Escape From Wonderland

SUPER fun but wish it lasted to the 7am!!!

EPIC!

This is a very well put together and managed event, safe and fun. It was just as huge as huge could be. There were a total of 6 stages with spinning going on, and enough bathrooms and water stations, and visible security every where. It was decorated very well, Even though there were alot of people, it was for the most part realativly easy to move about. I would highly suggest anyone who is into electronica type of music go to this.

Dress up have fun and be part of the entertainment!

This is the second of three of these Insomniac "Wonderland" events here in SoCal this year: Nocturnal, Escape, and White Wonderland. After experiencing Nocturnal Wonderland a couple months ago, I figured I'd make my way back to the NOS Event Center if I could get a ticket for the right price.
Another Craigslist ad and $70 less later, I had my ticket.

LOCATION & PARKING
If you're going to park close by, anything less than $20 is a good deal. As the night gets busier you will see swarms of people walking towards the NOS Event Center, so even if you're far away there's a good chance you won't be walking alone to the festival.
Another note: Everything at the event is CASH ONLY.
Final note: Bottles of AQUAhydrate water given out as we exited after the final set?? AWESOME.

EVENT LAYOUT
Five stages was gave you plenty of opportunities to check out not only different artists, but different genres of EDM. The main stages, Slaughter House and Ghoul's Graveyard, were primarily devoted to electro & progressive house, but in the Mad Hatter's Hospital you could take in trance; the Cannibal's Tea Party was tech & minimal house, and the Chopping Block was D&B and dubstep. This is a great way to educate yourself on the various sub-genres within electronic music; it's NOT all the same, folks!
Here's all I needed during my time there: a printed map, a keychain flashlight, cell phone, ID/debit card (or some cash), and my car key. If you have enough storage for that, everything else is optional.

CROWD
As always, fun and friendly. Being so close to Halloween there were lots of cool costumes and a lot of different takes on the sick & twisted Alice in Wonderland theme. The people-watching here could be its own sport.

MUSIC
This event's lineup had the good fortune to include Armin Van Buuren, who the previous week nabbed the top spot of the annual DJ Mag poll. Whether or not that's more than a mere popularity contest, it definitely added to the hype of this Escape. Calvin Harris had a massive closing set, and other big names like Steve Angello and Laidback Luke made the $70 price tag completely worth it. I even took the time to write down all of the artists I saw, and 13 names later I discovered some "new" artists and was reminded of how much I liked the ones I'd already seen.

This is a fantastic festival, incredibly well-run by the folks at Insomniac, and I can't wait to do another one!