The Glastonbury 2015 thread

[PurpleTurtle]

Who's hoping to go?

Registration closes at 23:59 tonight, coach tickets on sale 7pm tomorrow, general sale on Sunday

https://glastonbury.seetickets.com/Registration/Re...

http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/2015-ticket-...

We went by coach last year, really convenient albeit a bit restrictive in terms of how much you can physically carry on board. I'll be diving in to the ticket scrum tomorrow night!

[PurpleTurtle]

We do the same and have been successful every year for the last 5 years with somebody getting a buying window on the website and getting in. Be prepared for an awful lot of waiting though.

Some people complain about not having a fast internet connection but it really does seem to be the luck of the draw. There are all sorts of urban myths about how many devices to use and dicking about with various browser setting to get you into the Seetickets site via the back door but ultimately it seems to come down to good old patience. They manaage access to stop the site crashing, so be prepared to sit on a holding page for aaaaages.

It goes without saying: have all your details ready (registration number and postcode) in a spreadsheet or other document, so you can cut and paste for speed of entry.

Just beware that this year it's a max of 6 tickets per transaction, so two of your group could end up disappointed if only one of you gets to the confirmation page.

Good luck!

[PurpleTurtle]

CTO said:

Thanks PT,

There will be eight of us trying so hopefully it'll go ok, fingers crossed.
I have heard rumours (badum tish) that Fleetwood Mac could be playing.

So, I need everyone's registration code and postcode. Can I make more than one transaction on the same card though. Ie, could I book the six and then try for the two remaining or is there a limit to purchases on each card?

Good luck for later by the way........

Badumtish indeed!

Got ours, three seperate groups were successful with coach tickets from Reading. That said, I personally didn't get beyond the holding page. My friend's wife, lives round the corner, same broadband provider, got in no probs and booked within minutes. Wierd.

You could theoretically do it in two transactions, but that means two buying 'windows'. The likelihood of getting those on Sunday is minuscule, harsh as it may sound you may need to decide a 'top six'.

Keep in touch on messenger. The annoying thing is that once a registration number has been successfully used it will be rejected, but the sale screen does not tell you which of a possible six gave been used - very confusing when you have multiple people trying for the same group. We split into three syndicates, A, B and C - as soon as someone shouts 'A done' we know we can just drop them from any future attempts.

It all gets a bit precision. Why would you do it? Six days at the best festival on the planet.

Lucky as I do feel to be going again, I do genuinely wish there was a fairer wày of selling tickets. Glasto won't play ball though, the hype is self-perpetuating.

[PurpleTurtle]

CTO said:

Thanks for the above, useful advice re the rejecting of any previously used reg numbers. I think we will go for a six and once that's gone through l try for the remaining two.
Did you have to keep refreshing the page or do you sit there on the holding page waiting for it to switch to inputting data?

Cheers,

CTO

The holding page has a countdown to try again every 20 seconds, or you can manually refresh with F5. It's so over-subscribed, I can imagine there's probably 500k people plus all hitting F5 at the same time, I'd love to see stats for how many hits the website gets.

In all honesty I'm not sure which is best - I was F5'ing every few seconds, but by the time I did get in to get to the 'buy' window somebody in my group had already got our tickets, so I didn't need to take it any further. The website sems a little more robust at handlign the traffic than in previous years though, which hopefully bodes well for Sunday (but also means it might sell out even quicker).

[PurpleTurtle]

dern said:

PurpleTurtle said:

Got ours, three seperate groups were successful with coach tickets from Reading.

I'm going on the coach from Reading too. Have you done that before? If so do you know roughly when the times for the coaches becomes available and where the coach(es) tend to run from?

Thanks

Nice one, might see you on it!

Yes, we all did coach in 2014, and half our group did it in 2013 too.

Pickup is from the Madejski Stadium. If you ever go to the football there, they use the lay-by where the post-match football buses run from (Stadium Way?) the road that runs up the right hand side of the B&Q car park, between B&Q and Green Park .

There are generally two pickups, a morning and (I think) an early afternoon one, our group have always been mornings. You don't get a choice, they just allocate your group to a coach time, you have to take what you are given. It is usually contracted out to Horseman coaches who are a very professional outfit.

