ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

OC Fair: Rip Off or Worth It? How to Take Advantage of Discounts & Enjoy the Fair This Summer

Updated on July 27, 2017
This chicken happily greets you when you first walk up to the OC Fair
This chicken happily greets you when you first walk up to the OC Fair
My hubby and I at the OC State Fair this year
My hubby and I at the OC State Fair this year
This banana split cost over $10. Fair food can get very pricey, indeed!
This banana split cost over $10. Fair food can get very pricey, indeed!

The OC Fair: A Summer Tradition

Along with the familiar smell of sunscreen and that lovely beach air, the sights and sounds of the state fair are a summer tradition. How could one let a summer go by without experiencing it, either with friends or as a family? Our family was definitely excited to get out and see everything this summer at our own Orange County Fair.

They have carnival rides for kids and adults of all ages, arts and crafts exhibits (air conditioning, yay!) and even a large splash pad for the kids to cool off in (we saw a few kiddos getting absolutely soaked!) Who can forget the fair food, which, although overpriced, is always delicious (didn't say it was healthy, though!) Our own family trip would also not be complete without taking photos in the photo booths. We opted to do both color and black and white because we love the photo booths so much. With everything going digital, it might just be a matter of time before the photo booths go away (but we certainly hope not!) We also really enjoyed seeing clowns and other entertainers up on stilts. My son was flabbergasted! Petting the various animals is always fun as well, especially for the little ones. What excitement there is to be found at the fair! It is unlike any other place.

German potatoes with Ranch! Tasty but the amount was humongous!
German potatoes with Ranch! Tasty but the amount was humongous!
Kid Zone! Tons of fun rides and activities for kids here
Kid Zone! Tons of fun rides and activities for kids here
I thought this was entertaining. Look, "Kiddie" Basketball!
I thought this was entertaining. Look, "Kiddie" Basketball!

Taking Advantage of Discounts for the Fair

If you go to the official website, ocfair.com, and click on the "discount" tab, you may be very happy to find that there are some great deals for the fair this year. You can also give back to your community in the process, which is a win-win if you ask me! For example, on the day we went, all we had to do was donate three new or gently used children's books per person, and both my husband and I got in for free. Our kids are still young enough that they automatically got in free, too, which is nice. Many people have lots of books in their home and you may find that you have some you or your children aren't using, so this is the perfect opportunity to give to those who may need them more than you do. This upcoming Wednesday, as another example, the deal is that you bring five articles of new or gently used clothing per person. Now, cleaning out your closet is usually a spring thing, but you can do it anytime, and it's for a good cause! If you haven't worn it in six months or more, bring it on down! You can save yourself an entrance fee of $35, so that's definitely worth it to me! On your ticket, a free carnival ride will also be included! Such a wonderful bonus! In my family's case, we decided to use our free rides to take my oldest son on his very first ever roller coaster ride! He absolutely loved it! And the best part was, we didn't have to spend anything for it! So fun.

We had a great time this year at the OC Fair!
We had a great time this year at the OC Fair!

Do You Like to Go to the State Fair Every Year?

See results

What is Your Favorite Part of the Fair?

See results
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)