New York State Fairgrounds — Attraction in Town of Geddes

I grew up and still live just 10-15 minutes from the Fairgrounds. Because it's always been so close we would go each and every year, I had 5 brothers and sisters and money was tight growing up so luckily it was always pretty inexpensive back in the 80s & 90s. We'll now we're in the 2020s and my how things have changed. Our yearly trip to the fair consists of my 7 year old, his mother and myself. These days it costs $100 just to walk in the gate and do the bare minimum. -$10-$15 to park -$8/person entry (which is less then it was a few yrs ago) -$25/person for ride all day wrist bands (which is the cheapest way to ride even if your only there for a couple hours bc $30 gets you 30 credits BUT IT'S 5 OR 6 CREDITS PER RIDE, so $30 for 5 rides!! And I had to buy those 3 or 4 weeks early to get that price. They're normally $40 each on weekends. -$$$ GAMES ARE INSANELY EXPENSIVE NOW; all the games that use to be $1 for 3 throwes of a dart, ball.or ring are now $5-$10 PER THROW! So it costs $5 for each dart thrown to pop a balloon, $5 for each ring tossed or ball thrown, $10 for each hammer swing at the strong man mallet thing. -FOOD: It use to be the highlight of most adults trip to the fair, but I've gotta say that eating before of after is probably the better bet these days. Don't get me wrong these are expensive times all around so the prices don't completely shock me, but for an $18 gyro or $21 cheese steak you would expect to at least be getting food that is tasty and worth remembering. But no it's not, it's borderline inedible. And stopping for snacks, $6 for stale popcorn, $14 for funnel cake, $8 for lemonade, $5-$6 for cotton candy, $7 for a carmel apple and $3-$4 for bottled water. YUP $50 FOR SOME SNACKS AND DRINKS FOR 2 ADULTS AND A 7 YEAR OLD. -The extra rides or "EXPERIENCES": Walking around and ¾ of the things any kid wants to do aren't considered rides anyways, an all day ride pass doesn't includes them. The bounch houses, the 6 foot bungy jumps, the spinning inflated bar that kids jump over a couple times...all these are another $20+. -Now on a side note my son wanted to do the bounce house style Ninja Warrior course which was $10 for one go, $15 for 3 goes and $20 unlimited for the duration of the fair(★BEST DEAL AT THE NYS FAIR★). So I payed the $20 and he absolutely loved doing it and the people running it were amazing! He spent more time there then at the rides and games combined. Honestly if we hadn't run into his little cousin and my brother and his wife then he might have wanted to spend the rest of the day at it. They ended up doing a bunch of slides and rides together. An additional note about the people running the Ninja Warrior Course @ the NYS FAIR, they were great with the kids, at the end of the evening at 11pm when rides and fair closes they not only let my son keep doing it for an extra 10 or 15 minutes but then they convinced myself and his mother to race around it with him and wouldn't except payment for it. They were characters a couple if them and yes the guy who was in charge at the end had had a good few beers but honestly he was very welcoming and patient with the kiddos and adults who were running the course. Its not all bad though, once you get passed the filth and the smell and the prices, there is a ton of culture, learning and fun to have as a family. Some of the best stuff is free, the farmers and their animals are awsome, the horticulture, the dino exhibit, the troopers and they're whole area, the locally produced honey, produce and dairy products are delicious and super important to have a platform to shine. Overall we had a great time there as a family, I go to watch my son smile and laugh and be an AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR FOR A NIGHT and I refuse to put a spending limit on giving my 7 year old that experience. I'd pay it 1000 fold to make sure he has memories to remember and yearly traditions to continue with his family some day (Although I can't imagine the mortgage he will have to take out in 20-30...

