Full Guide To San Diego County Fair With A Toddler

I have to say, growing up in San Diego means I have gone to the formerly “Del Mar Fair” multiple times- with family, with friends, but never with a toddler let alone a SECOND time in the same year with a toddler and a baby.

Nothing we did was in my usual wheelhouse (except eat food- you always eat food at the fair), and yet it was so much fun. Crazy different, but a lot of fun.

It’s amazing how kids change your priorities and perceptions. You view the world through completely different eyes. It’s a fresh start, and that new excitement is what you live for. A child discovering the wonders around them is more fulfilling than experiencing these things for yourself for the up-teenth time or even the first time. A thrill-seeking fair-goer without kids might not be as entertained, but we had an absolute blast and memories for our family that will last forever.

As usual we opted for purchasing the Costco Fair Package: 4 Entrance Tickets, free Parking, 4 Buy-one-get-one-free Drink coupons, a free Passport to Savings Voucher (a fair coupon book), and 50 Ride Tickets.

San Deigo County Fair:

Parking. If you want to get to the fair right when it opens and beat the crowds, you need to line up 45 minutes to an hour ahead of time. The San Diego County Fair goes from 11am-11pm. We arrived at 10:20am and were not first in line, but not too far back. There were musicians playing as we waited in line for the gates of “Oz” (this year’s theme is the Wizard of Oz) to open. The national anthem played as the flag was raised up by local girl scout and boy scout troops.

*There is not one line, so LISTEN to the employees when they say scoot forward to fill up all the spaces. It is a single large lane that only splits into separate lanes once you reach the front. There is a stroller line on the far right to get through security, so make sure to position yourself accordingly when you can choose what line to join.

California Grown Exhibit. The Kid’s Zone does not open until 12pm, so we had some time to kill before heading that way. The California Grown building was right by the race track (the entrance to Kid Zone), so after a giant almond toffee pretzel and a lemonade (free souvenir cup with purchase of a pretzel coupon in the Passport to Savings booklet), we began our adventures.

There was a bug exhibit I found fascinating. The munchkin (usually interested in all animals) was excited at first but the giant spider and millipede scared her. Moving on, she was extremely excited to feed the cow, sheep, and goats. I actually got her to hold her hand flat so the cow could eat directly off her hand- not always an easy concept for a toddler to comprehend as a giant cow head comes towards them.

She ran right up to the saddles (on barrel stands) to try roping the “cow.” The volunteers running that area were so patient and good with her.

Upon exiting the building was the highlight of the day- Pony Rides!!!

Pony Rides. Our munchkin has ridden a horse once at the Cal Poly Pomona Pumpkin Patch, but that was last October. We weren’t quite sure if she was going to have the same excited reaction or get scared and want mommy. She LOVED it! Her smile and look of awe and wonder made my entire day. It is a $10 fee for kids weighing 100 pounds or less and at least 6 months old. They have a couple photo packages (we bought the one picture), but you can easily take your own great photos from the sidelines- just don’t cross the rope which creates a gap between the fence of the corral and the onlookers.

Timing worked out perfectly for our next stop- Kid’s Zone!

Kid’s Zone. We entered the Kid’s Zone not long after it opened so there were hardly any lines. We had 50 tickets from our Costco package that were all for our munchkin to try out whatever rides she wanted to that she was tall enough for- see the list here: https://sdfair.com/what-to-do/rides/?refinementList%5Btaxonomies.rides_category%5D%5B0%5D=Kids

Fun Slide– Our daughter loves slides, but only wanted to slide down once as she was too distracted by everything else.

Kiddie Swing– Excitement to nervous to “I wanna get off;” however, on the second day we went she chose the swing ride again. She was very excited and only slightly nervous by the end. A couple more rounds and she would be loving it the whole way through.

Baby Venus– Simple, slow, not bouncy- perfect ride for a 2 year old!

Train Station– She was very excited about the train and was fine when it started out, but the ride attendant spins each train car as they go by which she did NOT like. He realized it and slowed down how much he spun her, but it would have been a better experience if the train was stationary as it went around (for my munchkin at least).

Mini Bumper Cars– She loved this until she got bored. Just at the 36″ height requirement, she couldn’t reach the go pedal very well, so she just kind of sat there. She thought it was funny when the others bumped into her and at least she wasn’t scared, but she kept saying “I’m done, I’m done,” after the first few minutes.

Quadzilla– She loved this one! I went on with her and it is a simple “roller coaster” with and up and a down but it is the same speed the whole way through the track.

Survival Island & Pirates– Huge hits! Who knew her favorite “rides” would be the obstacle courses? The attendant thought she was stuck at the top, but she was just refusing to go down the exit slide because she wanted to keep going around. We did each of these twice on day one and again on day 2.
*Side note- Pirates has 2 bridges that make a lot of noise when going across and has loud music. She held her hands to her ears most of the way through, only taking them off when she had to climb the rope ladder.

Balloon– Bad idea. This ride not only goes around and up and down as it goes in the circle, but each balloon also spins. I had to hold onto the middle pole to prevent it from spinning- thank goodness that was an option. She was clinging to me and crying the entire time. It also goes faster than the other similar kiddie rides.

