Beyond Wonderland Compared: How It Stacks Up Against EDC, Ultra, and More

Beyond Wonderland is Insomniac’s Alice in Wonderland-themed spring festival. It runs for 2 days at the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino, which attracts 60,000+ attendees each year.

People constantly compare Beyond Wonderland to EDC, Ultra, Bass Canyon, and Nocturnal. But as experienced festival enthusiasts know, no two festivals feel the same.

In this article, we’ll discuss how Beyond Wonderland compares to EDC, Ultra, Bass Canyon, and Nocturnal across cost, music, vibe, and logistics. We’ve got everything you need to know to pick the right festival for your budget and taste.

Let’s start right away.

This table shows how Beyond Wonderland stacks up against EDC, Ultra, Bass Canyon, and Nocturnal. Use this to narrow down which experience fits your budget, music taste, and weekend plans.

Source - Website of Beyond Wonderland 

Both Beyond Wonderland and EDC Las Vegas share Insomniac DNA, but they offer very different experiences.

Beyond Wonderland is a 2-day, 6-stage regional festival with around 60,000 attendees. Meanwhile, EDC runs for 3 nights, with 16 stages, 525,000+ attendees, carnival rides, and sets from 7 PM - 5:30 AM.

In essence, nothing is “better.” It’s whether the bigger, more expensive EDC experience is worth it over Beyond, or if Beyond gives you 80% of the magic at half the cost. Here’s how they compare on price, music, and vibe:

You can purchase Beyond Wonderland tickets per day: $160-240 for Friday (March 27) and $200-280 for Saturday (March 28). The 2-day passes were priced at $330-480, which saves you $30-40. The 2-day GA tickets are sold out, but other tickets are still available.

As for EDC Las Vegas, 3-day tickets were priced at $508, $609, and $1,269 for GA, GA+, and VIP, respectively (no per-day tickets). Right now, everything’s already sold out, but you can join the waitlist for free. You’ll be notified if they reopen ticketing.

Beyond tickets, you need to consider additional expenses. These include flights, a surge in hotel prices, food, and shuttle fares of $100+.

All in, expect to spend $1,200-2,000 for the whole weekend. If you live in Southern California, the NOS Events Center (where Beyond will be held) is accessible by car. That will save you hundreds of bucks.

One more thing: EDC offers Camp EDC (on-site camping since 2018) and Hotel EDC packages for those who want the community experience, while Beyond SoCal has no camping or RV parking options.

Source - EDC Website

Both Beyond and EDC cover various electronic dance music (EDM)styles, including house, techno, bass, trance, hardstyle, and DnB (drum and bass), in depth.

But EDC takes it further with dedicated niche stages. Wasteland delivers pure hardstyle energy; quantumVALLEY focuses solely on trance; and Ubuntu (added in 2025) showcases Afro house, featuring 250+ artists across 16 stages. EDC’s kineticFIELD main stage alone holds 70,000 people.

If you’re looking for genre variety, Beyond delivers it through hosted stages like Bassrush, Dreamstate, Factory93, and Basscon with around 60-80 artists across 6 stages. The main stage, Queen’s Domain, is smaller than kineticFIELD, but it’s still impressive.

Practically speaking, you’ll be able to catch most of the acts in Beyond’s 6 stages. But with EDC’s 16 stages, you’ll likely face schedule conflicts.

Beyond Wonderland is often referred to as a “starter” at Insomniac Fest because it’s less overwhelming for first-timers. It’s more intimate and easier to move between stages.

Compare that to the sensory overload you’ll experience in EDC. There are 18 carnival rides, 4 Ferris wheels, fireworks, art cars, and dusk-to-dawn hours (7 PM - 5:30 AM). Both festivals share the same peace, love, unity, and respect (PLUR) culture, so first-timers can feel a welcoming atmosphere.

If you’re already eyeing EDC, check out our EDC outfits collection for ideas that work at both festivals. Festival bodysuits fit well at both since Insomniac events share a similar dress culture.

Fair warning, though: Beyond has been facing overcrowding issues since 2024. The NOS could fit 40,000-65,000 people, but in 2025, around 97,000 attended.

Either way, you’ll surely have a great weekend. There’s no “better” festival. It’s a matter of festival experience you’re looking for: crowd size, production, pacing, and how intense you want your weekend to feel.

Beyond Wonderland is a 2-day regional Insomniac festival in San Bernardino with around 60,000 attendees and 6 themed stages. Meanwhile, Ultra Music Festival is a 3-day global institution in downtown Miami drawing 150,000-170,000+ people across 7 stages, with editions on 6 continents and 29 countries.

But the differences run deeper than size. Let’s break down what sets these festivals apart, so you’ll know which one to invest your time and money in.

In Beyond Wonderland, you’ll hear bass, house, techno, hard dance, and DnB across themed Wonderland stages like Queen’s Domain and Caterpillar’s Garden. The genre spread is actually wider than you might expect, considering there are only 6 stages.

Ultra Music Festival’s main stage brings headliners like Tiësto and Skrillex. Meanwhile, the RESISTANCE Megastructure is dedicated to underground acts featuring Carl Cox and Charlotte de Witte (it’s a festival within a festival). Nothing at Beyond Wonderland matches this underground experience.

Ultra is also known for exclusive debuts and rare b2b (back-to-back) sets. This 2026, the new additions include Alan Fitzpatrick b2b Marco Faraone, Alesso b2b Martin Garrix, and Juliet Fox.

