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Planning Your WOW Festival

We love a spontaneous outing, but you know what we don’t love? Missed opportunities.

The WOW Festival program includes many events packed into 4 days, and planning can help make sure you get the best out of it: from RSVPing to small capacity experiences, to parking and transportation, to nearby food options, to background information on the art and more.

Fortunately, we are WOW Festival experts and are here to assist you! See below for everything you need to know.

WOW Festival is open during these hours to explore. For specific event times please see event pages.

Thursday April 4: 4pm – 10pm
Friday April 5: 4pm – 10pm
Saturday April 6: 11am – 10pm
Sunday April 7: 11am – 5pm

WOW Festival is free to attend, but RSVP’s are required for some events, and simply requested for others. Let us explain why.

RSVP Required – RSVPs are required for events that have small capacity and ensure you have a place reserved just for you.

RSVP Optional – For events with large or unlimited capacity, RSVPs are requested but not mandatory. When you RSVP, the event will show in your Schedule, and we appreciate RSVPs because this helps us know how many people to expect so we can plan and ensure your experience is as smooth as possible.

Just Show Up EventsEnjoy these events at (almost) any time or between your other events! This event is open during the opening hours noted on the event pages. No RSVP needed.

Your Festival Schedule – We encourage you to log in – or create a new account. Your login allows you to view all events you’ve RSVP’d for in one place – handy for planning your day.

Timing between events – We recommend leaving 30 minutes between events that take place in different hubs to give you time to walk or catch the shuttle bus. Durations are listed on event pages.

Check out our comprehensive ‘How to WOW’ guide for events listed by day and by hub, suggested schedules, map links and more.

WOW Festival encourages the use of public transport wherever possible.

Venue Addresses
Please see the Venue page for addresses for each venue.

Trolley
The Blue Line trolley stops next to The Epstein Family Amphitheater and within a short walk of other WOW Festival venues. The closest stop is the UCSD Central Campus Station stop. Plan your trolley travel here.

Bus
La Jolla Playhouse is accessible via several bus routes. Use the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) Trip Planner to plan your trip at www.sdmts.com.

Driving Directions to UC San Diego
From the North – Take I-5 south and exit La Jolla Village Drive. Use the right lanes to turn right onto La Jolla Village Drive and take the first right onto Villa La Jolla Drive.
From the South – Take I-5 north and exit La Jolla Village Drive. Use the left lanes to turn left onto La Jolla Village Drive and take the first right onto Villa La Jolla Drive.

Rideshare drop off locations for Access, Uber, Lyft and Taxi
La Jolla Playhouse

Epstein Family Amphitheater

There are several parking stations at UCSD. The two that are the closest to the WOW Festival venues are:

Please see the Venue page to find out which parking is closest to each venue.

UC San Diego requires parking permits 7 days a week. Permit Pay Stations are available at each of the parking lots or Pay using Parkmobile app. Parkmobile is UC San Diego’s parking payment partner for campus visitors. Visitors can park in any V space and use the visitor zone number 4752 for the main campus. A, B, and S spots are available for visitors after 4 pm. If you do plan to pay for parking on campus, we recommend arriving early and allowing for time to find a spot.

Download ParkMobile App

Download ParkMobile on the App Store

Parking Prices

  • Thursday and Friday – $8.40 for the entire evening after 4pm. Those attending a 4PM show who need to get here earlier would need to pay an additional $4 for 3pm-4pm.
  • Saturday and Sunday – $8.40 for the entire day

Pay once, park twice in the same day – If you want to move your car during the day between the two parking structures, you can do that without having to pay for parking twice.

Shuttles
Free UC San Diego shuttle buses (blue and yellow with UCSD logo) will be running throughout WOW Festival to move people from one hub to another. Shuttles arrive approximately every 15 minutes. The shuttle takes 10-12 mins from La Jolla Playhouse to the Epstein Family Amphitheater.  

