Renaissance Pleasure Faire Business Office

It's fun. I wish there was a social circle. People spend so much to just walk with their friends. It would be nice to have maybe an interactive bar where people could meet and talk to other people and maybe a costume contest or something to bring all those people together. Also, they could maybe add misters in that bar area as well for people overheating.

This year’s Renaissance Faire was a soggy, unforgettable adventure. The weather may not have been on our side, but in true Ren Faire spirit, everyone embraced the mud, mist, and medieval madness with humor and heart. From squelching through the fairegrounds in soaked boots to watching drenched performers deliver their lines with extra drama, the atmosphere was wild and woolly – quite literally. Cloaks clung, curls frizzed, and more than one knight looked like they’d taken a tumble in the pigsty. But somehow, it made the whole experience feel even more authentic – like we’d truly stepped into a gritty, rain-drenched 15th century village. Highlights included the ever-committed jousters riding through puddles like pros, musicians playing on despite the drizzle, and vendors cheerfully slinging turkey legs and mead under dripping tents. The crowd? Damp, a little bedraggled, but absolutely undeterred. Would I have preferred sunshine? Sure. But honestly, the mud added its own charm. If you came for pristine costumes and dry comfort, you probably left early. If you came for adventure, laughs, and a little chaos – this was your year. Note to self: Bring better boots next time.

The Irwindale Pleasure Faire is always a joy to attend. I go atleast twice a year and I just completed my first trist at the faire this last weekend. A must if you enjoy imbibing is the pubcrawl, it's an absolute drunken blast. However, you might be outta luck this year as it sells out months in advance and they no longer sell half the tickets at the door. Tickets are also a steep $65 per crawl ticket. Yes, parking and getting into the faire can be crazy so I suggest getting there early when the parking opens around 9am. The reason for the 4 star review as opposed to 5 is the continuous raising of prices that seems to be a yearly thing. Entry tickets are now at a stiff $44. That's not including the parking fee, or pubcrawl ticket if you decide to do that. Its disheartening to talk to other attendees who are on the brink of getting priced out or how people who would normally be multiple day attendees are only coming once a season. To any faire big wigs who read this please strive to keep your prices reasonable so that all may continue to enjoy the pleasure of the faire.. That being said see you again on the last day this may 18th one last pubcrawl for the season!

This year, there were many more shops, and shows, and the turkey legs even tastes better😄

As a longtime fan of this faire, I am very sad to say that I will have noticed a serious decline over the last few years, and I will likely not be attending next year. The event is oversold by hundreds, maybe even thousands. The car line to get in lasted 45 minutes. Then we had to walk 15-20 minutes from parking to the entrance. Then the line to get through the entrance was 20 minutes. Friends waited 30+. For any food or activities, expect at least a 10 minute wait but sometimes much longer. $60 for tickets and parking. What’s included? Not much. $6 per water. $17 per mead. Meals $15-20. Activities range from $5 to $40. You’ll pay over $100 just to survive the day, never mind actually enjoy some of the activities. Shows are included but include lots of tip guilting. I want to support these artists but it’s tough when I’m already out over $150 just to survive the day. You want free water? Good luck. You’ll walk 15 minutes to a 20 minute line for one of the 2 room temperature water fountains that barely function. And most of the friendliness from staff has disappeared. I don’t blame them. They’re wearing huge hot costumes with no AC, probably making pennies, and dealing with hundreds or thousands of disgruntled customers. When I attended this year, it was 99 degree day that really highlighted the failures of Faire management. Little to no sun cover. Hard to access water. Certainly no AC. I watched dozens of people on the brink of if not in the middle of heat stroke. It was a pretty inhumane and disturbing experience, not to mention an obvious legal liability for management. Obviously they can't control the weather, but I'm shocked they don't do anything to protect their employees, customers, or themselves. I will not be returning next year, but I sincerely hope the Faire updates itself in the coming years for a modern audience, and I would be happy to come back in the future if it does.

I have always loved the renaissance pleasure fair, but this year was a little different. The security team inside of the tournament area was not as nice as they normally are. They had us push our stroller, which was a small stroller that when pushed against the front row seat did not even extend further than my legs. The security guard came and told us that we needed to fold it up or leave and we said OK well what about the other people that had their stroller out and he explained while they were up against the side wall so that was the compromise we asked well, is that an option for us? He said sure, and he walked away upset. We went along the side wall that was placed next to a trashcan and no overhead shade so basically they were having babies sit in the sun next to the trash cans, which I thought was really inappropriate. Another security guard came and told us we were not able to stand there either after we were already told that we could when we told him the other guard said he said that’s fine and let us stay however, without any sunshade it was too hot for my child and I who am pregnant and so we left early. The food is always delicious but the girls were premade and put into tissue paper so I ordered my Gyro and it is out took my first bite. The entire tissue paper fell apart in the bottom, and that was the last she wrote.

Spent nearly 3 hours parking, when leaving it was the same deal but just 2 hours. I saw a lot of people leave their car to go to the bathroom in the bushes and come back. While in the festival it looked like it would have been fun but there were so many people it was hard to walk anywhere. If a fire or other emergency had happened we would be dead. The fair itself seemed cool but the sheer amount of people (a fire marshal would have had a field day) and the long parking time made it a terrible experience. The food was also nearly impossible to get to as the lines were so long! I was glad I brought food from home. Probably at least an hour wait. I wondered if they even had enough food at all. Next time I am walking in and coming on the first weekend when its way less popular. It honestly seemed like it would have been fun if there had just been less people.

This event has gone downhill from when my family first began attending roughly 10 years ago. It was poorly managed and disorganized. You would think that in an event like this, that they would open multiple entryways and possibly rent out off-site parking; however we were met with one entry point. We essentially lost 2.5 hrs trying to find parking. We were under the impression that they oversold due to the massively long lines for food and lack of not just seating, but viewing spots for acts and shows. We showed up an hour prior to the 5 PM joust, however, we were told by staff that there were no more seating. It feels like this event has just become a money grab and there is no consideration for the patron's event experience. We tried contacting customer service for a possible resolution but to no avail. I do not think my family and I will be coming back. And we intend to spread the word as well. They have just become too greedy.