Saturday afternoon at the fair with yours truly and son Andrew Adkins, age 14, was a great experience overall and not only does the fair get “Two Thumbs Up” from us, but the rides, games, and atmosphere were excellent.
The game booths are available, in both kid rides and big rides areas.
While both catered to big and small kids there was little more attention to little kids in the small ride area. In the game booths, workers were friendly, and was a feeling of excitement and laughter.
My first impression was that there seemed to be none of the old feeling that the games are rigged.
Our first experience with the games was the Curious George dart booth where Micheline Mason gave us a friendly smile, some information on her booth, and also information on the other games.
One dart was $2, and three darts were $5. The goal was to hit a small star on Curious George’s chest with six prize levels available. The great thing was that while we did not hit the star with the dart we did get a 9-inch Curious George for trying.
The balloon dart game was also fun, but for the little kids there was a duck game where the kids would just pick a duck, and, depending on the color on the bottom, they all got prizes. Also very popular was the Corona bottle ring toss.
No luck there, either, but it was worth well worth the try.
Then we shot over to the rides.This year, the kid rides had two new rides: the Spinning Coaster and the Chopper Hopper. We also recommend the Kite Flier and the Delta wheel where you can join the kids in the action.
The kids all seemed to be excited and the lines were long, but seemed to also flow smoothly.
Pole Position was the only new ride to the big rides. Over all, all the rides were great; however, Andrew and I gave the Merry Go Round two thumbs down, at least for being in the big ride area.
Fire Ball received the best ride for the year from both of us.
“We went on this ride (Fire Ball), and knew we felt like throwing up,” said fair-goer Alejandro Gracida after riding it.
The Slide and Tilt Wheel were not very good for a father/son night. These rides were more like “date” rides.
From there the other top rides you should not miss are Spin Out Sipper and the roller coaster Back Draft.