EDC Orlando just wrapped up its 2024 edition, and one common critique among attendees was that the festival felt more crowded than ever. It might surprise you to learn that EDC Orlando has almost twice as many attendees as Ultra Music Festival over its three days. Organizers expected over 300,000 ravers to attend EDCO 2024, while Ultra hosts about 165,000. Whether it was increased attendance or layout changes, there were issues with crowd flow, particularly during times when there were big headliners across multiple stages.
Pasquale Rotella, the founder and CEO of Insomniac, the company that produces the Electric Daisy Carnival, wasted no time in making a post to address these concerns on social media.
“I know many of you had an amazing time, which I absolutely love to hear. However, I want to address those who felt uncomfortable during moments when the largest crowds gathered. I genuinely hate to hear that some of you faced tight conditions in those areas, and I want you to know that your comfort and safety are my top priorities. To be clear, we do not sell above the permitted capacities for any of our events, but crowd movement can lead to certain areas becoming very crowded, especially during peak moments. While this is unavoidable, we remain committed to making continuous improvements to enhance your experience as Headliners. I’m happy to say that prior to this year’s EDC, we already had plans to expand the footprint for EDC Orlando 2025. This new area will help improve crowd flow in addition to other crowd management strategies to help ease those situations.” – Pasquale Rotella
Festival attendees and fans took to social media to express their frustrations flooding both Instagram and Facebook posts. Since EDC’s arrival in Orlando back in 2011, the festival has seen impressive growth. Although Insomniac Events has continually sought to improve the experience through crowd management and logistical solutions, crowd safety remains a pressing issue.
In 2025 attendees can expect the festival footprint to expand to an additional area around Camping World Stadium, which should allow the festival to address crowdcrush concerns and improve traffic flow. Perhaps the addition of another stage might slightly reduce the crowds at Kinetic Field, Circuit Grounds, and Neon Garden as well.
Right on the heels of this announcement, EDC Orlando announced dates for the 2025 festival and announced that pre-sales will begin on Friday. EDC Orlando will return to Tinker Field on November 7-9 2025 with the expanded footprint. It’s safe to say it will be bigger than ever.