Mad Cool Festival 2020

[DDave]

For those who have been before, where's the best place to get a hotel? and how is getting a tram/taxi from the festival in the early hours? what train / tram lines should I be looking for? 

Looking for somewhere nice with maybe a few bars and with less walking as possible.

Edited November 27, 2019 by DDave

[clasher]

3 minutes ago, DDave said:

For those who have been before, where's the best place to get a hotel? and how is getting a tram/taxi from the festival in the early hours? what train / tram lines should I be looking for? 

Looking for somewhere nice with maybe a few bars and with less walking as possible.

Getting back from the festival was quite the pain in 2018. There's one metro line running, but it doesn't go to the center. Get something near the last stop, as it's way easier to get downtown in the day than getting back from the festival at night. Was the last stop Nuevos Ministerios? Not sure, people who know better and/or have been this year will correct me if I'm wrong.

[moonraker76]

2 minutes ago, DDave said:

For those who have been before, where's the best place to get a hotel? and how is getting a tram/taxi from the festival in the early hours? what train / tram lines should I be looking for? 

Looking for somewhere nice with maybe a few bars and with less walking as possible.

I had the  exact same dilemma last year.

The short answer is anywhere in Madrid near a metro station will work. Why? Because you can get the metro to the venue for peanuts and then you can get a free shuttle bus back that will take you some way into the city centre and then just hop in a taxi from there to your place.

Don't bother getting a taxi from the venue, they will sting you. They had sooo many buses last year, barely any queuing.

 

[pryce]

Hotels near the airport an option and walkable? 

[moonraker76]

The metro didn't run as late in 2019. But the buses did the job for me. You could leave right at the end and it was no bother. Just one hell of a walk.

[moonraker76]

Just now, pryce said:

Hotels near the airport an option and walkable? 

Potentially, not sure on distance. It's the same metro line I think.

[clasher]

2 minutes ago, moonraker76 said:

The metro didn't run as late in 2019. But the buses did the job for me. You could leave right at the end and it was no bother. Just one hell of a walk.

Where did the buses take you to? 

[neacaisa]

there are 2 shuttles:

- one from the festival to the city (plaza de castilla) - this one is free

- one from plaza de castilla further to the city centre (i think it was to cibelles) - this one is 2-3 euros

no metro at the time the concerts ends, but the metro is the best option only for coming to the fest

taxis/uber  had quite a queue, but at least it is an organized one

Edited November 27, 2019 by neacaisa

[moonraker76]

14 minutes ago, clasher said:

Where did the buses take you to? 

In 2019 they only went to:

• EMT shuttle buses from Avenida de las Fuerzas Armadas to Plaza Castilla on Thursday July 11th, Friday July 12th and Saturday July 13th, from 00:00am until 06:00am. This service is free for all Mad Cool ticket holders.

EDIT: Avenida de las Fuerzas Armadas is basically Mad Cool. See below:

https://madcoolfestival.es/en/news/informacion-practica-y-util-mad-cool-2019

 

Edited November 27, 2019 by moonraker76

[moonraker76]

4 minutes ago, neacaisa said:

there are 2 shuttles:

- one from the festival to the city (plaza de castilla) - this one is free

- one from plaza de castilla further to the city centre (i think it was to cibelles) - this one is 2-3 euros

no metro at the time the concerts ends, but the metro is the best option only for coming to the fest

taxis/uber  had quite a queue, but at least it is an organized one

Bus queue seemed pretty good to me but maybe I was lucky ?

[neacaisa]

bus queue was perfect, taxi queue was pretty bad (haven't tried but read multiple posts on the thread) 

[jparx]

27 minutes ago, pryce said:

Hotels near the airport an option and walkable? 

We stayed near the airport and used Uber. It worked a dream to be honest. Metro in to the city was really easy, about 30 minutes or so. Depends whether your priority is an easier trip to and from the festival or being more centrally located for the city. I'd definitely recommend staying near the airport and using Uber.

Edit: just to be clear - it was not walkable. 

