Arizona Renaissance Festival see it before it's gone!

 

There are only three weekends left to visit the Arizona Renaissance Festival before it is over for this year. If you live in Arizona or plan on being in the area of Gold Canyon, Arizona during one of the next three weekends & are looking for something to do, you should go enjoy a day of fun at the festival. If you don't know what the Arizona Renaissance Festival is, it is a chance to "step back in time" and visit a renaissance themed town where you'll find street performers, vendors, food, jousting knights, royalty and more. It has something to offer for everyone. 

The festival has so much to offer that you may not get everything done in one day, so it is nice to pre-determine what you'd like to do on the day that you visit. Last year we got caught up at looking at all of the shops that we weren't able to see many shows, so this year we mainly focused on seeing shows and looked at the stores when we had a bit of down time between the performances we wanted to see & we feel like it balanced out a lot better this time around. The shops & vendors are all small business who set up shop at the festival, there are a lot of them that are there every year but sometimes you will find new shops to browse.

Know Before You Go;

★ Get there early! Doors open at 10:00am with shows starting shortly after the gates opening. Lines for parking & to get in can get a bit long so the earlier you get there the less you will miss from waiting in line. Normal parking is free, VIP parking is available but passes sell out quickly at the start of the season.

★ Tickets are $34 per adult & $22 per child, you can purchase tickets online, at the gates or at Bashes/Food City. 

★ Bring cash! While many of the vendors do accept credit cards the food lines, rides and games are cash only & there are very few ATM's on the property. 

★You are allowed to bring a water bottle into the festival, their website states it needs to be a 16-24oz factory sealed bottle. However I saw plenty of people with their own re-usable water bottles on the grounds. 

★ Some of the performance areas are dirt/grass seating only, if you do not wish to stand or sit on the ground you can bring a blanket along with you to sit on. I have a round sitting blanket I like to bring for us to sit on & rest our belongings on. 

★ Bring sunscreen, hand wipes or hand sanitizer. Even on a cloudy day sunscreen is a great idea to bring so you don't get a sunburn. I also suggest bringing hand sanitizer or hand wipes so you can clean your hands before eating. There are bathrooms however lines can get pretty long so having wipes is a fast & easier alternative. Umbrellas can also be nice to bring to help protect you from the sun as some areas such as the jousting arena have no shade.

★ You can get your hand stamped for same day re-entry. This is great because if you are looking for ways to save $$$ or have been a previous year and don't like their food options you can always bring a cooler with a lunch to leave in your car. It also allows you to run out if you forgot anything in your car, or need to put something into your car that you are tired of carrying around. 

Each weekend of the festival has a different theme which range from Pirate weekend to Time Travelers, they have a full calendar on their website you can check if you want to visit on a specific weekend. You are allowed to dress up, so certain themed weekends may be more appealing to you than others. Some weekends will be more packed than others due to the themes, last year we went on pirate weekend and it was extremely packed so this year we made sure to avoid pirate weekend. Instead we went for "Wizards and Wonder", it still became a little crowded in the afternoon though it was significantly less people than the weekend we went on last year. 

There are plenty of fun carnival style games such as dart throwing, tomato throwing, and more to play along with some fun rides that kids, teens and even some adults might enjoy. How are there rides at a spot that is supposed to be set in the renaissance times? None of the rides are controlled by electricity they are all man powered, each ride is set up to allow it to be worked and controlled by the staff members working the ride. Such as the ride seen two photos above, a set number of staff will hold onto the boats & run/push the swings along then let go once it picks up speed. 

We enjoyed our visit, it is always fun getting to dress up, browse small artists stalls, grab a bite to eat and watch some entertaining shows. It is a great way to spend a day with friends or loved ones while creating memories that will last for years to come. This is something we try to do as a yearly tradition together as a family, I also went several times when I was a child and loved it so I am very happy I can continue enjoying the experience along with getting to take my own children.

Is this something you think you would enjoy visiting? Have you ever been to a Renaissance festival, or anything similar?

Disclaimer- The Arizona Renaissance Festival provided me with four tickets + VIP parking for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.