So while in Tampa we were there during the same time as the Florida State Fair so we decided to check it out. Growing up in Florida I have never been to the state fair, so I was excited.
You walk in and to get to the main area you have to walk through the expo hall area, and this place is HUGE! Excuse the picture I had to take a pano picture for you to understand how big!
Right outside there we got a kick out of the seats they had!
We walked right into the food stands. Talk about choices!
They had every kind of fair food you could want, plus some you might now want to go near….
I noticed these booth at the fair are bigger, brighter colored and tend to grab your attention more than other fairs I've visited.
Across the water, you can see the midway (well one of them!) This one had a sky lift to get you from one side of the fair to the other!
We had to get our traditional deep fried Oreos for mommy, but we also got a deep fried pop tart…. because well it's a deep fried pop tart!
The Oreos just melt when they get fried and are YUM! The pop tart was interesting. Kind of like how it is when it comes out of the toaster but the same consistency of the deep fried Oreos.
So the first thing my kids wanted to do was the Ferris wheel. This fair has 3, yes not one, not two but THREE Ferris wheels and they picked the biggest one.
Someday I will show my kids these pictures, and they will understand how much their mommy loves them. I am terrified of heights. But I am also a walking contradiction. I LOVE roller coasters, but I'm strapped in. I don't mind flying but climbing a ladder freaks me out. Oh and I plan on skydiving for my next birthday, but we will see if I actually jump…..
Related: 11 of the Absolute Best Places to View Manatees in Florida
From the Ferris wheel, you could see the Tampa skyline and, of course, the midway.
I was so excited at this fair. Hubby and I were talking about when we were kids, and we went to the fair with our parents each year we remember these haunted mansion rides. I remember going to the fair with family friends and riding these every year with a friend of mine. I hadn't seen any of them in years but at this fair there were 3 of them!
In the center of the midway was this enormous game stand. See the person working it there in the black shirt to the left? Yeah, thats how tall it was!
They had a 2nd midway of rides for younger kids like my mine!
My older 3 rode the ‘groovy bus'
Then my older 2 got to ride a kiddie roller coaster and my three year old was so upset she was only 2 inches too short. BUT I took her and let her get her face painted and she was the only one who got to do it, so she was happy.
My kids had a blast riding rides!
My little one had fun being pushed around she was on the never ending ride!
Then mommy got her first henna tattoo ever!
My older two got one as well. My daughter got a flower, and my son got a dolphin named Hope (you know from Dolphin Tales 2)
There was so much to see we didn't get to see it all. We did get to go on a day where they offered an arm band, 10 rides for $10 so the kids had fun and it didn't cost us as much as it could have. Always check the schedule for a discount day. Our favorites are free admission when you bring in a canned food item.