Raging River– Perfect ride for a 2 year old. You sit in a canoe and it goes along the river. Slow, steady- the excitement is being in a boat on your own. The canoes are also built with a notch on the sides, so if a 2 year old isn’t listening to mommy on the sideline saying “don’t put your hand in the water,” then at least you know the little fingers wont get crushed.

Grand Carousel- We have learned from previous experiences (San Francisco’s Pier and San Diego’s Bellmont Park) that our munchkin does not like going up and down as well as around on the carousel. She wants to ride the stationary animal or be on the bench, so I sat on the bench with her and she had a lot of fun.

Winky the Whale- Another great hit…the second time around. The first time she sort of hunched over and held on, waiting for it to end. The whales go around in a circle, but also rock back and forth once you get going.

Chopper Hopper– This was perfect, a mostly enclosed Paw Patrol themed helicopter goes up and stays up as it goes around.

Kiddie Bumper Boats– She still didn’t really get how to move, so she spun around in one spot. The ride attendants moved her a little bit and she laughed as other bumped into her. She was so excited- way better than the bumper cars.

We also let her do 2 carnival games. As long as the parent is holding onto the child, they let the toddler stand on the counter to play:

Wiffle Ball Throw– She just recently learned to throw decently well, so she had so much fun although she didn’t actually win a prize.

Fishing Game– This game has a winner every time. Her daddy helped her out and she won a giraffe that was her special stuffed animal for the following 2 weeks. The second time we went she chose a beaver that she calls a dragon (which is currently at home wearing one of her Madeline doll dresses).

Whats a Kid Zone without kid food? For lunch: a Rainbow Grilled Cheese Sandwich! We were very impressed with how vibrant the colors were. I was expecting a duller version of the picture, but it was not disappointing.

We came across a Camel Milking Presentation which was a great chance to sit for a bit and eat.

Next up was nap time in the stroller, she was exhausted! More food, ice cream, and the vending halls for mom & dad. She woke up again just in time for fresh made potato chips and the last exhibit hall.

Our last stop was the fair theme exhibit hall.

Ozsome Wizard of Oz Exhibit. This exhibit was amazing, holding genuine props from the original movie set, collectors items, and the complete set of the original 14 Oz books by L. Frank Baum. Tons of photo opportunities our own munchkin enjoyed even though she didn’t really know the characters or story line at all yet.

On the second day, we went to the fair with a friend from out of town, so we started with some things she wanted to do, a couple more rides for the munchkin, and more of the animal stuff we didn’t do the first time. We also brought the little munchkin (just over a month old) and our double stroller.

San Diego County Fair with a Baby: Keep the baby out of the sun as much as possible. We had the stroller shade pulled over her while we were walking. When we stopped it was in shade areas. I opened the stroller shade to let more of the cool air circle though as it can get hot under those things. A teeny bit of sunscreen just on her face (talk to your pediatrician first before applying any sunscreen to a baby!) and a sun hat were also used to try and counter the bright sun. She slept most of the time and luckily only needed a dirty diaper changed when we were in a building (Design and Wood Exhibition) with a nicer bathroom. Wet diapers were very easy to do in the stroller. It was easy to find a spot in the shade to sit and feed her when necessary. It’s not a baby friendly place, but it is definitely doable if you need to take the baby with when you go with the older kids. Consult your pediatrician before taking any baby to a public place, especially one with a lot of people. This is our second kid and we chose to take her with and just keep her as shaded, cool, and isolated as we could, but that may not be the best decision depending on the baby.

Paul Ecke Jr. Garden Show. Amazing! Gardens that were created to the Wizard of Oz Theme. A beautiful, not crowded, quiet area. Adult beverages available and space for a toddler to run from garden to garden without crowds or getting too far away being an issue.

Animals. Dairy Cattle, goats, horses, and sheep were a great hit with my little animal lover. I think her favorites were the baby goats.

Face Paint. Her first face paint- she actually sat still for it! She chose a lady bug this time, but says next time she’ll get a shark.

Swify Swine Racing Pigs. This is what I really wanted her to see the first weekend, but we ran out of time. Sure enough, she loved it! She “oinked” with her pig nose as well as cheered for and adored the pigs.

Gems and Minerals Show & Design in Wood Exhibition– Always a beautiful exhibit. Munchkin stayed in the stroller for these. She ended up falling asleep by the time we got to the woodwork exhibit.

Fun Zone– This is where the big kid rides and carnival games are located. Unfortunately, this area is MUCH louder than the rest of the fair. Our munchkin (who had also just woken up from her nap due to the noise) was scared and needed to be carried by daddy the rest of the walk through the area. On the plus side, our friend stayed with the kids so my husband and I could ride the Fast Trax Slide (located on the perimeter of the fun zone where it isn’t quite as loud).

Oh, and we got more obligatory ice cream, because you can’t go anywhere without getting ice cream. Munchkin was actually awake to enjoy it this time!

Can’t wait until the San Diego County Fair 2020!

The Disney Factor:

To be completely honest, our intentions of spending so much time in the kid zone was to expose our toddler to many different rides so that when we go to Disneyland, she will theoretically have gotten the nerves out of her system and be able to enjoy the attractions.

It was also a great way to see how things go with a crowded amusement park setting. Listening skills, stranger awareness, stroller logistics, potty training, diaper changes, bottle feedings, naps, snacks, efficiency of a diaper bag built for 2– all necessary aspects of a Disney vacation that also apply to the fair.