Will I be screwed if I get there Friday morning?

I'm going to be getting into Manchester around 6am Friday morning as well. I wonder if we'll end up farther away from Centeroo, or closer?

Any idea?

Oh, and btw, this board rocks. My employer wouldn't agree.

Thanks for all the great info on here.

Farther I would think...but I am not sure...hopefully someone can steer me in the right direction.

How come you can say fuck and I cant say fuck?

Wait... I can say fuck now?

of coarse getting there friday will be worse than thursday, it's do-able, but your always better arriving places early. especially bonnaroo, considering there is so much to do the second you get there...why rush everything on friday??

oh yes, and FUCK

Because my wife always has to teach on Bonnaroo Thursday, I've been on this exact same schedule every year. Each year I've hit Manchester in the pre-dawn hours on Friday (anywhere from 1am to 4am depending on the trip). Each year has been completely different.

The short answer to your question is: You'll be fine. You won't be screwed. You may or may not be far, but even if you are, its not that bad.

This has been my experience arriving at that time the last four years:

Camping Spot-
I've never had a really close spot, where you are a step away from Centeroo, can see the main stage, etc.

Two years ('03 and '04) I had pretty bad spots. We really ended up out on the fringes. I would guess about a half hour walk to Centeroo, maybe more. In '03 I was in what people have referred to as BFE in other threads, and in '04 I was someplace that was even farther than that. If you get a bad spot, it just means you have to prepare a little better for the long hall and make fewer trips back to camp (zero or one trips back to camp per day instead of one, two or more if you have a close spot).

Two years ('02 and '05) I had spots that were really quite good. I guess in the grand scheme of things they would be considered "average". 10-15 min. walk to Centeroo, and through Shakedown for entertainment with a slight diversion.

Waiting in line/Traffic:

This was horrific in '02 (12 hours), has gotten better every year, and was virtually non-existant last year (we basically drove right in). Because of traffic (and some slight fluctuation in our departure times and trip times), we have pitched camp earlier every year. In '02 we didn't pitch camp until 1pm on Friday (actually missed some shows). In '03 it was about 11am, in '04 it was probably 9am, and last year it was about 6am.

With a slight increase in attendence over last year, and possibly a significant "new" crowd who might not be aware of all the Thursday happenings (they still advertise the dates as the 16th through 18th after all), I think the traffic for our time slot might increase slightly over last year, maybe closer to '04 levels (when I probably waited about 4 hours in line) than to last year's (less than an hour). Just a guess. Basically I think almost everyone got there on Friday in '02 and each year the crowd has arrived earlier and earlier. In '02 I felt like I was in the middle of the pack, by '05 I practically felt like the last person to arrive.

Anyway, at some point you will pull into your spot and pitch your tent, and then you'll be in heaven and none of this crap will matter.