Colorado Renaissance Festival

My first time at the Colorado Renaissance Festival was a bit of a disappointment. I love going to this and have been to a few in other states.The first thing that really put a damper on my mood was that we waited in traffic for an hour in order to just park here. If you are coming from the Denver area, try taking the southern entrance it seems that line was much shorter for parking. The second thing that was horrible is that all of the food stands only take cash. That is literally insane in this day and age. Barely anyone has cash. Our biggest problem was not only did we not have cash, we only brought our credit cards with us and could not even use the ATM! We went to a level of desperation and begged some people to get us cash if we vemnoed/cashapped them. So awkward. It was super crowded once inside too. What I did like about this festival: I think it is awesome that each weekend they do a theme! If I had a better experience, I may have gotten a season pass just to stop by and see what was happening for each week. The jousting is always so fun to watch. Lots of fun things to do. Great vendors, I could have bought so many things if my budget was bottomless. Lots of food options. I feel like the prices were fair for food as well considering you are at a festival.I think that what would solve some of these problems if they extended their time at the fairgrounds and had their festival last a few more weeks. And obviously take card at the food vendors.I might skip the Colorado Renaissance fair next year and try a different state. If you are going though remember to dress medieval!

I have been coming here since I was a kid. It meant so much to show my loved ones. We go there before they open at 10 am, which I recommend so you don't have to park as far and you can try to see the shows! And so you dont sit in traffic for an hour to get in. Also, this place is basically CASH ONLY, so bring plenty! We always want to see the jousting and washing wenches, which are on opposite sides. So we started our time by going towards the jousting area and had to stop for some frozen margaritas, which were amazing! They were strong and very frozen. It was awesome to see a woman as a night! After we got some food at steak on a steak! It was delicious and the cut if meat wasn't small, so it was worth it. We did a few rides on our way to washing wenches and had fun! They require a lot of human effort, so be prepared! The washing wenches is not a kid friendly show. They make a lot of innuendos but hilarious! And I love the line "if your kids understand our jokes, its not our fault," they warn you, haha, but I love watching them!It was a hot day and usually is, so bring lots of sunscreen and water! They allow you to bring your own water in and have stations to refill water bottles. This is a must stop in Colorado! I recommend to everyone to come at least once!

We are in our yearly Colorado Springs trip when we found out the opening weekend of their festival was when we got here! So naturally we loaded up our accessories and planned for a day there! It was a bit hard to get into with traffic but we also got there a little late around 10:30/11. But it was such a beautiful location with the mountains in the background. They just made a new rule where guys can't be shirtless so they made my boyfriend and I turn around to go get a shirt for him. HOWEVER when we got inside there were multiple men with shirtless costumes and no one was saying anything to them which was frustrating. They also made me zip tie a blunt wooden decorative knife to my belt when it doesn't have an edge. Which whatever just dumb. Other than that it was a fun time! Compared to our home fair in Wisconsin everything seemed way more affordable and we got some fun things! I would definitely come back again I just thought it was stupid that the rules weren't upheld for everyone.

Gee I guess the suggestion would be to get thee royal ass here early ( many complain about the crowds and backups).Generally a really fun experience with plenty of fun shows and exhibitions.Great food and drink albeit pricey ( a small bottle of water is $4???) Great turkey leg, bbq pork sandwich, steak on a stake.Tip ....brink your own sealed bottled water.Easy to spend 5-6 hours here.Dress in costume Knave...and none of this Starwars, DnD crap, anime.....shit that aint from the 14th thru 17th century.I bid thee farewell

It is definitely an experience. Make sure you have cash and be prepared to be in a long line to actually park for roughly an hour, even if you are there early. The experience for my children (9 and 10) was great. They had some fun activities and the food, surprisingly was not overpriced! Such as the turkey leg at $15 versus downtown events for $25! I think it's fine to say you've been there once for the experience.

