Orange County Fairgrounds — Attraction in Town of Wallkill

DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY AT THE ORANGE COUNTY FAIR!

I was genuinely excited to bring my family to this fair. I’d been hyping it up to the kids for a week, and the website made it look amazing — but what a total disappointment on every level. I never leave reviews, but this experience today was so frustrating I felt I had to say something.

Let me break it down:

Parking Nightmare – We drove nearly an hour to get there, which would’ve been fine if it lived up to the hype. But when we arrived, there was NO designated parking — just people parked along the road. Every nearby business had threatening tow-away signs. With children and elderly family members with us, that’s unacceptable and unsafe.

Hazardous Walkways – Once inside, the kids were constantly tripping over exposed cords, ditches, and uneven ground. Not a safe or family-friendly setup at all.

Uninformed Staff – We asked multiple staff members where the petting zoo was, and not one of them could tell us. Seriously?

Dangerous Setup – While heading to the monster truck show (which the kids were SO excited for), we saw a 2.5-foot metal stake sticking out of the grass — my mother nearly fell on it. At that point, I was on edge the rest of the time and couldn't relax.

Height Rule Disaster – My son, who was just measured at over 42 inches by his doctor the day before, was denied ride after ride because the fair's inaccurate height charts said otherwise. I spent $100 on wristbands, and he couldn’t enjoy any of the rides he wanted — even ones he’s tall enough for. He was devastated.

Final Straw – My son was feeling sick from the stress and handed me his wristband to hold. As we were leaving, I tried to lift his spirits with the “fireman walkthrough house,” but the worker rudely refused to let him in because his band wasn’t on his wrist — even after I showed my receipt. He basically accused me of trying to cheat the system. It was humiliating.

This was a complete waste of money and a miserable experience. We were only there for 30 minutes, and all I left with was a heartbroken child, a stressed-out mother, and frustration.

I’ll be telling everyone I know to avoid this fair and will be sharing this experience all over social media. Families deserve...

The atmosphere was very positive, reminded me of Coney island in Brooklyn but on a smaller scale. Wonderful fair filled with lots of activities and games for the kids and young people. Live free entertainment i.e. lions and tiger show and a wide variety of food selections. Gifts, clothes and keep sake for the children and a petting zoo full with animals and birds. They offer a discount to seniors and fee admission to toddlers and infants. Plenty of parking and the road race right next to the fair. The road race is very loud and kicks up lots of dust. There were plenty of picnic tables to eat on and areas you can relax on the grass. Security was notable and there were no incidents known. Although the food variety was awesome it was pricey. I saw no signs which band bringing your own food or beverages so you may save by bringing sandwiches and your own beverages or buy a meal and share. Please call ahead ro make sure on this. There were restrooms and no long waiting lines noted for this. Overall it was a excellent experience and I plan to go again. Hope this review...

Went with my family at around 9:15pm. By then most people were leaving, parking was easy to find and yes the parking is $5 in cash (no swindlers as it’s in a parking lot with staff that has to get paid somehow). All of the rides were lit up when we got there and due to it being an hour and 45 minutes before closing all of the lines were empty. It was easy to get on almost all of the rides to where my son, niece, and nephew were able to get on some rides twice. I do see that others complained about the ground, attached is a photo of the “unleveled ground” and while yes there were wires everywhere, most were covered with caution soft pads on the floor. How else are the rides supposed to function? 😅. Based on reading other reviews I was scared to go but had already purchased tickets, I’m happy I didn’t listen and went. It was a great family night to...