For shuttle stop locations, please reference our official WOW Festival Map, our interactive WOW Festival Google Map, or ask a member of staff. At the Festival, grab a printed map and festival schedule when you park, at the Info Booth or from a volunteer to help guide you to shuttle stops and event locations. Look for WOW Festival signage at each shuttle stop for the specific venues your shuttle will take you to.

Although the campus has many shuttle lines, we will only use the Inside Loop (IL) and Outside Loop (OL) for the WOW Festival. To track shuttles in real-time click HERE.

Please allow a minimum of 30 minutes to travel between venue hubs. Please allow an additional 7 minutes to walk to Fallen Star from the Central Campus Station shuttle stop.

Scooters
If you would like to get around faster consider renting a scooter with UC San Diego shared scooter partner, SPIN. For more information click HERE.

Walking
You can walk around WOW Festival from event to event. Venues are between 3 min and 15-20 min walk from each other, depending on your pace. You might find it useful to use the WOW Festival Google Map to plan and guide your walking route. Here are some estimates of walking distances between venues:

La Jolla Playhouse Hub
La Jolla Playhouse to Che Café – 0.1 miles, approx 3 min
La Jolla Playhouse to Revelle Plaza – 0.2 miles, approx 6 min
La Jolla Playhouse to Mandeville Art Gallery – 0.7 miles, approx 15 min
La Jolla Playhouse to Epstein Family Amphitheater – 0.7 miles, approx 16 min
La Jolla Playhouse to Design & Innovation Building – 0.7 miles, approx 16 min
La Jolla Playhouse to Fallen Star – 0.9 miles, approx 19 min

Revelle Plaza Hub
Revelle Plaza to La Jolla Playhouse – 0.2 miles, approx 6 minutes
Revelle Plaza to Che Café – 0.3 miles, approx 7 min
Revelle Plaza to Mandeville Art Gallery – 0.3 miles, approx 7 min
Revelle Plaza to Epstein Family Amphitheater – 0.6 miles, approx 12 min
Revelle Plaza to Design & Innovation Building – 0.6 miles, approx 12 min
Revelle Plaza to Fallen Star – 0.6 miles, approx 12 min

Epstein Family Amphitheater/Design & Innovation Building Hub
Epstein Family Amphitheater to Design & Innovation Building – 0.1 miles, approx 3 min
Epstein Family Amphitheater to Fallen Star – 0.2 miles, approx 5 min
Epstein Family Amphitheater to Mandeville Art Gallery – 0.4 miles, approx 7 min
Epstein Family Amphitheater to Revelle Plaza – 0.6 miles, approx 12 min
Epstein Family Amphitheater to Che Café – 0.6 miles, approx 13 min
Epstein Family Amphitheater to La Jolla Playhouse – 0.7 miles, approx 16 min

Check out our comprehensive ‘How to WOW’ guide for events listed by day and by hub, suggested schedules, map links and more.

Wondering how to get to the specific venue to see your show? Find addresses and Google Map links on our Venues page

If you’re visiting San Diego for WOW Festival, check out our accommodation partners that are a short drive from the festival venues.

Residence Inn by Marriott
8901 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, CA 92037

The Lodge at Torrey Pines
11480 N Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla, CA 92037

Professional photography – La Jolla Playhouse photographers and videographers will be present throughout the WOW Festival, and patrons in attendance at any WOW production may be photographed. 

Social media – We encourage you to tag us on socials in your photos of WOW Festival @lajollaplayhouse #WOWFestSD

Photography during events – At some of the events it will not be appropriate for photos to be taken during the performance. Please refer to signage and staff advice at each event.

WOW Festival events are free to attend, but RSVPs are required in some instances, as detailed on event pages. Space at each event is reserved in line with La Jolla Playhouse’s Ticketing Terms and Conditions. 

If you have reserved tickets and can no longer attend, please contact Patron Services (858.550.1010) to return your spot so someone else can enjoy the experience.

Accessibility

Learn more about accessibility at the WOW Festival

Food and Drink

Learn more about available food and drink options at the WOW Festival

How to WOW

A comprehensive guide of events, suggested schedules and more.