VIP check in traffic

I use to be an officer and I did traffic control at festivals. You go over traffic concerns
and spot all red flag areas. I can't believe those in charge looked at that situation and said no problem there. If they need some ideas on how to layout a proper check in site, I'm more than willing to help.

a couple hours later it was a logistical nightmare

Nice thread, this is part of my letter that I wrote in August to Superfly, AC Entertainment and the Manchester police department:

Now the not so good. A little longer due the the explanation.
-Traffic getting into Manchester & Route 41, The exit 127 off of I-24 was not being monitored by police. In 2006 they stopped cars and checked credentials to make sure that only people with VIP tickets were allowed off that exit. In 2006 it took us around a half hour from the exit 127 to the Holiday Inn. In 2007 it was two hours.

-Arriving at the Holiday Inn. When approaching the Holiday Inn we stayed in the right lane. When I went to turn into campground road I was told by police I could not enter because of the traffic. They wanted me to continue on route 41, I don't know where they wanted me to go? I then stated to them that we needed to "check-in" at the Holiday Inn because our VIP tickets. The gentleman shrugged his shoulders and said I could do what I wanted. This is the kicker, once we arrived at the parking lot of the Holiday Inn we found the lot to be only three quarters full.

-Leaving the Holiday Inn. According to directions and what we did in 2006, a left turn out of campground road onto route 41 and to the Kimberly lane is what we should have done. The police were not letting people make a left onto route 41. The police were directing traffic leaving the Holiday Inn onto Route 41 west, away from the VIP entrance. I felt bad for the people who have never done this before. We went west on route 41 as directed made a u-turn after the I-24 overpass. I guess my question is why were they not letting us make a left onto route 41? Did they not know that people leaving the Holiday Inn were VIP and needed to go back to Kimberly Lane?

-Direction once inside the campground area. I had a idea where I wanted to park our camper but once inside all that the traffic directors were doing is waving a flag not knowing where to park anyone. One inside we parked in section D. Again I felt bad for some people who were camping with tents around us. Most of them have already set up their camp and then were told by people on golf carts that they could not setup where they were. Most ignored and continued to camp. I can't blame them, again there was no direction of RV area and tent area.

-On Thursday. Leaving the VIP area only by the west side. After leaving the fenced area we then needed to stand in line and go through all the bag searches. This was later corrected I think on Friday. Why not make the entrance/exit of the VIP area in the south/west corner (Area D) ? I think that is where it was in 2006.

-Leaving the festival grounds. What a mess. We decided to leave on Sunday night around 9 PM. We were finally on I-24 at midnight after being directed through the GA campground area. I couldn't believe this was happening.

This is the not good or bad list.
-Limit the size of the VIP area. 2006 was more comfortable in the camping area and also in the VIP hospitality tent.


OK, so our summary of improvements for 2008 are:

-Police need better plan on traffic control. Traffic off of I-24, in and around the Holiday Inn. Again I attend NASCAR events where 100,000+ people leave before and after races. Better traffic control can be done.

-Entrance and exit form the VIP area into Centeroo. Make it in the south west corner of the VIP area.

-Leaving the festival from the VIP area. Why can't we leave on the same access roads we arrived on? We did in 2006.

-Move the port-o-johns away from the Which Stage bleachers. The smell is intoxicating. Move them over to the west along the fence.

-VIP Bleachers- Have more personnel checking wristbands. The bleachers by the Which stage have many people who don't belong.

-Vegetarian selection in the VIP hospitality tent. You need more then salad and veggie burgers.

Thanks again to all of you and the people of Manchester. We hope to see you again in 2008.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions, we would love to help.


This was their reply:

Thank you both so much for taking the time to write to us with your feedback. We sincerely appreciate you taking the time to do this, and we value this information greatly, as it helps us pinpoint what areas of the festival need to be improved.

Your festival 'negatives' did not surprise me, as we have had similar feedback from 2007 attendees over the past 7 weeks or so. One aspect of this year's event that made the traffic and parking a bit more 'congested' was the heavy inflow of traffic on Thursday. With the festival being marketed as a '4-day event' for the first time ever, we had many more people arrive on Thursday then anticipated. However, we have learned how this has impacted our site operations, and we are already working hard to make sure the problems that arise from this do not affect the festival negatively again.

