priority shuttle passes.
No. 8 What to Bring Into The Festival
Small sporty backpacks or a fanny pack - It is hot even at night so you don’t want to be lugging around a huge backpack
Portable Phone Charger - Your phone WILL die, you will be recording and snapping pictures of everything but you never know when you might need your phone at the end of the night/early morning to find your friends when service kicks back up.
Hand Sanitizer - Sometimes the bathrooms run out of soap so it is best to bring your own hand sanitizer
Toilet Paper - Sometimes the bathrooms also runout of toilet paper. This is a must!
Empty Water Bottle / Hydration Pack - There is free water stations for refills for unlimited water all night
Empty Contact Case / Unopened Visine - All the dust drys your eyes can be irritating so you may want to have visine handy or your contact case to put your contact away.
Closed Chapstick
What you can’t bring in:
Opened Containers of anything mentioned above*
No. 9 Enjoy The Moment!
Yes TAKE TONS OF PHOTOS AND VIDEOS! But, remember to also just be in the moment and just enjoy the festival as well. It’s not every day you get to experience EDC so taking it all in and being in the moment and dancing with your best friends and happy stranger with your phone tucked away can be something to truly remember.
No. 10 This Is A Marathon, Not A Sprint. There Is So Much To See!
The event is three days long (4 if you’re camping), it goes from 7 p.m. to 5:30 in the morning, so if you're gonna do the whole festival, or even like a big part of it, even all night, it's a marathon, not a sprint. Do not over do it your first day and drain yourself or over drink you do not want to be hungover or day two and three.
You'll end it early or you won't even make it to the last day. You will be so tired and you'll kinda have to drag yourself through the last day if you don not pace yourself. Trust me, you do not have to drink you could be completely sober and have an amazing time. Definitely for everyone that's barely going for their first time, we recommend going as early as possible the first, with the sun still up so you can enjoy everything, from the rides the food, the stages and art, take this time to get some shots before you rage.
There's food and drinks, there's so many visually entertaining things and so many stuff to see, so it's best to go and enjoy that. At night the whole place transforms because everything is just bright and lit at night. There's even a white chapel where you can see people get married, there's like a little EDC town where you can send postcards back home, theres a house party where we’ve seen Chris Lake play for like 60 people in a room (AMAZING). There's also a traveling boombox and mini stages that roam around, it has random performers on it, and sometimes they’ll bring on a huge DJ out of nowhere. We once saw Kaskade play on a small art cart at 1:00am to a crowd of about 200 people and we were right there dancing in front. There is even an EDC Parade and dancer and performers and hoolahoops and this dude who controls electricity! - You get the point.
There is so much crazy stuff to see and even after years of returning to EDC we haven't really seen everything so don’t stress about trying to see it all.
No. 11 Pick a Spot to See The Fireworks
EDC has the most spectacular amazing beautiful firework show that I have ever seen and every year it gets bigger and bigger. The fireworks blast off at 12:00PM, you can watch them by the bleacher and get an amazing view from there or enjoy them while dancing to your favorite DJ, there is no wrong way to go about it and you get a view of them from anywhere in the festival.
No. 12 Don’t Get Stuck To Your Schedule, Enjoy Yourself
Plans will go wrong no matter how hard you plan. Sometimes your friend all need to use the restroom and you’re stuck at the porta pottie for over 45 min or everyone needs a quick rest to sit and catch their breath. Take things as they come and have fun.
No. 13 Insomniac Has A Zero-Tolerance Drug Policy But Don’t be Afraid To Ask For Help
You do not want to bring anything illegal into the venue for your own health and for legal reasons. All the workers and even law enforcement is there to help you if you or your friends need any help. Their website states:
Insomniac enforces a zero-tolerance drug policy at all of its events—end of story. Don’t be the person that ends up getting escorted out of the venue! Keep the weekend great for yourself, your friends, and your fellow Headliners.
If you suspect that someone is suffering from a medical issue or potential drug overdose, seek immediate attention at one of the clearly marked medical stations, or find a Ground Control team member. Remember, you will not get in trouble for seeking medical help!