Washington State Fair

Overpriced everything. It’s fun and all, but it’s not even about families and more… It’s all for the money. Throughout the years it’s been overhyped, so prices go up, food options are good. This just it’s not a yearly thing for us to do anymore. You can spend over $ 200 here easy.

Over Priced! Food cold however the servers are friendly. Eat first then Do the Puyallup!

The fair is growing tiresome. There tradition, and then there’s boring. Th concerts are less exciting, the displays hack. And the pricing is typically outrageous.
I do love the animals, and the music. but I’d say this is a must see every five years or so…

Everyone loves the fair right? We do too and I always try to go to a county fair if there is one when we’re in a strange town. We aren’t strangers here but only go to the fair once every couple of year because it never changes. A lot of the booths seemed to be duplicates, not as many farm animals and the food is worse than it was two years ago. Our local paper had said the smitty burgers were back so we tried on, ick. Probably we won’t go again for the next five years

This is my first time being here. I was told this is one of the bigger fair in North America and at one point it was top 10 largest fair. Its quite interesting. Well my main purpose was to check out the Star Trek exhibit. Now that Star Trek exhibit is really worth going to. Only thing is that you have to pay an extra $ 8 to go in. Its worth it. I didn’t feel like trying any of the food at the Fair because I can smell the old aged oil smell and that really turns me off. As the food looks oily and not that appetizing. Well other than the scone. I wanted to try the scone but the line up puts me off as well.
Food is pricy. But I did have a good time. I paid $ 10 for admission by getting the tickets at Safeway. At the gate is $ 12.50 and I believe if you buy before the Fair start its $ 9.50. I have heard the weather has always been nice during the Fair in Puyallup.
Will I come back? Maybe… But Its pretty the same as the Fair in Vancouver, BC and the one in Vancouver, BC I don’t have to travel.

Haven’t experienced the state fair thing before the move out to WA and thoroughly enjoyed myself! Loved seeing all the livestock, food vendors, crafts, amusements, and such. A great annual event for the whole family.

This fair has tons of food options, great rides, concerts you actually want to see and lots to see and do. I am not generally a fan of fairs but this one was pretty cool and I’d go again.

I have been coming here since I was a kid, way back when it was called The Puyallup Fair. I still call it that, but the looks have changed since they started calling it the Washington State Fair. You have the usual fair rides such as the Extreme Scream ($ 10 for a ride or if you get the Dizzy pass, I believe that one is $ 40 it includes one ride on the extreme scream in the price). You can always get discounted tickets and packages at Safeway. Not sure if you can get it at Fred Meyers, but I think you can.
Anyway, I always come hungry so I can try out the food offerings such as Meyer’s burgers (which has been there forever!), or try the famous «As big as your face» Earthquake burger, Block of curly fries, slushees, caramel apples, and don’t forget the Fisher Scones! The lines are normally long, but remember, there are several booths around the fair such as under the Grandstand, near the Blue gate (there is two actually, one just as you enter the blue gates or a bit further down on the north side of the fairgrounds) and I can’t recall where the other ones are but there are plenty in case you find one with a really long line!
You can buy «tickets» aka Fun Cards at the booths or there are machines that take cash/​card as well if you don’t want to que up. The prices aren’t too bad, but the amount needed to play games or ride rides are really up there… so be prepared to spend some dough if you want those giant stuffed animals.
Parking is easy as there are several lots surrounding the fairgrounds. There are also homes where the owners have you park on their property or on or near Don’s Drive in on Meridian. The parking could cost you between $ 5-​$ 20 bucks depending on how close you want to park, the further out you are, the cheaper it is. Or if you don’t want to deal with all that you can park at South Hill Transit Center and take the bus down to the fair too.
It’s been a WA tradition for as long as I can remember. I guarantee you that you will have a wonderful time.
Come on down (or up) and see the cute animals, grab some Dairygold (omg so yummy) soft serve, check out people’s collection entries in the Hobby Hall or go purchase some goods in the Showplex or go see a show at the Grandstand! There is something for everyone so bring everybody and don’t forget to carpool!

