The Arrival Thread

5 to 9 hours in line is what people are complianing about, losing the radiators on their cars and having friends have to push them in, cracked engine blocks on some RV's and THOUSANDS of dollars coming in repair/rebuild/replace, a guy near us will have to be towed out and it will cost him around 25,000 to replace the engine in his RV 

After fours in the main lot we are finally in line for the tollbooth, I think.

When we arrive at the entrance to the Day Parking Lot on Thursday morning, we were directed into a "Field of Chaos" by a Nelson County Sheriffs Deputy and Oak Ridge Road was blocked beyond that point. There were still a few WET Volunteers trying to direct traffic in the field at that time, but it was obvious that they were way out of their league. It wasn't long before the only "Lockn Staff" anywhere was a guy in a golf cart talking on his radio. From his conversation I gleaned that because of the traffic backup on US 29, the Virginia State Patrol had ordered them to get the cars coming in on Oak Ridge Road off of the road ASAP, and they did.

IMHO forcing thousands of cars, trucks and RVs into a pile in the middle of a field where no one is directing traffic is an extremely irresponsible decision. The chaotic situation in that field was extremely dangerous and someone should be held accountable. 99.8% of the people in the middle of this traffic nightmare kept a great attitude, but we encountered a few extremely hostile individuals that gave us much cause for concern. We eventually got over the Hell we were forced to endure in that "Field of Chaos" and enjoyed the awesome musicians and music. But we missed all of the music on Thursday due to the complete incompetence of event planners and staff!

Here is an quote from the Nelson County Times about the situation on Thursday:

"At about noon today, a 'slew of volunteers' working the day parking area near Gate 1 off of Oak Ridge Road quit 'all at one time," said Captain Ron Robertson, of the Nelson County Sheriff's Department. He said 'at the time' they were overwhelmed and could not get things under control. The Nelson County Sheriff's Department "stepped in and did a little bit," Robertson said. Then, attendees started getting out of their cars, directing traffic themselves or trying to tell others which line to get in, he added. He chalked it up to this being the first run of the festival. 'It's a learning experience for everyone,' he said. By 6 p.m., a few officials from the Virginia State Police department had stepped in to help.

I have a feeling the debacle will be well tended to next year. I was having box office issues and was around when the situation got scary. There was a lot of frustration that could've been avoided that is for sure.

We just got in.

got a chuckle from both of these

im really trying to talk myself into buying a ticket to wanee and taking the 10 hour road trip down there. i've been talking with the folks on the wanee forums and they all seem like wonderful people.

I decided last June that I was going to Wanee 2014, but I couldn't hardly wait the 10 months for it to get here. So, I decided on doing Lockn' Fest to kinda hold me over. I had an excellent time btw, and bought my EB tix for 2014.
Now, Wanee 2014 is only 2 and a half months away and I cant wait! I guess I have about an 8 hour ride or so, (coming from NE Tn) Plus I'm gonna stop in Macon and check out the Allman Bro's "Big House" Museum on my way down. I plan on coming down the Sunday before.
I saw that you joined Wanee Forum sneake, and yes, your right. A very good bunch of fun, like minded people. A lot of us, (about 300) are members of the BOS/SOS Brothers and Sisters of the Suwanee FB group so the " Waneetopia meet and greet thing is going to be a good thing to attend. This is going to be my first Wanee, and hopefully I will be at everyone from now on.