PGA's 2025 Queuing Disaster

[HotChipWillBreakYourLegs]

2 hours ago, stuie said:

 

This sounds ridiculous, so ridiculous that if it wasn't first hand from a reliable poster I'd struggle to believe it! 

 

That decision would ultimately have been made by the Gate Manager employed by GFL so if you don't mind, I'll feed it back and hope that someone looks into it.  There could have been a difficulty of some kind - wristband allocations not in place or something like that, but if it was just a bad decision by the Gate Manger it should be flagged. 

 

 

 

You have a contact?  Could you ask if it was smaller this year?  When I last went through it in 2023 it seemed bigger.

[gooner1990]

From various musings (and my own personal experience of it in 2024) it seems like PGA/PGD needs a complete re-think in terms of how the queues are managed pre-8am on the Wednesday. 

 

FYI anyone reading this - I got to PGD at 11.30am on the Weds this year, waltzed straight in and camped in South Park where the field was 90% empty at 12 noon ish.

[-TLR-]

i guess i should say - that over the previous number of years that i have been doing the exact same thing i mentioned in my earlier post, it has pretty much always worked out exactly as we planned it.

 

ie. join queue at 4.30ish, gates open just before 8, being close to front generally straight through wristbands etc.. and sitting in Big Ground enjoying first can of cider at not long after 9am..

 

thats why, in a roundabout way, i'm actually glad i wasnt there for it this year because that would have properly f**ked me off.

 

and knowing what i'm like i would have been carrying that annoyance around with me for much of the weekend...

 

[Paul ™]

Seems a mod doesnt like anyone questioning their term 'disaster'

 

Hardly a disaster, get a grip! 

 

Disaster would be a crowd crush, gate collapsing, deaths etc... not being put in the wrong lanes! 

Edited July 8, 2025 by Paul ™

[stuie]

Just now, Paul ™ said:

Seems a mod doesnt like anyone questioning their term 'disaster'

 

Hardly a disaster, get a grip! 

 

 

I can still see your comment! 

 

But, yes, I agree - disaster does sound like something much more serious! 

[Crazyfool01]

26 minutes ago, Paul ™ said:

Seems a mod doesnt like anyone questioning their term 'disaster'

 

Hardly a disaster, get a grip! 

 

Disaster would be a crowd crush, gate collapsing, deaths etc... not being put in the wrong lanes! 

can you clarify ? there's been no mod interventions in this thread and I can see your comment which hasn't been hidden ? 

[kalifire]

32 minutes ago, Paul ™ said:

Seems a mod doesnt like anyone questioning their term 'disaster'

 

Hardly a disaster, get a grip! 

 

Disaster would be a crowd crush, gate collapsing, deaths etc... not being put in the wrong lanes! 

Don’t be daft. I used “disaster” in an obviously colloquial context, which was immediately obvious as soon as you read the first post. 

Edited July 8, 2025 by kalifire

[kerplunk]

1 hour ago, The Nal said:

 

Or you could get a full nights kip, stroll in at lunchtime, set up and then go for a pint/relax/chill/explore and not be knackered.

 

True but I was ok on thursday after a good nights kip - saw acts on the lizard stage, small world, strummerville, bimble inn..did a tour of shangri la. All nice n handy

 

I camped just inside PGD one year (when a certain webmaster refused to go any further) - didn't like it much 🙂

 

 

[Johnnyseven]

3 hours ago, The Nal said:

There wouldn't be a queue if everyone didnt arrive at the same time. 

 

There wouldn't be a queue if the gates were open to coincide with times they allow people to arrive in coaches/into the car parks you mean. People arrive throughout the night, not at the same time.

[The Nal]

1 minute ago, Johnnyseven said:

 

There wouldn't be a queue if the gates were open to coincide with times they allow people to arrive in coaches/into the car parks you mean. People arrive throughout the night, not at the same time.

 

The gates open at 9am. These days (for some reason) theres 150,000+ people there at 9am. 

 

People moaning about queues when they're the ones causing the queues is top banter. 

