The Ultimate Family Guide to Valleyfair

There’s something about that early morning rush as you pull in to the Valleyfair parking lot in Shakopee, smiles for miles and excitement filling the air of every vehicle you pass, kids skipping their way to the ticket line chatting about their most anticipated ride of the day. With the familiar sights and smells of the entryway and the turnstiles that I swear haven’t been updated since I was in grade school, taking my kids to visit the beloved amusement park sends me straight back to my childhood. The feels I had as a kid, skipping my way to the ticket line, come back immediately – but even stronger because now I get to witness my own children experiencing the same feels. It’s a double whammy of early morning emo and it’s nothing short of nostalgically amazing.

As a child, I never thought twice about the preparedness my lovely guardians put in when we would pay this place a visit (thanks, mom and dad). But there’s plenty of planning to be had when it comes to navigating a successful day at this 125-acre theme park, especially since the park has grown from only 20 rides in its 1976 opening to more than 75 rides today. To get the most out of your day, I do recommend doing some legwork before heading out the door. Enter: Me.

Santa gifted my family Valleyfair season passes a few years back and we’ve tacked on a dozen more visits since then as well, so – while I’m not claiming to be an expert – I have definitely picked up a good chunk of noteworthy tips along the way that I’m happy to share with you all in what I’m proudly calling

The Ultimate Family Guide to Valleyfair:
15 Tips to Make the Most of Your Day

1) FIND A DATE: Before you promise your kids and mark the calendar, be sure to pay a visit to the Valleyfair website. They do occasionally close for private events and their hours are about as inconsistent as women’s jeans sizes, so just check out www.valleyfair.com/explore/calendar-and-hours to make sure you’re planning accordingly before you go too deep.

2) AVOID THE CROWDS: Looking to dodge crowds? Plan on visiting early or late in the season (meaning May or September/October – plus those months tend to be cooler in temperature). Other emptier days are holidays such as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, plus the 12 days of the MN State Fair (for obvious reasons). Weekdays are more chill then weekends and, of course, always get there when the gates open because at Valleyfair the early bird really does get the worm (and by “worm” I mean “really short lines for, like, the first two hours”).

3) BUYING YOUR TICKETS: Never – I repeat NEVER – purchase your daily admission passes at the gate. Those will run you around $54/person. Ordering online from the VF website will save you almost $20 a ticket (crazy, right?) and you can also purchase discounted add-ons you’d like as well (such as the dinosaurs, bottomless drinks, etc.).

Want even cheaper tickets? Pay attention to websites such as Groupon or Thrifty Minnesota for deals as low as $24.99 OR even peruse Craigslist for sellers. You’d be surprised how much you can save by putting in a little effort. Oh – and if you go after 4pm Sunday-Thursday, you pay a cheaper admission rate of around $28.

4) PRE-K FREE SEASON PASSES:  This is not a drill, people. Sure, kids under 3 have always been allowed in to Valleyfair for free, but now your 3-, 4- and 5-year olds can get in completely free as well…for the WHOLE SEASON! Valleyfair introduced the Pre-K Season Pass a couple years ago and I definitely took advantage of it.

All the details can be found here, but in a nutshell, you need to sign your kid up online and present their birth certificate at the admissions office when you arrive at the park. If they are age 3, 4 or 5 on the day you arrive at the park, they’ll be granted their season pass (which also includes admission to Dinosaurs Alive!). Sure, parents still have to pay to get in, but I’ll take the savings where I can get it, and this is a big one if you have littles that fit that age range.

5) WHAT TO PACK: Pack and prepare. We always bring one day pack and one stroller. The kids can switch off sitting during the day, our toddler naps and we don’t want to carry too much unnecessary crap. If you plan on hitting up Soak City, their on-site water park, you’ll also want to bring in a swimsuit and towel (if it’s hot enough, don’t even bother with the towel).

We also bring water bottles (outside food is NOT allowed in the park), sunscreen and wipes. They WILL check your bags on your way in (also recently added metal detectors), so trying to sneak in sodas or bags of chips is just a waste of energy. But on that note…

6) BRING LUNCH: …Feel free to pack a lunch to enjoy in your car. We pack a cooler with sandwiches, drinks and snacks and just leave it in our car. If you get there early enough, you’ll get a parking spot near the entrance so taking a 30 minute break in your day to walk to your car, sit and eat, rest your legs and re-energize is always a good idea.

