Prices for Thrill Rides at the County Fair

The major robbery taking place at the Orange County Fair is not the occasional pickpocketing or purse-snatching, it is the everyday gouging of fair patrons who seek a little fun on the amusement rides. The prices average $1.50 per child’s ride (three 50-cent coupons), and $2 per adult ride (four 50-cent coupons). This “per person” edict is carried out so stringently that a man carrying an infant of about 9 months old was required to pay an additional $2 for the baby to ride the bumping cars! What he was doing taking an infant of that age on that kind of a ride is also unexplainable, but not the point of this letter.

Lest I be accused of less than 100% honesty about these mind-boggling prices, the coupons can be bought in 20 ticket sheets for $9--a $1 savings. That averages out to 45 cents per ticket or only $1.80 per person for a four-coupon ride. Expressed another way, buyers of two sheets of 20 tickets ($18) can go on 8 to 10 carnival rides. For just a few more dollars, an adult can go to Disneyland and go on every ride in the park; children can do likewise for less.

The fair admission price is certainly reasonable considering all the attractions and especially considering that the headliner entertainment is included in the entrance fee. And, I realize no one is holding a gun to anyone’s head, but $1.50 to $2 average per ride per person, including infants, is obscene.

Perhaps someone, maybe even some concerned civic leader, can explain how the individuals responsible for presenting the Orange County Fair can allow the company that provides the amusement rides to charge such outrageous prices. More importantly, maybe someone of influence can do something about making the amusement ride prices fair for next year’s fair.

E. SMITH

Irvine