Edited November 27, 2019 by jparx

[e2p2]

You probably can't really know for sure where to book hotel because in 2018 and 2019 the public transport was different. Both went smooth for me, but thats only because I changed the hotel a few days before the festival because only then they announced the public transportation scheme. If I was going for next edition I would book 2 hotels (with free cancelation), one in Nuevos Ministerios and one near Plaza Castillia. 

[pryce]

4 minutes ago, jparx said:

We stayed near the airport and used Uber. It worked a dream to be honest. Metro in to the city was really easy, about 30 minutes or so. Depends whether your priority is an easier trip to and from the festival or being more centrally located for the city. I'd definitely recommend staying near the airport and using Uber.

Edit: just to be clear - it was not walkable. 

Did uber inflate the prices at the time? 

[jparx]

2 minutes ago, pryce said:

Did uber inflate the prices at the time? 

The prices were higher on the return leg. Not sure how inflated they were compared to normal, non-festival time, but it was around 25 Euro return for the two of us per day. The journey was about 15 minutes each way. Not the cheapest option but very easy and painless. 

[robillustrates]

I find it so interesting that Faith No More are a headliner while the likes of Kings of Leon and 21 pilots etc are not.

I went to the Faith No More reunited show, they are awesome but they were headlining second stages of festivals before they took the four year break, now they are topping a four day festival as headliner, it's interesting.

[robillustrates]

Also I was convinced we would see RHCP and the Strokes added to the Mad Cool lineup.

I think Kenny being announced as headlining a festival in Holland the same weekend while makes it possible I also think makes it less likely he is also playing Mad Cool and Nos for example in the same weekend. A smaller act would but a premium headliner probably doesn't need to triple stack their weekend with three festivals.

[swelsbyuk]

2 minutes ago, robillustrates said:

I find it so interesting that Faith No More are a headliner while the likes of Kings of Leon and 21 pilots etc are not.

I went to the Faith No More reunited show, they are awesome but they were headlining second stages of festivals before they took the four year break, now they are topping a four day festival as headliner, it's interesting.

This is exactly why some bands go on 'hiatus' rather than just fading away and slipping lower and lower down the pecking order. 

[robillustrates]

1 hour ago, Slix_Trix said:

...and also the daily capacity being reduced to 60,000 will make a sell out more likely

Thought the capacity for 2019 was 50,000 a day, it's an increase on capacity?

[moonraker76]

1 minute ago, robillustrates said:

Thought the capacity for 2019 was 50,000 a day, it's an increase on capacity?

yeah it's increased since 2019 but decreased since 2018. 

[robillustrates]

Kings of Leon's stock has fallen because after cementing themselves as chart toppers and number one artists, the albums since haven't matched their peak or even their earlier material and largely dropped out of that mainstream radar unless you are a devoted fan.

They rubbed a few places up the wrong way with their bad attitudes and backstage requests as well.

So the Friday is very much up in the air with possibly a headliner and very strong sub to join the lineup with the other three days seemingly set at the top of the bill.

Yeah 2018 was the last time I was there, rammed for Thursday and Friday but by Saturday felt like the numbers had dropped to something slightly more comfortable.

Edited November 27, 2019 by robillustrates

[jparx]

This lineup really starting to look like the best in Europe again. 

[robillustrates]

6 minutes ago, jparx said:

This lineup really starting to look like the best in Europe again. 

Inclined to agree.
I have to admire the ambition, going for four days and stacking the lineup will work for them if they can keep it up. With NOS sticking to three days it helps them have the edge over them and apparently they are now looking at sharing headliners with both NOS and Bilbao BBK making it potentially easier to repeat the four days worth of acts and headliners etc.

[didinowanttohearthat]

24 minutes ago, robillustrates said:

I find it so interesting that Faith No More are a headliner while the likes of Kings of Leon and 21 pilots etc are not.

I went to the Faith No More reunited show, they are awesome but they were headlining second stages of festivals before they took the four year break, now they are topping a four day festival as headliner, it's interesting.

Kings of Leon are headlining.

21 pilots not sure but probs a co-headliner too.

[robillustrates]

3 minutes ago, didinowanttohearthat said:

Kings of Leon are headlining.

21 pilots not sure but probs a co-headliner too.

they weren't announced with a headliner tag on Intstagram like The Killers and Faith No More were.