Wonderfront Festival Crowd and Stage
The 2024 Wonderfront Music & Arts Festival was an unforgettable experience for the more than 41,000 people that were in attendance.
The anticipation is growing as we approach the 2025 lineup and after a complete sellout last year, tickets for the 2025 event are likely to sell out as well!
Let’s have a look at the ticket options that are still available!
General Admission Tickets
General Admission tickets are on sale for 1-day at $165 per day or for 3-days for $375 per person.
Included with your ticket will be entrance into the venue for the music and art, plus access to food, wine, spirits, & beer. Your ticket also entitles you to a boat party with bands, dance club, games and more!
General Admission Plus
The festival is offering a new General Admission Plus pass for 2025 that is $275 per day or $599 for 3-days per person.
The GA Plus pass includes all the benefits of the General Admission pass plus and express lane to enter as well as to pick up your wristband, access to two comfy lounges – the Electric Lounge Hideaway and Waterfront Lounge, special shaded seating, complimentary water refill stations, private bars and special bathrooms.
For me, I know how these festivals can be and the private bathrooms might be enough for me to upgrade to the GA Plus tickets!
VIP Tickets
VIP Tickets are available for $399 per day or $899 for a 3-day pass per person.
The VIP experience is a big step above the General Admission and General Admission Plus passes as it also includes express entry to the festival, access to VIP main stage lounges on each side of the main stage, VIP viewing and front of the stage special access plus VIP bars, restrooms, drinks and food options.
The passes also grant you VIP access to boat parties and VIP only limo boat rides, plus you’ll have first dibs at after party tickets and next year’s VIP passes.
Rayland Baxter rocking out at Wonderfront Festival 2024
How Does Wonderfront Enhance the Festival Experience Beyond the Stage?
I try to attend as many events in San Diego as I can. I love San Diego and since I run Go Visit San Diego, a site dedicated to everything the city has to offer, it’s good for me, my family and my team to experience annual events first hand.
I don’t often get VIP passes, but the VIP experience at the Wonderfront Festival is set to provide one of the most unique festival experiences you’ll find with premium raised seating, front row viewing of the main stages, hospitality lounges with dedicated restrooms, Hideaway Lounge access in the Electric Lounge Dance Club and VIP limo boat harbor cruises for VIPs only all weekend long.
While a General Admission pass will make for an unforgettable weekend, VIP is how the festival takes the experience to the next level.
How Can I Pay for Food, Drinks and Merchandise?
Some vendors will take cash and all will accept credit/debit cards plus Apple Pay, Google Pay, Android pay, etc.
What Are the Best Hotels to Stay at Near the Wonderfront Music & Arts Festival?
Let me be very honest and say that the Wonderfront Music & Arts Festival is a huge weekend party that while controlled can be a bit wild at times as well. It’s a place to let loose with friends and family, enjoy a few drinks and a weekend full of music.
With that in mind, grabbing a local hotel, even if you live in the area can save you a lot of time commuting back and forth plus give you a nice location to rest and relax between events.
The Downtown San Diego area has a nice selection of hotels that would be perfect as a home base for your Wonderfront Festival weekend. I personally would focus on hotels that were walking distance from the venue, so hotels near the Convention Center would be good choices as well!
Let me share three of my personal favorites.
Grassy Area next to the Pool at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina
Stay at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina
My first recommendation would be to stay at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina, located less than 10 minutes away by foot, the property has well-appointed rooms plus multiple bars and restaurants, a hot tub and two heated pools.
Entrance into the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego
Stay at the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego
Another good choice for a weekend at the festival would be the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego.
Located less than a five minute walk from the entrance to the festival, this luxury hotel offers spacious rooms, a rooftop pool, a spa and incredible city views.
Looking up at the Hard Rock Hotel San Diego
Stay at the Hard Rock Hotel San Diego
I’ll be honest and say that I’m a few years older than some of the Go Visit San Diego team members and so I wasn’t sure if the Hard Rock Hotel San Diego was still ‘cool’ like it was years ago when I was looking for a fun place to stay with my friends.
The team let me know that it was totally still cool and so I’d recommend the hotel to you as it’s in the nearby Gaslamp Quarter across from the San Diego Convention Center just under 20 minutes walking away.
The hotel has music-themed décor, multiple restaurants, a poolside lounge with private cabana and fire pits, and a party atmosphere that’s a perfect match with the festival.
Are There Hotel + Ticket Packages?
Yes! The Wonderfront Festival has partnered with 15 hotels to offer guests special package deals that include hotel stays plus GA or VIP tickets. They are designed for 2 to 4 people.
The way it works is you pick how many days you want to attend the festival, 1-day or 3-days, which pass you want, and then you pair that with two to four nights at one of the participating hotels, most which are within 1.5 miles away and walking distance to and from the festival.
They’re also offering hotel stays without the tickets if all you need is a nearby place to stay. My favorites they are offering would be the 5-star Andaz San Diego and 4-star Hilton San Diego Bayfront, both at about 1 mile from the venue.
The festival has negotiated the room rates but to be honest, I think it really depends what days you want to attend and where you want to stay as to if a hotel and ticket package is your best choice or if you’re better just booking each piece on your own. They are offering a payment plan with as little as $10 down and a 2% processing fee as well.
Wonderfront Festival Wristband
RFID Wristband Tickets
The Wonderfront Music & Arts Festival does not provide hard tickets. Instead, you’ll receive an RFID wristband which is your ticket into the event.
They will ship the wristbands in late April and if you don’t receive yours or have any issues, I suggest you head to the box office when you arrive. They can help you there.