How To Spend The Best 7 Hours at Ultra Music Festival

Festival season is almost here, and THUMP has teamed up with 7UP to help you plan your party perfectly. Our 7x7 guides will let you know the best DJs, the hottest stages, the insider info, and pro tips from the biggest events in North America. Plus, 7UP is launching a bunch of special extras to make your festival experience even better. Read about what's bubbling up here or at 7UP

Since its inception in 1999, Ultra Music Festival has come a long way. From its humble beginnings as a one-day event in South Beach to a now-massive three day spectacle in Bayfront Park, the festival has grown into one of most iconic, international, and truly out-of-this world parties in the country—if not the entire planet.
With 300,000 attendees over three days and literally hundreds of top-notch DJs from every genre one could ever imagine, the mammoth gathering can feel a bit overwhelming for the casual attendee. There are multiple stages, inevitable conflicting set times, food stands galore, and of course the blistering Miami heat. With the festival coming up this weekend, we imagine some people are scrambling to prepare themselves for what will hopefully be "their perfect Ultra experience," and lucky for all of those cats—THUMP is here to help.

The festival might clock in at eleven hours per day, but in the spirit of our innovative partnership with 7UP and their 7x7UP Campaign, we decided it might be a good idea to give you an expert guide to how you can spend the absolute best seven hours at Ultra Music Festival 2014. Get out your notebooks people…

HOUR 1—START THE DAY OFF ON ONE OF THE SMALLER STAGES:

OK—so you just made your way through the massive line outside of the festival, your wristband has been scanned, sunglasses are on, and you're pretty much ready to go. Once inside one of the biggest festivals on Earth, your temptation might be to jump right into the  mammoth main stage madness, but you're smart, so you've decided to ease into it. Why not check out one of Ultra's many smaller tents, like the Underground Story stage, where Boston funky house duo, Soul Clap will probably be throwing down an early afternoon set.

Music festivals can be exhausting, especially when you're dancing all day under the blazing Miami sunshine. Yeah we know, tough life. But seriously, there are thousands of people all over the place, constant dashes from stage to stage and enough impromptu dance circles to make even John Travolta weak at the knees. This stuff requires a lot of energy and being the smart and saavy festival-goer you all are, sometimes you know when it's time to take a chill-out sesh. Ultra is in a park, and believe it or not there are trees AND grass all over the place! Take an hour to lay-out and hear some beats while you're taking a break from doing the Energizer Bunny. You'll thank us later.

HOUR 6—LOSE YOURSELF TO SOME TECHNO IN CARL COX'S TENT:

There are few artists that have had as influential a presence at Ultra than Carl Cox. This is a guy who has been with the festival from the very beginning, curating some of the best that techno has to offer in his iconic Carl Cox & Friends tent, which will be invading the festival for its tenth straight year. Take our advice and spend (at least!) an hour getting hypnotized to Carl—or some of his friends like Luciano and Marco Carola's—energetic techno blasts. Keep your ears open for his famous taglines like "fantastic!" or the infamous "oh yes, oh yes." And while we're at it, let's all give Carl a round of applause for ten years of Ultra magic.

Be on the look out tomorrow for the next Ultra Music Festival insider guide from THUMP and 7UP!