We went this year on Saturday, Sept. 2nd. Wish I would’ve gone the weekend before when it was cooler, because it was the usual sweltering humid weather. I feel like things are somewhat streamlined with online entrance, ride, & parking tickets. We parked in the Willis Ave. lot which is dusty and rocky but well directed in, through, and out. There was a huge line to get on the buses in the hot sun, but POs were handing out H2O and there were portapotties, hand washing stations, garbage cans, and an ambulance available. People were directing fairgoers onto the buses and helping out families with small kids. A/C was nice. At night there were huge portable spotlights, but you’d better have an idea where you parked or you’ll be walking in circles hitting your key fob. The way driving out was slightly confusing although there were big EXIT signs once you were in the right direction. We mainly hit the food and rides. Not much animal petting for us due to the heat. Three Brothers had a refillable wine slushy cup. The wine bomb was really good if you like sweet wine-prickly pear and berry-pomegranate. $12 for the first, $7 refills. Friendly servers. My daughter wanted milk so we found the Dairy Bar. Tokens were required this year. We went around to wait in a longer line, and when we came back around to a shorter ordering line, saw that there was a token dispenser in the corner we could’ve used. Strawberry (1st for me) and chocolate milk were on tap so we had both. Great as usual. We hit Butcher Boys next for a bucket of freshly made string French fried potatoes with cheese. Absolutely delicious. Those were $16. Tax on cc payment. We got lobster rolls for $21 a piece from Bold Coast which are always good quality. Later on we hit King David’s for dolmas ($8) with feta & tzatziki, falafel wrap ($13), and a lamb gyro ($14). Those guys are all nice with smiling faces, but sadly no pickled turnips for my falafel. :/ still good. We went into the automated dinosaur exhibit (cute fun for kiddos) while in the Expo Bldg. which has plenty of seats in the bleachers, A/C, bathrooms, H2O filling fountains. My daughter had a soft serve choc/vanilla twist for $5 inside. Before we hit the rides (there was some light rain off and on) we had to get on line for our wristbands (they scanned our phone code from pre-purchasing). The lines were freaking long. We rode the Alpine Bobs, the SkyHawk swings, the roller coaster near it, and the Pirate ship. All were fun but it would’ve been better to get there as soon as it opened for hopefully less waiting, more riding. lol My daughter and I met a 2nd and 5th grader on line for the roller coaster. The dads were off somewhere. We asked if they were worried about getting lost, and the youngest said he had a Lost Kid tag so he was fine. There’s something to be said about the vibe (safe family environment) that I felt from those kids. They also wanted to ride with us so we wouldn’t be scared. Very sweet. I work with children so I know how they operate, and these kids were exceptional. Made our day. Anyway we were hot and tired by the end which I fully expected. We also got lemonade, fried dough (buy 4 get one free for $20 bag), and a funnel cake to take home. I’d recommend cash (ATMs available), small umbrella, sunscreen, sunglasses, hat if you’re bald or need extra sun protection, Kleenex, ID, cell phone, small backpack or sack, epipens for severe allergies, Tylenol for headache from the sun, etc., wagon for small kids, folding chair if you have a wagon, refillable H2O bottles and lemonade cups from year before, hand sanitizer, maybe a cooling neck towel, and any other thing you think you might need because parking will be way off. I didn’t take many pics this year, but we saw a double rainbow which seemed like a good sign. All in all pretty fun for the...

Our First New York State Fair – And Definitely Not Our Last!

We’ve lived so close to the Eastern States Exposition that we never thought about making the trip to the New York State Fair. But this year we decided to give it a try—and wow, are we glad we did!

From opening day to today, the experience has been nothing short of incredible. Highlights? Too many to count: • A calf being born right in front of us, with a farmer explaining how the calves and moms are cared for—such a special, educational moment. • Racing pigs that had the whole crowd laughing and cheering. • A fascinating performance by mentalist Jon Stetson, who had us all scratching our heads in wonder. • Inside the Empire Theatre, we listened to an amazing organist playing a theater organ—complete with sound effects like sirens, bells, and whistles. Nearby, I even got to pump a player piano by foot to make the music come alive! • The Canine Stars show stole our hearts—rescue dogs performing unbelievable tricks and stunts. Truly inspiring.

And then, of course, the food! We indulged in cream puffs, frozen cheesecake, pizza-in-a-cone, and corn dogs (both classic and Korean-style, topped with crunchy Fuego cheese puffs). Delicious doesn’t even begin to describe it.

On top of it all, my wife scored an amazing deal on a brand-new phone thanks to some helpful folks at the Verizon booth—another unexpected perk of the fair.

Tips for First-Timers: • Take the free shuttle around the grounds early in your visit—it’s a great way to get the lay of the land. • Bring water bottles (but leave the cooler at home). • Be ready for all kinds of weather—pack a hat for the sun and a light windbreaker in case of drizzle.

There’s so much to see and do, you simply can’t cover it all in one visit—but that just means we’ll have to go back. This was our first New York State Fair, but definitely not our...