Hello all you wonderful creative people!!

[Kairielise]

I'm a virgin burner, and this must be remedied! I live in Orlando and ever since I discovered Burning Man I knew this is something I MUST experience. I am now frantically trying to find a way to afford to get out there. I'm a college art student (read: broke) I am inexperienced, but very passionate and want to learn. I find burning man culture amazing and terrifying at the same time. Hope to meet some experienced burners here who can teach me the ways.

Much love!

[Elliot]

... I knew this is something I MUST experience contribute to.

Fixed it for you.

Welcome, Kairielise! I'm broke too, and I have not been in college for decades!

Taking art sounds wondermuss. Stick around here on ePlaya, and you will indeed learn from our mistakes. again

Be aware that there is a sub-culture of snark and inside jokes here. Never take offense at anything posted here! It's just the local slang.

If you have not already, go to the main web page and click on first-timer information. Read the Survival Guide a few times.

Here on ePlaya, you might want to drop in on the Bar 2014 thread, where some of us simply hang out informally, just like a real bar or cafe.

[Drawingablank]

welcome to eplaya

[dragonpilot]

You've got to handle the money thing...but that comes with commitment. If you want to go bad enough, you'll find a way to make it happen...if not, wait until you're 60 to go...that's what I did...

[Elderberry]

Hey there, welcome to eplaya!

[Kairielise]

Oops! :-O Please don't think I came here to find someone to pay for me or that I can mooch off of. No no no. If anything I was hoping to meet some folks who live near me who might do a ride share, splitting the gas cost, of which I will of course pay my fair share of. Or else some tips and tricks people have found to reduce the cost of travel there. Besides that, I'm just looking to make friends and learn the culture:)

[AntiM]

Welcome!

There's plenty of tips and quite a few tricks here. Plenty to absorb. Feel free to ask for clarifications, and enjoy the ride.

Later in the year there will be both official and unofficial rideshare boards. You should be able to find a way there and back again.

In the meantime, drop by the Bar Thread 2014 and chat us up.

[Kairielise]

Quick question. So when they say the 2014 event starts on the 25th, does that mean everyone arrives on the 25th, or does everyone arrive and set-up on the 24th and the party starts on the 25th?

[theCryptofishist]

Some people arrive even earlier to set up the city. Others don't arrive until Thursday. The gate typically opens (as of the last few years) on 6:00 pm of the Sunday before the first day of the "party". (It's a whole lot of other things, too.)

[theCryptofishist]

And you cannot get in earlier than that 6:00, without an early entry pass, and those are not given out lightly.

[Kairielise]

Thank you. I used party in it's most figurative sense, I assure you. Just trying to figure out whether to arrive Sun at 6:00 or Mon at 6:00

[FossaFerox]

If you want to be there the full week, Sunday night. However, aim for a little later, say, 7ish. If you arrive before the gates open you get put in "jail" where they hold you until the initial line clears. This is to discourage people from queuing up and bringing traffic to a stand still in the surrounding towns. I've heard that D lot (the name for jail if memory serves) is actually a bit of a fun party on its own, but you still get into the city super late (Monday morningish) and building a camp after partying in D lot/sleeping in your car probably sucks a little bit.

[FIGJAM]

It's not that bad.

First in last out.

We hit gate too early this year at 4:30 on sunday and were still parked in camp before dark.

[FossaFerox]

It's not that bad.

First in last out.

We hit gate too early this year at 4:30 on sunday and were still parked in camp before dark.

Wait. Seriously? The sun set at 7:43 on entrance day. My camp was coming through the gate line and had just reached the greeters when the sun kissed the hills. I thought they held you guys till after us patient folk got in? How does D-Lot actually function? o_O

[FIGJAM]

Like I said, first in last out.

The earlier you get there the longer you wait.

We were in the 4th line from the last with 30 cars per line.

When the gates opened, they started moving the last line in and working back to the "first arrivals".

Mixing us in with the regular lines.

We handed over our tickets at about 7pm and were parked in camp before dark.

[Elliot]

D Lot is a small lot for handling specific problems such as missing admission tickets, missing MV invitations and whatnot. In and out quickly, from long before the event to the end of the event.

When over-eager people start arriving a couple hours before the official opening hour (Sunday at 6 pm the last couple years), they are sent to Staging, which is a large but short-lived lot specifically for that purpose. Like Figjam says, the worse your violation, the later you will get in. (If you arrive more than a couple hours early, you will be turned away completely.)

There is a third lot: Will Call. The term Will Call comes from the common practice of picking up merchandise that one has ordered earlier. It means "I will call for it" -- as in "I will come by to get it". The Will Call lot is readily accessible to arriving traffic at all times, immediately before Gate, and after picking up your ticket you continue straight to Gate as if you had not left the line.