State Fair of Texas

I traveled from California to come here and have been for two years so far. It's so big that I easily get lost lol. The fried food is exotic and different from what I imagined when it comes to state fairs. Fried BLT, fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich, fried Pho, fried spaghetti, etc.

Always make sure you bring plenty of money before coming here and come with the right group of people to enjoy this event. I think I would spend at least over $500 for the few days of going to the fair. If I go to the state fair again here, hopefully a third times a charm! Overall I love it!

We went to the State Fair of Texas this year. This fair was held at Fair Park (see description in my earlier review). It was epic. The Cotton Bowl game was it's backdrop. While we explored the fair, there were roars louder than I have ever heard from the stadium. If noise unsettles you, go on a non game day.

We went through exhibits that included various products, agriculture, and food. They also had representatives from different Dallas area organizations. They also had artisan vendors. There were really wonderful products such as jewelry, clothes, art, and very well done life size pinatas. The artist that creates the pinatas to look like singers and superheros. I wish, I had known to order from him for a party because he is gifted. There were many other talented artisans and some entertainment. We only finished seeing half of the fair. Unfortunately, we missed the food demonstrations... The State Fair seemed to have something for everyone. We even popped into a few museums at Fair Park. We had a wonderful time on a beautiful Saturday.

I recommend that they do not allow firearms in this fair because people who attended a week later on a Saturday didn't have as good of a time as we did. If they are sure to ban them, everyone should have a five star experience.

My friends and I visited the State Fair on a Wednesday in October and it was still pretty busy. That being said, we were still able to try many different stalls and see many different attractions. Definitely be prepared to spend, especially if you're trying to try some of the tex choice award winners. Here are some of the foods we tried:

Eataly: Fried Cacio e Pepe. 4/10. Tastes exactly how it sounds and was a little too dense and cheesy on its own. I think it was supposed to come with some marinara on the side, but we never got it.

Dickles: Turkey Leg. 7.5/10. Super juicy and HUGE. Also on the saltier side. Probably the most worth it item we had and was definitely made to share.

Eat Crispies: Deep Fried Pho. 8.8/10 until you factor in the price--then it's a 7.5/10. The pho was served hot and stuffed inside egg roll-like skin. It came with a side of pho broth to dip the roll in. The roll did not lack in flavor and was true to taste. Would get again if it were less than $24.

Sandoitchi: Fruit Sandos. 4/10. The fruit sando is good, but nothing special--especially for $14. The sando we got had bananas, strawberry, and pineapples, but most of the sandwich was filled with cream. The cream itself was light and not too sweet.

Pineapple Whip. 9/10. The pineapple whip came with a Dos Locos orange wine shooter. The pairing was delicious together and really refreshing on a warm day.

Fletcher's Corny Dog: Staple fair food. The outside was hot and crispy, but the inside was lukewarm. I was craving a corndog so this hit the spot.

Cotton Candy: sweet!

Had an amazing time exploring the 2023 Texas state fair. Had some great eats. We tried the Rodeo Doughnut Burger(20 tickets)along with the cheese bacon Curley fries(19), cotton candy(7), and some delicious strawberry lemonade(12) to help wash it down.
The rides were very fun. Tickets were about a dollar a ticket and the food averaged about 10-30 tickets for each.

What a great time to spend a day at the State Fair. We spent 6 hours with our granddaughter here at the fair. She had a wonderful time with all the rides and games. The staff were very nice to her as she only won a small prize but they upgraded her to a medium prize.

We also spent some time at the dinosaur exhibit, which was educational and fun all at the same time. The animals were a site to see, too.

Tip: Any must-have fair food you're interested in, go there first and beat the rush. The other thing is try to go early morning if you want to feed animals, it's less crowded and the animals are more active.

The State Fair is a fun experience to take out-of-towners but it is SO EXPENSIVE. A Fletcher's corn dog is 7 coupons! A bottle of water is 4 coupons!

My favorite was the birthing area. It's so cute and amazing to see the newborn animals like the calves & lambs.

Personally, it's really the novelty and experience of Texas Fair rather than the actual taste of the food itself.

Yippee-Ki-Yay to the max! We spent 2 days here and didn't miss a thing.

Check out my pic of the 339 pound pig and the ranch scene some child built in the cattle building. Of course, we checked out the crafts building and the award winning quilts - talk about patience and detail work!! We also ate our way through the fair, see my free ice cream bar pic (I have food vendor Yelp reviews also).

And, of course, you can't pass up a selfie with Big Tex.

So the 5th star is missing because the prices are insane for Texas . I know it's a fair, but any event that last a month should be cheaper. I would spend more and come more often if it was.

Other than that, it's large, be prepared to walk off many snacks. Plenty to see, plenty of entertainment. Amazing animal exhibition.

Games are expensive but fun. Roller coaster variety was amazing. Plenty of trash cans , places to sit , and bathrooms were clean.

Yes I'd be back. But maybe eat before I go in.
Parking is $20, be prepared to spend $10-25 per plate. $10-15 per ride. Water cost 2-4 bucks per bottle, but don't be afraid to offer 1 dollar.

You can never go wrong with a good fair, especially when its the biggest one in the country. I went a few times this year with family and friends and each time i took 20k+ steps and ate whatever calories i burned off in that time as well, because why not. I highly recommend getting a turkey leg, staple of any fair and funnel cake. outside of that try everything and anything that cathces your eyes and make sure to stop by some of the shops because they offer a large variety of items to buy.

First timer here - had a blast! Came with my husband and best friend. The fair is HUGE and there's so much stuff to do. But be aware - you WILL spend a LOT of money here. So prepare/save up in advance! The food is a huge draw in - everything is either fried, deep fried, on a stick, or covered in powdered sugar. You'll be lucky if you find something mildly healthy haha. We did 1.5 days at the fair (drove in from Austin, and I volunteered for a few hours with TPWD one of the days). At the end I was absolutely EXHAUSTED. Walked 5-10K steps every day! I slept for 10 hours and I needed an entire day to do nothing even with the sleep, that's how exhausted the fair made me! Definitely a great experience.