State Fair of Texas

3921 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Dallas, TX 75210, USA

Address:	3921 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Dallas, TX 75210, USA
Phone:	+1 214-565-9931
Site:	bigtex.com
Rating:	4.4
Working:	10AM–9PM 10AM–9PM 10AM–9PM 10AM–9PM 10AM–10PM 10AM–10PM 10AM–9PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 4

Craig Critchfield

Prices are ridiculous. $15 to park, $5 for some fried piece of whatever (snickers or oreos), $11 for a turkey leg (!) ... you dont go to the state fair to get a bargain apparently. The place is also overrun with "sponsors" and vendors. Most of the educational or showy stuff is pushed off to the side while vendors are lining the areas barking at you to try whatever they have or lure you in with the promise of free things just to pull a "time share" on you and talk your ear off to get whatever they promised. Thats probably the most unenjoyable part of the fair. What I liked about the fair was some of the shows. The JUMP! dog show was great. The Ostrich Races were entertaining. Unfortunately, the auditorium where those take place have horrible audio, so you cant hear much of what the announcer is saying. One thing I noticed overall was that the place was immaculate. The streets and bathrooms were kept clean and there was always toilet paper in the stalls. Theres a trash can every 10 feet, so theres no excuse to throw trash on the ground. Any time you do see a scrap of trash on the ground theres a member of the Clean Team getting right on it. Those folks deserve a promotion and a raise. Ive been to several carnivals and state fairs (New Mexico comes to mind), and this was the most spotless Ive ever seen one. There was a constant police presence, so you felt secure walking around. They were even helpful with directions. These were the nicest officers, and they really did a good job of giving the Dallas Police Dept a positive image. The parade was a bit of a let-down, because wagon after wagon seemed to be some vendor sponsor shoving their brand in your face again. Basically the fair seems to be going more and more towards corporatism. The rides on the Midway were ok, but expensive. Gf and I spent like $5/each to ride a ride that only lasted 1 minute. Whoopee. The best "ride" for the money is probably that huge circular thing that goes far into the air and gives you a view of the city. Its like 7 tickets ($3.50). The best deal on food is probably the Texas Whoopie Cookie which is huge and only costs $3 (Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Frosting ... YUM!) Overall, it was fun, clean, secure and entertaining. But, break out the wallet, and prepare to ignore a bunch of folks yelling sales pitches at you. I guess I should also mention that my gf and I tried a lot of fried foods. She liked them, but to me all of them seemed bland. I dont know why. Fried PBJ sandwich, oreos, snickers ... all of them tasted like bland fried bread. Maybe its just my tastebuds.

Michelle Steele

The State Fair of Texas is open for 3 weeks a year in the end of September and to mid October. The fair has a variety of activities that all ages can enjoy the fair. Each year they have food contests and have 8 top winners with one most tasty and one more creative - the food is most of the time fried. If you have allergies like being gluten free or lactose intolerant, the fair may not be the easiest place to find food, however they do let you bring in your own food. There are designated kid areas, lots of livestock buildings and shows, and then there are sit down bar areas with beer and specialty cocktails (which most are wine based because getting a liquor license is an additional step that most booths dont do. Parking is expensive, entry can get expensive with a lot of people and then of course you buy tickets for food and rides. The State Fair offers a lot of discounts through the week for different people, but know you will be dropping some dough to go. You can take the dart, just be warned there are a lot of people. The fair has a lot of people. I heard complaints when we used the dart from people with big strollers and wagons that they had the hardest time getting on and off the dart, however I feel like knowing you are going to the State Fair of Texas on a weekend (or any day really) with large items and children in tow that there may be slight delays getting on and off at each stop as their things can literally be blocking the doors when they open at the additional stops. Just want people to know, be prepared for people. They chose the train over Uber or paying 15 dollars for parking and walking. I understand the cost (actual money and then mentally people, traffic, lines) of going to the fair, but dont know if all fairgoers do. The museums have exhibits open during the fair, this year the Sistene Chapel Exhibit was in the womens building and was stunning, this does have an additional cost. Of course the favorites of the fair are getting a picture with Big Tex and then eating a Fletchers Corndogs (which they invented the corn dog, seriously) and walking through the auto show. Each year they have performances that are at a variety of times, the 2016 highlights I enjoyed were the Zuzu Acrobats and the Mattress Firm Illuminarion sensation which was dancing, music, fireworks, fountains and lights and smoke show.

Mary Will

Havent been in a few years so my family decided to go this Wednesday ( October 12 ). We got there as soon as it opened and had to wait for somethings to open like the rides and the petting zoo so we decided to go check out some of there venders and car shows. There car shows were awesome! A lot of fun seeing all the newer models you usually only see on tv everyone there was very polite and helpful, I cant say the same for the venders. I am only sixteen years old so only few of what people were selling applied to me didnt mean my parents still didnt want to look. Me and my sister ( twenty one ) were sitting in some lounge chairs that one of the venders was selling the man selling came and asked how we were doing and asked if we liked the chairs we said yes and then he walked away and came back a minute later and demanded that we get out of the chairs because they were only for buying customers. We got up and our parents came by and he tried to sell to them we told our parents what happen and the man deined it! This happen many other places that just because me and my sister looked younger people would deny us there service. NOT PLEASED! Unless you are thirty five or older i would NOT recommend going to any of the venders a waste of time and energy! Only good thing about it was the air conditioning. The rest of the fair was ok just plan on it being very very expensive for food you could find at a gas station and rides that are short and expensive as well :(. They try to use "coupons" to fool you and make you think your not paying as much money when in reality your paying more! I will not be returning ever! If your looking for something fun and more affordable I would check out Six Flags over Texas in Arlington! There fright fest is amazing and so much fun!

Rob P

The Texas State Fair is a true Texas tradition. Not only are there multiple things to do, but it happens annually in Sept-Oct when the weather in North Texas can be absolutely beautiful! Tour the stables where farmers are more than happy to talk about their livestock and share personal stories about their craft. Walk around the multiple tents where you can haggle with vendors. This is where my wife and I find unique Christmas gifts for those hard-to-shop-for family members! Then check out the car show where you can sit in and check out all the new models of cars that are coming out the next year. After all that walking around its time to sit back with a cold beer and eat something unique! The Texas State Fair is famous for all of its crazy fried foods, some of which are actually tasty. If cold beer is not your thing the wine garden might be where you choose to relax. I recommend doing a tasting and trying some of the wines that are made right here in Texas. If you havent had one yet, you have to try a Fletchers Corn Dog. Slathered in mustard, its a right of passage for every Texan. While youre there say hello to the legend himself Big Tex, where youll see multiple people trying to take the perfect selfie with the big guy. Then its on to the midway where theres rides and games for every age and skill.. These are just a few of the things we enjoy doing there every year. The state fair is truly a Texan (and family) tradition.