Coachella Crunch: Festival-Goers Complain of “Dehumanizing” 12-Hour Lines

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Instead of saying “Coach-hell-a,” it would be clearer and more polite to refer to Coachella directly or use a formal name like “the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.” The experience of getting to Coachella this year has proven particularly challenging, festival attendees claim, as they are venting on social media about the prolonged wait times for access to the car camping area on the festival grounds.

It’s no surprise that traffic congestion on the way to the festival has been an issue before, but The Desert Sun reported a particularly challenging start this year due to lengthy wait times leading up to the camping area. Some campers even reported waiting as long as 12 hours without access to restrooms.

The local Palm Springs television station, KESQ-TV, referred to the traffic congestion as “trafficpocalypse” and spoke with a few festival attendees who expressed frustration: “This is ridiculous, we’re wasting money by sitting in a car for eight hours before we even get inside,” and “I’ve seen people collapse from heat exhaustion; it’s been madness.

On Thursday, a TikTok user shared a lengthy, popular outburst from her vehicle, explaining that she and her companions had spent 10 hours waiting in their car since they arrived at 3 a.m. She described the line of cars as a chaotic mess or disorganized situation.

1 p.m. already, and we’re yet to pass through security checks. It’s scorching hot outside with temperatures reaching 100 degrees, causing cars to overheat and run out of gas. There isn’t a single bathroom in sight, forcing people to resort to using nature as their restroom, which is quite disheartening. Considering the hefty price tag of around $600 per person, this whole experience has been terribly disappointing, stripping everyone of their dignity. Needless to say, people are furious about it.

@notliss

Experiencing quite a Fyre Festival-like scenario here… And indeed, I’m not looking my best after being awake for over 30 hours. #Coachella2025 #CoachellaCamping #Coachella

♬ original sound – liss

Regarding the Coachella event, some users have expressed comparable frustrations. One user penned, “This year marks my 12th Coachella, yet I’ve never encountered such a lengthy queue for campsites.” Another user echoed their sentiment, stating, “I’ve been waiting in line for 8 hours for Coachella camping and I’m still not close. This is utterly unacceptable. You charge a significant amount and can’t even handle fundamental logistics?

A team member from The Hollywood Reporter reportedly spent four hours queuing for a campsite, which is shorter than what some people on social media claimed, but many attendees still feel this year’s waiting periods were lengthier than typical.

This year, it’s not clear what factors might be contributing to the longer wait times; however, a representative from Coachella hasn’t provided a response to our inquiry for clarification. Coachella is scheduled to kick off this coming Friday afternoon and will span across two weekends (this weekend and the one following). Lady Gaga, Green Day, and Post Malone are set as headliners, with other notable performances by Travis Scott, Missy Elliot, Charli XCX, and Megan Thee Stallion.

Last weekend, both Ed Sheeran and Weezer were added to the event schedule. Weezer will perform during the first weekend, whereas Ed Sheeran has been scheduled for the second weekend. Despite this unfortunate incident, Weezer is still set to play at the festival on Saturday. This performance comes a few days after Weezer’s bassist, Scott Shriner’s wife, Jillian Lauren, was shot by police on Tuesday. The shooting occurred during an ongoing pursuit of suspects involved in a hit-and-run case.

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2025-04-11 21:24