Pros: Super inclusive Beautiful location Lots on family time (in the 2 hours it took to drive from Littleton )People watching is amazing Cons:So many lines (like hours of my life yesterday in lines either in car or bathroom or food) Cash onlyToo many people to actually see anything but people. More drinking than I expected, medieval pina colada anyone?!After waiting in the car line for an hour+ then waiting in the bathroom line for 25 minutes then waiting to get the single Turkey leg for the whole family (remember cash only) we walked around. Whole family decided on a 3 out of 10 score. Then exit line dropped it down to a 1.5 out of 10. It was an experience we won't forget but will also not repeat.

This Renaissance festival was an amazing adult or family activity! If you are visiting with only adults I would estimate spending at least 4 hours at the festival, but if you have children I would add extra time to do the little rides and activities. This is not a quick visit, the festival grounds are massive and there are tons of shows to see throughout the day. I would recommend going to their website before visiting to check the weekend's theme, and to look through the times of activities and shows as you plan your visit. The jousting shows are a large attraction, and the shows for each time build on each other- so you can see each show if you want to watch the storyline develop and stay all day! My favorite shows were the firebreathing show and the blades show!While planning your visit, I would recommend wearing closed toe shoes, as the grounds are all dirt. They are very uneven and hilly, so bear that in mind when bringing things like strollers or wheelchairs that it will not be paved anywhere. There are two parking lots, the first one you arrive at is the furthest away, and will require a 5-10 minute walk, if you have a stroller or do not want to walk I would use the second lot- parking is free. Once you enter, make sure you grab a map, it will also have the show times and stage locations. If you would like to purchase food or retail items, bring cash as most food vendors do not have card readers. Prices are similar to stadium prices, but it is really nice to have some kettle corn during a show or a beer. If you are a vegetarian or vegan there are a fair amount of options, if you are gluten free the pickles, nuts, popcorn, and grilled meats are gluten free.

The Colorado Renaissance Fair is a 40+ year old event. They features handmade crafts and artisan wears, renaissance themed performances and acts, costumes. There are also lots of games, rides and activities for children and families. Food and beer options available for purchase. Turkey legs, sausage on a stick, pretzels, roasted nuts and kettle corn, chocolate covered cheesecake, corn on the cob. I found that the food options were generally affordable. I got the cheesecake for around 6$, pretzel with cheese for 4.50$, and root beer for 3.50$. You get a lot for the price of admission. A full day of family friendly Renaissance themed performances and festivities for a little more than what you would pay for a movie ticket. Around 25$ for adults and 12$ for children. Babies and children under 5 are free. Parking is free. The only thing that I think could be improved is the food be more of a focal point. The pretzel I had was just a store bought pretzel and was cold when I received it. I would love to see Colorado Renaissance making their own pretzels, their own root beer, their own mead. I think it would add a lot to the experience even if the price went up a bit. Especially with an event that has so much focus on handmade products.

I've been attending this fair for years, sadly this year will be our last. We spent about an hour in solid stop and go traffic once off the interstate. Parking to entrance was a ten-fifteen minute walk. This is normal. You can only bring bottled water with you that's sealed, no outside food. I would no longer consider this to be child/family friendly. The crowds are insane, simply walking and staying together with kids is really tough, the grounds are not suitable for strollers and wagons. The wait for the bathroom was about thirty minutes, and they were dirty. The wait for food and drinks was even longer- they only take cash and you need to stand in separate lines to get different items. You'll easily spend 45 minutes to over an hour getting food and a drink. I personally waited about thirty minutes for a chicken wrap (8.00) and the chicken was completely frozen solid so I got my money back, was totally turned off from eating after that. The shows had seating if you were lucky, the stores all have grossly overpriced stuff for sale and it's really nothing special. Many individuals dressed up really crossed the line, some were not even remotely renaissance, just half naked. People openly smoking pot, drinking beer, smoking cigarettes and vaping. If that's your thing, this is a good place, but with young children in tow this wasn't an appropriate venue. It's kinda a shame, I used to love this!

The crowds are insane, the restrooms are terrible. All of the vendors have the same thing many of them not hand made.