No way to bring kids

[dekteon]

Hello, my wife and I have tickets for Glastonbury and we're looking to travel from Bristol to the festival on Thursday 23rd. However we're in a bit of a fix. We decided to bring our two kids (ages 4 and 2 - kids under 12 can enter for free), but unfortunately there are no spaces available for them on any of the official coaches. We've been informed that both of us HAVE to travel by coach in order to collect our tickets for the festival - but to do so would mean leaving the kids behind! Apparently it won't work for my wife to go on the coach with our daughter, while my son and I make alternative travel arrangements, as both adults have to be on the coach in order to get our tickets. So it seems we'll have to leave the kids at home, which would be a real shame imo. Does anyone know if there's a solution to our problem? Any suggestions greatly appreciated! Thanks, David

[Lucy92]

Could you get anyone to bring the kids down? There are drop off points you could meet them at once you’re in?

[dekteon]

Thanks Lucy. Unfortunately we don't know anyone locally, as we're travelling to Bristol from Dublin on the morning of the 23rd. I know there are carpool options etc, but the kids are way too young to give them into the care of a stranger...

[august1]

2 hours ago, dekteon said:

Thanks Lucy. Unfortunately we don't know anyone locally, as we're travelling to Bristol from Dublin on the morning of the 23rd. I know there are carpool options etc, but the kids are way too young to give them into the care of a stranger...

Go the coach and explain the situation, hopefully they'll give you your ticket/give it to your partner at the fest/leave it at ticket office on site.

Maybe make plans for 1 of you to get the coach with a kid, and other 2 find alternative route to the fest.

Hopefully the coach has 2 spare seats!

I'd be suprised if the situation didnt resolve itself

 

[clarkete]

Think the other parent can travel down from Bristol on a national express coach or bus with either one or both kids. First parent will travel on see coach and get one (or if driver is generous) both tickets and meet other parent on site, if coach driver not generous second would be collected from box office. 

Coach having spare seats would be incredibly fortunate, as those I've been on have high occupancy - people want their festival tickets after all 😊

[PassingCloud]

9 hours ago, dekteon said:

Hello, my wife and I have tickets for Glastonbury and we're looking to travel from Bristol to the festival on Thursday 23rd. However we're in a bit of a fix. We decided to bring our two kids (ages 4 and 2 - kids under 12 can enter for free), but unfortunately there are no spaces available for them on any of the official coaches. We've been informed that both of us HAVE to travel by coach in order to collect our tickets for the festival - but to do so would mean leaving the kids behind! Apparently it won't work for my wife to go on the coach with our daughter, while my son and I make alternative travel arrangements, as both adults have to be on the coach in order to get our tickets. So it seems we'll have to leave the kids at home, which would be a real shame imo. Does anyone know if there's a solution to our problem? Any suggestions greatly appreciated! Thanks, David

I’m sure I read somewhere else that if you don’t make the coach your tickets will be waiting for you at the collection desk at gate A (or wherever the coach drops off). The driver will hand them in.
Obviously check that but it makes sense. They wouldn’t just not let you have your festival ticket. 

[incident]

20 minutes ago, PassingCloud said:

I’m sure I read somewhere else that if you don’t make the coach your tickets will be waiting for you at the collection desk at gate A (or wherever the coach drops off). The driver will hand them in.
Obviously check that but it makes sense. They wouldn’t just not let you have your festival ticket. 

That's absolutely not guaranteed.

It has worked that way in previous years, but has never been officially stated policy and so can't be relied on.

Aside from that - All indications are that (with the International ticket shitshow and the various Royal Mail delivery problems), the cabins at Gate A are likely to be a disaster area and so should be avoided if at all possible this year moreso than usual.

[PassingCloud]

23 minutes ago, incident said:

That's absolutely not guaranteed.

It has worked that way in previous years, but has never been officially stated policy and so can't be relied on.

Aside from that - All indications are that (with the International ticket shitshow and the various Royal Mail delivery problems), the cabins at Gate A are likely to be a disaster area and so should be avoided if at all possible this year moreso than usual.

Yeah it’s not going to be straight forward. But if the driver just drops the tickets into the bin then there’s a serious oversight in planning by the festival. 

[incident]

1 minute ago, PassingCloud said:

But if the driver just drops the tickets into the bin then there’s a serious oversight in planning by the festival. 

Depends - those tickets are required by licence to be tied to coach travel, and so it's likely that allowing people to collect is a soft violation of the licence.

It's possible that one year MDC (or their incoming replacement) decide that actually that licence requirement does need to be complied with, at which point it's out of the hands of the Festival.

I'm aware of at least a couple other Festivals (Boomtown, Shambala) that have similar requirements on Coach or Cyclist package tickets, and they absolutely do enforce it.

