Yes, you can have an awesome time at K-Days on the Cheap!

You’ve decided to do it, take your children to the fair. You are a good parent. Brave and true, if not a little fool-hardy. But what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger. And we are here to help.

1)LRT it I will let you in on a trick I was able to use for three years, saving upwards of $10,000: Take the train and go in through the gates by Rexall Place. Two things are accomplished by this: First, you save $15 in parking, and secondly, you can avoid even seeing the midway, which brings us to

2) Head straight into the Exhibition Hall and KidsTown. Now, this only works with a select group of children. The key part here is that they must never have been on the rides at K-Days before (or have forgotten that they have, but good luck with that!) They must be young enough to be satisfied with the stuff inside…I would guess this tops out by five. Older than that and they will have friends who blab about the rides and candy apples, and you’re sunk.

But those were a good three years I had, until year four when his Auntie spoiled him and opened a whole new world of K-Days delights that had been blissfully unknown. The older one has wrecked it for me with the younger one too, so I know I will never go back to the days when K-Days cost me only one gate admission and train fare.

3) Investigate an Edmonton Attractions Pass. The U-Pick Pass gains you  entry to the four local attractions of your choice (one of the choices is gate admission for K-Days.) It comes in an adult and kids version, and while it won’t save you any money if K-Days is the only way you use the pass, you can save a pretty penny if you are planning to do other fun stuff this year too!

4) Buy the RAD Pass  The rides are a crazy amount of fun, even just watching the kids is a blast, and I have been initiated into the world of the ride all day (RAD) pass, which is a screaming bargain. Purchase the pass online or from Mac’s or Save On Foods for $47 before K-Days starts and you get gate admission  PLUS a wristband that allows you to ride every ride all day long. Children under six get in free, but with each ride costing an average of 5 tickets (tickets being roughly $1 a piece), the wristband pays for itself after 10 rides, and trust me, 10 rides in, you’ll just be gearing up!

5) Bring food and a water bottle. I am all about fair food. Dangerously so, it could be argued.  Learn from me brothers and sisters: Save your bucks (and calories) for a special treat, instead of just “filling up.” If you and the kids eat a little picnic and sip water (you will likely only be allowed by security to bring in an empty bottle, so don’t bother bringing your own fancy drinks) you will save a bundle and can feel very virtuous about all the money you didn’t spend.

K-Days only comes around once a year, so splashing out a bit is a fun indulgence. By tweaking your habits a bit here and there you can make it an enjoyable experience without breaking the bank!