Bag Checks Were Super Easy

I mostly agree, with the exception of one dude at the ferris wheel entrance when I was entering for R. Kelly Saturday night. He was incredibly meticulous, even opening my contact lens case, and he of course found my sloppily put together motherload of 4 beers and 3 airplane bottles in my backpack. I pled with him to let me keep it and he refused. I was already kinda hammered, so I took it all off the table and stepped back, dumped out the airplane bottles, and chugged the 4 beers. I had to make a point. He was unfazed.

Another dude found my 3 beers a different time, and told me I could keep them if I shotgunned one in front of him, so I complied. I liked his style.

The checks seemed to be all over the place. Sometimes I went through with 3 water bottles (actually water) that they didn't bother checking. Other times I was refused entry for a camera that was perfectly acceptable... There's always some inconsistency but it really seemed more pronounced this year -- at least to me.

I don't think I ever had to do more than just open my backpack for them to glance inside. They never dug through it. A few times I was just waived past the check.

After getting through the first day about a 100 ft in a security guy stopped me and made me dump out my camelbak full of water because he said they should have made me do when entering. I told him water was allowed last year and this year. Before I dumped it I made sure to get his full name so I can give it to Roo during my survey.

I brought my backup into Centeroo almost every day and then barely even looked in my bag. The water bottle full of Vodka came in handy on Sunday.

The only time they even did more than glance into my bag was Friday during LN I ran back to camp to put on a hoodie and when I came back, they had security people doing bag checks with gloves and everything. They had everyone put their bags on the table and then went through every bit of it but they never checked my pockets or person.


On top of that, the car and luggage check was a breeze. They opened the door and asked if we had glass and then opened up the hatch in the SUV and looked inside and didnt check anything. It took less than a minute.

Never had any problem going in. I always put my Camelback on my chest, facing forward with the pockets wide open. They'd basically just peek in the pockets, never checked the water compartment. Never any hassle with my extra water bottles. And only about once did one of the security guys pat me down after checking my bag.

Basically it was a quick glance in my bag and a pat on the bottom of the bag each time.

On Friday my friend and I waited in a very slow-moving line by the What Stage entrance.  When we got to the front we could see four guys handling the entire line doing 3-4 minute searches of every bag.  The guy took every item out of my bag, unfolded my hoodie and shook it to see if anything would fall out.  Every compartment of the now-empty bag checked.  He even turned on my flashlight to see if it worked, then unscrewed the light and looked to see if anything was hidden in the battery compartment.  I mean, this was a ridiculously thorough search.  Besides the 4 searchers, there were one or two other people in shirts that read "supervisor".  I didn't see those shirts anywhere else in the festival.

Every other trip into Centeroo was easy and like others' descriptions: lazy peer into the top of the bag, pat on the ass, good to go.

I did real well in all of my searches at centeroo. We went in the access entrance and they never opened my two 24 oz water reusable water bottles. I had a pocket I could hide with my hand for no no word. Real laid back if you ask me. Same at the tollbooth.

I brought one with me one day and the security guy just kinda took it out of the side pocket and threw it in with my water bladder. I got a "just water tomorrow, ok?"

My experience was much the same. Walk up with bag off & open, look them in the eye and smile! A friend had one corn roll taken from cigarette pack, but only one of three! Only once did I have an issue. Thursday& Friday they never asked me to empty my shorts pockets, but Saturday morning at the entrance by Pod 4, they guy doing the bag check was serious. Should've sent my bag flowers after that search. Then he asks me to turn out my pockets. Forgot I had corn and glass in there. I said "whoops! I'll go drop it off at the campsite" in response, I get" can't let you keep it dude". his friend says "give it to him."
I look the guy in the eye and say " yeah ( glancing down at his volunteer badge) #224, its better in my pocket than yours. What would they do if your bosses caught you with it, #224?

After leaving WITH my property, I found a decidedly less stupid place for it and went thru the arch.

My group had a great system going where one or two of us with nothing to hide would act as a "decoy" (we would walk right up to security and basically hand them our camelbacks to search), while others who were carrying our beer would walk past.

Agreed, hence my not describing my decidedly less stupid hiding place.