How much will it cost a family to visit the Ekka? We’ve done the sums

The Ekka was not built for a cost-of-living crisis. From entry tickets and rides to showbags and dagwood dogs, it’s a famously expensive day out.

So much so that the Royal Queensland Show, as the annual Brisbane event is formally known, has made a feature of its budget-conscious deals in 2024.

A promotional image for the Ekka doesn’t show the parents’ cost-of- living angst.Credit: Ekka

“This year there is a renewed focus on providing Ekka patrons with more hip-pocket relief in the form of discounts and value offerings,” say RNA president David Thomas and chief executive Brendan Christou in the Ekka’s media kit.

So what are said discounts?

Tickets

First, increases in ticket prices on last year have been minimised to just 90 cents, and the cost of a family pass has been frozen at last year’s $88.

There are also cost-saving tricks to ticketing. You can get 15 per cent off entry tickets if you subscribe to the Ekka’s emails on their website. Additionally, avoiding the weekends and the Wednesday holiday can get you a further 20 per cent off.

That means if you don’t have to work on the Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Friday of Ekka week, you can get a family of four into the Ekka for just $59.84. Group discounts and cheaper Twilight Tickets are also available.

Food

Bringing your own lunch to the Ekka is a popular tactic for avoiding a junk-food cost blowout, but where’s the fun in that? This year, more than 110 food vendors will be offering an item for $10 or less, and the food and drink bundles will start from $7.50.

The RNA is also launching a new discount food outlet, the Ekka Tuck Shop, with hot food items priced at $5 and under. The Woolworths Fresh Food Pavilion also has free food samples if you’re up for a bit of scrounging.

Sideshow Alley: so many fun ways to lose your money.Credit: Ekka

Rides

If you’re on the ball and get through the gates early you can take advantage of two-for-one rides between 9.30am and 10.30am. For instance, two kids or adults can have a go on the Crazy Cars Dodgems for just $12.

If you’re a family of adrenaline junkies, then consider getting a digital ride card. Sign up to the emails and you’ll get 20 per cent off digital $150 ride cards and 15 per cent off $100 digital ride cards – i.e. $150 worth of rides for $120 and $100 worth of rides for $85.

Showbags

How many showbags and how much you’re willing to pay is a matter of personal taste, and there are nearly 380 different bags on offer this year, with prices starting at $2 and going all the way up to $165.

Don’t get too excited about the $2 Rainbow Freeze Showbag: with just three citrusy candies inside, it may leave a sour taste. But if you can at least keep the kids away from serious toy bags such as the Bluey and Peppa Pig bags ($32 each) and stick to a couple of $5 or $6 classics, then everyone’s a winner, at least until the sugar crash.

Transport

On the transport front, the news is definitely good. With 50¢ public transport fares and free shuttle buses, travel to and from the Ekka can be as little as $4 for a family of four.

The number crunch

If the Ekka media kit is to be believed, a family of four can have a day out for a wallet-friendly $120. We’ve done our own number crunch below and reached the more realistic sum of (drum roll) $193.84.

Our fictional family has the foresight to bring water bottles to save on the cost of drinks, but otherwise gets an Ekka experience ticking off the essentials: showbags, sundaes, dagwood dogs and rides – we’ve budgeted three rides each for two kids.

Realistic Ekka 2024 budget sheet

• Public transport to and from the Ekka: $4
• Family ticket with full discounts applied: $59.84
• Crazy Cars Dodgems (two-for-one 9.30am-10.30am) $12
• Fantasy Flyer ride $8
• Pirates Revenge Water Roller Coaster ride $15
• Lunch from Ekka Tuck Shop x 4: $20
• Four strawberry sundaes: $26
• Two dagwood dogs from Pinks: $18
• Two junior dagwood dogs from Pinks: $10 
• Bertie Beetle Blue showbag: $5
• Cherry Ripe showbag: $5
• Twisties showbag: $6
• Wizz Fizz Lil Fizz Bag: $5

TOTAL: $193.84 

The Ekka runs at Brisbane Showgrounds, Bowen Hills, August 10-18.