You’ll get a re-entry stamp at the exit so walking back in is no hassle whatsoever. And you’ll save a TON of money feeding your hungry kiddos from the trunk of your car than from any of the food vendors in the park (read: it’s hella overpriced).

7) DRESS COMFORTABLY: Dress everyone in comfortable clothes. If this is your one big trip to Valleyfair, make it count by staying all day long! You’ll want to wear loose, comfortable clothing that can dry easily (in case you get wet) and not reveal yourself (in case you go upside-down). I always prefer to wear sandals because I despise wet tennis shoes and hate having hot feet. But that’s your call completely.

8) YOU WILL SPEND MONEY: Give your wallet a little pep talk before you go. In addition to the cost of your daily admission passes, you’ll spend around $17 to park. Other items that could cost you a pretty penny include: stroller rentals (~$15); locker rentals (~$20); bottomless drink refills (~$12); souvenirs, carnival games and of course food.

The one that we always splurge on is the bottomless refill because hot is hot is hot and kids whine when they’re hot. Plus, hydration is good. With each drink priced at about $4, after about three refills, the refillable container has paid for itself.

9) FAMILY CARE CENTER: As a family of littles, we always take an immediate right when we walk into the park for two reasons: A) Planet Snoopy is this direction (that’s the kid’s ride area) and B) We stop at the Family Care Center. Yes, a Family Care Center sounds super lame, right? But it’s awesome! Not only does it offer clean, air-conditioned restrooms, it has a nursing room, high chairs, a lounge area where your kids can kick up their feet and watch Snoopy on the TV, and changing tables galore!

But we stop there bright and early because we like to get “wristbanded up.” All rides have height restrictions, but instead of your kiddo getting measured by individual sticks all day long, they can get measured once at the Family Care Center and given a colored wristband designating their “official” height. My daughter, who fluctuates between 47 and 49 inches depending on the ride operator, really appreciates this consistency.

Also, Valleyfair is part of the KidTrack program so the Family Care Center worker will hook your kids up with wristbands listing your cell number and all staff throughout the park will know to look for it if your child accidentally gets separated from you. You could also just marker you phone number on your kids’ arms to save yourself time. Whatever works.

10) PARENT RIDE SWAP PROGRAM: Oh – and while you’re at the Family Care Center, pick up your Parent Ride Swap form. We did this at Disneyworld and it was amazing, but had no idea Valleyfair had the same program until recently. This is ideal for families with kids that range in age plus parents who want to enjoy a couple of the rides as well.

What is it? Basically one parent can take the bigger kids on a thrill ride and when they are exiting, the other parent (who was tending to the younger kids) can hop into the exit line, grab the Parent Swap slip from their partner, and go directly to the front of the line with one of the big kids AGAIN. This program is great because no one likes to wait in line with smaller kids who won’t be able to ride, one big kid gets to go on the ride twice with no waiting the second time, and parents shouldn’t have to miss out on all the fun.

This pass is good for one day only and is limited to certain rides (it doesn’t list which rides, but I’m assuming it’s created for the bigger thrill rides such as Renegade, Steel Venom, Wild Thing, etc.)

11) AIR CONDITIONING: If it’s hot, there are air conditioned options to cool you down throughout the park. While shade is relatively limited (so wear sunscreen), these are our favorite spots to chill for an hour when the sweat becomes too much: For food + air, we love Chickie’s & Pete’s Saloon for cheese curds and a soda or Coasters Drive-In for a burger and fries. Both of these options are sit-down and air conditioned (and the food is pretty decent as well). Even the Subway has air, but it’s nothing special.

For downtime + air, we like lounging in the Family Care Center and watching an episode of Charlie Brown on their comfy bean bags. It seems silly to watch TV when you’re at Valleyfair, but sometimes the heat really gets to be too much and kids just need to recuperate for a minute.

