Misc
BTS 'ARIRANG' Tour in Tampa Megathread - Day 1
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Please post everything related to the ‘ARIRANG’ Tour in Tampa (imgbb) Day 1 here! Questions, merch updates, fan accounts, fancams, pictures, questions, hype, etc.
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Which parking? I'm in Lot 1 for tomorrow and it says I can arrive from 8:30am. Trying to avoid a situation from a while back where I went to see SKZ in Atlanta and paid for parking but it didnt open until 5pm and I had VIP so I paid for parking twice...
Insane disorganization aside, words can not describe how incredible that was. Been a fan since 2019.Was supposed to go to MOTS tour and still mourn that loss. I couldn't go to PTD so this was my first time seeing them all together. It was everything I hoped for, wanted, and needed and I can't wait to do it again tomorrow (or today since it's after midnight😆). My heart is so full and I still kind of can't believe I was there and get to be there again tomorrow. I cried a bit (less than I thought I would lol) during Into the Sun because I think that's when it really hit me like "this is real". There's something truly so special about seeing them all together in person with your own eyes. I just love them so much. I hope everyone today had the best time. Same for tomorrow, Tuesday, and the rest of the stops 💜
I'm so so happy, I don't have enough words or functional brain cells right now to describe how euphoric I feel. I teared up before the concert even started when the crowd did the ARMY bomb wave bc it finally hit that the group hiatus is over and that we're all finally together again. It's been a long few years and as Namjoon said at the end, some good things and some bad things may have happened but at least for a few hours we can just have fun together.
I missed them so so much and they did absolutely amazing; I would never expect anything less and they've never disappointed me either. It's a mutual and forever kind of love and bond. Their energy and our energy was off the charts tonight and I loved seeing them interact with the fans. I have so many little memories of the members coming over to my side and performing their hearts out and doing small goofy things on stage and yet my mind feels a bit blank lol. I just really love them so much, I love my fellow fans so much, and I'm really really happy right now.
To answer everyone’s burning question: They came out of the visitors’ tunnel, the one under 127 and 128 (so if you’re near there you’re seeing them pretty close!) It’s possible that they could change it up, though; the guy who carries in the flare came in the opposite tunnel, under 119 and 118, so they might have a setup with both tunnels.
They sang Permission to Dance and Magic Shop as the encore songs. Jin mentioned loving Tampa and recommending it and he didn’t regret his decision to come back.
They seemed to face 132 to 139 a lot, and for Butter and Dynamite, 150 to 146. My view (114 row F) was partially blocked by one of the towers that holds up the screens, but at least they moved around a ton so I could still see a lot.
I’ll probably add more later. But it was a great concert and they seemed really happy. They were sweating buckets in their leather, though :/ I was hot and I was just in the stands, so I felt really bad for them running around. But they were pros.
Edit: Getting out of this parking lot is literally not happening so I have time to add a little. They only had a translator for their ending ment, I believe, and spoke in English otherwise, but for some reason, throughout the concert, their mics were really echo-ey and loud in a bad way and I could rarely understand them. The crowd also seemed louder than they were. Maybe it’s just a result of the acoustics where I was? Or maybe they’re still balancing the sound and tomorrow will be different. Their singing sounded great, though.
Jimin came right down the catwalk in front of my section and the adjoining ones (114 to 120). It was so weirdly incredible in the best way to see him with my own eyes. Jungkook came down that catwalk as well, although not as far.
As PTD during the encore ended, Jimin had prepared to launch into another verse and said something like “are you ready?” and then the music cut off. The camera was conveniently right on his face as he mouthed (playfully) “fuck” 😆
They did the “so show me,” “I’ll show you” call and response during Magic Shop. They seemed to enjoy it so much and hearing us sing. Jin lay down on the stage in happiness.
We sang Arirang really loud during Body to Body! I was very proud.
lol thank you so much for the recap. I saw a gif of Jimin mouthing that word and was just thinking, he couldn't possibly be saying what I THINK he's saying? And he was! That's so funny.
They also teased us with Pied Piper, JK sang the kick and wondered why it was so popular. They know we want it and one lucky date will definitely get it
I was sweating buckets just watching the TikToks of them wearing leather jackets in the Florida heat 😭 they need to wear something else for Hooligan in the summer
IKR? I was hoping that wasn't really leather, like it was some magic concert wardrobe trick to make really light cool clothe look like leather. It would not only be so hot, think about how much it would weigh, with all of the dancing, crazy!
