I was on my computer, hitting refresh over and over. Literally sitting there, at 10am – fighting the urge to go buy a bomb ass ice coffee from Brooklyn Water Bagels (seriously that shit is dope!) Just minutes before the official start date of ticket sales, I was in. In line that is. The ticketing system is unique but effective for Tomorrow World, you are put in line and then they slowly let people purchase tickets. Boom, I handed over the $700+ for the full madness + dreamville and it was done. I only had to wait 6 months until the purchase paid off in the form of a wild experience.
I personally think I lost sleep over my anxiousness at least 4 nights leading up to Tomorrow World. It was the one chance to experience the madness of Tomorrow Land without the hassle of spending thousands of dollars traveling to a foreign country (although I can say I went to a Waffle House not far from the festival location and … Holy Fuck these people are literally another breed). Overall TomorrowWorld exceeded my exceptions but there were a few instances where they fell short.
Dear TomorrowWorld,
Here is how you fucked up in 2013. Please learn and make 2014 better.
Parking
This was the very first, “what the fuck” – moments after entering the grounds. Since this is not a car-camping festival, you must carry all of your camping materials from your car to the camp ground and back. Rather than reward the first people that arrive with the best parking in the place, they actually forced us to park the farthest from the festival entrance. There were chances to get closer, but it involved paying off a parking official while his boss wasn’t looking.
I am not talking about a small walk from your car to the festival entrance. I’m talking about a 30 minute walk carrying 150lbs of your camping shit. I think if you arrive first, you park close.
Access to Ice
I came to Tomorrow World knowing that my ice would soon melt after arriving, and that I would be shelling out $40-$50 over the four days to replenish my ice supply. I had previously attended Bonnaroo a few times, and assumed that access to ice was just a standard process. Obviously when we arrived we just starting to drink immediately and didn’t focus much on ice. I think it was day two when I started to ask around. Each section of the campground has its own info station to get…..info. I asked the station leaders of several different sections, with no luck. I asked around other vendors, guys of golf carts, security people – no one knew where ice was.
It was on day 3 that I finally located a unmarked truck back in a low foot-traffic area that was selling ice out of the back. It didn’t have any signs by it, just a few people taking your Tomorrow World tickets (1 ticket = $2 USD) By the time I located ice, my beer was warm and my fruit was nasty. huge fail!
Food
The food was so fucking gross, you should be ashamed. Its both better and cheeper to buy food at a baseball game than this shit.
Enough said.
Showers
First off, I get it. I have gone days without a shower, but if I can get a nice shower I will. The shower tent is huge with a long line. When you finally get inside you realize its a huge empty tent with 12 showers in it. I often waited 45min or more in a line that we called the “warm water line” just to realize that the “cold water line” actually just went to the same showers but it was shorter. ha
My advice: Get a sponsor like Suave and give away some shampoo and soap for the price you charge for a shower and tripple the stalls.
Late Night Music
Late night at Tomorrow World was fun, but at the same time it was weak compared to other camping festivals that don’t stop. The music stops at midnight! Do I need to repeat that?
THE MUSIC STOPS AT MIDNIGHT.
You are left to continue the party your self with battery powered party favors and imagination. Luckily we were able to hijack some electrical outlets and throw a little afterparty at one of the dining pods, but something tells me they are going to find a way to block you from hijacking the electrical outlets this year. We were shut down by a few dozen horse cops but it was fun while it lasted.
If they could designate a late night party area and provide electricity, we can party on with out breaking any city laws
Love,
Zach