Metropolitan Park — Attraction in Jacksonville

Welcome to Rockville is an annual three day hard rock/ metal festival held at the end of April or beginning of May. This was my second festival by DWP productions. There are several high capacity hotels all within a mile of Metropolitan Park. They also provide camping and plenty of parking. I also noticed golf cart "trollies" transporting fans. There were designated areas for Uber and Lyft. In my opinion, the St Johns Water Taxi was the most convenient and most enjoyable. Round trip was $10 a person. If you are staying at any of the hotels on either side of the river, this is the way to go. I stayed at the Omni Hotel on Water St and it was a short walk to dock at Jacksonville Landing for pick up and drop off. We never waited more than 20 minutes either way. Unlike the the last DWP festival we attended, Welcome to Rockville had plenty of shade to escape to and cool off. If I had known this ahead of time I probably would not have paid the extra $250 a ticket for the VIP. The VIP area provides a tent, air conditioned bathrooms and some seating..In my opinion, its too far away from the stage and there is no where near enough seating for the number of VIP tickets they sell. This was not the case for the DWP show in North Carolina, Carolina Rebellion. Which is now Epicenter in Rockingham NC. Not sure what the conditions are in Rockingham, but the Rebellion in Charlotte was all out in the open with now where to escape the heat. VIP was worth the money for that one...Still had to sit on the ground, not enough chairs, but at least we were under a tent. So if you are going to WTR and like to be closer to the stage, don't bother with the VIP. Overall it seems like a great place for a music festival and they do a pretty good job keeping the fans in mind. Bring your wallet, every time you get a beer it will cost you $12 and the food is pretty pricey. One more tip, take clear or mesh draw string back packs, thats all you can get in with. They do require you to go through metal detector, but they do not...

I love this park. It's not a playground park. It's more of a nature park. There is a large grassy area to picnic in or let children run in. There are several restrooms around the area. It is located right across from the Everbank Field football stadium and the Jumbo Shrimp baseball stadium and runs along the St. John's River. You can fish and walk along the bank. There are also places to dock a boat. Inside the park are gazebos, picnic tables, and benches. It is not usually crowded unless there is a football or baseball game or some other function is going on. They hold the World of Nations celebration there also. It is a very beautiful and peaceful place to relax...

We go to Welcome to Rockville every year. This year I was pretty mad. They put the VIP area around the restrooms so there was no way to get to running water. I have medical issues that leave me unable to sweat, I was at the mercy of drink vendors to wet a towel I wet my skin with and spent most of both days hanging out at the mist fans. And missed alot of the band's I paid to see. I under stand they are trying to keep people from re-filling water bottles to make more money. But the drinks are $3 for water really! Good to Sam's club next year get there brand sell for $1 still make a ton of money off it. If this April is like last year, then it may be my...