Bass Canyon delivers a pure bass deep dive, featuring 100% bass music (dubstep, riddim, experimental bass, DnB, trap, and bass house). Beyond Wonderland is a buffet of different genres. There’s house, techno, bass, trance, hardstyle, and more.

Let’s go through the other key differences that set them apart.

Bass Canyon delivers dubstep, riddim, experimental bass, DnB, trap, and bass house. You’ll catch artists like SVDDEN DEATH, Wooli, Space Laces, Ganja White Night, and Zeds Dead. There’s no trance, zero hardstyle, minimal house, or techno, which you’ll witness a lot in Beyond (with DnB, melodic, and bass).

If you likely breathe bass music, Bass Canyon gives you a full weekend of that. But if you’re still figuring out which genres you like, Beyond Wonderland offers more options.

The campground community is a huge part of the experience you wouldn’t want to miss.

Bass Canyon is camping-centric at The Gorge, about 2.5 hours from Seattle. Almost everyone camps with options ranging from Standard to Oasis Glamping, and since 2025, they have added free showers. The Gorge is rated the #1 most beautiful outdoor venue in America (a 9-time Pollstar winner) with a Columbia River canyon backdrop and legendary sunsets.

Beyond Wonderland does not offer camping, so your options are nearby hotels and shuttles (60 miles from LA).

The vibes of these festivals are also different. Bass Canyon brings "headbanger" culture with moshing, intense energy, and rugged outdoor immersion. Meanwhile, Beyond offers whimsical Wonderland theming, a broader EDM crowd, and Instagram-friendly art installations.

Fun fact: Beyond Wonderland PNW “Journey Down the Rabbit Hole” on June 27-28 will be at the Gorge Amphitheater, the same venue as Bass Canyon. You can wear the same faux-fur jackets at both festivals to save money.

Beyond Wonderland and Nocturnal Wonderland are both produced by Insomniac but serve different audiences. Insomniac created Nocturnal in 1995, then in 2010, Beyond was created as “a springtime sister festival to Nocturnal Wonderland.”

Let’s see how they differ in terms of crowd, music, and camping availability.

Beyond Wonderland takes place in late March at NOS Events Center, an urban-industrial venue that can accommodate up to 65,000 people and features 100+ artists across 6 stages. The festival will happen on March 27-28 from 3 PM to 2 AM, but the afterparty happens from 2:15 AM to 6 AM. The tickets cost $160-280 per day, while the 2-day passes are $330-480.

On the other hand, Nocturnal Wonderland is on September 19-20 at the Glen Helen Regional Park, an outdoor setting in the San Bernardino Mountain foothills. Nocturnal brings around 50,000 attendees with 50+ artists across 4-5 stages.

The biggest difference between the two is Nocturnal's camping availability, which Beyond doesn’t offer. However, there are no updates yet about Nocturnal’s camping options and prices, so stay tuned for their updates. But you can now buy their tickets, which are also cheaper than Beyond's: $140 for a 2-day GA and $320 for a 2-day VIP.

Nocturnal is heavy on bass, trance, DnB, breakbeat, techno, hardstyle, and house. The 2025 lineup leaned hard into DnB with artists like Wilkinson and Metrik b2b Grafix. The dedicated Rave Cave stage brings underground sounds, staying true to the festival’s ‘90s drum & bass and trance origins.

The crowd is older and more community-focused, so they’re very familiar with the PLUR and old-school rave culture. You’ll find many people in kimonos because the outdoor September night setting can get quite cold. Check out more of our Nocturnal Wonderland outfits, like this Eularia rhinestone sequin bodysuit that matches the festival’s magical vibe under the lights.

GA+ adds only two things over standard GA: a faster entry line and air-conditioned restroom trailers. That’s it. No viewing areas, lounges, or charging stations. For around $35-60 extra, it’s a thin upgrade compared to VIP, which adds 8+ perks for just $45-90 more than GA+.

Let’s do a full tier breakdown so you can properly map out your experience.

The tickets for Beyond Wonderland cost:

• Friday, March 27, only: $160 (GA), $195 (GA+), and $240 (VIP)

• Saturday, March 28, only: $200 (GA), $235 (GA+), and $280 (VIP)

• 2-day tickets: $330 (GA), $390 (GA+), and $480 (VIP)

The difference between GA and GA+ is that you get access to premium, air-conditioned restrooms, where you might find a more relaxing break in between dancing in the middle of thousands of people.

Of course, you’ll have the best experience in VIP: VIP restrooms, dance areas, lounge, mobile charging, lockers, and water refill stations. However, you must be 21+ to purchase tickets (GA and GA+require 18+).

If budget is your priority, GA lets you experience the full festival, especially if you’re a seasoned festivalgoer who doesn’t mind porta-potties (portable toilets) and fewer amenities.

Beyond Wonderland provides a mid-size (compared to EDC and Ultra), genre-diverse, and accessible spring festival. Experience it as your first Insomniac event, or choose it as a refreshing alternative to the scale and chaos of massive festivals like EDC or Ultra.

With that said, lock in your look early. Start with the essentials from our festival clothes collection, then elevate your outfit with bold details like face gems and stickers.

Born in Stockholm will get you festival-ready for 2026. Explore our best Beyond Wonderland outfits, from dresses and headdresses to boots that rock the stage.