It is a really convenient way of doing it. The festival bus station is right next to pedestrian gate A, and given that they need to clear high volumes through it they give priority to the bus arrival queue at peak times, holding back the car arrivals queue as/when necessary. It is also a much shorter walk than those in the car parks.

Return is really well organised too, they have 'pens' for coaches going to certain destinations only, so you know where to wait and that you will have a seat with your name on it on a designated coach at a particular time.

The regular traffic is then held back so the coaches can clear the bus station promptly. Even with the restricted speed of the coach we ended up getting back home sooner than mates who departed camp at the same time as us but were driving, they were queueing to get out of their car park for hours whilst we trundled back up the M4.

The only negatives are that you can't take a load of food and booze with you, and no trolleys on the coach, so you take a bit of a hit in the wallet at the bars. We have been lucky to always have somebody driving, this year a pal commandered a 320D Touring - camping kit on the back seat, boot entirely full of Cider and Guinness, it was like a military resupply mission!

The convenience is a great draw for me now, I am sold on the idea, especially as it seems to give a greater chance of success in getting a ticket.

[PurpleTurtle]

dern said:

PurpleTurtle said:

Nice one, might see you on it!

Yes, we all did coach in 2014, and half our group did it in 2013 too.

Cool, sounds good. All I need to do is work out a way to get to madejski now. When do you find out what coach you're on... not on the day I take it?

Thanks,

Mark

They send out an E-Ticket about a month in advance, tells you all you need to know.

This year it was:
Dear PurpleTurtle
You have booked a Ticket & Coach Package to GLASTONBURY 2014 arriving on Wednesday June 25 2014.
You have ordered the following tickets:
6 x COACH SEATS - READING RETURN TRAVEL. THIS EMAIL IS YOUR COACH TICKET
Please print this ticket off. You will need to show this to the driver of your coach upon boarding, as proof of purchase. Please ensure all members within your order are with you upon boarding. Only one e-ticket per booking is permitted - Your coach driver will check all boarding against a passenger list.
Your time(s) of departure are below (NB DEP = Inbound RET = Outbound):
DEP WED 07:00 RET MON 09:30
Your Pick-Up Point is:
NORTHERN WAY, THE BAYS NEAREST TO THE MADJESKI STADIUM CAR PARK, RG2 0FL
The coach number you need to board is:
COACH 43
ENTRY TICKETS:
As agreed at the point of purchase, you will need to collect your entry tickets on the coach. This is mandatory and no exceptions can be made.
To confirm, each individual entry ticket assigned to a registration will be individually sealed in an envelope. Each passenger must show a form of Identification in order to claim their entry ticket. As such all parties must be present on the coach in order to collect their entry ticket. The driver will only hand out entry tickets to those present on the coach. Coach packages are strictly non-transferable and non-refundable. Coaches will not wait for latecomers under any circumstances and will depart without passengers who have not arrived on time. No refunds will be entitled in this instance.
You will arrive at the Glastonbury Festival dedicated coach park, which is located next to Pedestrian Gate A. Please note this is where all coaches arrive and depart from.
PLEASE DO NOT BRING AN EXCESSIVE AMOUNT OF LUGGAGE ON THE COACH - We would advise to bring one large bag/rucksack and one tent/sleeping bag per person, plus one piece of hand luggage. Trolleys or Wheelbarrows are not permitted. Remember there are lots of other passengers on the coach and we cannot be held responsible if your luggage will not fit on the coach.

Edited by PurpleTurtle on Thursday 2nd October 15:06

[PurpleTurtle]

SilverSixer said:

When's that nipper of yours due again, PT?

February mate. I'm sure it'll all be fine for me to Foxtrot Oscar for six days ...

[PurpleTurtle]

CTO said:

I got six.

First time of trying to go so very pleased. Two of our group missed out and out of eight of us only I managed to get through.

Resale for the other two hopefully.

Nice work. A pal of mine failed for the fifth attempt in succession, he only wants to go once, he's beginning to think there's a conspiracy against him not going! I was online trying for him but didn't even get as far as the holding page before it sold out. Likewise we'll be trying for him in the resale.