I don’t really know where to start or even how to rate this place fairly (no pun intended). Growing up I’ve never gone to the fair — my first time was a few years ago and it was just a «meh» experience. My family has spoiled me growing up as we always went to Disneyland and Six Flags every summer. So this fair never really lived up to my expectations.
The overpriced foods and rides makes it hard to enjoy. The fair food isn’t really anything spectacular — except for elephant ears and scones. Only because it isn’t easily accessible outside of fair days. Ice cream, cotton candy, caramel apples, roasted corn, etc can really be found at other places now a days for half the price.
Combine that with shoddy rides that don’t look very fun and then being charged $ 5 — 7 to ride these rides… There really isn’t much to get excited for. The games are $ 3 — 5 to play and maybe win cheap made in china toys.
Furthering my disappointment is having to pay to get into this place only to pay to do just about anything else, except for wandering mindlessly through the maze of vendors that sell «never made it on tv» junk and some other stuff that I have seen on tv. There seems to be more focus on a commercial advertising to the masses rather good time family fun.
Maybe it’s just me. Maybe it’s not. Other people seem to have a blast there. reading online and finding that the fair generates over $ 20+ million in revenue, but only netting maybe a million that is claimed to go back into the fair — i really don’t see much improvements in the 3 times that I have been there except bigger headliners for the concerts series, and even then that to me seems to be a marketing ploy to get more people to spend money at the fair.

No matter how young or how old you are, I believe everyone who visits/​lives in WA, should at least visit this fair once. When thinking of a fair, one should envision the old school style where things are set up in a rural area, tons of fair food vendors, classic rides, the good ol’ games to win cute prizes and the shows/​exhibits that occur throughout the day.
Getting to the fair is fairly easy. Just google map or look at the website for directions. Once you’re in the area, keep an eye out for free street parking or parking lots dedicated to the fair. Parking prices will vary, depending on where you park. Some homes offer their property for parking and price can easily range from $ 10 – 20 depending on how close it is to the fair. The official parking lot is roughly $ 15 and most places accept cash only for the parking fee. Once you’re settled in, have comfy shoes on, it’s time to hit the fair!
Some of the food items that I really enjoy eating are: elephant ears, the fresh made scones from one of the many Fisher stands, the gigantic turkey leg, the longest corndog stick you will ever seen, and the yummy ribs from Pete’s BBQ. Most food places take cash and quite a few take card, so make sure to have enough cash on you if you decide to eat! If you’re going for the ribs, expect to be in a long line. Wildly popular for their freshly cooked ribs, buttery cornbread, affordable price and such, this is quite the meal to eat if you’re hungry. For most popular food items, do expect a line. If you want to snack on desserts, grab a scone for only $ 1.50 each (be aware that some Fisher stands are cash only) and watch how scones are made! For a quirky food experience, one must try the gigantic turkey leg, the long long corndog, onion blossom, or even a crazy combo krispy Kreme sandwich. These are all pretty filling and worth getting for the fun and taste.
As for rides and games, it’s a bit pricey. If you go early morning or late evening, lines for the rides are a lot shorter. For prizes, you must purchase tickets to play and some of the prizes are pretty sweet (huge monkeys, pandas, etc). If rides and games aren’t your thing, check the schedule to see if there are any musical performances/​shows you want to see! Some are free and some do require a ticket purchase to get in. Another option you could explore while at the fair, is check out the barns for the cute llamas, cows, pigs, etc or check out the vendor exhibits where you can see the latest massage chairs, hot tubs, and more. I realllllly like watching the wool riders… aka…little kids riding sheeps like a bull rider does on a bull, and seeing who can hang on the longest. Quite humorous and cute to see.
Overall, the fair is a great place to hang out with the family, friends, or go on a date. You can easily spend half a day or more here and not be bored. Highly recommend checking this fair out since it only happens once a year, in the month of September.

