Big Bear Lake Oktoberfest

Ok so here's the scoop, if you are young and into the bar scene this is good say after 6pm. It opens at 1pm, we arrived at 4pm. From 4-7pm it was really good for everyone. This year we paid for the top of the line package which included a beautiful big stein, zip up sweatshirt, preferred seating with waiter service, 1 huge beer, and one dinner per person. $200/person. Service: First, the service by Jose was outstanding!! He checked on us constantly and catered to our every need. It was well worth the extra $ just to have Jose. For those who have not been, you stand in line for everything and I mean everything. Drink, eat, shopping, bathrooms, and entrance.The food: very very good! Since ours was part of a package we are not sure how much they were but we liked them all. Pork chop with purple sauerkraut was fantastic! Bratwurst with sauerkraut was good. Tater tots with cheese sauce and steak bits was really good, pretzel with beer cheese was super great and apple strudel with vanilla sauce was good.Beer: choices were great! We love Mango cart and they had it along with many german and domestic beers. Outside they had many mixed drinks, some looked tropical. Finally they had Irish coffee, mulled wine, and hot toddies. All the food was tasty and that is hard to do in a large event.Parking: terrible terrible terrible! I would think they would have preferred parking and more disabled parking. There is nothing good to say about this. There was a parking attendant protecting a parking place in the front for the owners daughter, Hannah. This parking guy was a jerk and acted like we were supposed to know this but there was no sign on it or anything to tell us what was going on. For all we knew Suzy was saving a place for her sister lol.Events on the main stage: really awesome but we could only see one because people were standing in front of the tables. The first contest was log sawing and management made people sit on the floor but after that management gave up and we were blocked from all the events. In fact, it looked like a fire hazard because all the aisles were blocked which gave access to the exits.Bathrooms: what a joke! I saved the best for last. We will not be back because of this issue. One bathroom for women and one for men (in the building) or a few port-a-potties outside. For women, the line inside was 25 minutes long, it went outside in the cold and completely blocked one side of a double door!! The port-a-potties had a line that was even longer so we passes on it, not sure how much time it took. Either way there was not enough facilities for the crowd, period!Like I said had we not each paid the $200 for the awesome package we had, it would have only been a drunken german beer fest in Big Bear Lake.My suggestion: go early and leave early or skip it and try Lake Arrowhead or another Octoberfest!For the owner: I appreciate the security and all the staff. Everyone was so very nice and friendly.

This is just plain local corny fun. I've now been here a few years in a row. Truthfully, I can take it or leave it, but my wife and our friends want to go every year and we all end up having a good time. The place is pretty big and spread out between the main hall and the outside back lot. Get here early for the best seating locations. A few different price option based on age, and "preferred" seating. The beer is great and we always choose the mini kegs which is actually not a bad value and the beer is delicious. $17 for a yummy plate of bratwurst, roll, German mustard, kraut, cabbage and potato salad. Fun and corny band an MC, silly games and fun people. The staff is terrific.

Omg SO much fun, music, contests, food, beer, and so many other drinks. My friends and I came here for the 1st time this year. We had a ton of fun, although it is a family friendly event there are some grown ups that make it seem like it's better if kids don't come. Anyway, water bottles are $3 a pop, for the small regular size, I don't recall how much we spent on beer, but they had good choices. Their pretzel was pretty yummy too, I wish the cheese was a different kind tho. it's also better and more fun if you dress up. Also if you want to compete be sure to sign up, otherwise you will miss ouy on all the games. The trolley ride there is a must.

I have been to Oktoberfest down in Pomona and let me tell you it sucked and it's filled with a bunch of young people who just want to start fights. Now coming to Oktoberfest in big bear it is so nice and everybody is so sweet!! We loved the atmosphere and the food was great. The drinks were also good! Had so much fun this is our second year going.

Genuinely one of the WORST EVENTS I HAVE EVER BEEN TO. I have been to the fairplex oktoberfest and I heard nothing but good things about the big bear one so some friends and I decided to book a cabin nearby. Aside from the struggle in getting transportation there, the event itself was so abhorrently bad I cannot even put it into words. Nothing to do, you have to pay to play beer pong! The food was some of the worst food I've ever tried, staff was rude. We wasted a couple hundred on this trip and needless to say we were disappointed. DO NOT GO TO THIS OKTOBERFEST! waste of time and money. Poorly run and managed, what a joke.

I'm not exactly sure what the standard Oktoberfest experience is supposed to be, but the energy was flowing at Big Bear Lake. The live music and cornhole kept me entertained for a while, and the costumes and dancing seemed authentic and was fun to watch. Nitpicking, but the steins and other merch were too pricy to justify the purchase even though the designs rocked. Similarly, I wished the entrance tickets covered something over purely existing in the festival, like 1 free drink ticket or snack item. Either way, for your undeducated wannabe Oktoberfest enjoyer, just show up and get cultured.

Great time with the family!! We love coming to Big Bear for a mini getaway. Had to go to Oktoberfest for the hubby who was raised by a German Dad and his Oma. The live band was great! The decorations were very festive. Lots of games to play outside and tons of amazing vendors. The food taste's authentic. Can't wait for next year.

For $25 entrance fee per person on a Saturday, I expected a bit more given that this is one of the top rated Oktoberfests. Parking was fairly easy to find, it wasn't too busy, there was a free parking lot right outside the venue. Line wasn't long to get in, since we purchased tickets online beforehand. Seating hard to find since most of indoors was priority or reserved areas. Food was alright, prices were on the high side. Lines for food and beer didn't take too long. Overall we didn't spend too much time here as it wasn't super entertaining or engaging, especially with the lack of seating available. Was supposed to have performances and games and bands... but didnt seem too lively even later in evening.. when we left the DJ was just playing normal top 40 songs :( Otherwise, it was clean and well organized. Staff were friendly

Good atmosphere and food. Beer was amazing. Good live German band playing music. Friendly service.

This year, we have had a great time. My daughters got new dirndl's, and they wanted their face painted. My wife fit back into her's, and my father reminded me that he has my Lederhosen. I guess next year, I am going to have to see if it fits. The atmosphere is a happy one. With small kids, it only makes sense to come on a Sunday. The family ticket is definitely worth it, especially since the kids want nothing to do with the authentic German food. Lots of dancing and a play area for the kids