For entertainment + air, you won’t want to miss Peanuts Playhouse. This is our very favorite spot in the park! It’s a massive ball pit with air launchers, soft padding and two levels. The balls are soft and the air is strong so come in here to cool off for sure. There’s benches for mom and dad and even a padded corner for babies to crawl. It’s the noisiest spot at the whole theme park, but it’s also one that will keep your temperature down while keeping their energy levels up.

12) SOAK CITY WATER PARK: If it’s so hot that your best bet is to hit up Soak City Water Park, do it! It’s a great perk that is included with your park admission but admittedly, it is definitely more work. You’ll have to pack swimsuits and towels in your day bag and might want to consider spending money on a locker if you don’t trust your goods lying in a random beach chair. If you forget something, there are plenty of shops selling everything you might need (for example, swimmer diapers, if I can speak from experience).

You will need to adhere to their safety and height guidelines for specific areas such as life jackets are a requirement for any child under 48″ in both the wave pool and the lazy river (and they don’t lend out the comfortable life jackets – they have the stiff hard ones my kids hate, so consider bringing your own). My kids’ favorite Soak City attractions are the two splash pads and the wave pool. If you have brave ones (who are tall enough), their water slides are actually pretty awesome!

13) FREE WIFI: Yup. Valleyfair offers free WiFi to its guests. No password needed. But, a word to the wise: Keep it tucked away on all rides. We’ve seen ride operators actually stop the ride if someone tried to get cute with their phone while going up a rollercoaster. Just keep it in your pocket like a normal person, mmmkay?

14) BATHROOMS, HAND SANITIZER AND FIRST AID: Might sound like a weird tip, but I just want to reassure you that you won’t ever have to search far to find a restroom. VF has plenty of indoor plumbing available around virtually every corner. By mid-afternoon, I can actually feel the germs on my fingertips so hand sanitizer and baby wipes were my best friend before we would sit down to eat a snack.

And, should injury occur, there are First Aid buildings inside Soak City and near the Mad Mouse ride on the right side of the park. These buildings offer more than Band-Aids – they also welcome nursing mothers and have refrigerators and microwaves for baby food and bottle warming. But if you just need a Band-Aid, they have those too.

15) FINALLY…RIDES!  The entire reason you go to Valleyfair: The Rides! What my family loves about VF is the awesome variety. While us parents really appreciate the thrill of Steel Venom and the speed of Renegade (it’s SO fast, you guys), we usually spend most of our time at the park catering to our kiddos. And while Planet Snoopy has quite a few rides for littles to choose from, it’s not the only area young ones can enjoy. Depending on age, height, and level of courageousness, kids can enjoy nearly every ride in the park.

I feel like once my kid hit 48″, the park was their playground and the limitations were super minimal. If you have toddlers, Planet Snoopy is a fantastic option. Our almost-3-year-old loved the Ladybugs, the mini swing, the cars and airplanes and hot air balloons – while many of them require an over-48″ chaperone, at least there were plenty of options. Under 36″? That limits you a bit more, but even then, with a chaperone, they can do at least a few of the rides.

And they all love the Peanuts Playhouse and the train ride that goes around the entire park! Also, when little feet get tired, you can always stop and take in a character or musical show.

The rides that host the longest lines tend to be the most popular (scary) rides such as Renegade, Wild Thing, Steel Venom and Power Tower. But the lines that move the slowest belong to Mad Mouse, Antique Autos and Bumper Cars. So if those three rides are high on your list, maybe hit them up early in the day to beat the rush and avoid those loooong, painfully slow-loading lines.

When you come in to the park, Planet Snoopy is to your right, but if you go left, don’t miss Route 76. This is one of my favorite areas of the entire park because they’ve put in some awesome family-friendly (but not boring) entertainment. The best family ride that we can ALL go on is the Flying Eagles. We also love Northern Lights, but that one has a 48″ minimum. I have yet to gain the courage to ride the North Star (super sky high swings), but it’s only 44″ minimum and I’m assuming the view is gorgeous up there! That too is in Route 76.

It really is amazing to see how much Valleyfair has grown. Its kept up well with the anticipation of its guests to always see something new and daring, fun and unique. It’s a place I enjoy going with my husband or with the whole darn crew because there’s plenty to do for all ages. And even after this many years, I still look forward to walking through those gates as they open because it’s pretty much a guarantee that memories are going to be made. 

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