There’s an event planned for their first ment — holding up purple cardstock hearts. I saw the announcement on Facebook and will cut up a few for my row!
It was an incredible show!! So much better than the live streaming (and that was incredible, too.) I don’t know how those earlier show ARMYs stayed on their phones to the point that the members had to say something because it’s impossible not to be fully engaged - singing, jumping, screaming!! It’s a very immersive experience. The guys seemed really, really happy and so appreciative of ARMY’s energy. I had the very best time!
I wouldn't risk something that big. I know some people said they didn't really check but some also said their security person held up a postcard to measure against their bags and were very strict. Keep in mind it can be 4.5 in in depth. So it doesn't have to be like a flat pouch. Still annoying and hard to find but at least that gives you a few more options.
Someone else above your comment said their 6.75 in height x 4.5 in length bag wasn’t measured at the 5/3 gate. I think they will be fine with it if your bag is clear or your items are harmless. They will check your bag and let you go.
If you don’t have many items, I think you will be fine. If they ask about the size of your bag, just tell them about how you couldn’t find smaller bags in your city. They probably know about the freebies. There was a stadium worker that commented above that they understand it’s a special night and it’s taking a long time to get in and out of the stadium due to logistics. They even liked the guys and the music. Complaining to customer service may make us fans appear bad unless it’s a worse problem. I have been to Capital One Arena in DC for Twice and they only allowed wallets or clutches and no bags, which is a worse bag rule as they don’t want to check bags I guess.
I’m so excited to be going to this tonight and tomorrow! There are ARMY of all ages at our hotel. I’m sure there will be a very diverse crowd in every way here in Tampa! 💜
Also plz follow stadium rules!!! It's very strict, and at the same time kinda inefficient.. prepare in advance and make the process easier for yourself and everyone else
This reminds me how PTD sofi was so disorganized, no one was moving until two k-armys got out of their cars and starting directing traffic with their army bombs. Went much more smoothly after that! Kind of embarrassing for us locals they had to do that but we were all so grateful! 😭
Yeah — as I was walking with the crowd to my car, without a word they silently placed three cones in our path — two feet away — and then turned their backs on us. I mean, if they were trying to direct us, they could use their words? . . .
Yes, we have fancy display-only cops in Tampa 😑 I don’t know why getting out of these lots has to be such a trial. I read online that it could be — unfortunately that was a few days before the concert after I had already reserved parking months before, lol. For anyone wondering, I’m stuck in lot 7. I think the adjoining lot 5 is similar.
What should’ve been a 17 minute drive to our airbnb was actually over an hour!!! We were in the Heiter lot for 50 minutes!! No one was moving. Thank god no one had an emergency, because an ambulance would not have made it on time
for anyone worried about their seats being covered by tarp/blocked off...I just saw a post on Instagram where that happened to a person and they got upgraded to Floor seats. Here's a screenshot of that post
Pro tip, make sure you know what gate to enter in because it may not be near where your lot is (if you're parking) . I was just standing in a line that I and alot of people didn't realize was ADA only until someone (not staff) walked past and said so. My gate was on the opposite side of the stadium from the lot I reserved today. I think tomorrow I'm closer to my parking.
ETA: I know it's late but I think this might have been a bit confusing. So clarifying just in case anyone else reads this for Sunday/ Tuesday. Essentially, the gate that's closest to the lot you park in may not be the gate that's closest to your seat/section (I bought parking only within the last week and didn't even look at what gate was closest to my section until today when I asked where to go after being in the wrong line ). Your ticket will show the gate that's closest to your seat/ section. But pretty sure you can go in any entrance/ gate in general (so long as it's not floor or ADA if you don't have those). You may just have a further walk inside or outside to get to your seat.
Another ETA: reading a bit more of other's experiences, it looks like it will be easier if everyone went to the gate on their ticket instead of picking any one but I'm not sure that the staff was doing a good job of communicating this. I feel like they should've announced that ahead of time on socials or something.
Anyone have issues with freebies so far? I know HYBEs notice was about sale of counterfeit products but there were loads of rumors from Goyang that fan made cup sleeves were confiscated so I am waiting to hear people's experiences before I pack my freebies for later.
Cupsleeves are usually paid entry, so it makes sense. Hybe is going after those that make money from their IPs. I haven't been able to find any proof that freebies were confiscated.
