Festivalgoers smile for a photo as they wait in traffic to get into the car camping area at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif., Thursday, April 10, 2025.
Indio, California – Thousands of Coachella attendees swarmed Indio’s Eldorado Polo Club on Thursday, hoping to kick off a weekend of music and celebration — but many were met instead with extreme delays, confusion, and frustration, prompting comparisons to the infamous Fyre Festival.
For some, the dream turned sour before the gates even opened. Car campers reported wait times as long as 12 hours just to enter the campgrounds. Social media quickly lit up with angry posts, especially on TikTok and Reddit, where users described being stuck in sweltering heat with no access to bathrooms, water, or clear directions.
“This whole experience has been so disappointing and it’s been extremely dehumanizing,” said TikTok user @notliss, who waited nearly 10 hours without getting through security. Her post — viewed over 43,000 times — included footage of attendees relieving themselves in bushes due to lack of facilities.
According to Reddit threads, the traffic jams left people running low on gas and patience. One user claimed it took them 13 hours to reach their camping spot, calling for partial refunds from Goldenvoice, the festival’s promoter.
Part of the chaos stemmed from poor communication. Coachella’s app reportedly misdirected drivers, showing entry routes that were blocked off. According to SFGATE, two of their reporters were caught in a two-hour loop through Indio’s Avenue 52, Monroe Street, Avenue 54, and Madison Street, before they were redirected miles away from the listed gate.
Amid the disarray, JSX, a semi-private airline, is offering a high-priced escape from the desert gridlock. The charter service added “pop-up” flights from Burbank to a nearby airport in Thermal, priced at $499 one-way. While the flights won’t eliminate security lines, they at least bypass the grueling traffic on the sizzling blacktop.
Despite the setbacks, some attendees found brief moments of connection while idling for hours. As the sun set and the moon rose, strangers chatted through rolled-down windows, blasted music, and shared snacks — even as frustration simmered.
With temperatures rising and more crowds expected, organizers will need to address the glaring logistical issues if they want to avoid another public relations disaster during the festival’s second weekend, April 18–20.
