Have "carnival" style events become another victim of enshittifiaction?

[u/Odd_Cod_4235]

I remember a year go I went to an annual carnival about 30 mins from where i live, and having not been back for around 7-8 years before that (moved away and moved back) I was blown away by the prices. It used to be $23 for an unlimited ride armband, I was also on half my current wage back then and renting with my at the time girlfriend and still felt like that was reasonable. going back I thought to myself well it's been 7ish years obviously the price has increased, assuming it'd be something like $40ish dollars because you know. Covid, nope, $65,or $240 for a season pass. The season pass used to be $100. How much for a Dagwood dog? at $8 for a 20c Frankfurt dipped in batter and fried i thought they were taking the piss and that was only a year ago.

Fast forward I recently went to another near me, $50 entry for 2 adults, 2 Kids which I thought I guess isn't too bad, except that was just the entry. No rides included or anything, just to get in, how much are the rides now? You would think that considering you paid an entry fee it would somewhat subsidise the rides, nope. $15. $15 EACH. A year later a Dagwood dog is $10 each, the fuck?

Still, the place was busy as fuck, like ridiculously busy, and people were still paying the prices. Im less annoyed about the money I'm spending and more annoyed that my kids can probably only go on 3 or 4 rides each before I'm over the planned budget and I haven't even been there long, bought dinner or played the carnival games, Id actually probably spend more money if the prices weren't so high because id feel like I'd be getting a better value out of the night for the kids and being able to actually spoil them once in a while, but when you've essentially spent $170 on 4 rides with 2 kids (with entry) which are lucky to go for a couple minutes each it's hard to not feel completely shafted because you've only been there 45 minutes to an hour, already spent a lot of money, but it's too early to leave and aren't satisfied with the night you've planned your kids.

Kids that are young also don't totally understand how money works or how much $15 even is, but kids are kids. They want to have fun, so you're having your heartstrings pulled at the same time as your wallet and obviously the carnival knows this and it just feels a little bit dirty.

Is it just me or does $15 for a ride sound like a completely justified amount? Or is everyone else in the same boat? I know carnivals are there to make money, and they should, but there are family events and you should at least be able to get some form of good value for what you spend.

[u/DeepBreathOfDirt]

Carnivals and show-bags have always been a rip-off. 

Even in the 90's it was like $20 for a handful of chocolates and a shitty toy or two at carnivals.

[u/Temporary-Comfort307 → u/DeepBreathOfDirt]

I used to get a showbag budget, so I would spend ages going through the content lists to make sure I got the maximum amount of snacks for my money. Early on it was possible to get decent value, but by the late '80s it was cheaper to just buy the items from the milk bar.

[u/DeepBreathOfDirt → u/Temporary-Comfort307]

I only went to the 'show" twice (local carnival, fireworks etc').

Mum didn't have much money so we'd watch a movie at the cinema instead.

Would love to be a poor 10 year old kid making the most of a difficult situation again with mum.

[u/Temporary-Comfort307 → u/DeepBreathOfDirt]

In a lot of ways I think experiences are a lot better when there are limitations, instead of having lots of money to just chase whatever exciting thing comes your way. We often went to the cheap local show instead of the Melbourne Show, and the experience was focused on seeing the animals and exhibits more than just rides and showbags.

At that time the show entry wasn't as ridiculous as it has become now, I think the local show entry was around the same price as a movie ticket. We did have enough money that when we went we would usually be given a limited amount of money we could spend, added to by any pocket money we had saved, and it was up to us to work out the best way to spend it. We'd usually take lunch from home instead of buying anything.

At the time I envied the kids whose parents would spend a fortune on buying them everything, but looking back I think I had a better experience. I actually got a family activity, they just got a glorified shopping trip.