Elkhart County 4-H Fairgrounds — Hotel in Goshen

I am unsure if I'll be coming again in the next couple yrs. It's too expensive for me. Doesn't help our visit started off shaky bc the customer service I received sucked. I got a Lunch Pass. I posted the info I read online w this review. In my opinion, it is confusing. It's a lunch pass so I honestly thought it was meant for food. 🤷🏼‍♀️ What I read, does NOT specifically say it is good for an admission to the fair and you do not have to pay to get in. I went up to this older lady, I gave her my card and she says how can I return your money. I feel like that right there should have told her I didn't understand the program... If that didn't then the comment, "Okay I can use my card over there at admissions then, cool" should have told her that I was not aware I didn't have to pay admission.... She didn't say anything. I didn't read the paper like an idiot bc idk I didn't think abt it. It says good for admission. That is my bad for not reading, but I am wrangling a 3 yr old. Standing in line, reading and paying don't mix w an antsy toddler. I'm sorry I didn't take the couple secs from one booth to the other to read 😭 I had this ORANGE ticket in my hand as I paid admissions. AGAIN NOT A WORD from anyone. It isn't until I'm at the food truck asking them how it works that I realized I messed up. I tried to get a refund on it, one of the volunteers truly tried to help me and I appreciate him. BUT of course the older lady is a "Big Wig" and she can't do a refund. To me, if you are a Big Wig, then maybe she should have done her job and explained it to me. I very clearly was confused and I work in customer service, so I always make sure they understand something especially if they say things indicating they don't know what they're talking abt. She told me admissions wouldn't know anything abt that to tell me not to buy a ticket. THEIR BOOTHS ARE 3FT AWAY!? to me that just shows, it's all abt $$. like always. She also told me I could sell my ticket to someone in line, right. So I try that. THEN she proceeds to tell me I can't sell it bc I already got the barcode scanned in. So why say that to begin w ....... Our whole encounter form start to finish was not good. She did not care at all. It is hard to find out information abt anything when you're little one is ready to go play. It would have been nice if she just taken that little time to explain it.

Obviously that put a dent in my time there, however, I wasn't going to let that ruin my time w my son at the fair!! It was just expensive. To pay 47$ for 94 tickets is outrageous when each ride INCLUDING THE KIDDIE RIDES cost 12 tickets!!!! If it wasn't for a sweet lady giving me a ticket for a ride, we would have only ridden 4 rides! We were there 4hrs. Most of them charged me & him for the rides where he needed an adult. Some didn't. So 24 tickets to go up and down in an elephant. Food and drinks were of course pricey. It was good tho! I think I rather save money for an amusement park or water park instead. It may cost more, but I'll get more for my money at least when it comes to rides. We did enjoy the rides we rode tho! The little farmers market for kids was adorable.

I will say, they have plenty bathrooms open that are nice and clean. They have much more shade options. This fair always runs on the hottest week in July. They have a lot more transport options too. It has upgraded a lot. It's just too pricey for ppl like me. Unfortunately, all the days w max savings are when I work. I was not spending 70$ on wristbands for a 3yr old and I for kiddie rides. I couldn't even accompany him on like 3 of them. Slip pickins when you have a little one. We did...

Can only leave one star, would like to leave 1/4 of a star, but I cant.

Went for the rides 2 separate days this year. Wristband day on Thursday and also Saturday. The lines were about an hour per ride on Thursday, and most rides were running with empty seats on Thursday. Complained to guest relations about it. They didnt have a good answer. Saturday came, bought tickets instead of a wristband....all seats in the rides were filled the right way that day, and instead of 3 rides in 3 hours, like the other night, we had our tickets gone in an hour. I went to the window to ask why there was such a difference in the wait times and how long the lines were and was told "its based on how many people are there".

I told them that since we bought the tickets, and assumed we would get a ride an hour, just like the other night, it was a surprise to use our tickets so fast, and since they werent "padding" the times on Saturday like they were on Thursday, I wanted to trade my tickets back in for wristbands for my son and I...otherwise, it would have been $100 just to ride the rides. They sent me to 3 different booths/offices to talk to people and I was told that it was basically my fault, I was being petty and there was nothing I could do. The starship ride (gravitron) started spinning once on Thursday, and when it stopped, that was it. I asked why it didnt start again (like it always does for the second spin) and the operator said "it has never done that". I told him I grew up going to this fair and riding that ride, and he said they never stop it and start it again like that. They did on Saturday. Also, the "himalaya" ride was literally running with seats empty on Thursday, along with the other ride that spins on a big platform, and the seats spin separately....my son and I counted, based on the seat numbers, 4 cars empty per run, each turn. We had an hour in line to watch it happen over and over again.

Fair staff was polite, but in no way helpful and the carnival staff flat out did not care. It was my worst experience going to that fair (I am 36) that I have ever had and next year we are going to Cedar Point instead. It will cost less and we can at least expect consistent and professional treatment.

I get that they have a $5 first friday too. Too bad that in a county that thrives off of the RV business, they did that on a day where most working parents were still at work and couldnt make it there till after their shift. They can argue that plenty of people had been there....but....after getting off work and getting cleaned up, I couldnt make it there for that. I start work at 4 in the morning that day. Also, admission was $10 each.....THATS A LOT. The fair board is more concerned with making money for themselves and not focused enough on providing a good fair for the community that they belong to. Also, things like fudge costing $1 for a "1x"1 square and under cooked onion blossoms are something that people should not put up with considering it costs a lot to go to the fair. This year was a fail....but they will tell you they probably made record...

The Elkhart County 4-H Fairgrounds hosts the MidwestRepRapFest, which is also known as MRRF. This is an event that is for 3D Printing related anything. This past year there were 1500 tickets given out - it was definitely packed as you can see by looking at some of the photos. It was a great time and I plan on going back next year! Joel Telling, who is known as the 3D Printing Nerd attended. Daniel Noree came in from Switzerland to join us. He is the creator of the #OpenRC. The OpenRC is an open design that you can 3D Print your own RC car. There was a race that was held and you can see some of that in the photos I provided of the pavilion. The large 3D Printed car was using Daniel Noree's OpenRC design. Chuck Hellebuyck also attended. He is an author of 11 books on electronics projects. Chuck now has his own 3D Printed toolset and Filament Friday branded filament. Jim Carter attended as well. He 3D Printed an automobile engine and assembled it. Hundreds of screws and 3D Printed parts went into the design. The Midnight Giant was there with the BFG9000, which is a full scale replica of the gun in the video game Doom. And last we had Mitch Cerroni who walked around with a 3D Printed backpack. This room was full of nerds and lots of brain power. What was cool about it was I could go full nerd and feel right at home because everyone understood everything I was say. This event is U Do...