Adelaide Show 2019: Your ultimate guide to Showbags, tickets, rides, entertainment, parking and more!
When does the Adelaide Show start? What time do gates open? How do I get there? And what are the best showbags? Check out our guide for a stress-free Show experience.
Planning a day at the Royal Adelaide Show this year?
Here’s your ultimate guide so you can make the most of your Show experience.
SHOW DATES
The Royal Adelaide Show runs this year from Friday, August 30 until Sunday, September 8.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
There are a range of prices, depending on where you purchase your tickets.
■ Adults: Gate $27.50, Pre-purchase* $24.50
■Child (5 to 14 years): Gate $17.50, Pre-purchase* $15.50
■Child (under 5): free
■Concession: Gate $23, Pre-purchase* $20
■Family (two adults and two children or one adult and three children): Gate $68.50, Pre-purchase* $59
*Pre-purchase tickets available from IGA/Foodland supermarkets or ticketek.com.au.
Entry after 6pm Monday September 2 to Friday September 6: $13.50 with a coupon from The Advertiser (published every day that week).
■Discount days: $17.50 for entry before 1pm on Wednesday September 4 and Thursday September 5.
■Family Value Pack: $155, only available by pre-purchase* includes entry for four people (two adults and two children or one adult and three children), food and drinks for four people, two $10 showbag vouchers, $40 of BankSA Ride coupons and parking at the Priceline Stadium carpark at Mile End, except Saturdays, when it’s at the SA Power Networks staff carpark, 219 Railway Tce, Keswick – includes free shuttle bus to and from the showground)
WHEN DOES THE SHOW OPEN AND CLOSE?
The Show opens at 9am every day. Showbag Hall opens at 9.30am daily.
Carnival attractions are open until 10pm Sunday to Thursday and 11pm Friday and Saturday (weather permitting), except Sunday, September 8 when they close at 9.30pm.
HOW DO I GET THERE?
Public transport is the cheapest option and there are more than 30 bus, train and tram stops within walking distance of the showground.
Special services include:
Trains
Adelaide Showground railway station on the Seaford and Belair lines, and shuttles will operate between Adelaide Railway Station and the showground station during off peak times.
Bus
The 21W Show shuttle bus operates all day between the city, Currie St stop V and the Goodwood Rd bus interchange.
O-Bahn Show express
Operates every day of the show from Tea Tree Plaza interchange via the O-Bahn, Paradise and Klemzig. Three trips each morning from Golden Grove village, or catch any regular O-Bahn service and connect with 21W Show shuttle bus.
Other buses: Many buses that don’t ordinarily stop in the showground area will serve those stops during the Show.
Tram
Alight at Stop 3, Goodwood Rd, to enter the showground.
WHERE CAN I PARK?
Adelaide Showground: If available, parking before 6pm is $25 for the day, $15 after 6pm. Casual parking in Rose Tce and Leader St limited until after 6pm each day.
Adelaide Parklands parking sites, weather permitting: all $14 per car per day.
Park 22 (directly north of Adelaide Showground)
Park 21W (east of Goodwood Rd), access from South Tce travelling west, and
Park 23 (north of Anzac Hwy), access from Anzac Highway travelling north.
Priceline Stadium, Mile End opposite Bunnings: $12 per car per day every day except Saturdays. Free bus transfer to the Show from 7am-10pm daily and 11pm Fridays.
1 Anzac Hwy, Keswick $12 per car, per day in the SA Power Networks office carpark. Proceeds to charity
Disabled carparking: There are two disabled parking spaces in Rose Tce carpark 2, $25 all day.
WHERE ARE THE ENTRY GATES?
Entry gates to the Show are:
■Kidman Gate, on Rose Tce
■Wayville Ridley Gate on Goodwood Rd
■Wayville Railway Gate on Rose Tce, just down from Adelaide Showgrounds Railway Station ■Leader St, Wayville
■Windmill Gate on Goodwood Rd, Wayville
WHAT ABOUT SHOWBAGS?
