King Richard’s Faire — Attraction in Carver

The original weekend I planned to go got rained out. But I purchased my tickets in advance. Since they are non refundable and good for any weekend I figured I’d go the next weekend. Rain. Not that the rain is their fault but their absolutely terrible ticket policy is.

When I finally got to go I was shocked that I’d paid money to stand shoulder to shoulder with a mob of people and do absolutely nothing. 1 hour in line to enter, mind you having already purchased tickets. Day of sales were a separate line. Curiously, they sell day of sales and then close the park to later in the day prepaid admissions if it overfills, as is what happened to my friends who were arriving 1.5 hours after me - they got turned away at the lot because even though they had a ticket, and after two weekend rain outs, someone buying a ticket at the door got in.

But back to the actual experience. The crowds were horrible and really rude. Rude people are not the fault of the faire but creating such an unpleasant experience that everyone is frustrated and on edge I attribute to the park and creating a poor mood its guests.

Food I expect to be overpriced at any type of park or experience so no surprise there. Cash only is kind of a pain but also somewhat expected. However the real shock is that you have to wait in an hour long line to buy tickets, of which it’s unclear how many you will need, so you end up with the choice of over buying or waiting in the hour long line again later. Then you wait in another 30+ min line just to get a drink and another 30+ min to get food because why would they be the same line? After all that my mead was good albeit over priced but my food was very so so. Edible sure but that’s really all it had going for it.

After I spent my whole morning trying to enter the parking lot, enter the park, and get my lunch, it was now 2pm. I poked around the park at the vendor stalls and some of them are actual crafts people selling at reasonable prices for handmade items. Others are just resellers with cheap Ali express polyester costume items marked up to $100+ a piece (not a set, per item) for some reason.

Passed on shopping and went to watch some of the shows which are a mixed bad. The audio quality is bad, impossible to hear some shows if you aren’t in the front. The faire produced “musical” is so cringe and somehow the worst show I watched. The jousting was fun but again, with their crowds and the fact that they don’t have stands and expect you to sit on the ground, it was impossible to find a spot to sit and when I did, it was wet and cold.

After jousting we walked around a bit more checking out some of the games they have and if you thought your towns traveling carnival was expensive then hold onto your hat. The games are like “mug slide” aka shuffle board “horizontal rope climb” yet for some reason the cost is somehow more than I would pay for an equivalent game anywhere else. And the more interesting games like test your strength, knife toss, the price is not great but fine, but again the lines were so long.

My one compliment is that the park was very clean. No trash laying around, barrels were easy to find, no debris like sticks or animal droppings. The porter-potty situation was not great - they never are - but given the lines you will probably not eat or drink enough to need them so you’re probably good!

All in all, I will not be returning in the near future. Carver gives them an admissions capacity and they definitely push that as close as they can. There is not enough service stations or seating at this faire for the number of people who they are admitting and the actually content of shows and shops is poor quality. Realistically I paid admission walked around and left more tired hungry and unhappy than when I went in. Really disappointed and would...

We have been going to this event every year, for over 10 years, which is why I was surprised I had never left a review. And when I saw it had a low rating, I really felt I had to leave a review and tell people how it is for us .

Some people may say it's pricey, but every yearly event tends to be pricey. Especially ones that are only held on the weekend. Try taking your family to a Disney park for the day and if you spend half the money you spend at King Richard's faire, you were being very careful to not spend anything..

There are a lot of things going on here and even though we have been coming here for more than a decade, we haven't been to every show... Mainly because we have to go see some of our favorites each time, like Jack the whipper, Ses Carney, the dog show, the washing wenches and of course the secret show..(which isn't so secret anymore,) and have time to check out all the little shops and check out the candles and tea and even drop by and check out faire related stuff like capes, or swords or wands and canes.

It is true that some of the things might feel overpriced, but that's because we live in a time when you can buy things for almost next to nothing online made in China... And even though I do that as well, I do like giving my money to the small business that have booths in the faire and tipping everyone who works there, from the performers to the people working the drink stands.