[Johnnyseven]

2 hours ago, gooner1990 said:

From various musings (and my own personal experience of it in 2024) it seems like PGA/PGD needs a complete re-think in terms of how the queues are managed pre-8am on the Wednesday. 

 

FYI anyone reading this - I got to PGD at 11.30am on the Weds this year, waltzed straight in and camped in South Park where the field was 90% empty at 12 noon ish.

 

I think the site was less busy on Weds this year. I worked with Avalon Bars for the first time this year, the bar manager said that on Weds last year the bar was x people deep the whole day, we barely had a queue at all this year.

[Crazyfool01]

1 minute ago, Johnnyseven said:

 

I think the site was less busy on Weds this year. I worked with Avalon Bars for the first time this year, the bar manager said that on Weds last year the bar was x people deep the whole day, we barely had a queue at all this year.

possibly the heat rather than numbers on site ? edit actually ignore it was hot last year 

Edited July 8, 2025 by Crazyfool01

[Johnnyseven]

30 minutes ago, Crazyfool01 said:

possibly the heat rather than numbers on site ? edit actually ignore it was hot last year 

 

It could be the heat that encouraged people to come early last year though, wasn't so hot Weds this year. 

[gooner1990]

3 hours ago, Johnnyseven said:

 

I think the site was less busy on Weds this year. I worked with Avalon Bars for the first time this year, the bar manager said that on Weds last year the bar was x people deep the whole day, we barely had a queue at all this year.

how was it working with them?

 

I did it in 2019 (worked on Stonebridge bar)

[stuie]

1 hour ago, gooner1990 said:

how was it working with them?

 

I did it in 2019 (worked on Stonebridge bar)

 

had a friend working at Stonebridge this year... me and my mate ordered 2 vodka cokes and there was some kind of unfortunate mistake up and we got given 4 double vodka cokes 😉 

[Johnnyseven]

2 hours ago, gooner1990 said:

how was it working with them?

 

I did it in 2019 (worked on Stonebridge bar)

 

It was alright, definitely better than Oxfam - less standing around not doing much. I would do it again if I didn't get a ticket. You need to be strategic on which bar you select as a preference though, Stonebridge is probably the worst unless you're really into all the music they have on there - due to the 5am finishes. I worked on Glade Brew Bar, which was cans only (mostly) so not too taxing - also closed latest 3am. I did have pretty decent shifts though - Weds 5pm to 1am, Fri 11am to 7pm & Sat 7pm to 3am.

Edited July 8, 2025 by Johnnyseven

[Franky]

11 hours ago, dj_conway said:

I want to add to the madness that is PGA.

In 2024, we parked in Pink, and made our normal way through Orange Car Park with the aim of entering through PGD. Stewards on the path were diverting everyone to PGA, saying PGD was a four hour wait.

Fine, whatever.

We joined the back of the PGA snake at 8am, and we literally stood still for 2 hours in the baking heat. One of my mates decided enough was enough and said he was going to PGD, as it can't be as bad as this.
Half an hour later, he rang us and said he was in, having queued for 10 mins.

Our full party of 15 or so people left the queue and headed to PGD.

No queue, straight in.
 

This year, roughly same time of arrival, we had the same stewards doing the exact same tactic.

We politely told them we are not going to PGA.

We had to divert through orange car park where the stewards were actively trying to stop people crossing and joining the PGD queue.

From there, queued for about an hour before getting in.

 

Makes me wonder why they would prefer everyone to queue for hours on end rather than getting them into the festival.

Madness I tell you.

Yep, this has happened to me the last 3 years, 2023 I needed up at Gate A, 24 and 25 I managed to blag my way through the stewards and up to the back of Gate D queue. 
 

This year it was closed at 03:00, when I did join the Gate D queue there was hardly anyone there. 

[Franky]

8 hours ago, The Nal said:

 

The gates open at 9am. These days (for some reason) theres 150,000+ people there at 9am. 

 

People moaning about queues when they're the ones causing the queues is top banter. 

Gates open at 08:00 just saying 😏