Having an amazing time attending Imagine Music Festival back in 2019, I knew I had to be back for the 2022 edition after the last two editions  were canceled due to the pandemic and bad weather.  The venue has now been moved from Atlanta Motor Speedway to the massive Kingston Downs not too far from Atlanta.

I actually went accessible camping again this year and wrote about it on my previous post.  I still had a great camping experience this year and thanked all the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) staff at Ten Fifty Entertainment for all their help with both the camping and festival experience at Imagine Music Festival.  This post will be about the music festival itself, the music stages, and the accessibility of Kingston Downs.

Imagine Music Festival

Imagine Music Festival is an EDM (Electronic Dance Music) festival that is 18+ and originally started out as a two day event in 2014.  It has since grown into a three day party in September that includes camping and early entry.  Tickets for this really fun and amazing event starts out cheaper if you buy months in advance and gets pricier as the time gets closer to happening.  Very early tickets start out at $149.95 for the General Admission three day ticket.  This years headliners include: Excision, Griz, Illenium, Kaskade and over 100 more artists.

Camp or Hotel?

Imagine Music Festival offers different camping options for those who want to stay and live on site and enjoy a more immersive experience and not having to worry about shuttling or getting a ride to and from their hotel and to Kingston Downs.  I went camping again this year since I had such a great experience back in 2019 and wanted to try it again at this new location.  Accessible camping really is possible, and for those that need help to plan can always send me a message or contact the ADA department on their website.  They will definitely help you out so you won’t have to miss out on this incredible festival.

Getting There

For those who are not camping onsite, there is paid day parking spots, taxis, and rideshare options to get to the festival.  There are also official shuttles at designated hotel stops that can be directly booked online.  For those needing an accessible shuttle with a wheelchair ramp, those must be booked in advance with a representative.  Traffic can be quite busy during certain times getting in and out of the festival, so plan accordingly.

Since we were camping, it was a lot easier and less time consuming to get to the festival grounds.  This year however, they did not have multiple wheelchair accessible golf carts to drive wheelchair guests to their designated ADA pick up/drop off spots throughout the festival grounds.  They did have 1 really comfortable accessible van that has A/C, heat and a powered ramp that is exclusively only used for wheelchair passengers.

There were other regular golf carts in use so that the only accessible van is strictly for those in wheelchairs to use and a few extra people to join in.  There are even tie down straps for the wheelchair to make it an even smoother and more comfortable ride.  Shaun was the main driver of the vehicle and he was always great and in a good mood and took us to wherever we needed.  Waits to get him to shuttle us were never too bad and we always try to pick a non busy time like arriving and leaving the festival grounds early.

Music Stages

There are 4 main stages at Imagine this year, starting with the biggest and in order of being the main stage: Oceania, Amazonia, Disco Inferno, and Aeria.  There are also a few smaller stages including the Silent Disco and Renegade Sound stages.

We spent the most time at Oceania Stage since most of the artists we want to see are at that stage.  This main stage was also easy to get to and had the biggest ADA raised accessible viewing platform  It was a good distance from the stage and was easy to see.  Only those that are registered with the ADA office and their 1 companion can access these ADA areas.  There is 2 extra wide accessible porta potties at the side of this ADA platform.

Amazonia stage is a bit hard to get to, unless we are being dropped off at the ADA shuttle stop there.  It is down a hill if coming from the other stages.  The accessible raised viewing platform gives a great view of the stage and does have a accessible porta potty on the side.  Disco Inferno isn’t as fire heavy as in 2019 but is still a great stage.  It was easy to get to with the surrounding grass.  There was an accessible raised viewing platform not too far from the stage with the accompanying accessible porta potty on the side.

Aeria stage was on top a small hill that did not have an accessible viewing platform or porta potty attached to it.  My friend was still able to go zig zag  my wheelchair up and down the hill so we could see a few artists there over the weekend.  One of the Renegade Sound small stage was right by our tent and didn’t have its own accessible platform since it was never really busy enough.  We didn’t get a chance to check out the Silent Disco area.

Kingston Downs

Kingston Downs is a huge property that is mostly grass, fields and small rolling hills.  Getting from one end of the venue like Oceania stage to the other end like Amazonia stage wasn’t as bad as you would think.  My friend pushed my manual wheelchair through the grass, up and down small hills and never really had any issues or problems.  Since everything is spaced out, we never had to deal with crowds, like getting some food at the vendors, checking out the shops or artwork throughout.

There were never any paved roads like the Speedway, but did have a few pebbly trails that we avoided.  Glad there was also the option to have Shaun the ADA shuttle driver pick us up and drop us off as needed.  There are also many bathroom areas located throughout that also includes accessible porta potties.  We only used the ones that are located where the accessible raised viewing platforms are since it was more convenient.

Miscellaneous 

Pool parties at Aqua Day Club & Pool have been expanded to both the Saturday and Sunday from noon to 3 PM.  These Vegas style pool parties require a special add on ticket and features Kaskade and Adventure Club this year.  We didn’t make it to any of the pool parties this year but I did have a great time back in 2019.

We also missed out on the new river tubing since we didn’t think that would be something easy for me to do.  Amusement park rides like the Ferris Wheel was nowhere to be found this year.  I was also glad that there were so many free refill water stations located throughout as I need to drink a lot of water.  There is never really lines for them either.

Final Thoughts

Overall, Imagine Music Festival was another great and wonderful experience.  Combined with a fun and immersive accessible camping part of the festival, this music festival should definitely be on your list for next year.  With the new location at Kingston Downs, just be prepared to wheel around on mostly grass and fields.  There is even an accessible shuttle van for those that need to be dropped off at certain locations onsite.

Thanks again to everyone at Imagine Music Festival, Ten Fifty Entertainment, and those behind the scenes for a great time at this music event.  All the artists and shows we saw at each stage was what this whole weekend was about and it was definitely a blast.  I can’t believe how big Imagine has become and with it returning to Kingston Downs for 2023, things can only be better with all aspects of the festival and camping experience. I can’t wait.