As for your comments regarding portalets, staffing, VIP options, etc. I have passed them all onto our core team for their review and discussion. We will investigate each of your comments and work hard to make next year's event a more enjoyable experience for all attendees.

Let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.

Best,

Tom



We will just have to wait and see what happens.

I don't know his last name, he just signed it Tom.

Wow. Thanks to all who've submitted suggestions for improvements so we can ALL enjoy the farm in June!

OMG....Where were you between 11AM and 1PM?
Did it take you that long to get to the camping area from the Holiday Inn?

We got in later on Thursday, about 4pm after the worst of the clusterf*ck must have been over. But I still remember what a chore it was to get in and out of the HIE and make that left on the main drag.

However, the main thing that still sticks in our craw were the "super secret" VIP directions from Knoxville/Chattanooga telling us to take a certain exit off of the interstate, only to discover that signs on the interstate itself were directing EVERYBODY to the same exit. We sat in traffic for a few hours, only to be told later we could've sailed by all of it with our VIP cred, but that's a risky maneuver on lonely two-lane country roads with no shoulder. So that kind of blew.

That and other logistical things (food, bleachers) that really took the "I" out of "VIP" would be great if they were fixed this year.

Has anyone written Superfly in the last little bit about VIP? It makes me wonder if they can give us any idea ahead of time to the improvements they are currently making... We will be ordering our VIP tickets Saturday when they go on sale and we really hope Superfly is making some great improvements to make it way worth our money.. I mean we are paying way over the ticket price for this, we really deserve to be treated like VIP.

Here's my letter. I never received a response. Gene (Bug) can you post the email address yo sent your email to? I'll resend my letter to it and hope someone reads it.

Bonnaroo Management:

2007 was my third Bonnaroo, second in VIP. In 2006 I was so thrilled with VIP that I posted tons of positive information on Inforoo (bonnaroo.proboards21.com/index.cgi?board=logistics&action=display&thread=1166023198&page=1) that no doubt resulted in thousands of dollars for you from new VIP'ers in 2007. You're welcome. However, now I'm completely embarrassed that you guys did not remain consistent and, therefore, those of us who sang the praises of VIP now look like liars. Here are the complaints that have been posted so far on Inforoo as it pertains to VIP: bonnaroo.proboards21.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1182211775

I have been posting on Inforoo since early 2006 and this year was the first time there were a lot of written complaints on the board about this year's VIP experience. I feel for the most part they are because we all had expectations of what Bonnaroo was going to deliver because you guys have done such a stellar job in the past. In real life, as in Bonnaroo life, we have to let go of our expectations, because expectations cause frustration and resentments - I think that as a Bonnaroo crowd, we ALL get that and we able to get over the things Bonnaroo staff did wrong and we had a good time anyway. However, I think an explanation or apology is in order. Someone dropped the ball this year and the future liability will be noticeable without some communication on your part.

During my 11-hour drive home, I was contemplating the letter I was going to write to Superfly/AC Entertainment to let you guys know that the staff was inconsistent, unorganized and unprepared for the festival this year; however, because everyone did such a good job telling their horror stories on Inforoo, I'm going to send you the links to those threads. I sincerely hope you read them and print them off to discuss in your planning meetings for 2008.


General problems:
bonnaroo.proboards21.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1182273625

bonnaroo.proboards21.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1182382109

bonnaroo.proboards21.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1182451067

bonnaroo.proboards21.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1182651227

I beg you to please take this email seriously. If you are going to make changes, like the ones I have listed below, then please send emails out and let veterans know that you are making changes. We rely on the consistency that Bonnaroo delivers to make our stay enjoyable and prepare accordingly. These are the items that needed to be communicated beforehand:

1. There will be inadequate care at med tents.
2. The directions sent to VIP'ers will be taking you into another county (with the GA'ers) and cause a four-hour wait in traffic.
3. Now RVs will be parked next to tents.
4. VIP'ers will not have 24-hour access to Centeroo through the VIP Hospitality Tent and the times for entry will be inconsistent and unannounced.
5. VIP'ers will be thoroughly searched entering Centeroo, causing people to pass out. Let me just stop right here and say I don't expect to be pampered, but we're not cattle and neither are GA'ers. When it takes a VIP'er passing out from heat exhaustion on Friday to get the entrance to Centeroo released for VIP, then there's a real problem. I never want to stand in a line and watch a girl pass out twice and see her boyfriend/husband slapping her face trying to get her to come to. Never again!! For all I know she had a medical problem, which could be why they paid for VIP in the first place.
6. There will not be snacks served or available at the main stage VIP tent, as advertised, only beer and water.
7. There will not be security at the VIP bleachers and you will be unable to find a place to sit because of all of the GA'ers.
8. Glowsticks will be confiscated. Beach balls will be knifed.
9. Security at Centeroo will be pocketing your goodies and telling you, "Thanks, hope they're good cause I'm doing them tonight at the Tool show. You should have been more creative while hiding them."
10. The staff will be completely unprepared, so you're on your own. Good luck.

I await your response.

Sincerely,
Andrea Bernardy

TickTrix just proved why she's one of our most valuable and beloved inforoosters. Cheers, Andrea! Great Job.

Most of you guys went VIP for the first time last year, and I will vouch for Andrea and say that the year prior was nothing like what many of you experienced. I myself, did not experience this clusterfuck either in 06 or 07. Only the traffic getting in was longer in 07 than 06 b/c of the prolonged searches. Although I will say, the main difference between 06 and 07 was that they opened the conference room at the Holiday Inn about 2 hours earlier than they did in 07. I think that helped ALOT!!!

I just wanted to say that you should pretty much expect that it's going to be done the same way as last year. Hopefully they will make improvements to eliminate the clusterf*ck. But I think alot of the problem had to do with the fact that they expanded VIP by nearly twice the size last year, meaning alot more people showed up first thing thursday morning.

I think there are some things we should expect them NOT to change this year. First, we should expect that they will continue to use the Holiday INN b/c it is literally right around the corner from the VIP entrance. Second, we should not expect them to open the Holiday Inn VIP check-in until thursday morning. The reason for this is b/c they want to fill up that very back GA lot (the satellite campground we pass by as we drive through to get searched in) first. This alleviates the clusterf*ck of sending VIPers one way down that road, while they send GA'ers the opposite direction. That back GA lot is what is filled up first, on wednesday night, and the reason is b/c of VIP.

So while I URGE you to continue to send your complaints and suggestions to superfly, and tell them that VIP was a watered down experience last year, I think there are certain things that we should not expect them to change, only improve upon in 08.

So, maybe our group should wait until around 5 to get to the Holiday inn? Is there anything we would miss by arriving later (this is our first roo!)? Also, around what time does the Thursday night party start and is there any food available before that?

I am very excited!

^^^^^^^^I heard that!!!!!

I was in a truck last year and had a tough time getting across the streat. This year I'm going to pull a pop up behind the truck. There would be no way I can feel safe getting across that street without a cop directing traffic. And there were a bunch of them around, how tough would it be to send one more down to help out the traffic.....that's what they are all there to do in the first place.

Hey jenny, good to see some more jax kids going to roo. I showed up about noon and hit the traffic that earlier people didn't get. But by the time I got to the Holiday Inn, about 3, there was no line there. I waited in the car line which I won't do again, all those people were going to GA. So show up a little later and if you can, try and drive around the car line.

But if things are like they were last year there isn't a whole lot to do if you get there early. The party started about 6 with free beer and food I think, and then there was the band at 9. Not a whole lot of downtime to relax, but getting to your campsite around 4 isn't the worst thing in the world. And makes it a little cooler to set up the campsite.

I do not think I've heard/seen a description of where the VIP entrance is located.

The VIP checkin should be located so that upon leaving the checkin location, you have to make right hand turns.

I'll look at my maps and try to plan a route of right hand turns. Also, three rights gets you to the same point as a left. I'll sometimes pass my left turn if it is poorly planned, take three right turns and not have to deal with the left across traffic. Like a cloverleaf interchange on an interstate highway.

I've downloaded a couple good maps from 2007, so I should be able to figure out the VIP access location with a little help from others.