[Lycra]

11 hours ago, dekteon said:

Hello, my wife and I have tickets for Glastonbury and we're looking to travel from Bristol to the festival on Thursday 23rd. However we're in a bit of a fix. We decided to bring our two kids (ages 4 and 2 - kids under 12 can enter for free), but unfortunately there are no spaces available for them on any of the official coaches. We've been informed that both of us HAVE to travel by coach in order to collect our tickets for the festival - but to do so would mean leaving the kids behind! Apparently it won't work for my wife to go on the coach with our daughter, while my son and I make alternative travel arrangements, as both adults have to be on the coach in order to get our tickets. So it seems we'll have to leave the kids at home, which would be a real shame imo. Does anyone know if there's a solution to our problem? Any suggestions greatly appreciated! Thanks, David

This seems a serious oversight in planning. After all its only 7 days before it all begins. Do you have to bring the children?

You both need to be on the coach to get your tickets and cannot just turn up to the coach expecting there to be seats for your children. SEE would not say the coach is full if it wasn't.

If you really need to bring your children the only way is to purposely miss the coach and make your own way to the festival; relying on the coach driver to put your tickets in the box office. The latter though is not guaranteed as their have been cases of tickets not being handed in by coach drivers or being lost. 

From numerous threads I read here and on other forums it appears more and more people want to bend festival rules to suit themselves. As stated by @incident, coach ticket rules are in place to comply with the festival's operating license. Peeps flauting the rules in significant numbers will cause operating issues, these may lead to stricter enforcement and could even endanger license renewal.

 

[PassingCloud]

I hope you manage to sort it and bring your kids. You’ll all have a wonderful time. 

[dekteon]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I think our best bet is to go to the coach and explain the situation to the driver. Hopefully he will give us our tickets before departure and then my wife and 2-year-old can travel on the coach, while I make my own way with our 4-year-old. The National Express coaches seem to be all booked. Does anyone know what the situation is with the 376 to Glastonbury, I'm sure that will be packed too. Is it a case of first come first served?

[dekteon]

1 hour ago, PassingCloud said:

I hope you manage to sort it and bring your kids. You’ll all have a wonderful time. 

Thanks a lot, really appreciate it. Have a great time yourself.

[Lycra]

5 hours ago, dekteon said:

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I think our best bet is to go to the coach and explain the situation to the driver. Hopefully he will give us our tickets before departure and then my wife and 2-year-old can travel on the coach, while I make my own way with our 4-year-old. The National Express coaches seem to be all booked. Does anyone know what the situation is with the 376 to Glastonbury, I'm sure that will be packed too. Is it a case of first come first served?

I think you're taking a big risk and flirting with disappointment. Whilst some drivers are relaxed about issuing tickets the majority stick to the rules....and some behave like your worst nightmare of a traffic warden. With children along you need certainty, not flying by the seat of your pants.

If you look at other threads you see accounts of how drivers operate.

Edited June 15, 2022 by Lycra

[timbrass]

15 hours ago, august1 said:

Go the coach and explain the situation, hopefully they'll give you your ticket/give it to your partner at the fest/leave it at ticket office on site.

Maybe make plans for 1 of you to get the coach with a kid, and other 2 find alternative route to the fest.

Hopefully the coach has 2 spare seats!

I'd be suprised if the situation didnt resolve itself

 

If you have the other person's passport then unless you have a dickhead driver, they will give you the second ticket.  Their concerns are 1) not giving out the wrong tickets 2) having to take unclaimed tickets to the ticket office at Gate A 3) getting home asap

[Neville Street]

3 minutes ago, timbrass said:

If you have the other person's passport then unless you have a dickhead driver, they will give you the second ticket.  Their concerns are 1) not giving out the wrong tickets 2) having to take unclaimed tickets to the ticket office at Gate A 3) getting home asap

Good point about them wanting to go home! The drivers best scenario is distributing all the tickets.

With 2 kids along, one of which didn't exist when the tickets were bought in October 2019, i think this will go fine with the driver. They will either be OK in a spare seat or lap, or they will give you the ticket and you can go get the local bus or find a lift share for 1 adult and 1 child. I would not get too worried about it.

As others have said, worst case is ticket will be at Gate A. I get the licensing conditions, but there are always unusual circumstances, and the 2 year hiatus will exacerbate that this year.

Have a great time 🙂

[Glast0baby]

1 minute ago, Neville Street said:

worst case is ticket will be at Gate A

I get you are being optimistic, but I think we are all aware that worse case scenario is that they lose the ticket.  There are risks here that have been fully explained by posters above.  I hope that it works out for everyone intentionally missing their coaches (for whatever very good reason), but there a huge risk here which must be acknowledged.  I think @Lycrasaid it best above.

