Should I buy VIP or GA tickets for the When We Were Young Festival? (Advice from someone who has done both!)

The When We Were Young Festival has been a Hot Topic (pun intended 🤪) for the many years it's been out. The first recording of the festival was a one-time event held at The Observatory in Santa Ana, California in 2017. Then after a hiatus it came back in 2022 and has occurred yearly ever since. We attended the 2022 year and there were some kinks! One of the days of the two day festival got cancelled due to high winds in Vegas. Also the entry gate lines had a super long wait time. BUT the VIP package of that year may have been more valuable back then versus now, keep reading to find out why.

My husband and I have attended the WWWYF three times in total! We could say "We're addic - we're addicted to it" 🎶 We've attended both as General Admission ticket holders and VIP tickets holders and I'm going to spell out for you if I think the upgraded price tag is worth the perks.

VIP - Then Verse Now

The main difference in the VIP package is the new layout of the access point VIP attendees have to the stages. In their comeback year of 2022, VIP ticket holders got exclusive access to the entire front middle areas of all stages. See maps below. However, since 2023 the company has changed the layout so that VIP ticket holders only get access the front corners or sides of all stages.

In 2022 VIP had the entire front middle section of all stages

Since 2023 and on, VIP ticket holders get access to the corner front sides of all stages.

This is great news for general admission concert goers because if you are dedicated enough and can run fast (apparently there is a "rush" to the barricades that happens every year where GA attendees sprint to the front lines) then you have the opportunity to get prime access to your favorite artists. However this is not good news for VIP holders because this devalues your ticket since you don't have prime access to the middle of the stages. I believe they changed the layout because there were more GA attendees than VIP. The VIPs were not nearly taking up as much space as was previously planned for in the 2022 year.

Another point to note is now that the festival has been running for a few years and has been receiving praise and recognition in the emo and pop punk community, more people are aware of and willing to pay that difference of about two hundred dollars more than GA than in the past years when it was building it's reputation. This 2025 year, for example, was their first year that the festival sold out of their VIP tickets. More people buying the VIP tickets also decreases the value of that premium stage access as their are more bodies to fit in those areas.

Reasoning and cost of VIP

This was our first year attending the festival with VIP tickets. I knew there would be the risk of the new stage layout. But this was our last year attending and we wanted to go out with a bang! We weren't going to attend again this year because we live in Connecticut so the flights + hotel + even just GA tickets were too high to justify a yearly tradition. However when they announced that Panic at the Disco would be headlining, all those "this is the last time" promises went out the window! P!ATD, Paramore and Taylor Swift have been my holy trinity of three favorite artists since I was 14. AND Brendon was advertised to play THE WHOLE FIRST ALBUM IN IT'S ENTIRETY. An elder emo's dream come true! I couldn't resist.

So we took the plunge! Both VIP tickets cost about $1,400 total ($695 each plus tax) Yikes! 😱

What perks do you actually get with VIP?

So what perks do you get with VIP verse GA? Here's what the website lists and my takes on each perk that is different from GA:

Preferred viewing area by main stage: See my thoughts on this above in the then vs. now paragraph. This perk is debatable!

Access to exclusive VIP Lounge, featuring shaded seating and premium space to relax and recharge. Food choices from regional and local vendors: Yes this was true, they had a seating area with food, phone chargers and bars so that you could easily get lunch and drinks in close proximity to the stages. This allowed for more comfort in these amenities without trekking for seemingly miles or waiting in super long food and bar lines. This was nice.

Air-conditioned restrooms and dedicated entry lane at main entrance. These two perks were the best of them all! It was amazing to have real bathrooms close to the stages. Plus they started letting VIP in so early at the festival this year. We got there at 9:30am thinking we were going to have to wait in line. But they just let VIP in way before the concert start time of 11:00am. This early and easy entry allowed us to explore the festival, get great photo ops and have a coffee before the bands started. It was a fun and stress free way to start our day.

