Gone are the days of hoping your kids don’t lose their ride tickets for the San Diego County Fair. This year, the fair is going ticket-less.
Even with new rides like the open-air suspended passenger vehicle “The Endeavour,” the most exciting addition to this year’s county fair might be its new FunPass. Rather than purchase tickets at a booth, fairgoers can simply download an app with preloaded ride and game tickets and scan it to use them. The app can then be reloaded with more tickets, eliminating the pesky need to go back and forth to the ticket booth.
“All these years up until now we’ve had actual tickets,” said Annie Pierce, public information officer for the fair. “Now we have an app. It’s going to make it really easy for parents to reload their kids’ cards from their phones — and the kids aren’t going to lose tickets anymore.”
And there’s no pressure to use all the tickets in a single day. Tickets on the app can be used anytime during the 27-day fair.
If you want to skip the lines, the fair is also introducing a new FastPass. For $20, the FastPass will get you into an exclusive lane for which a limited amount of passes will be issued per day.
Inspired by L. Frank Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” this year’s theme is reflected in its 11 Oz-some selfie spots, its “Ask the Wizard Show,” the characters you might spot walking around and, of course, the food and drinks. Snack on an OzSome Crunch Roll (a cinnamon roll frosted with Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal), try a bag of Flying Monkey Caramel Corn (caramel corn with banana chips) or sip on some Red Ruby Lemonade.
To really get you in the “Oz-some” spirit, find the hidden speakeasy Wicked Wahine to try some of “sneaky tiki cocktails” or skip down the yellow-brick road to the theme exhibit. There, you’ll see original props from the 1939 movie, like one of the Munchkin jackets.
RIDES
This year, the San Diego County Fair is adding a new attraction to its roaster of rides. “The Endeavor” is described as an “open-air suspended passenger vehicle” that will send its passengers 60 feet in the air at 25 mph.
The fair is also bringing back its “Pay One Price Ride Days” every Wednesday and Thursday for the month of June. For $38, fairgoers can enjoy unlimited rides in the Fun Zone or Kids Zone for the whole day.
SHOWS & FESTIVALS
With 1,879 concerts, there’s sure to be something for everyone this year at the fair. Big names like country artist Justin Moore and comedian Jim Gaffigan will kick off the fair, which will also feature performances by Jack Owen, Pitbull, Trace Adkins and many more throughout the month.
The fair’s Flying Monkey Electronic DJ will keep the party going every weekend along with festivals like Out at the Fair, Beer Festival and Wine Festival.
Shows start at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. All tickets purchased for shows will include admission into the fair. If you already have admission into the fair, call the box office at 858-792-4252.
EXHIBITS
Animals are a time-honored tradition at the fair, and this year does not disappoint. While livestock shows and petting zoos are a given, new to the fair is the Goat Playground, where you can watch Momma Goat and her kids frolic on top of goat mountain.
For a full list of attractions, events, and tickets, visit sdfair.com.