7 hours ago, Lycra said:

This seems a serious oversight in planning. After all its only 7 days before it all begins. Do you have to bring the children?

You both need to be on the coach to get your tickets and cannot just turn up to the coach expecting there to be seats for your children. SEE would not say the coach is full if it wasn't.

If you really need to bring your children the only way is to purposely miss the coach and make your own way to the festival; relying on the coach driver to put your tickets in the box office. The latter though is not guaranteed as their have been cases of tickets not being handed in by coach drivers or being lost. 

From numerous threads I read here and on other forums it appears more and more people want to bend festival rules to suit themselves. As stated by @incident, coach ticket rules are in place to comply with the festival's operating license. Peeps flauting the rules in significant numbers will cause operating issues, these may lead to stricter enforcement and could even endanger license renewal.

 

OP made a huge and avoidable planning error.  They had months/years to tell Seetickets they were bringing 2 kids.  I feel massive sympathy for them, but this is a self imposed problem. Hoping they are ok and get it sorted!

[Lycra]

7 hours ago, dekteon said:

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I think our best bet is to go to the coach and explain the situation to the driver. Hopefully he will give us our tickets before departure and then my wife and 2-year-old can travel on the coach, while I make my own way with our 4-year-old. The National Express coaches seem to be all booked. Does anyone know what the situation is with the 376 to Glastonbury, I'm sure that will be packed too. Is it a case of first come first served?

Have you thought about a Plan B?

In addition to the driver not giving you the tickets before departure....and nearly all don't, despite pleas.....drivers operate to passenger manifests. They may let your wife on but refuse to carry your child.

Also if the your plan A works as you are hoping what will your wife do when she arrives at the festival. Will she have to hang around the coach park waiting for you to arrive? 

Edited June 15, 2022 by Lycra

[SouthbanKen]

Good luck - hope you and your family all make it and have a ball. 

[Butterz]

I suggest all of you go to the coach.  Introduce yourselves to the driver and explain the situation.  Have the lead booker adult and 1 kid ride in the coach along with all the bags.  Other adult and kid find another way to site, such as NE coach or taxi.

At best driver will give lead booker both tickets on the coach.  At worst the lead booker adult will need to follow the non-delivered ticket to the box office and connect with other adult to fetch it there.  It seems unlikely that the driver would just bin the leftover ticket.

If non-lead booker adult + kid get NE coach then they'll get dropped off near the See Tickets coach point and it will be easy to connect.  If they need to take a taxi it will be a pain; they might need to ride to the Bath & West site and then catch the shuttle to the main site.

[dekteon]

7 hours ago, Butterz said:

I suggest all of you go to the coach.  Introduce yourselves to the driver and explain the situation.  Have the lead booker adult and 1 kid ride in the coach along with all the bags.  Other adult and kid find another way to site, such as NE coach or taxi.

At best driver will give lead booker both tickets on the coach.  At worst the lead booker adult will need to follow the non-delivered ticket to the box office and connect with other adult to fetch it there.  It seems unlikely that the driver would just bin the leftover ticket.

If non-lead booker adult + kid get NE coach then they'll get dropped off near the See Tickets coach point and it will be easy to connect.  If they need to take a taxi it will be a pain; they might need to ride to the Bath & West site and then catch the shuttle to the main site.

Yes we've decided pretty much that's going to be our strategy. I've made arrangements for 2 of us to get to Glasto by alternative means, we're going to Castle Cary and taking a shuttle from there. Here's hoping it works out.

A couple of people have accused us of bad planning in not making arrangements for the kids sooner. Initially we'd planned for just my wife and I to go, and her parents would mind the kids, but then unforeseen circumstances meant that it made more sense to bring the kids. And now I really want them to go, I think they'll love it

[dekteon]

16 hours ago, SouthbanKen said:

Good luck - hope you and your family all make it and have a ball. 

Thanks a lot! Have a ball yourself

[Lycra]

1 hour ago, dekteon said:

Yes we've decided pretty much that's going to be our strategy. I've made arrangements for 2 of us to get to Glasto by alternative means, we're going to Castle Cary and taking a shuttle from there. Here's hoping it works out.

A couple of people have accused us of bad planning in not making arrangements for the kids sooner. Initially we'd planned for just my wife and I to go, and her parents would mind the kids, but then unforeseen circumstances meant that it made more sense to bring the kids. And now I really want them to go, I think they'll love it

If plan B involves the taking the train bear in mind we have a national rail strike next week which is disrupting many travel plans

[dekteon]

1 hour ago, Lycra said:

If plan B involves the taking the train bear in mind we have a national rail strike next week which is disrupting many travel plans

Thanks for the heads up, I'll check it out

[blutarsky]

Have a great time - wishing you the best of luck to get it sorted simply.