General Coachella Questions

[loveminus0]

Hey ya'll, finally get my first chance to go to Coachella! It's been a long time coming. Got a couple of quick questions:

1. When do they generally announce the dates of the show for 09?
2. How quickly do hotels book up after the announcement?
3. How many are usually in attendance? The more the merrier!
4. Is it better to stay in Palm Springs or be closer to the festival? Would there be more to do in PS since I'm probably going to get in about 4 days before the festival begins.
5. Is the traffic getting out of the desert as bad as I've heard? I am thinking of staying an extra night for that reason.
6. Is Stagecoach any fun? I'm also considering sticking around for that. Just make a crazy week and a half of it.

Thanks in advance!

[boarderwoozel3]

The onsite camping is one of the things that separates Coachella from the rest (its where the party is at). Its usually the last weekend in April except for one year when it was the first weekend in May. The official announcements start coming after x-mas.

[Pixiessp]

you can book your hotel now if you want. camping is fun though.

the traffic getting out has never been a problem for me.
it's more than likely a problem when camping though. I would think.

[Memorial_07]

Traffic on friday sucked because some douche hit a wall, but other than that, not too bad.
If you can get a hotel close, do it now.
Stagecoach isn't much fun.
Not as many people as coachella and it's a bunch of drunk hicks.

And 60,000 people mostly.

[Kali27]

This is really starting already?

[Cheddar's Cousin]

Hey ya'll, finally get my first chance to go to Coachella! It's been a long time coming. Got a couple of quick questions:

1. When do they generally announce the dates of the show for 09?
Thanks in advance!

They never have.

[amyzzz]

I would say there is more to do in Palm Springs. I almost always stay there (except the one year I camped and didn't get any sleep). If you want to avoid traffic, go in early (or find a good back road in) and leave early. If you stay for the whole show, the traffic will be a bitch leaving but that's a necessary evil for being able to watch it until the end. If you want to avoid in-and-out traffic altogether, you could camp onsite.

[Memorial_07]

except if you haul ass or find a back way to get out of traffic.

good luck with that though

[slurpee]

Hey ya'll, finally get my first chance to go to Coachella! It's been a long time coming. Got a couple of quick questions:

1. When do they generally announce the dates of the show for 09?
2. How quickly do hotels book up after the announcement?
3. How many are usually in attendance? The more the merrier!
4. Is it better to stay in Palm Springs or be closer to the festival? Would there be more to do in PS since I'm probably going to get in about 4 days before the festival begins.
5. Is the traffic getting out of the desert as bad as I've heard? I am thinking of staying an extra night for that reason.
6. Is Stagecoach any fun? I'm also considering sticking around for that. Just make a crazy week and a half of it.

Thanks in advance!

You have made a wise decision to go to Coachella. 2009 is the 10 year anniversary and should be very fun.

1. Dates are usually announced in the winter months. November - December time. Festival is usually the last weekend in April. Some years May 1 was a festival date.

2. Don't stay in a hotel. Camping is available on site and at multiple locations close to the festival. It is part of the Coachella experience. You will meet so many cool people from all over the world.

3. It seems that a few people in close cities such as LA come to the festival for one day and don't stay for the weekend. The actual attendance inside the polo fields each day is 60,000 I believe. Some people stay in houses, onsite camping, offside camping, hotels, etc. So you will only end up seeing the bulk of people inside the polo grounds.

4. Palm Springs is not as close to the festival as you might think. Indio is the closest town you should look into. We fly in Wednesday and hang out in orange county before the festival. Don't limit your self to Palm Springs, there is a lot of stuff relatively close by. Joshua Tree national park is really close, has camping, and is totally worth checking out.

5. Don't try and go home Sunday night or early Monday. We have left between 10am - noon Monday morning and never hit traffic.

6. Stage Coach started this year. The music is more country oriented and attracts an older crowd. I am not too familiar with how it works out. I would travel to other parts of California before staying for both Coachella & Stage Coach.

[amyzzz]

STAY IN A HOTEL IF YOU WANT TO SLEEP!

[PrettyRagdoll]

This is really starting already?

Yeah, that was my thoughts exactly when I saw this post

[Memorial_07]

It's better we know in advance compared to a week before the festival.

