What the festival is and what to expect
Dreamstate SoCal is Insomniac's trance festival: stages on the waterfront beside the Queen Mary, costumed performers, art and production, and a lineup that includes Above & Beyond (Anjunabeats Classics), Aly & Fila with Billy Gillies, Dash Berlin, Ferry Corsten with Marsh and Infected Mushroom, among dozens more. Set times had not been published when we checked; the organizer posts them before the event.
Entry is a TSA-style search, including emptying pockets and bags and a pat-down. The festival has a zero-tolerance drug policy with police inside and outside the event, no re-entry per day, and no sitting on the dance floors. Bags must be clear and no larger than 12 by 6 by 12 inches, or non-clear and 6 by 9 inches or smaller; hydration packs must be empty on entry. Lockers with phone chargers are rented on the tickets page.
Tickets and admission
The official tickets page uses all-in pricing. On October 10, 2026 it listed 2-Day GA at $189.99 ($170 plus $19.99 fees), 2-Day VIP at $419.99, Friday or Saturday GA at $99.99 each and single-day VIP at $269.99, with the note that tiers may sell out and current pricing may vary. The afterparty is listed separately and we did not see its price. Buy only from the official Front Gate ticketing page ↗; Lux4Rides is not affiliated with Insomniac and does not sell passes.
Queen Mary hotel rooms, which came with in-and-outs and two afterparty passes, were sold out on the travel page; the organizer also lists partner hotels.
Ages and ID
You must be 18 or older to enter and 21 or older for alcohol and for every VIP area, with a valid physical photo ID: a US driver's license or ID card, or a US or foreign passport. School IDs, digital IDs, consular IDs, birth certificates, expired IDs and photocopies are not accepted. This is not a family event; we do not list child seats on this guide.
Getting there: where a car can drop you off and pick you up
The organizer's travel page is explicit: there is no parking at the festival grounds, and no drop-offs or pickups are allowed immediately outside the Queen Mary. Everyone arrives one of three ways. The free shuttle picks up and drops off at the Long Beach Convention Center and runs continuously from 3 p.m. to 7 a.m. Rideshare and private cars drop off in the designated zone on East Shoreline Drive between South Chestnut and Pine Avenue, and riders walk to the shuttle in the Convention Center lot. Or you can be dropped at Shoreline Drive and walk over the Queensway Bridge; the pedestrian access is on the aquarium side, just off Golden Shore and Aquarium Way.
That is how we work it. Your chauffeur drops you in the Shoreline Drive zone and leaves. On an hourly booking the chauffeur and vehicle are reserved for the hours you book, stage in downtown Long Beach where waiting is permitted and coordinate your return pickup at the same zone when you message from the shuttle or the bridge. No car can enter the Queen Mary side to collect you, and the chauffeur follows event traffic control on Shoreline Drive.
- Driving yourself: downtown Long Beach public and street parking only, run by third parties at local rates, first come first served; the organizer recommends arriving early each afternoon to park near the shuttle and bridge.
- The shuttle runs until 7 a.m., an hour after the afterparty ends, so afterparty guests still have a ride back to the Convention Center.
- Staying at a downtown Long Beach hotel keeps the car ride to a few minutes and lets the chauffeur collect you at the hotel the next day instead of on Shoreline Drive at 1 a.m.
Timing the arrival, the exit and the afterparty
Gates open at 4 p.m. and the box office runs 3 p.m. to midnight; Friday arrivals meet weekday afternoon traffic into Long Beach. At the 1 a.m. close the shuttle and the bridge fill at once; message the chauffeur as you board the shuttle, and the car will be at the Shoreline Drive zone as you arrive. If you are staying for the afterparty, the pickup is on the next calendar day: book a Saturday 6:30 a.m. pickup for Friday night, not a Friday one.
From Irvine, Newport Beach or anywhere in Orange County, and from Los Angeles, Beverly Hills or Calabasas, enter your address and the booking form sets the fare by mapped distance; a single Comfort Sedan takes 3 passengers, a Luxury SUV 7 and a Sprinter up to 14. Our Long Beach black car page covers hotel and cruise-terminal pickups in the same area.