But there are a few tips that will help make your experience better:

1. Bring cash with you or stop at an ATM before you enter. Because the line for the atmosphere will add a half hour wait to your experience.

2. Buy your tickets online and have a print out or a QR code for them to scan when you enter at that can save your 15-30 minutes from waiting to buy tickets at the entry.

3. As soon as you get in, get food tickets but not at the first booth you see, cause most people stop there. Go inside and get from the third or fourth ticket both as they tend to have shorter lines.. even on days when it seems over packed. But if you remember to get the food tickets when you are hungry the lines may be worse. They are rarely better. And for those who think that it's a scam to have it this way, think if all the people that are waiting for food tickets were also waiting for food, how long the food lines would be and how you would end up get lunch by dinner time :p

4. While you are in line for tickets, have one person of your party, do a quick run around the food center which is also next to the best booths to get your food tickets to check the prices and see how many tickets you will need. A good average is 20 to 30 per person. Lunch, Kettle corn a drink and maybe some dessert. It's hard to say exactly the amount

5. Get lunch early, like close to 12, cause the lines get longer around 1230.

6. Finally figure out what events you want to see and get to them 15 minutes before if you want a seat. If you don't care you can just get to the event 5 minutes before it starts, but you will most likely be behind the people standing.

If you go the first time with someone who has gone before, they may be able to help you get around faster. It gets easier for us every year and when you follow those tips, you will most likely have a good time. We...

I attended King Richard's faire 10/15/23 with my husband and 2 young adults. I have attended a handful of faires over the years, and this was my 5th or 6th time at the Carver faire. We bought tickets online but still had to wait approximately 25-30 minutes in line to get in. It was crowded enough to bother even the laid-back member of our party. One of us had to take anti-anxiety medication to avoid a panic attack. I used to enjoy admiring and sometimes purchasing artisan goods from vendors. This time it seemed that many (not all) stalls featured cheap imported goods at a MASSIVE markup rather than handmade items. Because it was quite chilly, we bought a cloak to keep one of our less well dressed family members warm. There were no prices posted on signs and no tags on garments. A direct question about price was sidestepped by the vendor, and she swooped in and wrapped my freezing child in a cloak and demonstrated different ways to wear it. I was unhappy with the subterfuge and hard sell, but DH plunked down his credit card and was charged $180 plus tax for the mass produced faux velvet cloak that sells for $30 on amazon. Many others have talked about the food tickets that never seem to get used up as prices do not match with the way food tickets are sold. We had the same issue. We waited in line to buy fried dough, but they ran out before we got to the front. The dough was $9 for one piece. We had $12 in food tickets remaining after all was said and done. A second line to buy dessert from a shop near the gate was not moving. After 10 minutes or so in this line, we decided to cut our losses and head home. It was around 2:30 in the afternoon. The teens behind us were grateful to receive our $12 of food tickets. A bottle of water cost $5 while a baked potato covered in orange "cheese" and 2 bites of broccoli was $12. The food quality was decidedly mediocre. The entertainment was not terrible, but we didn't see anything exceptional. Overall, the day was disappointing and extremely expensive. Next year we will attend the Connecticut Renaissance faire instead. The entry fee is less than half the price of this one, they allow patrons to bring in their own food and drink, and it is far less crowded.

edit: June 2025 Popping back in here to add that my family did attend the Robin Hood Faire in CT recently. Admission for 5 people at King Richard's was $230 compared to $75 at Robin Hood's. We spent at least $125 on food and water at KR. This is a conservative estimate. We packed sandwiches for RH and could carry in our own water bottles, so spent only $20 on fried dough and churros. We waited in line a total of about 75 minutes at KR and a total of 10 minutes at RH. KR has more entertainment, and it does seem a bit more polished. RH still has plenty to do though, and the whole day in CT was much more...