5 Noticeable Differences Between EDC Las Vegas and Nocturnal Wonderland

My first festival experience was in June at EDC Las Vegas. This past weekend, I traveled to Nocturnal Wonderland for the first time. Although both productions are put on by Insomniac, I was surprised by the differences I noticed between the two massives.

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I was told the vibes in Cali are way better, but I didn’t realize how true that statement was until I got there. Yes the EDC experience is amazing, but because it’s “the biggest and the best” it attracts almost everyone. While EDC was constantly busy and packed in an almost uptight kind-of-way, Nocturnal Wonderland was laidback. The crowd was significantly smaller and incredibly more chill. Don’t get me wrong though, when Bare took over the Queen’s Grounds stage on Saturday the crowd went fucking wild. The difference was they went fucking wild with pure enthusiasm.

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EVERYONE I met during my experience at Nocturnal Wonderland was friendly. Seriously. We decided to try camping for this festival and as soon as we got to our campsite our neighbor, Hillary, handed us beers and then proceeded to become our festie bestie. The people I talked to at the campsite and the festival were some of the friendliest I’ve ever met. I wasn’t feeling well after the first night and everyone that came by our campsite asked me if I was okay. Henry the Happy Hippie (yep, that’s what we decided to call him) gave me entire jug of apple juice because that was oddly the only thing I wanted and he happened to have it. Of course there was a lot of cool people at EDC, but there was also a ton of assholes.

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In my opinion, EDC Las Vegas is like Halloween. Girls try to get away with wearing as little as possible, while telling themselves it’s okay because it’s a “rave outfit.” If I looked in any direction while at EDC I could easily spot at least five girls in pasties and a thong with ribbons wrapped around their legs. (I’m sure the guys love it, but I was honestly repulsed anytime I came too close to one of those basically-naked chicks.) At Nocturnal Wonderland I saw four girls total dressed like that the entire weekend. People made really cool Wonderland-related outfits including the Queen of Hearts, the White Rabbit and the Cheshire Cat. People wearing outfits that weren’t Wonderland-inspired were still creative and looked pretty damn cool, mostly because they weren’t 95 percent naked.

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During my experience at EDC the staff was, for the most part, unhelpful. Although, I admit the few that were helpful probably worked for Insomniac, and the rude ones were likely the rent-a-staff being paid minimum wage to deal with a bunch of crazy people. All of the staff at Nocturnal Wonderland (with the exception of that one security guard I heard soliciting bribes to allow in prohibited items) was friendly and helpful. While Deanna Rilling, one of DJOYbeat’s journalists and my partner-in-crime for the weekend, was off interviewing Adrian Lux (keep an eye out for that coming soon!) I went and laid in the grass. Various Ground Control members stopped by a few times to make sure I was okay. I saw them roaming around, making friends and happily keeping an eye on their fellow attendees the entire weekend while having a smile on their faces.

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I was lucky enough to experience EDC Las Vegas as a VIP and it was incredible! I’m not one for huge crowds, so being able to escape to the VIP areas was phenomenal. The busy VIP deck to the side of the main stage at EDC gave an elevated view of everything. I didn’t venture into that mass of a crowd, but I’m pretty sure my view from the deck beat the one from down below. Also, skipping the GA line going into EDC was worth the price alone. At Nocturnal Wonderland the VIP section was practically empty. The view of the main stage with a VIP ticket was the same as the view with a GA ticket. Because the venue is on a hill, I could sit right next to the VIP area and still get the same overlooking view. I’m not sure how busy the lines at the main entrance of Nocturnal were, but the VIP and GA lines at the entrance next to the campgrounds were the same: speedy and practically nonexistent.

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