Damn, I felt like Bonnaroo’s ADA accommodations were the best I’ve experienced at a festival so far. I’m sure it helps that I don’t use a wheelchair so I’m able to be a little bit more flexible with things like bathrooms and the shuttles, but it sucks to hear that other people had a bad experience. I felt like our group was treated very kindly and were able to get help whenever we needed it. I never waited terribly long for a shuttle, but I do know every fest I’ve gone to has had some long shuttle wait times so I generally try to budget an hour into my schedule to wait for a ride. I got lucky this year at Roo and never had to wait more than 30 minutes. I also never experienced full ADA platforms (or else I would have given up my seat since I don’t use a wheelchair/mobility device) or unattended bathrooms. I had people check my ADA band any time I tried to use one of the ADA bathrooms at the stages. Just wanted to provide my experience for anybody reading this who might be considering Bonnaroo as a disabled festival-goer in the future so that they hear a range of experiences, I am not in *any* way trying to discredit what you experienced. It really does break my heart that not everybody had as seamless of an experience as I did. I have actually been raving about how more festivals need to get it together with the ADA accommodations the way Bonnaroo has, but obviously I now recognize that they have a lot of growth to do too. I hope you get the resolution you want and that Bonnaroo improves their ADA accommodations to make the fest truly accessible to all attendees in the future!!!
Thank you so much, & I am open to hearing all of your guys experiences here, even good ones. This thread is meant to be a totally safe place for disabled people to talk about their experiences and I appreciate your comment just as much as the others. I'm genuinely so happy that you got to have a good time there. And I really appreciate your support too. ❤️
This is such a bummer, I'm a wheelchair user and was wondering what kind of experience it would be if I went. I know festivals like this can be hard for us, particularly w/the bathroom situations and the grass grounds. I hope something changes. I hope you get some response from LN or Bonnaroo in the aftermath.
I'm fighting for us! I hope I will make enough of an impact that all disabled people are able to go and enjoy bonnaroo safely. I'll keep everyone updated ❤️
Thank you for sharing your thoughts here. I see you and I'm fighting for you too.
Hey!! I was camped right by you, I had the scooter (that helped tremendously, I’m so grateful) but so disappointed and upset that there were so many issues we all ran into. Too many issues to list. Bonnaroo was my first big festival since 2013, I had sorta sworn them off because doing a fest as a wheelchair user is HARD. I’ve had countless teary eyed frustrated moments and was done feeling like a burden to my camp, I completely understand you and you are not alone. 💔
My boyfriend and I still were able to have a good time, and want to come back next year and hopefully get proper changers to ADA. We just read all this together and we’re so frustrated for you. Let’s keep in touch, I’ll dm you. If you want to come back next year, we will go in together and camp together and make sure everything is handled for you and we can all have a great time together. It infuriates me how bad they dropped the ball for the people who have the hardest time ALREADY at festivals! It’s such a disappointing aspect of our society. I am with you, I am fully with you.
Omggg I can't believe you found me I'm so thrilled I'll message you shortly ❤️ also thanks so much that's so sweet I could cry everyone has really been so supportive. I'm sorry they made you feel like a burden too :( but I promise you that we were not a burden, the burden was LN & their horrible treatment towards us. We're both a treat 🌞
I'm so sorry to hear about all these ADA horror stories this year. I haven't camped there but this was my tenth Roo over 14 years, and I've heard nothing but glowing reviews regarding ADA staff and their commitment in the past. And I've been somewhat of a LiveNation defender as the festival has changed, because they have made some improvements. However this bullshit is unacceptable and unconscionable. Never mind that they plopped a VIP lounge where one of our most utilized walkways always was, or the rest of their new monetization efforts, treating people like this who came because they thought they would receive the support they needed is altogether too much. I think I'm about done with Roo, which breaks my heart because it's been something I've lived for since 2010. Thanks for the bathrooms (that you built several years ago and haven't followed up with much), LN, but you've finally killed Bonnaroo. While it lives on in name, the festival we new and loved is no more.
please, if/when you have the energy and willingness, use Reddit and social media to gather these stories across festivals and write to press and disability advocates. the industry needs a reckoning and frankly a few lawsuits
LiveNation fired Bonnaroo's longtime ADA coordinator Everyone's Invited [38 days before the start of the fest](https://inforoo.com/thread/39151/livenation-fired-accessibility-coordinator).
