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Every year budding film makers, celebrities and droves of film goes descend upon the quaint little ski town of Park City, Utah for the infamous Sundance Film Festival. It occurs every January, lasting for ten days, with over tens of thousands of visitors attending film premiers, parties and other film related events such as workshops and panel discussions.

The festival has been around since the late 70s when co-founders Sterling Van Wagenen and John Earle along with chairperson Robert Redford started it all. In the early years, attendance was low. That’s not a problem today. Long wait-list lines, registering for tickets and ticket packages begin as early as September. And registering doesn’t guarantee you tickets. It doesn’t even guarantee you a time slot to buy tickets; it’s just a chance to get a time slot. Bobby’s little festival has sure come a long way.

So here’s some tip’s to get you ready for the festival:

1) Register for your chance to buy tickets in September. Don’t forget! Mark it on your calendar today. Registering early doesn’t guarantee but greatly improves your chance for getting the tickets and packages you want.

2) Once you register, you will be notified of your purchase time which is usually a few weeks later. Depending on what you’re purchasing - packages or individual tickets - some purchasing times only last 24 hours, others a few days. Sundance will not send another email reminding you of your purchase time. You must remind yourself. So be sure to set a calendar alert for your time or else you will miss out and not be given another chance.

3) If you weren’t able to get tickets to the films you wanted, try out the waitlist option. You show up a couple of hours before the film starts, get a waitlist number, come back 30 minutes before the show starts and see if tickets are available. Sundance organizers have said thousands of people see films this way without having to get advanced tickets.

4) Book your lodging early! We’re talking up to a year in advance if you know you’re going. This is one of the busiest times for visitors to Park City. Hotels, condos, vacation homes all get booked and rented out quick. If you can, try staying near the Park City Resort or anything that’s closest to Main Street since that’s were most of the venues are located.

5) Do not, let me repeat, DO NOT rent a car. Lots of the hotels provide free transportation to Park City and once you’re there, the free city bus shuttle will take you practically anywhere you want to go. Unless you want to travel beyond Park City during your stay, you simply don’t need one.

Follow these tips and you’ll be ahead of most people who attend the Sundance Film Festival. Once you’re there, see as many films as you can, but also take advantage of everything else Park City has to offer. Usually, the festival week is one of the best times to go skiing or snowboarding because there are a lot less people on the slopes - they’re all watching films!

Go to our Sundance Film Festival page for more tips and information for this years event as well as skiing and lodging information for the Sundance Resort.