My first time to the WA fair, I had a great time.
There are a lot of rides for this size of a fair, which is medium size — not large, not small. There’s a little kid section as well. The wooden roller coaster in the far corner with the orange carts was a lot of fun and the line moved quickly. The gondola gives you a good view of the fair so you can decide on what you want to see and do.
$ 50 will give you a wristband to ride as many of the attractions as you want and as many times as you want that full day. You can also buy a card and put points on it. If you don’t use all of the points the day you’re there, you can use the card again throughout the fair while it’s going on and also the next year’s fair.
We went to the Weird Al concert. The venue was great for being outdoors and the lawn seats we had were comfortable. The sound and screens were in top form.
I got my face painted and the vendor was new to her job and screwed up part of it but not a big deal. I wiped off the mistakes in the ladies room.
The food vendors that we went to were really overpriced since they know they have you trapped at the fair. $ 9 for the equivalent of a McDonald’s small cheeseburger, for example. My friend insisted on getting a scone which was $ 1.50 each and were plain served with butter and raspberry jam. They were OK; I make better ones. They have a lot of different foods though that looked a lot better than what we got and some were huge, like a whole roasted turkey leg and sausage that was 14″ long. I would have to share anything like that. The gigantic fried scones called elephant ears were the size of dinner plates and looked really good. Some of the food looked like it required a heart surgeon be on hand at all times.
Not much in the game area. A lot of cheap prizes and vendors with things that I wouldn’t accept if they were free like lime plastic fedoras for a pimp or a poster of Justin Bieber.
The floor show halls didn’t have anything that interested me. It was all home improvement, pots and pans, Seahawks gear, etc.
I’m use to seeing performers and shows throughout a fair, but all that they had was one live band stand playing 70’s music and some kind of Sasquatch dude on a skateboard went by us.
I didn’t see any of the animals this round.
Free entrance to the fair when you purchase concert tickets!
Parking is a beast. There are several paid lots surrounding the fair. We found $ 5 parking with the Kiwanis Club while the other lots we saw were $ 9 or more.

Extremely expensive but fun and experience a rockier version of a park. It’s fun and expensive. Everyone seems to be friendly and it on for 2 weeks in puyallup.
The parking is outrageous and extremely expensive. But other than that it’s pretty good. The rides however are old and needs repairs.

Puyallup fair, Washington state fair, whatever you call it, it’s gonna be fun. I always love coming here and I look forward to it annually mostly because of the rides. I would advise coming on a weekday to beat the lines and crowds. I would also advise the extreme scream or pretty much any ride (except the zipper… I have a love-​hate relationship with that one… Mostly hate) that goes upside down. Buy your tickets pre-​fair on their website and you’ll even get pretty sick bundle deals!
Foods are tricky. Kind of like a game of minesweep. Be careful and stick to something you know is gonna be good.
There are lots of useful booth so keep your eye peeled. Hand washing, cold medicines and band aids, etc.
Lots to do for anyone of any age. Even your two year old can pet an animal or something!
Parking is inexpensive, or you could find a residential street and walk a couple blocks. The grounds is big enough to not get bored for an entire day, but small enough to not get tired of walking aimlessly, looking for the next thing to do.
Only thing that bothers me is how some of the workers (usually teenage machine operators for the rides) are so cold and unpleasant. Like… This is a state fair, not dismaland. But not even their nasty attitudes could suck my happiness away. Oh the joys of dismaland I mean the state fair!

The Puyallup Fair has become a tradition for my family and I when they visit me from overseas each year. We’ve gone every year for the last few years, and it is something we all look forward to every September. It’s truly fun for the whole family young and old.
Even though the weather was a bit chilly, my family and I had tons of fun. We went on several rides but not The Scream Machine this year. Hoping to go again in a few days because we couldn’t fit in all the rides and all the attractions. Can you believe it? 7 hours and we couldn’t see and do everything. There are tons of rides, games, animals to see, an exhibition hall full of cool gadgets, animal shows and completions, and so much food to try. It’s overwhelming!
We ate Monster burgers (which were so-​so and a bit pricey at $ 17 per combo), elephant ears with cinnamon and sugar and jam (pretty good), and scones with strawberry jam (my personal favorite). There’s a lot of other food at the fair from ice cream to deep friend butter (yuck!).
We ended the night with trying to win this giant white tiger at the crossbow game. I’m determined to win this but it will have to happen next time since the park closed when we were trying to win it.
One tip is to not necessarily settle for the parking provided by the Fair. Many people rent parking spots from their homes for half the price of the Fair.
One thing I’ve noticed is how friendly everyone at the fair is. People working in all stations and positions were just so helpful and friendly. Even the people attending the fair. It’s a very warm atmosphere.
It’s so much fun and I highly recommend experiencing the Fair at least once. It will make you feel 10 years old again :-)
Fun facts about The Puyallup Fair:
1. The Washington State Fair, commonly referred to as the Puyallup Fair, is the largest single attraction held annually in the state of Washington.
2. The fair continually ranks in the top ten largest fairs in the United States.
3. Each year, the Washington State Fair offers free admission tickets to students at schools across western Washington. In fact, 650,406 complimentary student tickets were distributed in 2014 alone.
4. 39 students were awarded scholarships during the ²⁰¹³⁄₂₀₁₄ academic year from the Washington State Fair Foundation.
5. 10,100 aluminum cans are recycled during the Fair each year. That saves enough energy to run one television continuously for 3.4 years.
6. 972,000 pounds of food have been collected at the Fair on the Opening Day Food Drive for local food banks since 2007.
7. 1.4 million pounds of compost, yard waste and wood was collected during the 2014 Washington State Fair for recycling.