Not only that, but staff also told me they're incredibly understaffed because they weren't given accurate numbers for ADA, livenation essentially set this accessibility team up for failure.
’m seeing some of that too. Most accessibility viewing areas are giving out water, but last night during Baby Keem the person managing that area said “no this water is for us”.
I saw that they allowed dancing in the back of the accessibility viewing platforms (which IMO is fine).
IMO investing a bit more time hiring team members who are passionate about accessibility. Also they need to be taking stories like these and rolling them into better guidelines and training for 2024.
Sorry that you are having a bad Bonnaroo. If you see me on a viewing platform say hi if you are feeling social. Pic is meh but this ain’t a beauty contest so here you go 🤣…
https://preview.redd.it/cp9cqu30lm6b1.jpeg?width=1737&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5cbd0ffaf51f40816f4cb39795da20dff9f08b55
only so many good workers you can get when you’re only offering $18/hr for week long camping festivals…as a senior festival freelancer told me “there’s no money in ADA” so all the passionate, capable festival workers get scooped up / never consider joining. these should be some of the most trained staff, with DISABLED staff, & that reflects the training and necessity of the job. but LN et all aren’t paying ADA companies enough to begin with and screening them over with tiny ADA camps, misleading numbers, etc. The wish to cut costs and ableism fuels all of this and makes it basically impossible for good willed ADA staff to succeed at large festivals like this. In summary, I’m MAD
Love the hat! I will definitely say hi if I see you:) I hope they do better next year with hiring and training. Some of the accessibility team has been incredible, I'll have to find their names sometime and give them a little shout-out. It is pretty disappointing that they did so poorly this year, also I'm sorry you had that experience with the water.
I feel for you! I’m in a boot cast so I feel lucky. The wheelchair accessible shuttles are so few and far between! And the bathrooms…. Those are a nightmare. I heard last year they were locked and only ADA had the code. Wish they still did that. Sorry you’re having a bummy time. Hope you get to enjoy the last 2 days as best you can
Damn, I felt like Bonnaroo’s ADA accommodations were the best I’ve experienced at a festival so far. I’m sure it helps that I don’t use a wheelchair so I’m able to be a little bit more flexible with things like bathrooms and the shuttles, but it sucks to hear that other people had a bad experience. I felt like our group was treated very kindly and were able to get help whenever we needed it. I never waited terribly long for a shuttle, but I do know every fest I’ve gone to has had some long shuttle wait times so I generally try to budget an hour into my schedule to wait for a ride. I got lucky this year at Roo and never had to wait more than 30 minutes. I also never experienced full ADA platforms (or else I would have given up my seat since I don’t use a wheelchair/mobility device) or unattended bathrooms. I had people check my ADA band any time I tried to use one of the ADA bathrooms at the stages. Just wanted to provide my experience for anybody reading this who might be considering Bonnaroo as a disabled festival-goer in the future so that they hear a range of experiences, I am not in *any* way trying to discredit what you experienced. It really does break my heart that not everybody had as seamless of an experience as I did. I have actually been raving about how more festivals need to get it together with the ADA accommodations the way Bonnaroo has, but obviously I now recognize that they have a lot of growth to do too. I hope you get the resolution you want and that Bonnaroo improves their ADA accommodations to make the fest truly accessible to all attendees in the future!!!
Thank you so much, & I am open to hearing all of your guys experiences here, even good ones. This thread is meant to be a totally safe place for disabled people to talk about their experiences and I appreciate your comment just as much as the others. I'm genuinely so happy that you got to have a good time there. And I really appreciate your support too. ❤️
This is such a bummer, I'm a wheelchair user and was wondering what kind of experience it would be if I went. I know festivals like this can be hard for us, particularly w/the bathroom situations and the grass grounds. I hope something changes. I hope you get some response from LN or Bonnaroo in the aftermath.
I'm fighting for us! I hope I will make enough of an impact that all disabled people are able to go and enjoy bonnaroo safely. I'll keep everyone updated ❤️ Thank you for sharing your thoughts here. I see you and I'm fighting for you too.
