One huge way to save money this year at the Red River Ex – since they’re going for a more family friendly feel you’re now allowed to bring in your own food and drinks. If you’re going for the day that can make a big difference, pack a picnic, bring your own water etc. We only went for the afternoon, but bringing in a big container of fruit was refreshing and the perfect snack. A good side to the mini donuts we ate! 🙂
Of course check out the Red River Ex site before you go, there are a ton of promotions going on this year with cheap or free admission, discount days etc. You can also buy your tickets in advance, take a look and see what works for you.
Take a peek at all the amazing shows going on this year – these are free with your admission and are really well done. We timed it out to see the shows we wanted to, the dog show, lumberjack show and the Flying Fools High Dive show. The diving show was amazing, make sure to check it out. My 6 year old really enjoyed the shows, they’re all really geared toward the whole family.
If you’re not buying ride passes and only a few tickets set limits before you get there – for kids there is so much to do that’s free, petting zoo, farm stuff, singing, magic shows etc. The reptile area was really neat too.
We had lunch on the way there, and by the end of the day no one was in the mood for carnival food so that was a big money saver. One of our biggest expenses was 2 huge lemonades! 🙂
Any other good tips to save some money at the Ex? How much did it end up costing for your family to go?
We ended up going on Father’s Day during the free admission times. I couldn’t believe it – no line up at all! There weren’t any line ups for the rides either – it was crazy! I did notice the HUGE line up for the free pancakes, guess everyone couldn’t resist those. We didn’t know it but it was free bike helmet day so my son got one of those; again no line up for that either! One tip I have is to not buy your mini donuts at the first place you see. We bought 18 for $6 at the vendor right across from the Kin Kar booth and found out that had we walked a little further on, they would have been quite a bit cheaper!
Great tip about the donuts – didn’t even notice the price differences. We bought ours by the dog show, not sure how much they were there. I’m really amazed at how there’s almost no lines for anything this year, wonder why?
just don’t go………..that is the greatest way to save money on the Ex