Classic fair that happens every year. The amount of fun you can have corresponds with how much money you’re willing to throw down. Of course you have to factor in expensive, average food. One thing that I really liked was the taffy shop my sister and I found when we were wandering around. They sold taffy by the stick for a dollar and we got two. As you’re eating it you can watch them make more. We didn’t go on any rides this year because of the huge lines and cost of the tickets. If you go to Fred Meyer before the fair season begins, you can get a pretty good package deal that costs around $ 36 and it includes gate admission, food, ride tickets and some other goodies. They also have performances from popular artists happening on specific days that you have to buy separate tickets to. The animals in cages that you can look at seemed sort of sad.

Did someone say WA State Fair, don’t mind if I do! What a fun evening. This fair is easily the largest one I have been to. It’s got it all ~ food, rides, hobby hall exhibits, merchandise exhibits, games and lets not forget the animals! For a city girl it’s always enjoyable to go see the farm animals.
I went in the evening hours trying to avoid the large ridiculous crowds. There were still a ton of people after 6pm but less than when I have been during the early morning/​afternoon hours. Ticket prices are very reasonable at $ 12.50 per adult and $ 9.00 per Kid/​Senior (Kids under 5 are free.)
Parking was a little bit of a trick only because it was difficult to find the entrance into the lot. Not to expensive though, only $ 15 on Sat-​Sun (or) $ 10 on Mon-​Fri.
For Food:
I love Kaleenka they have amazing Beef Piroshky (Russian Pastry that has beef and cheese inside it. So yummy!)
Dessert go with Totally Fried and get the Deep Fried Oreo’s. May not be the most healthy of desserts but they are darn tasty!

This was our first visit to Washington State Fair and I should say it is well worth it.
There is everything which you expect from a Fair– Food Stalls, Entertainment, Rides, Shows, Shops, Farm Animals and shows that the fair has to offer.
The Farm Animals are a treat to watch. There is a warning sign to wash your hands everywhere which is appropriate health wise. You have choices to choose in the entertainment stages. There are plenty of options. The exhibits are interesting and somewhat entertaining! Just be ready for some long lines. TIMBER GULCH: New this year! FREE with Fair admission. The sillyville area has a lot of rides and kids would certainly love it.
You have choice of Food Stalls. Elephant ears were fabulous. The Food though is expensive. If you are spending more time it would be advisable to pack some food so that it is not heavy on the purse. The pamphlet at the entrance gate is a must. Once you get in you can get your hand stamped and come in and out as much as you like.
Rides and games require more than one ticket (each ride requires approximately 7 – 12 tickets). If purchased online, must print ticket prior to arriving at the Fair.
We had an amazing memories from the fair! This is very important to me, especially since having kids. If you have kids this is a must do in September. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to fill your day. If admission price is a big bite out of your budget, bring some munchies and have a great time.
If you have not visited the Fair. I strongly suggest that you give it shot. I promise it won’t disappoint you! Everyone needs to go the fair at least once to experience it.
HELPFUL INFORMATIONS:
*Note: Opening Day, Friday, Sept. 11 gate admission is free from 9am to noon with a suggested non-​perishable food donation for the Puyallup Food Bank.
*Pre-​Fair discount price through Sept. 10, 2015 Gate: $ 10 (online)
*Regular Price starting Sept. 11, 2015 — available online or at the Gate: $ 12.50 (regular)
*Kids 5 and under — FREE
*Ride Tickets: $ 0.50 each
*Each Rides requires 7 — 12 tickets
*Ride the Sounder train to the Washington State Fair in September on select Saturdays. Trains will run on Saturday, Sept. 19 and Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015 serving nine stations from Everett to Puyallup. Boarding locations: Everett, Mukilteo, Edmonds, Seattle, Tukwila, Kent, Auburn & Sumner
*Free connector bus to Fair — Pierce Transit will operate a connector bus from Puyallup Station to the Red Gate. Connector bus service is complimentary when either a Sounder train ticket or ORCA card is shown upon boarding. Or, it’s a quick and easy walk to the Fair, just 5 blocks away.
*From Puyallup Station, you can jump on a free Pierce Transit shuttle bus to the Fair’s Red Gate. SHUTTLE is complimentary when either a Sounder train ticket or ORCA card is shown upon boarding.
*After the Fair, head to the Fair’s Red Gate to take the shuttle back to Puyallup Station. Allow yourself plenty of time to catch the train at Puyallup Station.
*Snohomish County riders: To return by train, you must take one of the first two trains leaving Puyallup Station at 5:50 and 6:50 p.m. The last train trip from Puyallup ends in Seattle.