There are more than 400 showbags this year (that’s a Show record) and they range in price from $2 for the trusty Bertie Beetle Blue, right up to a whopping $95 for new offering, the Lindt Box of Blocks.
Favourites such as Peppa Pig, Paw Patrol, LOL Surprise! and Frozen are back this year, while hot new additions include Toy Story 4, Harry Potter, Stranger Things, Ryan’s World, Bakugan, Hot Wheels, Where’s Wally and heaps more.
Show organisers say forward planning is key when it comes to tackling Showbag Hall. So when trying to work out which bags you want to buy, check out our amazing interactive showbag guide, which lets you see what’s in every bag, sort by category and price, and find the bags that represent the best value for money.
There’s also a handy keyword search to help you find bags quickly, a favourites feature that lets you build a printable wishlist of bags and a map to help you navigate Showbag Hall.
WHAT RIDES ARE THERE?
Carnival rides are some of the Show’s biggest attractions and there are plenty of new ones to delight and scare you this year.
As well as old favourites including the Big Dipper or the carousel - and the Ferris Wheel, 50 years old this year, you can frighten yourself on the Extreme Thriller or the Freak Out.
New rides this year include for little kids, the Mini Pirate Ship, Happy Kangaroo, Inflatable Bumper Cars, the Titanic slide, and Safari Train. Bigger thrillseekers will want to check the XScream Soundwave, the Cyclone or the Enchanted Circus.
WHEN ARE THE FIREWORKS?
Fireworks light up the Main Arena every night. This year, Australian band Energy Oz will perform live during the seven-minute display.
On Sundays to Thursday the fireworks go off from 8pm.
On Fridays and Saturdays the display starts at 9pm.
WHAT ENTERTAINMENT IS THERE?
The popular Mid-Show Kids’ Entertainment program returns this year. You can see Angry Birds: Anger Management Show, Peppa Pig and Family: Muddy Puddles Show and Nickelodeon Shimmer & Shine: Genie Dance Party on the Goyder Stage from Monday to Thursday.
New production, Greatest Musical Moments, will also light up the Goyder Stage four times daily, from 11am, 1pm, 3pm and 6pm.
The Main Arena Night Shift program has an action-packed line-up including Car Soccer, Showtime FMX, V8 utes, Bumper Bubble Blitz and more.
Pig Racing & Diving will return to the Western Entertainment Arena daily from 10.30am, noon, 1pm, 2pm, 4pm and 5pm.
Woodchopping is always a popular spectacle, as are the many animal and agricultural experiences, including the Farmyard Nursery and Agsplorers Track.
Not sure where to start? Follow the Yellow Brick Road (YBR bags cost $12 each or two for $20 and can be purchased at Show kiosks near the main entrances).
TIPS AND TRICKS
WRISTBANDS are available for children or vulnerable adults at all Show kiosks, the Show Police Station, BankSA Farmyard Nursery and the Royal Show office. The Show recommends you write your mobile number on the wristband and take a photograph of your child/vulnerable adult so you have a record of what they are wearing.
LOCKERS are available for hire in the Atrium Food Court next to the Jubilee Pavilion, 9am-9.30pm daily, from $2-$20 depending on size. You can also recharge your mobile phone here – $2 per use.
BYO pram for the little ones – even the most independent kids get tired after a day at the Show.
NEED a lift to the gate? Keep an eye out for a bamboo Eco Caddy, which offers free rides to Bank SA customers (show one bank card). Up to two adults can hop on at the Goodwood Rd tram stop, Adelaide Showground Railway Station or South Tce Parklands for a lift to the Show entrance, weekdays from 10am-2pm and 4pm-7pm, and weekends 9am-4pm.
BRING your own water bottle and refill from one of five new permanent water fountains around the showground.
IF you need a zone with relief from sensory stimulation, head for the Quiet Zone between the Farm Expo and the Learning Centre, open 11am-6pm daily. Staff from Autism SA will be in attendance.
RETURN tickets are $12 and can be used any day if you run out of puff.
PLAN your day – there is plenty of free stuff to do and see – and check out the free tastings in the Taste SA tent.