Florida State Fair 2018

The Florida State Fair is here in Tampa until February 19th and this year is PACKED full of family fun!

We arrived right before the midway opened at ten and we practically had the place to ourselves! The timing was perfect, and my brother and his family, including my very-excited 4 year old nephew, were visiting for the week so we all went to the fair together. Things are a bit more magical when kids are around.

The kids area was full of rides that my nephew could ride on. He loved all of the roller coasters, trucks, and slides. Some rides required an adult, some he could ride on his own. All of them he loved.

The only complaint I had about the rides was that my 20 month-old niece wanted to be just like her big brother and ride the rides. However, she was too little for all but three and just wanted to ride the merry-go-round. Yet we still needed to buy her tickets, just for her mom to hold her. Every place I’ve gone with them have let the little babies on for free. And considering how expensive it is in the first place for everything else, you would think babies could ride for free. Another issue was the number of workers that were smoking everywhere, even by the no smoking signs. One even lit up next to the table where I was sitting with my niece and nephew, under a tent! Please, people, don’t smoke by children!

But I digress. And not 2 minutes later I saw something that was so brilliant that it made me forget about buying tickets for my niece and almost about the smoking. The fair has three sunscreen and hand sanitizer stands, and this one also had a charging station for cellphones and a baby changing station!

When we had enough of the sun we took a break for lunch. As a Buffalonian, I was super excited to see poutine with cheese curds at the fry stand.

After lunch we rode some more rides, including the giant ferris wheel. What a beautiful view of the fair!

When we were hot and sweaty again, we headed inside to the kid’s PBS area. My niece and nephew were beyond excited when they got to meet Clifford, Arthur, Catarina, and Ready Jet Go!

There were so many more things to see, like the farm, the shows, the animals, but the kids decided they had enough and were ready to leave. And if there is one thing that I’ve learned, it’s that when kids are done, everyone is done.

I had so much fun at the fair this year. It’s running until February 19th and it truly is fun for the whole family! You can buy tickets here or at the gate. Parking is included, but rides are separate.

Disclaimer: The tickets were provided to me, but my opinions are all my own. And this time maybe my nephew’s.