Dedicated merch tent for festival merch and dedicated lockers available for rent by VIP ticket holders in close proximity to main stage. I never buy merch or rent out lockers so these perks are inconsequential to me. But if you love merch and love having access to product items without them selling out then this could be great perk for you! As for the lockers, they should make them free for VIP holders, I mean come on! Haha

My Unexpected Bad Experience

At the end of my vlog above you will see that my ears were injured and in pain from being too close to the stage speakers for twelve hours. Did I have to stay stationed in front of the speakers that long? No, with VIP I had the ability to walk around and then get a pretty good viewing spot for P!ATD in the night. However I was too fixated on getting as close as possible so I stuck it out. The beginning of the concert was great and the sound was perfect! However as the event progressed the speakers got louder and louder with each set. I had earplugs but they weren't enough to save my ears. My husband had nothing so I was very worried he would loose his hearing. Since GA can also be close to the stage, those ticket holders run the risk of this speaker pain as well. I never had access to this area before so I didn't even consider ear pain as a foreseeable problem when planning my festival attendance.

So unfortunately I could not physically continue rupturing my ear drums and I had to leave half way through the P!ATD set. I gave up my super close spot to the stage that I worked so hard to get. In tears, I made my way back through the crowds and noticed something "pretty odd" (band joke haha) about Brendon's set throughout the rest of the night as I sat far away.

P!ATD did not perform the whole first album in it's entirety as promised. He may have played 4 or even 5 of the songs, but not the full album as was advertised. Also some of the setlist was repeated. The band played "High Hopes" and "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" (or another song, I can't remember) twice! Not sure why. However, he did some fun covers like Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" that wowed the crowd.

My "Dont's" for Future Festival Goers in both VIP and GA

1. Don't stay in one spot all day in hopes of getting amazing views of your favorite artists.

   I did this method for two years of the three I attended the festival. I understand, it's very hard to resist the exciting promise of being so close you can see sweat beads fall off of your idol's forehead. But overall you can't enjoy a concert when all of your bodily functions of peeing, eating and sitting are denied. PLUS if you end up getting very close to the stage your ears will be in pain. I had earplugs and it didn't do anything. If you really wish to try this method of being a barricader for both VIP or GA please bring protective headphones like these. Don't get cheap ones, splurge on a professional pair with good reviews so that you don't waste $700 like me.

2. Don't miss your favorite artists on the side stages.

   Especially if you have VIP tickets! You can get back to the stage the headliners are performing on with no problem. Again I was too stubborn and I gave up on seeing The Rocket Summer and Plain White T's because I wanted to hold my spot. I had the best time when I went to WWWYF in 2023 because I saw Say Anything at the side stage, and didn't care about getting right in the front for Green Day or Blink 182. I still enjoyed the whole concert and got to see some of my underrated favorites.

3. Don't forget to bring refillable water bottles and snacks.

   We didn't do this our first year because the website says "no outside food allowed". We almost passed out because we didn't drink or eat anything for twelve hours. Overall they don't care if you have a couple protein bars hidden in your clear backpack. The bag checker barely viewed the inside contents of my clear see-through backpack. I think they just don't want you bringing your own full meals into the venue because they would rather you buy meals from their food vendors. Also refillable "hydration stations" are all over the venue in both VIP and GA. You have to bring your water bottles empty into the festival but they are very easy to fill throughout the day. This year we brought a Camelbak water backpack and this was the best choice we made this year! One fill of this backpack lasted us ALL NIGHT!

4. Don't stay too far from the festival. (Stick to walking distance)

   Out of the three years we went, this year's experience returning to the hotel was the best! We stayed at Hilton Grand Vacations Club on the Las Vegas Strip and only had to walk 5 or 10 minutes home! Other great walking-distance options are Circus Circus, The Strat and more! Don't rely on an Uber to get you home because it's impossible to call one after the concert and you will be waiting for hours. However far you are comfortable walking whether it be 5 minutes or 30 minutes calculate that into your plans for the event.

Final Thoughts

VIP used to be worth it with it's exclusivity to the stage areas and minimal competition. But now, I believe it's not worth it. If you don't mind spending the money then go for it, it does add a few nice benefits. If you are thinking that VIP tickets are going to drastically change your concert experience then I wouldn't bother. Only you can make or break your concert experience. With the right preparation, flexible mindset and positive outlook you can have blast with both VIP or GA tickets.

Thanks for reading this detailed article on the benefits and shortcomings of VIP tickets for the When We Were Young Festival. Check out my Las Vegas Video Playlist or the U.S.A section of my blog for more WWWYF concert footage and ideas for your stay in Vegas if you attend next year's festival!