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Lovers of house, dubstep, trap and techno, start your engines. Made Event's EDM superfest kicks off tomorrow on Randall's Island, and we can't blame you for being out of your gourd with excitement—seriously, look at this lineup—but try to focus: Take these essential steps now to make sure you get the most out of your festival weekend. And while you're at it, check out our Electric Zoo guide for the full rundown (complete with juicy photos from previous fests).
1. Download the app.
The festival has its own handy-dandy mobile app for iPhone and Android, which includes artist playlists, an interactive map (pinpointing free water-refill stations, first-aid centers, food vendors and more) and, of course, a camera with custom photo filters. Just what does a "wild outdoor rave" filter look like, we wonder?
2. Check out the set times and create your personal schedule.
Electric Zoo has kindly posted all of the set times on its website (you can access them on the app, too), along with a cool feature that lets you build your own schedule, so all you anal-retentive folks can run your festival experience like your 7am boot-camp class, or at least make sure you don't miss your favorite acts. (Check out our five must-see Electric Zoo acts for some inspiration).
3. Make your travel arrangements.
All you New Yorkers are already covered, since your festival passes came with round-trip transportation via ferry or shuttle bus, but what about your friends in other cities? Tell them to leave their cars at home and hop on the Electric Zoo Express! Buses leave daily from Hartford-Stamford, Boston and Philly.
4. Take these items out of your bag.
We don't know about you, but we hate bringing stuff to an event, only to drop it in a trash can at the gate. Not surprisingly, Electric Zoo has a pretty substantial list of things that are on its no-no list (including glowsticks, deodorant, CamelBaks and umbrellas). Have a look at the list now, and leave that stuff safely at home.
5. Get your wristband up and running.
You need to validate your Electric Zoo wristband in order to enter the festival, which involves watching the festival's antidrug PSA we all know and love, so go watch the video one more time.
Finally, Electric Zoo is a "cashless" festival and actually a cardless one, too: Debit/credit cards aren't accepted, so the only way you can buy things is with your wristband, but first you need to load it up with EZ Bucks. Odds are you probably don't want to spend your precious festival time doing this, so go ahead and do it ahead of time. As a bonus, if you add $100 to your wristband by 11:59pm tonight, you'll get five free EZ Bucks. Hey, every bit counts.