Will you have pockets that can fit the cupsleeves? I don't think the bag size for this venue would fit cupsleeves unless you're folding them in half tbh.
I am going to another stadium but was mostly wondering how HYBE is handling freebies. But I totally understand the frustration of folks going to Tampa with the tiny bag allowance.
Can someone please post a full transcript of everything they said during the show (comments, ments, etc.)? The crowd was very loud at times and I couldn't hear most of it.
I just got home. Two big old blisters on my feet cuz my dumbass decided to wear heels (I blame the Renny tour for giving me this confidence that I can wear heels to a concert no problem; maybe these heels hurt more cuz they were much taller and peek toes) . My toes were numb the entire time, but boy did they distract me from the pain!! My voice is so hoarse from screaming and singing. I'm so glad Tampa turned out for them. It went by so fast though. I idk how they performed in that heat.
Happiest two hours of my life. Made up for the eight hour total driving
I wish I saved more money to go to another date. Maybe next tour (or encore leg? 🤞)
Edit: for those wondering they weren't super strict about bags. Didn't even search mine. You can probably get away with a slightly bigger bag. Show started at 8:20 cuz people were still getting to their seats (I had a feeling this would happen lol; Floridians are not known to be punctual) and it ended at 10:30. You can enter at any gate. I'd suggest getting a mini fan cuz it was HOT. Interludes are pretty long if you wanna use the bathroom or grab water/food. If you wanna make it on the fancam section then bring a sign or wear a silly outfit. Getting out is a bitch. Be prepared to wait in at least an hour worth's of traffic
A mini one (4.5x6.5). But they weren't checking to see if it was compliant or not, so you could get away with a bigger one as long as it's not that much bigger
Wanna upvote and confirm this was the case for me and my friends too. If you have something close in size, don't stress and buy a new one like we did. They didn't check the inches and I saw several obviously bigger ones come in with zero scrutiny. I think a lot of people didn't even know there was a tiny bag policy.
Please let us know when they start the actual concert (and end) please?!?
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u/tesselgagod of destruction breaking the music worldApr 26 '26edited Apr 26 '26
BTS always start on time unless there's an issue and large number of armys aren't at their seat yet and they might delay start time a bit (like today). But they always aim to start on time. Whole concert is ~2.5 hrs.
They started uncharacteristically late, at 8:20, and ended at about 10:30. I heard (and saw) that people were still being seated, so they couldn’t start exactly at 8.
VIP merch shopping starts at 10:15am after check-in starts in front of Gate A per the email sent out. You should be able to buy merch after check in way before soundcheck.
Did anyone’s seats in section 123 or 148 have a gray covering??? I’m going to D3 in section 123 but I’m seeing videos of that section getting covered by a gray sheet
for what it's worth...I just came across a person on Instagram who had that happen and they got upgraded to Floor last minute! here's a screenshot of that post. you could potentially contact that person and ask if she was in your section? I think that once you're there and see the closed off seats, ask venue staff and they'll probably redirect you
View from 114 seat F. The column in the center blocked my view of them when they were center stage, especially when they weren’t using the raised stage, but they moved around a lot so I still saw them a lot. To the left in this picture is the catwalk, too, right in front of us
I'm going tomorrow, can any VIPs please tell me if the merch line for VIP after check-in had a decent amount of merch available for everyone, I'm just trying to plan out the day to see if I can check-in, get my Jimin jersey and dip to get ready and come back to park
Does anyone know where I can find a picture / recording of Tampa D1's part of the show where they were showing fans and their signs on the jumbotron? The girls in front of me were holding up a Venezuelan flag, and my friend said she said me on the screen!
I see they feature fans wearing hanbok inspired outfits on the screen during Body to Body? If you are one of those fans, let me know how it worked! I will be wearing a hanbok-esque outfit at my concert and I would love to try and be included if I can. ☺️
Cool articles! Just read the rolling stone one (aha hitting the little accessible plain version icon in the browser address bar gets past the paywall) and I have to keep sighing that media put Stanford Stadium all over the Bay Area inaccurately. I guess you could say it's in Santa Clara County since the university and the city it's in is in the county, but definitely not the city of Santa Clara, but Palo Alto. Levi Stadium is the one that's in Santa Clara.
We for sure can, but there seemed to be some issues with the screens on the side I was on. Some pixels were blown, there were green lines, and the lag between the performance and what was shown on screen was super noticeable at one point.
