Re: Coachella questions [yes allready]
 

the camping itself really is not that bad... seriously


having said that - it only worked out for me b/c of the following conditions
• the people I met up with also brought their own food, so it wasn't just the snacks & drinks I had in one cooler, we pooled all our stuff together
• they also had those big... I'm not sure what they're called, but you see them a lot on beaches - where it's like you have a framework and a tarp over it (to shade you from the sun & they also had tapestries draped along the sides, to either inhibit or direct the flow of air
• b/c of the large tarp/frame thing - we were able to have each tent along the sides of the frame (with each tent opening towards the inside) - so we would sleep in the tents, and then when you woke up b/c of the heat, you could stretch out in the shade

the showers themselves weren't that bad, you basically had to wait in line for ~8 - 12 minutes, then you'd get a private stall. I've had to use worse... actually - the worst I've ever had to use was at the Hurricane Festival in Germany a few years back (no private stall, it was cold and dirty).

from what I understand - the parking gets fucked EVERY year. When I went (this year) I ended up having to park in the 'normal' parking about a mile away (carrying all my shit) then had to go back out at something like 1 or 2 in the morning, drive around for 30 minutes, then was able to finally access the camping parking (that I should have been able to access in the beginning but I couldn't)

so basically - if you want to catch the majority of performers and kinda just hang out with everyone -> I'd say camping is a good idea. If you only want to see the later performers... then hit up a hotel (before I got tickets this year ... I tried for a loooong time to get a place anywhere close - there were NONE)

three days is long. On the third day me & my friend left early... we were so burnt out - we couldn't give a fuck about any of the performers and we knew that if we didn't leave early in the day - we wouldn't make it back on sunday at all.

Re: Coachella questions [yes allready]
 

My festival experience is limited to all Coachellas but 2 of them, as well as Austin City Limits, Creamfields, and V Festival.
Coachella outdoes them all on almost every level. Given the fact the lineups are completely subjective to your taste, the experience of Coachella is unlike any of the others. The location is beautiful, largely well-kept and clean, and the people are only an issue when there are a ton of them (i.e. during 2006, this year was nothing by comparison). The weather is usually hot, but it's relative. There is no humidity, so that makes a huge difference. I'm from Texas, and 115F at the first Coachella was nothing compared to 100 in Dallas. Although now that it's held in April, temps range from 88-100 depending on the weather that year, so overall, not too bad.
I'm lucky enough to have a friend who has a vacation house in Palm Springs, so I can't tell you about camping. But after a day on your feet in the heat, a bed and shower are wonderful things. I know a lot of UK and Euro fests have camping, so it's more normal there than here, but I guess it's up to you.
Unlike Creamfields, you'll find no mud. Unlike ACL, it doesn't turn into a dustbowl either. Unlike V Festival, you don't see guys peeing on the fence in full view of everyone. You also aren't walking on a flooring of trash by the end of the day - people actually use the trash cans!
Go to Coachella.