hi pippy

will ask daughter regarding brixton.

shes been there a fair few times.

Cheers Dot!

Hi Pippy
I was wondering if you had got tickets for Muse, I got a couple for the Glasgow concert on the 11th they sold out in 10 minutes.

Graham

Oh wow! Really?! For yourself is that?!

I actually considered buying a ticket for Glasgow when both London dates sold out in seconds then I struck it lucky and happened to time my last-gasp search at 10pm on fan pre-sale day and managed to bag four cancelled (this happens when cards are declined) standing tickets!

I wanted standing as I like to be in amongst the mad Musers but as the O2 is so vast I really need to be there early to ensure a decent position. I've been told I'd be queueing in the arena itself by one person but I really can't see that myself. There will be thousands of fans with standing tickets all arriving early for the same reason and i can't see how we'd all fit inside without actually being in the arena itself!

I'm not too bothered about queueing in the cold. We usually buy a cheap sleeping bag and sit in that all day and leave it outside when the doors open. I know all big venues are used to this happening and have read they collect them all up and donate them to projects for homeless people.

My main concern is having somewhere to go to the loo and, if possible, somewhere to buy food! We'll take bottles of water so that isn't such an issue but we don't want to be carrying food around with us too. We're staying at the docklands Premier Inn on the Wednesday night so we can queue early without having to get up too early and drive the two hours to the O2.

Talking of driving, has anyone booked parking at the O2 before? It says they have ticketless parking, how does that work then?! We have two options. We can pay to leave the car at the car park adjacent to the Premier Inn which will cost about £12 for the day I think. Or, we can drive to the O2 first thing in the morning and park there (I can't remember how much that costs).

Anyone know what time the DLR runs until on a Thursday night? Also, what time trains commence on a Thursday morning? If we leave the car at the Premier Inn we're going to need to be able to get back there after the gig which could be gone 11pm.

hi pippy

spoke to daughter regarding brixton.....theres a few greasy kebab places and a mcdonalds nearby.....shes used them for toilet stops....but thats before she queues. there are a few shops....but all small local ones....but you could get something to eat. its not the sort of place she'd walk far on her own though.

she did say they were quite hot on "queue jumpers"....to stop any trouble....so she never left the queue once she was in it.

if you want to know anything else about the brixton academy...put it here and i'll ask her to reply..x

Many thanks Dot, I really appreciate your help!

Hi Pippy

Yes for myself and son, we have seen Muse a few times and they are amazing on stage as you know, we will be up front in the SECC again

Graham

ps you will have to give me a warning for going

Get over to 'Rambling' then

Pips Ive only been to the O2 once but hubby said the whole area was covered right from the station .We took advice on another forum and parked at the north greenwich station car park right next door .The main car park would be a nightmare to get out of at kicking out time . You can park at the station car park all day at the weekends for £3 but as this is a Thursday it's season tickets only before 11am then £6 per day but I'm guessing the car park would be full with commuters on a weekday so you may have a problem getting a space if you are heading there before 5pm

Personally I would get the train to North Greenwich . It's literally in the grounds of the O2 . Dont worry about food . There are loads of restaurants and so I would imagine toilets too assuming you can leave the queue.

Cant tell you what time the first train would be ,but it's a weekday so it must be before 6 am North Greenich is on the Jubilee line .The nearest station to the premier inn is the prince Regent on the DLR so you will need to change at Canning town for the Jubilee line

You should be able to find the earliest times here http://www.TFL.gov.uk

Thank you Lyn! I will look into your suggestion as you're right, exiting the O2 car park would probably be a nightmare!

Lyn, I've just entered the outward and return journeys on the TFL webiste and it's easily doable catching the DLR to Canning Town then changing and catching the tube from there to North Greenwich so thank you!

The return journey will be fine too, even allowing for big crowds there shouldn't be a problem as we can catch the tube/DLR well after midnight.

What about buying the tickets for the journey, would be be buying a return ticket for the DLR then another for the tube part of the journey, or can one return ticket be used for the entire journey?