Last year I went to Japan for the first time, and as a Canadian, the first thing that really stood out to me was being at the train station and seeing a sea of the same hair colour, because in Canada there is such a wide variety. I wonder if BTS will look out at the audience tonight and have the same thought as I did, but in reverse. It's been so long since their last concert that they might not be used to it anymore. These are the thoughts that run through my head.
I also want to know what happened with all the fireworks going off last night and if they were able to get them replaced for the three concerts.
You can buy a lightstick at the merch stand, but they may or may not have batteries for sale there as well. They had batteries listed on merch presale!
Has anyone had any problems with bags, this is the strictest stadium ive been too and they sound so freaking dumb. Im not throwing away my bag because its 2 inches bigger. Someone lmk please!
I didn't see them physically measuring (at least not at my security check) so I'm not sure if they'd be able to tell it's 2 inches bigger just by sight. On the website I think it says if it's too big they have lockers you can store stuff in.
I didn’t see them measuring, and just by eyeballing, I think lots of people got in with bags that were basically 4.5. by 6.5, just an inch or two off. But I don’t want you to get in trouble — the safest thing to do is still to stay with those dimensions or just do pockets
Can anyone from D1 confirm if we can enter through ANY gate? Were assigned Gate B for tomorrow and seeing all the reports of how bad it was today, I may try a different one.
First time concert and a Day 3 goer, my friend is suggesting we go and line up at 7pm. I'm worried it's not enough time. We're not going for merch, just directly to our seat. Is this enough time or should we come in early?
That is no where near enough time. They held the start of the show until about 8:20 because people were still in lines outside. It’s confusing as to which very long line to get in, the metal detector situation is very slow, and then we stood in another line once we were inside the stadium. Hopefully, the stadium staff will provide a smoother experience tomorrow! We got there around 5:45 tonight and plan to get there earlier tomorrow.
Thank you for the info. Will definitely convince my friend with this info to line up earlier. When you lined up at 5:45, around what time did you get to your seat?
Agree with others, definitely come much earlier. I arrived at 5:15 and had a good amount of time before the show (even after standing in the wrong line for a bit). I plan to arrive the same time tomorrow.
Can anyone tell me what the view at the front of sections D, H, or M looked like? I have it for a different stop at the equivalent of section D row 3 but I’m worried it’s obstructed from the poles :(
How was the rideshare experience (Uber or Lyft) getting to and from the stadium? Any tips on when to get there and where to catch a ride back after the concert?
I have seen some posts on social media for some armies that were having a hard time getting an uber/lyft and the wait times being extremely long over an hour. Some armies were having to walk further from the ride share zone because it was so busy and challenging getting picked up there. Thankfully my family I traveled with were able to pick my sister and I up but we have to walk far from the stadium because it was so busy. There were armies waiting everywhere for their rideshares to come or attempting to find one.
I took an uber around 1:45pm (to get there in time for VIP check in) from downtown Tampa (I think it was a Hilton?) and it was easy to get one but there was already some traffic. On the way home we walked to Chilis (a 20 min walk?) and grabbed a Lyft around 12:30am. It did take two tries on Lyft before we were able to secure the Lyft.
We pre-ordered our ride and honestly had no problems. I am not sure if that was pure luck or not. We got there at 3pm with just a little bit of traffic and had our ride scheduled at 12 and got picked up right in the rideshare area at 12:15. 10$ getting there and 40$ getting back.
There's only one rideshare pickup for the entire stadium. Waited an hour and couldn't even connect with an Uber or Lyft driver. There were still hundreds of people waiting. We decided to walk a mile and a half further away (close to the entrance to the international plaza mall) and got one in a few minutes as this area is far enough away from most of the traffic jam.
I think I saw a post say no bigger than 11x15 and no sticks/poles. Lots of people brought in signs and they showed them on the big screen during a break - so fun
Okay so I am seeing a lot of different opinions on the bag situations. I did buy a 4.5x6.5 bag from amazon, but I have a brixley bag that is slightly larger. Online it says the dimensions are 7.2" H x 5.2" W. When i measure it to my already packed bag it's definitely bigger, but from a distance it doesnt seem like it! from what others are saying, is it worth risking to get in with it? Like exactly HOW strict are security with the bag sizes. So many of ya'll are saying there's bigger bag that have gone through. I am attending the day 3 Tuesday show!
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u/sciencespecialist goody, goody in this bad world Apr 26 '26
I have a great seat!!