I’m going to do an update to this review pretty soon, because I had this one pending since last year when I went to the fair and I’m about to go to the fair tomorrow. Jeeez!
Last year was my 2^nd time at this fair. I’ve traditionally been one to ride the rides as well at the fair and never understood why people don’t ride the rides, but to each his own.
Basically though, I go to the fair for the fooooooooooooooooood. This last year it was all about the food and I was not playin. My friends and I made a list of things we were going to eat before we got the the fair and I killed my list. Friend pickles, pizza, funnel cake, two nachos, an ice cream cone, cotton candy, and caramel popcorn were all denied life. They just got in mah belly and died. Now I’m a vegetarian… but I have to admit that the smell of my friend’s daughter’s sizzlin’ turkey leg had me sweatin’ my veggie bullets. but alas I survived. I think it was just my hunger getting to me, but all the junk from above put that to rest. It’s not cheap either but it’s the fair, so why not let loose.
The animals are cute and there are small animals like rabbits and birds and chickens as well as lots of bigguns like cows and Clydesdales and other horses and such. They also had a dog showing room which was also pretty cool.
I rode about 3 rides and they were all fun. They had a ticket card loading system where instead of carrying around a bunch of tickets, they just loaded them on to a card which they scanned at each ride. I’m sure there are discounts somewhere for the fair and the ride vouchers, so just look around on the interwebs. Bring comfortable shoes because you really become surprised at how big this place is and how slow everyone walks with strollers and at a diagonal and/​or with a huge melting ice cream in their hand. Almost dropped my funnel cake twice and due to the aforementioned hunger I had I would have been ticked if I dropped it. I know… that’s terrible… but I can really slay a funnel cake.

If you come here, better have a load of cash on you! Burgers at Earthquake are a prices $ 10.19 without cheese, $ 11.19 with Cheese, and same stand fries are $ 7.45! They only have Coke products, so just drank water– but the soft drinks there are pricey as well!
Everything seems to have skyrocketed here in regards prices, which is sad thing as I used to come here at least 7 times during the fair season, now there lucky to see me once or twice.

Sing it with me! You know you want to! «You can do it at a trot, You can do it at a gallop, You can do it real slow so your heart won’t palpitate. Just don’t be late. Do the Puyallup!»
Oh how I looked forward to the Fair every year as a kid! They used to give all the school kids in the area free tickets at school every September! It was like being handed pure gold! I loved going to the Fair then and I still do!
Even though it’s officially known as The Washington State Fair, the locals and those in-​the-​know call this place The Puyallup Fair (pronounced «pew-​wall-​up» by the serious Washingtonians! Ha!) Definitely my favorite Fair in this state by far!
The animals, the shows, the food, the booths, the crafts, the music — I love it all! But my favorite are the evenings! By then the day’s had a chance to cool down a bit, the crowd is a little thinner and the Fair is lit up! Thousands of colorful glowing lights all around — it’s absolutely beautiful!
So much to see and do– you really need at least a couple of days to explore!
Favorite food booths: Pete’s BBQ Wood fired Pit, Kaleenka Piroshki, Lulu’s Dairy Barn and Sales Family Burgers!
Favorite sights to see: The Grange Displays Hall, The hobby Hall Collections, the quilt works, the horses, the pig races and of course the mutton busting!
Worth it to pay the couple of extra bucks and park in one of the Fair sponsored lots… Your feet will thank you for the short walk to the car — after you’ve spent all day walking around the fairgrounds!
Don’t forget the fresh baked Fisher Scones! Visit the Fisher booth under the Grandstands to see an up close and personal how the scones are made!