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Post by zenofmalarkey on Jun 1, 2011 23:38:44 GMT -5
Someone's offering me a VIP ticket for $575.
As a first timer, is it worth the extra $250+/-?
Do you think I could resell the shirt and poster for a good price? I have no idea how cool/lame they might be and how much better the shower situation is. I assume there's not much wait in VIP.
How much better are the "exclusive viewing areas" at the What and Which stage?
And I apologize if this has been discussed elsewhere. Thanks!
It depends on what you value... If you want mildly edible food, free showers, A/C in your bathrooms and a really short walk, then it might be worth it. I however love the vibe of GA, it's truly my favorite part of the festival. I've done both, and everyone in VIP has all their own stuff and doesn't NEED to share, whereas GA can be a shit show, lol! I know I can find much better uses of the extra cash, and have more fun and make more friends in GA.
I was lying in a burned out basement With the full moon in my eyes. I was hoping for replacement When the sun burst thru the sky. There was a band playing in my head And I felt like getting high.
^What he said, except they do not even offer the mildly edible food anymore. I hardly even knew my neighbors the year I went VIP, in GA you are lucky if you dot have to resuscitate them at some point. Location and ease of getting in and out is all VIP has going for it.
IMO no but I'm sure others will have different opinions. We did VIP last year and didn't see a big advantage. I also like the vibe of GA. I don't like that GA friends cannot visit you in VIP. I know that's supposed to be part of the appeal but I guess I'm in the minority there. The walk to Centeroo is almost certainly shorter from VIP than GA.
I found that the exclusive VIP viewing bleachers fill up quickly for the popular shows so if you want to take advantage of them you still need to get there early. We never ventured up to "the hill" so I can't comment on how good that view is. A GA person who gets to a show early enough can actually have a better view than the VIP viewing area would give you. So I guess you could say that as a VIP you can be a little later to a show than a GA and still get a pretty good view but you can still get shut out of the bleachers.
I don't think selling any of the freebies you get for VIP are going to make you much money.
Post by bonnarichert on Jun 2, 2011 9:41:50 GMT -5
In 06 I saw some people getting down under the VIP bleachers.....The best part was when he stoped, got up to stretch and the climbed right back on like there wasent 20,000 ppl watching them!! Priceless!
For me, totally worth it for easy access to Centeroo (you can go back and forth to camp all day and night and there is never a wait to get in), showers and air-conditioned bathrooms. There's much less of a sketch factor in VIP as well (I leave beer in my cooler outside my tent and no one has ever touched it). Not sure why people say it's hard to meet folks...I've met dozens and dozens in VIP. Not to mention...virtually NO wait to get in on Thursday morning since there's a separate VIP entrance and exit.
I couldn't do it any other way, and that discounted ticket you're being offered makes it even more appealing!
It's worth it for me because I can stay up all night dancing and then when it gets blazing hot at 9:30 a.m. I can wake up and take shelter in the air-conditioned tent. I also enjoy the showers - usually with little lines - and air conditioned bathrooms. The minimal walk to Centeroo and incredibly short drive into and out of VIP also is a plus.
Post by unregistered on Jun 2, 2011 11:58:45 GMT -5
This is my 5th Bonnaroo and second as VIP.
In my opinion, there is not much benefit to VIP inside centeroo. If that is all you are worried about and plan on spending 90% of your time in centeroo then don't spend the money.
VIP is all about the camping perks:
1. Proximity - 5 minute walk back to camp. You could get the same perk in tent only but then you don't have easy access to your car. If you want next-to-car camping then you could have a 10-30+ minute walk to centeroo. The benefit here depends how often you see yourself going back to your campsite. You are also right next to the What stage in VIP so if there is someone you just want to listen to and don't care about line of sight it is great to just chill in your campsite, drink a few beers, eat your own food, and listen to the main-stage acts.
2. Bathrooms - Not only A/C but almost immaculately clean the entire weekend. Depends on if you want to sit or hover if this is a benefit for you.
3. Neighbors - I actually have the opposite take as some in this thread. I don't want to have to deal w/ shenanigans and people who can't handle their substances. Not that you get none of that in VIP but it is much less. You also will meet as many people as you want to meet regardless of where you camp. We camp with the inforoo crew though so I already have about 80 friends I'll be camped next to. ;D
4. A/C Lounge - Its looking like it could be another ridiculously hot year again this year so it's nice to know there's at least some place a little bit out of the heat you can chill for a bit. There's also huge shade tents w/ a bunch of lounge chairs under them you can hang out in if the A/C lounge gets crowded.
5. Centeroo Entrance - Coming in from GA the other 3 years the wait to get from camping into Centeroo was anywhere from no time up to 30-45 minutes at the worst. Sucks to have a 20 minute walk followed by a 30 minute wait in line just to get into centeroo. VIP has separate entrances where there's pretty much never a line. Security is also much more lax by VIP. They were a bit strict on Friday but by Saturday once the people got to know me I was carrying in what ever I wanted openly including open beer in one hand and a sack of beer in the other. Nice to not have to buy beer in centeroo since I could just swing back to the campsite and refill whenever I wanted.
Those are my big 5 reasons to go VIP. Everything else is just a minor perk. Yeah its nice to have a stand by Which but I only sat there during crazy crowded shows. The hill is nice once in a while but its kind of far away. The centeroo lounges are nothing great and last year weren't even A/C.
Free showers are good, usually a line first thing in the morning but pretty much open the rest of the day. Nice to be able to take that early evening shower around 7:00pm to rinse the days sweat and sunscreen off before the headliners and latenights. But you could manage the same thing in GA by either setting up your own shower system, using the troughs, or pay showers.
The Thursday party is kind of cool. Free beer and free food. But you can't take advantage of it for long if you plan on seeing any shows that night.
Oh and if you want in/out privileges it could be a perk but I never took advantage. A few people in our group did make their morning starbucks run each day though.
In '08 we waited about an hour on friday. People were passing out and needing medical attention. Security was checking everything and taking forever. I missed Cold War Kids because of it.
You've got to know when to go into centeroo if you want to avoid long lines. There are peak times so to speak when the line is unreasonably long. Keep in mind there are two entrances one by the arch and one by the feris wheel, if the line by the arch is long, walk another 3 minutes to the other entrance. There have been times when I've done this and not waited at all meanwhile the arch entrance is backed up. If all else fails get a chant going and get everybody riled up. When security realizes the croud is getting restless they just step aside and let people through without even searching them until the croud dissapates.
Also, festival security is always at its worst on Thursday and only slightly better on Friday. Saturday they're usualy a lot more lax about searching you and by Sunday they're pretty apathetic. You also need to identify which line is moving the quickest and try to get in that one. The line moving really slow means the security personel at the head of the line is being overly thorough searching people.