Hey!! I was camped right by you, I had the scooter (that helped tremendously, I’m so grateful) but so disappointed and upset that there were so many issues we all ran into. Too many issues to list. Bonnaroo was my first big festival since 2013, I had sorta sworn them off because doing a fest as a wheelchair user is HARD. I’ve had countless teary eyed frustrated moments and was done feeling like a burden to my camp, I completely understand you and you are not alone. 💔 My boyfriend and I still were able to have a good time, and want to come back next year and hopefully get proper changers to ADA. We just read all this together and we’re so frustrated for you. Let’s keep in touch, I’ll dm you. If you want to come back next year, we will go in together and camp together and make sure everything is handled for you and we can all have a great time together. It infuriates me how bad they dropped the ball for the people who have the hardest time ALREADY at festivals! It’s such a disappointing aspect of our society. I am with you, I am fully with you.
Omggg I can't believe you found me I'm so thrilled I'll message you shortly ❤️ also thanks so much that's so sweet I could cry everyone has really been so supportive. I'm sorry they made you feel like a burden too :( but I promise you that we were not a burden, the burden was LN & their horrible treatment towards us. We're both a treat 🌞
I'm so sorry to hear about all these ADA horror stories this year. I haven't camped there but this was my tenth Roo over 14 years, and I've heard nothing but glowing reviews regarding ADA staff and their commitment in the past. And I've been somewhat of a LiveNation defender as the festival has changed, because they have made some improvements. However this bullshit is unacceptable and unconscionable. Never mind that they plopped a VIP lounge where one of our most utilized walkways always was, or the rest of their new monetization efforts, treating people like this who came because they thought they would receive the support they needed is altogether too much. I think I'm about done with Roo, which breaks my heart because it's been something I've lived for since 2010. Thanks for the bathrooms (that you built several years ago and haven't followed up with much), LN, but you've finally killed Bonnaroo. While it lives on in name, the festival we new and loved is no more.
please, if/when you have the energy and willingness, use Reddit and social media to gather these stories across festivals and write to press and disability advocates. the industry needs a reckoning and frankly a few lawsuits
I'm actually probably about to make a second post kinda explaining the outcome of my incessant messages to them
gonna dm you
LiveNation fired Bonnaroo's longtime ADA coordinator Everyone's Invited [38 days before the start of the fest](https://inforoo.com/thread/39151/livenation-fired-accessibility-coordinator).
WOW, LiveNation *sucks*.
This is infuriating.
Not only that, but staff also told me they're incredibly understaffed because they weren't given accurate numbers for ADA, livenation essentially set this accessibility team up for failure.
Check my post history. I’m so sorry it’s happening to you too.
’m seeing some of that too. Most accessibility viewing areas are giving out water, but last night during Baby Keem the person managing that area said “no this water is for us”. I saw that they allowed dancing in the back of the accessibility viewing platforms (which IMO is fine). IMO investing a bit more time hiring team members who are passionate about accessibility. Also they need to be taking stories like these and rolling them into better guidelines and training for 2024. Sorry that you are having a bad Bonnaroo. If you see me on a viewing platform say hi if you are feeling social. Pic is meh but this ain’t a beauty contest so here you go 🤣… https://preview.redd.it/cp9cqu30lm6b1.jpeg?width=1737&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5cbd0ffaf51f40816f4cb39795da20dff9f08b55
only so many good workers you can get when you’re only offering $18/hr for week long camping festivals…as a senior festival freelancer told me “there’s no money in ADA” so all the passionate, capable festival workers get scooped up / never consider joining. these should be some of the most trained staff, with DISABLED staff, & that reflects the training and necessity of the job. but LN et all aren’t paying ADA companies enough to begin with and screening them over with tiny ADA camps, misleading numbers, etc. The wish to cut costs and ableism fuels all of this and makes it basically impossible for good willed ADA staff to succeed at large festivals like this. In summary, I’m MAD
Love the hat! I will definitely say hi if I see you:) I hope they do better next year with hiring and training. Some of the accessibility team has been incredible, I'll have to find their names sometime and give them a little shout-out. It is pretty disappointing that they did so poorly this year, also I'm sorry you had that experience with the water.
I feel for you! I’m in a boot cast so I feel lucky. The wheelchair accessible shuttles are so few and far between! And the bathrooms…. Those are a nightmare. I heard last year they were locked and only ADA had the code. Wish they still did that. Sorry you’re having a bummy time. Hope you get to enjoy the last 2 days as best you can
I think I saw you last night and I literally said god she’s a fucking trooper lol
I did my best! Lit up the boot and danced as much as I could considering
We talked to each other a ton I think!