[orbit]

6. Stage Coach started this year. The music is more country oriented and attracts an older crowd. I am not too familiar with how it works out. I would travel to other parts of California before staying for both Coachella & Stage Coach.

stagecoach started last year.

and sign up for the coachella/goldenvoice newsletters. or try to check the forum periodically. hotel rooms will be all booked 1-2 days after they announce the official dates of the festival. well, i guess the $400/night rooms will be available for some more time.

camping is the best option, imo. and it's not necessarily partying all night; just bring earplugs and you should be able to sleep well. or you might want to join the quiet camping group.

[gaypalmsprings]

Daft Punk is staying at my house.

Who is is General Coachella?

[bluemamba]

stagecoach started last year.

and sign up for the coachella/goldenvoice newsletters. or try to check the forum periodically. hotel rooms will be all booked 1-2 days after they announce the official dates of the festival. well, i guess the $400/night rooms will be available for some more time.

camping is the best option, imo. and it's not necessarily partying all night; just bring earplugs and you should be able to sleep well. or you might want to join the quiet camping group.

I think the best thing to do is meet someone is the forum that is opening their house to people going to the festival.

[Memorial_07]

Wasn't Stagecoach around in '07 or '06 too?

[Wheres the beef?]

1. Late January
2. A year before
3. 45-65k depending on lineup
4. Closer to the festival. No you don't need to be in PS.
5. No it's what you would expect any two lane freeway carrying thousands of commuters and an additional tens of thousands on any given day.
6. If you like NASCAR and Budweiser you shouldn't have a problem.

[TeamCoachellaHellYeah]

Wasn't Stagecoach around in '07 or '06 too?

07 was the 1st year.

[cornfieldsofpopcorn1]

I really need to go this year!

[tyles]

STAY IN A HOTEL IF YOU WANT TO SLEEP!

I second that. It's more expensive, sure, but if you want your rest for the next day(s) of the show, it's something to consider. Plus, contenental breakfast is a nice perk.

That aside, get there early if you want to catch as much as possible and avoid traffic. Also, it's nice to get there and walk around the polo field when it's not that full early in the day.

[Memorial_07]

I second that. It's more expensive, sure, but if you want your rest for the next day(s) of the show, it's something to consider. Plus, contenental breakfast is a nice perk.

That aside, get there early if you want to catch as much as possible and avoid traffic. Also, it's nice to get there and walk around the polo field when it's not that full early in the day.

Well, if you stay in something like Motel 6, it'll cost about 200 bucks for the weekend...but who really wants that?

But I agree with everyone saying that getting a hotel will be much better.
That's what I'm doing again this year

[traviscanada]

Coachella has been directly after finals for me in the past. I enjoy spending a day in a hotel relaxing before heading to the campgrounds on Thursday. Might do a hotel sandwhich this year if the dates are after my exams.

[SFChrissy]

I love how shit is handed on a silver platter...

[tyles]

I love how shit is handed on a silver platter...

And this is refering to...?

[Memorial_07]

Yeah SF, clarify please...

[gaypalmsprings]

I love how shit is handed on a silver platter...

How about a gold platter?

[BROKENDOLL]

How about a gold platter?

GPS, You cease to amaze me with these pics you come up with! Now SF's post makes sense. Well, not really, but I'll probably forget about it in the next few posts anyway.

[SFChrissy]

And this is refering to...?

Yeah SF, clarify please...

The person who started the thread asks questions that are all over this board. So many of us who have gone year after year, learned by trial 'n error how to plan, travel & execute the weekend...the beauty of being a coachella virgin is discovering those details with having to be told how it gets done...hence being served on a gold platter as Gay expresses with visual perfection...

How about a gold platter?

That's looks absolutely lovely...the fart can is the perfect icing!!!

[Memorial_07]

that kinda makes more sense.
although I've been to Coachella twice now

[Wheres the beef?]

The person who started the thread asks questions that are all over this board. So many of us who have gone year after year, learned by trial 'n error how to plan, travel & execute the weekend...the beauty of being a coachella virgin is discovering those details with having to be told how it gets done...hence being served on a gold platter as Gay expresses with visual perfection...

That's looks absolutely lovely...the fart can is the perfect icing!!!

Agreed. But no amount of people going back and forth with do this or do that is really going to compensate for being a newbie. People could give him all the answers in the world and tell him exactly what to do. He'll still fuck it up.