By Jackie Kuczynski (@happy__jacks on Twitter & Instagram
From July 18th to the 21st, I was lucky enough to experience the magic that is Tomorrowland Belgium. I was in disbelief that we were able to get tickets (a very, very high-stress situation), and was still in disbelief we were actually going when my wristband arrived.
Talk about the ultimate bucket list festival! I had been watching vlogs, sets, and after movies for years, and my boyfriend and I were finally able to make it happen. I’m going to break down some aspects of the festival to give you a better idea of how incredible this experience was. It’s safe to say it blew our minds!
Global Journey
Tomorrowland puts together Global Journey packages, which bundle together your bus, train or flight transportation with your lodging arrangements and ticket. Not only does this save you the hassle of figuring these things out separately (amazing when traveling you’re internationally), but also Global Journey packages are a little easier to get than regular tickets. It’s no joke when they tell you that the festival sells out in minutes.
Pro tip: Look at all of the Global Journey packages (or tickets) that you want ahead of time, and pick the top two that you want (just in case one sells out). Because you have to log on the second they go on sale, and you’re competing with hundreds of thousands of people trying to get these tickets. The more quickly you can choose exactly what you want from the options, the better. ALSO: there is no layaway plan on any Tomorrowland ticket or package. Make sure that you have a valid payment method that can be charged the full amount at the time of checkout.
Camping
To be totally honest, Tomorrowland was the first time I camped at a festival. It was more of a glamping experience for us, because we had chosen a Spectacular Relax Room, which is essentially a shipping container with a light, power outlets, two beds, and hanging shelves for clothing. We could also lock our door, which was a great peace of mind.
The showers were no more than 100 feet away, and were free of charge and always had hot water. There was always a crew of volunteers cleaning up the bathrooms, showers, and any area of the campground, so each day it was nearly spotless.
The Montagoe was the main building of our campground, where we had food available at all times, a breakfast buffet, 24-hour concierge and security, and a beauty salon. There were small after-hours parties, morning performances, and a pool and hot tub for everyone to hang out in before and after the festival. You could say this was basically a resort inside the festival.
There were also regular camping options as well, where you can bring your own gear with you. You can buy your supplies at the festival so you don’t have to figure out how to get a tent to Europe.
Pro tip: Weather in Belgium has a range of 40 degrees sometimes. It was almost 90 during the day and 50 at night – so if you’re camping, bring warm clothes!
The Stages
I’m not sure where to begin with the stages! There are 17 stages at Tomorrowland, each of them unique and amazing. We took the time to see all of them throughout the weekend, and I highly recommend that you do the same.
Most notable, as always, is mainstage. Tomorrowland brought back their Book of Wisdom theme, and mainstage was incredible. They even had a book in the top right corner that had Tim Bergling’s (Avicii) name on it. That is just one of the amazing examples of the attention to detail Tomorrowland puts into this festival.
I won’t go through all 17 stages, but I want to touch on a few. The Freedom Stage is an indoor stage that fully immerses you in sound, lights, and lasers. We saw Eric Prydz’s Holosphere 6.0 here and it was one of the coolest productions I have ever witnessed.
The Garden of Madness is a covered stage that uses fountains as visuals among the lights and lasers, with flowers hanging from the ceiling of the roof. We were lucky enough to see Alison Wonderland close this stage on Saturday night, and it was nothing short of magical.
The Lotus Stage replaced last year’s Organ of Harmony, and featured some of my favorite sets of the weekend such as Lost Frequencies and No Redemption (Tchami x Malaa). The stage had lotus flowers on top of it that would open and close, two giant staircases on each side of it, and absolutely no shortage of fireworks. The stage was at the bottom of a hill, and it was so fun watching people run and dance down it during sets.
I can’t forget to mention the Rave Cave, which is an actual cave that fits no more than 50 people, and the Rose Garden, with its dragon that extends into the lake behind the stage. Every stage was truly a work of art.
The People
I had a lot of people ask me if I was nervous about going to Tomorrowland because it was in a foreign country. If a language barrier is holding you back, do not worry! Tomorrowland is an English-speaking festival. All of the crew are fluent, as are most festival-goers.
The crew and security at Tomorrowland are some of the nicest people I have ever come across. Their number one priority is that you are safe and that you feel welcome. There are crew members at every corner and walkway of the festival to direct traffic, help you if you’re lost, or just give you a smile and high five.
Be prepared to talk to strangers! The crowds at Tomorrowland are very friendly and very social. Don’t take it as people being creepy, because they genuinely wanted to make friends and just meet people from all over the world. We met people from Ireland, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, and so many other countries.
You will need to watch for pick-pockets, of course! So be friendly, but aware of your surroundings!
Pro tip: No egos. The crowds at Tomorrowland truly dance like no one is watching, and they do not judge others for how they dance. It might seem weird at first, but a large part of the crowd was an older demographic, around 50-60, and they were partying harder than a lot of the younger festivalgoers. No judgment, no age limit, no “cool” way to dance. Everyone was there for the right reasons.
I could talk about Tomorrowland for days, but I want to leave the rest of the experience up to anyone who goes! There was a moment where I stood in the crowd and realized how crazy it is that music has pulled together all of these people from every corner of the world. And guess what? I already started saving for Tomorrowland 2020!
Live Today. Love Tomorrow. Unite Forever.
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