The 2025 Coachella Festival isn’t exactly kicking off as planned.
Festival attendees heading to the iconic April event in Indio, California, revealed to Business Insider that Thursday’s campsite entry turned into a marathon wait of up to 12 hours — with some still stranded outside the venue.
“I made a joke earlier that I didn’t know Fyre Festival tickets were included in admission this year, but that’s honestly how I feel,” Adam Roberts said while waiting in his car. “I feel duped.”
Despite shelling out at least $800 per ticket, attendees were left in the dark about the delays, even as the official app and Instagram continued pushing promotional content about American Express and Nobu partnerships.
Coachella representatives remained silent when approached for comment.
Several experienced Coachella campers who spoke with BI, all with multiple festivals under their belts, expressed shock at Thursday morning’s unprecedented situation.
Hailey Maxwell, a five-time Coachella veteran, arrived in Indio around 3 a.m. PT. While the official website states camping opens at 9 a.m. on Thursday before the Friday-to-Monday festival, Maxwell noted this schedule hadn’t been strictly followed previously.
“They usually open the gates around 3:15 to 3:30 a.m. every year, which is why people wait around the area,” Maxwell said. “We’re usually at the campsite before sunrise. I’m not even to the security checkpoint yet.”
When Maxwell spoke to BI from her car at approximately 12:30 p.m. PT, she had endured nine hours in line.
“The directions were the same they had on the website in past years, but this time, they’re directing people a different way,” she said. “There was no traffic control, so nobody knew where they were going. It took us four hours just to travel half a mile.”
Oliver and Kayla Standring, who joined the queue at 8 a.m. PT, immediately sensed trouble brewing.
“I’ve camped another four times at Coachella, and usually it’s a pretty smooth process,” Oliver Standring said, adding that it had taken “two hours max” in years past.
A shortage of toilets and food
The extended wait times were made worse by inadequate facilities, according to festival attendees who spoke with BI. A major concern was the absence of accessible restrooms during the prolonged waiting period.
“It’s literally the middle of the desert without any cover,” Kayla Standring explained. “I had to open both of the car doors to block myself, then the girls in the car behind us saw, and they started doing that. I started a revolution for the women.”
“People are peeing in cups,” said Roberts, who arrived at about 4:30 a.m. PT. “It’s been eight hours; people gotta do what they gotta do.”
Multiple attendees reported avoiding water consumption to minimize bathroom breaks on the roadside. However, this risky strategy could lead to dehydration in the intense desert conditions.
“The heat is already becoming unbearable,” Maxwell noted. “My car has air conditioning, thankfully, but without it, I’d be suffering. I’m seeing cars overheating everywhere, and some people have completely run out of gas.”
Kayla Standring observed fellow festivalgoers trekking a mile to the nearest Rite Aid for supplies, while Zoe Bush’s group opted for DoorDash deliveries to their vehicle.
“I’ve attended for five consecutive years and never experienced anything remotely problematic. It’s typically been smooth sailing,” Bush informed BI. “But our group drove eight hours from the Bay Area and are running on just two hours of sleep.”
“Zero communication is what makes this situation particularly frustrating.”
When Kayla Standring approached a security guard for information, she received a dismissive response to “download the Coachella app.” However, every festivalgoer who spoke with BI confirmed a complete absence of communication from Coachella staff, coupled with insufficient signage and traffic management on-site.
Frustrated attendees have flooded Coachella’s latest Instagram post—promoting a Nobu omakase experience—demanding answers. They’ve taken the initiative through Reddit discussions and reaching out to local officials.
“My group started contacting law enforcement to report the situation because it’s becoming a health hazard,” Maxwell explained. “The Nobu promotional post felt particularly tone-deaf given the current crisis.”
“I’m a festival veteran,” Roberts added. “People understand occasional hiccups, but zero communication is what makes this situation particularly frustrating.”
Some festivalgoers are still hopeful
This year’s lineup features heavyweight headliners Lady Gaga, Green Day, and Post Malone. However, the pre-festival chaos has left some attendees demoralized while others maintain optimism for weekend one’s kickoff on Friday. (Weekend two runs April 18-20.)
Kelly Jensen, who endured a grueling 12-hour wait from 2 a.m. to 2 p.m. before finally reaching the campground, described the experience as “literal hell.”
“It was absolutely the most horrendous experience I’ve ever had at a festival, especially considering the substantial amount we invested to attend an event we genuinely cherish,” Jensen, who has attended Coachella four times, told BI. “When we finally made it in, everyone was too exhausted to even begin setting up their campsites.”
“After this ordeal, camping is completely off the table for future festivals — which is unfortunate since it’s such an integral part of these experiences,” Roberts said. “I’m hopeful things will improve once we’re settled, but this is definitely not an ideal way to kick off the event.”
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