First Time at EDC
I’ve been to a lot of music festivals like Coachella, HARD, and Nocturnal Wonderland. But the one festival I hadn’t been to was Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC), even when it was in LA before moving to Vegas.
This year I finally had the chance to attend EDC! I was so excited but also anxious because I hadn’t been to a music festival in a while, especially one that was 3 days.
Preparation
Outfits
Another thing I had also never done was wear “rave clothes.” I always went to festivals in a little more casual/comfortable clothes (usually a crop top with high waisted shorts and sneakers) since that’s what most of my friends wore too. But I wanted to go all out this time!
I’ve always seen super cute outfits on Instagram and online, so I Insta-stalked a ton of pages until I put together my outfits.
Miscellaneous Necessities
And of course, other things you absolutely need if you’re going to a festival (doesn’t matter if you’re VIP or GA). I put them all into a fanny pack!
- Tissues
- Hand sanitizer
- Wet wipes
- Face mask or bandana to keep the dust out
- Sealed lip balm
- Ear plugs
- Portable charger
You can grab all the ones I got here or at Target! I added them all to our Amazon shop so it’s easy for you to get.
And we also had the following in our car:
- Sunscreen
- Cooler bag filled with ice, water and Gatorade (added hydration for when you’re leaving)
- Body wipes
EDC
Favorite Sets
It’s so hard to choose my favorite sets because there were so many! But some of my faves were Gryffin, Illenium, Ilan Bluestone, and Zedd.
I loved that each of the stages were different, so you really could just jump around from stage to stage to catch a lot of sets. I actually spent most of my time doing that with the exception of the handful of DJs I absolutely had to see.
My favorite stages were Circuit Grounds, Quantum Valley, and, of course, Kinetic Field, the main stage. But my absolute favorite were the art cars that were driving around!
Festival Experience
I don’t think I can compare EDC to any other festival. I initially only wanted to go 1 day. I was nervous because it was “from dusk to dawn,” and I heard horror stories about people being stuck in traffic for like 5 hours. But everyone told me I had to at least go 2 days because your first day you’re just lost and overwhelmed, and you need at least 2 days to really see all that you want. But I ended up going all 3 days because I had so much fun!
The production value is just amazing. It’s insane to see all the detail that went into designing the whole festival especially the stages.
And guess what? EDC is ACTUALLY a carnival! They have rides!
Tips for EDC
Now that I’ve gone a grand total of 1 time, here are my tips for EDC, and ones I’ll definitely be following next time I go also.
Tip 1: Get Premier Parking.
Absolutely worth the money. My friends and I were able to get from our hotel and into the grounds within 1 hour. My other friends, who didn’t have premier parking, were stuck in traffic for about 3 hours.
Tip 2: Go early. Leave early.
We got in everyday around 5 pm and left around 3 am. It was so much easier to get in early. Plus I got all my photos done (LOL priorities…). My friends and I were able to go on a couple rides, grab some drinks, refill our water, get some food, all before running around trying to get from set to set.
Tip 3: Drive, if you can.
I was so lucky that my friend offered to drive us. I would definitely recommend driving over shuttles and Uber just because of the wait time. BUT of course if everyone in your group is planning on drinking and not being sober, BE SAFE AND TAKE THE SHUTTLES OR UBER.
Tip 4: Take a jacket.
I know a lot of people were happy EDC was moved from June to May because of the weather. Even though it was around 95 during the day and 70s at night, I actually still got cold at night! I would definitely recommend bringing a jacket or a long sleeve shirt to wear.
Tip 5: Set meeting spots and times BEFORE going into EDC.
The first day we had trouble meeting up with all our friends because we didn’t set our meeting times ahead of time. But the second day, we had it set so at the top of every hour we would meet at our spot. It was such a breeze meeting up with everyone!
Don’t rely on texts because I had 0 service from the time I walked in until I got back to the hotel. (AT&T sucks.)
Tip 6: Remember to always time stamp your texts.
Pretty standard for all festivals. Texts don’t go through so just add the time you send your text at the end of the text. (Ex. Hi, this is my text 11:41)
Tip 7: HAVE FUN. And do YOU.
Seriously. EDC is exhausting but SO MUCH FUN. Make the most of it while you’re there! Coming back to real life sucks, so have fun and do whatever makes YOU happy.
