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🎆 Part 2: Electric Daisy Carnival - Las Vegas

From the man who started it all,

When you walk through the gates imagine walking through a portal that allows you to leave all judgement behind and open your heart, be your best self, and put out the best energy you have

Pasquale Rotella - CEO of Insomniac Events

He couldn’t have said it better. In addition to the info that can be found on the official EDC website, here's supplemental information that can help.

General Vegas Info​

Hotel info/where to stay​

One word of caution, it's highly recommended you don’t book a place on Airbnb. There are many stories online of reservations getting canceled, usually happening closer to the event. You don't want to be in a situation scrambling to find another hotel room when prices are high. An exception to this is if you book with a super host, they can't cancel reserved Airbnb bookings.

Be aware of resort fees on Vegas strip hotels. These can be sneaky and not be included in the total price when you make a reservation.

Food + Drink​

  • First time in Vegas? Try out the many buffets available throughout the strip.

    • The Buffet at Wynn Las Vegas, Bacchanal Buffet, Wicked Spoon, and Buffet at Bellagio are all regarded as the best Vegas has to offer
    • Other notable Vegas resturants I recommend is Eggslut, Tacos El Gordo, Gordon Ramsay Fish and Chips, Sakana AYCE Sushi.

  • If you gamble in the hotels, drinks provided for free

  • Las Vegas tap water isn't that great for drinking, try to get bottled water. Do beware of street vendors, it’s a common scam for them to sell bottled water filled from tap water in Vegas. Buying from a retail store is preferred.

  • Las Vegas strip is open container, you can legally carry around a drink in hand outdoors and walk around the Vegas strip

EDC Week – Preparties and Afterparties​

During EDC Week, which can start as early as the Tuesday before EDC weekend to the Monday after. Many of the high-end night clubs inside various hotels on the Vegas strip host shows with various artists playing. Some artists who won't even be at EDC itself!

You can view everything that's happening on the official EDC Week website: https://www.edcweek.com/

Las Vegas nightclubs have an additional way of admitting people. It is possible to not pay for cover depending on who the artist is, have a good ratio of girls to guys, and arrive to the venue early.

If you can meet these requirements, find a promoter that can put you on the guest list. They can be found through social media, /r/electricdaisycarnival reddit. Getting their phone number and messaging them works best.

Or you can buy a ticket, which are at low price when tickets are released sale and go up as EDC gets closer. Tickets for guys are almost 2x the price then girls, and drinks can vary from $15+.

I personally recommend going a pool party and a nightclub event if it's your first time going, on the days leading up to EDC. View these as events that help settle you in Vegas, getting antiquated to all the awesomeness around you, and ease you into the epicness that is EDCLV. Don't drink too much you can easily get too dehydrated being out in the dry Vegas. You'll want to save your energy and health for EDC itself.

Also, check the club’s website on the allowed and prohibited attire list. The list will differ depending on the type of event (daytime/nighttime).

Electric Daisy Carnival​

  • When purchasing EDC tickets, each order gets one box with one set of goodies and trinkets. So if ordering 2 wristbands/tickets, and you want 2 boxes, you'll need to make a seperate order for each ticket. Each year had something different. Eye Mask, Playing Cards, Face Cover, Luggage Tags were all various things that were included each year.

Transportation​

There are 4 choices of transportation to get to the Speedway, which are Shuttles, Uber/Lyft/Taxi, Driving, and Helicopter.

Shuttles​

Perks:

  • Security check is at the bus stop, so you won’t need to go through security at the venue later

  • There are also porta potties and water fill stations at the shuttle pickup and drop off sites.

  • They cut through the military base to avoid highway traffic and get there quicker

  • You can sleep on the shuttle ride back

  • No need for a designated driver

  • The most well-balanced transportation method of them all

Note: The shuttle entrance is on the opposite side of the main entrance, so you don't have that experience of that view of the whole venue when first walking in via the bleachers/seating area. Driving and Uber/Lyft/Taxi people get this view (helicopter goes through a different entrance). It might be possible to walk around the speedway to get to that entrance though.

Shuttles cost $199 for a regular pass, and $319 for Premier.

Driving​

Most probable choice if you live close by (California) and drove to Las Vegas.

General parking at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway is free, Premier/VIP Parking is available for a fee. Can be the cheapest/best option if you have people ride along, more so if you brought your own car and are not renting one. However, someone is going to have to be the designated driver.

Side tip: If you do this, when you park at the venue, take a note of where you parked. There are a couple of ways you can do this.

  1. Take a picture of the car and the surrounding features. Taking a picture saves it's GPS location along with the picture. In case you get lost, you can use the surrounding features in the picture to locate your car, and it really helps staff find your car if it gets to that stage (ask me how I know)
  2. For iPhone users, you can tell Siri “Save my parking spot”. Location will be viewable on Apple Maps
  3. On Google Maps, you can long press on your location on the screen and mark a location to save.

You don't want to waste time mindlessly wandering the parking lot trying to find your car, while exhausted. (ask me how I know)

Uber/Lyft/Taxi​

Pros: On demand pickup (to an extent, depending on time of night). This can get expensive because of surge pricing closer to the end of the night. Also, you'll be stuck in the same car traffic as everyone else. My least recommended option, I've never done this, but have heard how expensive it can get.

Helicopter​

The granddaddy of transportation options, you skip all the traffic and get there in 15 minutes. It's ultimate VIP transportation experience. The helipad is located at the McCarran airport. Prices range from $560 one-way $870 round-trip for a person, $3,570 one-way, $5,640 round-trip for a private charter for 7 people.

The Festival​

  • Don’t arrive to the festival drunk/wasted, they can deny you into the festival

  • When in the porta potty, don’t be alarmed if someone knocks on your door. It’s most likely Ground Control checking to make sure you’re not passed out in there. Just yell out 'Occupied' or 'I’m fine’ and continue doing your business.

info

At Electric Daisy Carnival and most Insomniac hosted events, you can seek the help of Ground Control, a team of staff purposed solely for the wellbeing of the festival attendees. They are more than happy to help, whether that be any questions you have or need help from the on-site medical team. They can be found roaming throughout the festival grounds in a purple or teal shirt with angel wings on the back.

  • If you need cell phone service, head high up to the bleachers to get away from the crowds and structures. I've heard of reports of people getting good service up there.
  • If there is a moment where you have free time, I recommend exploring the venue, especially Downtown EDC! I won't say much to not spoil it, but last I went, it was a blast exploring this mini city in the speedway.

Fireworks​

The main fireworks show happens around 1:30ish every night, the schedule will have exact times. I encourage you to stop what you're doing and take it all in, there's nothing else like it.

Secret Sets​

Follow artists on social media for surprise appearances in 2019, Skrillex had a surprise set and destroyed Circuit Grounds. Seven Lions made a surprise appearance during Above & Beyond set, a surprise with the fact he wasn't on the lineup, and many were angry before. RL Grime ended up playing day 3 even though his original day 2 set got canceled. Kaskade often announces his secret after set on Twitter. EDCLV has a history of having many epic surprise acts, so follow your favorite artists on Instagram / Twitter, and you'll be the first to know of any updates the day of. There are multiple smaller art cards and moving stages that have had big acts play on unannounced. But let's say you don't have service inside. Ask around, word spreads quick of rumors and up to date sets.

Additional Tips​