Austin, TX

With just 48 hours to go until the opening of the 2009 ACL Fest, I’m sure the crowds have already begun arriving. Last year I wrote a fairly comprehensive Survival Guide but here is some useful information.

Wristbands:

As of today, the Zilker box office is OPEN. You can beat the crowds and redeem your 3-day passes for a wristband between now and Thursday between 3pm-8pm. Wristbands must be worn for entry into the park. Children 10 and under are free when accompanied by a ticket-holding adult. Having your wristbands means you can slip into the wristband-only lines and cut down significantly on your wait. If you are unable to get your wristband early then you can redeem your tickets for a wristband at either entrance.

Zilker Box Office
2201 Barton Springs Rd
Austin, TX 78746

On Barton Springs Road, across from the Festival entrance.
Week-of Hours: Mon. 9/22 - Thurs, 9/25, 3pm-8pm
Show Days: Fri, 9/26 - Sun, 9/28, 10am-10pm

Transportation & Parking

I must stress to you that there is NO on-site parking. There are lots of bike racks so biking in is a great option. Otherwise you’ll definitely want to use the Shuttle. The Shuttle is FREE and you can catch it at Republic Park. Republic Park is located at 5th and Guadalupe. That, of course, means you need to find somewhere downtown to park your car. I had a great deal of luck parking across the street from Republic Park last year at the State Garage. Another Fri-Sat city office parking garage that works great is the one at South First & Barton Springs Rd. Park there and you can just walk to the festival. Those won’t work too well for Friday as people who work will be parked there but on Saturday and Sunday it’s open and ran me $5 a day. Extremely reasonable. Cap Metro will be picking up at various locations around town and you can visit their website for information on their routes. Here is a list of Downtown Austin parking garages. Parking will generally run you $5-10 a day. You also have the option of taking a cab or if you have a relative or friend who has pity on you then you might beg them to just drop you off. Click here to see the Cap Metro bus schedule.

Things you CAN take into the Fest:

You may bring in the following items:

• Blankets
• Umbrellas (small hand-held style)
• Soft-sided coolers
• Baby Strollers
• Portable/collapsible chair (individual units only; no “double-wide” connecting chairs)
• Regular-size/unframed backpacks
• Two factory sealed water bottles up to 1 liter each
• Empty Camelbak or other empty plastic container (ie, Nalgene bottle)
• Ice in soft-sided cooler or Camelbak. No large bags allowed.
• Binoculars
• Personal camera equipment (i.e. small digital cameras or point-and-click 35mm cameras). Cameras with any type of detachable lenses are prohibited.

Things you may NOT take into the Fest:

• Weapons of any kind
• Illegal substances (including narcotics) or drug paraphernalia (Um, yeah…)
• Framed or large backpacks
• Alcohol (alcohol will be sold at the Festival)
• Glass containers
• Food or beverages, except for factory-sealed water bottles
• Skateboards, scooters, or personal motorized vehicles
• Bicycles inside Festival grounds (bike racks are available near each entrance)
• Carts
• Large chains or spiked jewelry
• Fireworks
• Explosives
• Large umbrellas
• Non-collapsible chairs
• Hard-sided coolers
• Tents
• Pets (except service dogs)
• Video equipment: No video recording will be allowed.
• Professional still camera equipment (no detachable lenses, no tripods, big zooms, or commercial use rigs)
• Audio recording equipment
• No illegal vending is permitted. No unauthorized/unlicensed vendors allowed.
• Unauthorized solicitations, handbills, sampling, give-aways, etc
• Metal aerosol containers, including sunscreen

For some more in-depth information check out my previous guides:

Part 1 - What to Wear
Part 2 - What to Take
Part 3 - Getting There
Part 4 - A Quick Summary

Here is a look ahead at the weather: