'World's Poshest Music Festival' Coachella Descends into 'Mayhem' — With Guests Comparing it to Shamed Fyre Fest and Demanding Refunds
Coachella 2025 car campers have taken to social media to expose the parking lot chaos unfolding this morning.
April 11 2025, Published 1:26 p.m. ET
Day 0 at Coachella 2025, and the Fyre Fest flashbacks were already rolling in.
As festivalgoers arrived at the annual music event on Thursday, things had already plunged into "chaos" – with dozens dubbing it "the worst in history" and demanding refunds before the doors even opened, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Some campers have claimed they waited over 12 hours to reach a campsite on Thursday.
The iconic California music event, running across two weekends each year, is set to open its gates later today to a wave of A-list celebrities and ticketholders.
Meanwhile, car campers have already flooded social media, revealing the chaos unfolding in the parking lots this morning.
Several festival attendees have been complaining on social media and documenting the event's disorganization.
Reports have been pouring in about Coachella's rough start for campers, with some claiming they've waited over 12 hours to reach a campsite.
One person on X shared a message saying they arrived at 2 a.m. to secure a spot but didn’t reach the security checkpoint until 3 p.m.
They also noted a lack of porta potties, forcing many to pee on the side of the road, while others ran out of gas during the lengthy wait.
One person noted: "This is the worst organization I have ever seen at a festival, and this is Coachella for God's sake."
Other compared Coachella 2025 to a 2017 festival that ended in a mega disaster, writing: "No bc why's Coachella actually turning into the Fyre Festival."
Fyre Festival – which was such a mess, it warranted its own Netflix documentary in 2019 – was a hyped luxury music event organized by Billy McFarland and Ja Rule.
Promising a private island and top artists, it instead delivered poor accommodations, food, and security. The fiasco, fueled by influencer promotion, led to McFarland's fraud conviction and jail time.
In the official Coachella Reddit thread, attendees voiced frustration over long waits and poor organization, with one person calling for partial or full refunds after waiting nine hours to get inside with no access to food or bathrooms.
Others shared similar complaints, describing the car camping process as chaotic and disorganized.
Some also questioned what security was even doing as lines barely moved.
Someone wrote: "Guys, this is my fifth Coachella, and I had never seen such horrible organization for car camping, I've been here hours, just crossed the security check and literally no one is moving."
Other guests also described the wait in the camping line as "chaos" and out of control, questioning the delay even after getting through security.
One person said: "What is "security" even doing??? Confused.
"Wait times. After doing this for thus many years."
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Others have taken to TikTok to share their struggles with video proof.
One user documented the campsite, noting: "This is really bad. Nobody knows where to set up, everything's so disorganized. We just picked a random spot we're setting up here but everyone's doing the same.
Another commented on the clip: "Coachella isn't even fun anymore. It's way overpriced and unorganized. Just people wanting to be cool for going there. I'm good at home."
Coachella has already been compared to the disastrous 2017 Fyre Festival.
Coachella promotes car camping on its website as the "most popular overnight option," encouraging guests to "build an oasis for you and your crew."
For Weekend One, prices start at $160, with the site claiming: "If you've never camped, have you really experienced everything Coachella has to offer?"
Weekend One of the Coachella Valley Music Festival kicks off Friday, running through Sunday, with Lady Gaga, Green Day, and Post Malone headlining.