Anyone who's stayed at THIS hotel and used the ExCel car park adjacent to the hotel, can you pre-book the car park or are there sufficient spaces to just turn up and park? If you can pre-book does anyone have a telephone number/website address please?

We'd be parked there from about 6pm on Wednesday the 11th of November til approx some time around midnight on the 12th. Have I read it correctly that we'd pay £12 for the 9.30-17.30 part of the stay but that the rest would be free??

In some cases it can take longer to get on the train than it does to get out of the car parks as they usually limit the amount of people they allow onto the platform for safety.

We missed our connection to Kent after waiting two hours just go get on the tube, that was at Wembley though, we took the car next time, yes it was more expensive but so much easier.

Thanks SP

Not too worried about missing a train as we can either catch a later one or, if necessary, catch a cab as it's not far to the hotel.

Pippy HT Mod wrote:

If you can pre-book does anyone have a telephone number/website address please?

Just seen the number on the hotel's website!

Hi Pips . It really isnt much of a distance between docklands and O2 in distance and time wise on the train/tube . I cant imagine it would be much hassle to change either if that is what you decide to do .

You have 2 choices as far as paying the fare goes .

Either purchase a return ticket at the station in the morning . This will cover the entire journey regardless of the fact you will need to change . Would probably cost in the range of around £8 return
or
Get an oyster card https://oyster.tfl.gov.uk/oyster/entry.do which would half the fare and what we all use now in london but you would have to pay £3 fee for it which would swallow up any saving if you are only intending using it for a day . Having said that if you buy one in advance you wont have the worry of queueing for a ticket and you just flash your card at the entry/exit barriers .

TBH as you would be going early morning it wont really be any hardship buying a normal return ticket on the day . The ticket queue will probably be big on your return home but you will have a return ticket so again just put it through the barrier .

There is also an off peak daily ticket available but on a weekday you cant get/use one before 9.30.

Not sure how easy/costly it would be getting a cab because if this is a high profile event the roads around the 02 and main car parks are often at gridlock . Fortunately we slid out quite easily from the station carpark but a quick getaway is essential from the 02 by whatever means .

lyn

Many thanks for your comprehensive advice Lyn. I really appreciate your help

Went to the Brixton Kasabian gig last night. Loved the venue! Got right on the barrier and the stage is really close!

One thing to consider, if you go to gigs which tend to get a bit rowdy (as I do!) the fact the floor is slightly sloped here does make the crushing/surging slightly worse than usual, as my bruises will testify!

Security staff were really good though and stopped any really rough stuff, like the bloke who yanked me by the hair and pulled my head back to try and drag me off the barrier and steal my place :yikes! He was spotted doing this and was promptly hauled out of the crowd.

There was plenty of water being passed out by security. There were also plenty of people nearly passing out!

There was a LOT of crowd surfing going on and we had to duck several times as people were being passed over our heads! All part of the fun of a proper rock gig!

We were first in the queue, arrived at 1pm. We were able to come and go to get food and go to the loo though so no problems there. Nandos (opposite the venue) won't allow you to use their toilets unless you buy a meal, not even for a 50p bribe!

If you turn right out of the venue you'll find a little kebab shop, they let us use their loo in return for buying a bottle of water!

Was just a short walk to both the mainline and underground stations. We got return mainline train tickets from Victoria to Brixton rather than using the underground, it's only a seven minute journey. Only just made our last train from Victoria to Worthing though as the 23.37 from Brixton to Victoria was fifteen minutes late and it was a tight enough connection as it was!

Pippy, i'm a new member here, but a seasoned London gig goer. If you need any other info just ask.
Should you go the the dome again, just park at sainsburys near the holiday inn. From there you can catch at least 8 buses on a 5 stop journey, or a 10 minute walk instead.
As you prolly already found it it's £20 a car to park at the venue itself.
As for Brixton, i'd be stunned if you needed to turn up much before the doors open time for an excellent posiotion.