steel Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 So I went to the Iowa State Fair yesterday. Pretty much everyone in Iowa is under the impression that their state fair is the best in the nation. It is not. I have been several times. It sucks. There's nothing to do. The midway is boring. The food isn't nearly is as good as it should be. Everything is ultra-expensive. The Minnesota State Fair is a hundred times better in pretty much every way. Honestly, I can't think think of anything at the IA Fair does that the MN Fair doesn't do better. That basically sums up my visit. On to the photos. Again with the blur. Oh well. Another boring day at the Iowa State Fair comes to a close. Thank God. I don't have to go again for a whole year. Ring of Fire. Power Surge. Better. Slow shutter-tripod=blur. This is what the Varied Industries building looks like on the inside. It's not a Pronto Pup, but it'll do. Took a break from the midway to eat supper and look at Amish people art. I don't think words can do this picture justice. Another fair staple. Told you there were a lot. Pretty. There I am. Breathtaking. ... These swings go so fast at the end that you're almost sideways and your feet tingle for about ten minutes after exiting. Big Ben. ... I'm sorry for all the Skywheel photos, but it's so photogenic. ... Power Surge decided to be uncool and not be open until about 8:00pm. It still think it's the best ride at the midway. Yup. I'm the one in the green shirt facing right. Guess who's up there. #160! Woohoo! And it doesn't hurt like most of the flats! OMG, I was so excited when I saw this. It's not a kiddie coaster like the other two credits, either! But first I had to make sure that the Energizer still hurts like hell. It does. It's sort of like a scrambler. An upside-down pain scrambler. There were a couple of changes to the midway this year. First, they took out Techno Power, which was one of the only fun rides there. They should have kept that and taken out the Huss Energizer. Second, they added a freak show, which is too bad. And third, CREDIT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nitro. That was my first frisbee. ... Back to the midway. Farmer building. Smells like crap. Don't go in there if you can help it. A staple of all State Fairs. You must get these. They are scrumdiddlyumpcious. Loop. Beer. All the County Fair Queens rode it at the same time. It was actually really fun to watch. They went down in big rows with linked arms. All of them were screaming bloody murder, of course. I'd like to see them get on Maverick, Force, or Dragster. You can't have a fair without a SuperSlide. ... Quilt room. Also displayed were a butter Fat Lady, a butter Firebolt, a butter Trevor, and a butter Harry's Trunk (complete with broken mirror and Monster Book of Monsters). This year they also had a butter Harry Potter (deglassified by the cow) and a butter Hedwig (cry). Notice that Harry is wearing Slytherin's locket. The famed butter cow. Minnesota has better butter sculptures, IMO. ... And emu eggs. The Agriculture Building is home to the butter cow, honey lemonade, and apple cider slush. Tie-dye mania. Oooh. Sand organ. Photo contest: farmer style. You end up here. In the middle of nowhere. Admittedly, it was cool to see a windmill like that up close. It's massive. One lonely, disgustingly overpriced upcharge attraction. Say "poor thing." More ariel view. Art building. MN's Expo Hill is WAY better than Iowa's. We used to have a skycoaster, a bungee jump ride, a skyscraper, trampolines, and water wars. We now have a skyscraper, trampolines, water wars, and a windmill. Last time I was at MN's, they had a skycoaster, an ejection seat, a bungee jump ride, a skyscraper, and a SCAD tower. Freaking awesome. Ariel view. I didn't ride Old Mill this year, but I have before. MN's is better because there aren't lights. This one is weird that way. You get halfway through the dark part and there are lit up portraits of totally random people. We took the sky ride to the other side of the fair. The BoobSquasher 9000. Midway. I paid $25 at Kum&Go for a "MegaPass" so I could ride all I wanted. Big Ben has always been closed when I've been here. It was finally open, so I gave it a whirl. The airtime is surprisingly plentiful and also surprisingly painful. Lawn ornament. One of the more popular buildings at the fair. This one can be pretty interesting. They sell kick-ass ice cream in there at the far end. Skywheel was closed all day for repairs or something. At one point, we saw the carnies actually take one of the gondolas off and put it back on. Blah. If you can park this close, you're either Jesus or Dick Cheney. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airtime&Gravity Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 Well, it looks better than when I went when the only coaster was a dragon coaster. Oh well, at least Adventureland is just down the road, but the Iowa State Fair has a terrible midway.(however, it looks 100 times better than 2005) The rest of the fair looks okay, considering it's Iowa, but overall, it looks like an average fair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisco Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 So I went to the Iowa State Fair yesterday.Pretty much everyone in Iowa is under the impression that their state fair is the best in the nation. It is not. I have been several times. It sucks. There's nothing to do. The midway is boring. The food isn't nearly is as good as it should be. Everything is ultra-expensive. The Minnesota State Fair is a hundred times better in pretty much every way. Honestly, I can't think think of anything at the IA Fair does that the MN Fair doesn't do better. That basically sums up my visit. On to the photos. Why did you even go if you have nothing but negative comments? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swoosh Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 It's still better than Missouri's... but I would imagine MOST state fairs are better than MO's *sigh* Someone mentioned Adventureland just down the road -- yes it is, but it is also uber busy this time of year... and they still only run one train on Tornado and Outlaw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steel Posted August 10, 2007 Author Share Posted August 10, 2007 Why did you even go if you have nothing but negative comments? We got free tickets from friends of ours and I like riding Power Surge. Airtime&Gravity - the only things that have really changed since then are the addition of the good coaster and the addition of a Wacky Worm. It still sucks a lot. But you're right, it was really bad in 2005. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECZenith Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 Once I saw the photos it didn't look all that bad, definately better than most fairs back home in New England so count your blessings! They have a freakin' skywheel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldogmom Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 Nice pics- especially the Sky Wheel ones. I love Sky Wheels! That flamingo lawn ornament is the ugliest thing I've ever seen. Some of the other exhibits looked pretty cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobra_roll06 Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 Man I hate how american carnvials are so much better than the UK ones! Good TR though! I love reading about the small carnivals that kick the UK's ass! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steel Posted August 12, 2007 Author Share Posted August 12, 2007 ^This isn't just a carnival, this is probably the most famous fair ever (aside from the World's Fair, of course). The Skywheel is really the only "classic" carnival ride we have. We don't even have a Zipper or a Breakdance. How lame is that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts