The Best Bad Reviews Of The Minnesota State Fair

The Minnesota State Fair, also known as the Great Minnesota Get-Together, is frequently ranked as the best state fair in the country by USA Today 10Best and is top-ranked for its food scene by Yelp.

It's an amazing twelve days of deep-fried everything, farm animals the size of small cars, and enough cheese curds to fill a grain silo. So, you'd think the reviews would be nothing but five-star raves.

And yet, scattered across the internet, a brave handful of Minnesotans have filed their formal complaints.

Here's the thing, though — even our worst reviews are unfailingly polite. These aren't scathing takedowns by any means. They're gripes so gentle they practically come with a hotdish. Honestly, it might be the most Minnesota thing we've ever read.

"Like A Giant Outdoor Mall"

Over on TripAdvisor, one reviewer, in a post titled "fair sucks, sorry", delivered this blow: "The state fair is like a giant outdoor mall. If you have tolerance to walking a mall endlessly, then you will like this!"

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However, I don't think that is the insult that they think it is. Half of Minnesota would happily walk a mall endlessly, and the other half calls it cardio.

The $400 Day

The most common complaint, predictably, is the price. Another TripAdvisor visitor, three trips in over six years, declared herself "officially DONE," writing that you "spend 300% more for less food" and can "easily spend $400 in a day at the fair" with a family of four.

A different TripAdvisor foodie loved the fried green tomatoes but came for the pimento cheese puffs and left betrayed, panning the lemonade as "pale" with "no lemon taste." A pale lemonade may be the quietest tragedy ever recorded.

Heat, Crowds, And, Uh, "Pickpockets"

Our favorite genre is the TripAdvisor review that lists every possible horror and then shrugs it off. One fairgoer warned future visitors about the "heat, expensive vendors, rude crowds, parking nightmares, and pickpockets" — before admitting, in the same breath, that they still enjoy going. Hey, whatever floats your boat.

Where Are The Maps?!

Then there are the logistical laments, also courtesy of TripAdvisor. "LOTS of walking," one four-star reviewer cautioned, noting the grounds are so sprawling "you will need a stroller."

SEE NOW: The Items Now Banned From The 2026 Minnesota State Fair

Another five-star fan's only real beef was the signage: they wished for more maps "lol… showing 'you are here.'" And spare a thought for the visitor who tried the henna tattoo booth and reported that "the ink showed up, but it didn't." What?

Not Get Out Alive?

A 3-star 2023 Yelp review from Brad W. may be just a bit melodramatic. He wrote, "I guess if you don't like waiting in line for things, you probably won't be too happy. Several new items I wanted, I was unwilling to wait in huge lines. You're constantly dodging people and strollers, and if you go the wrong direction walking, you might not get out alive."

He then offers a quick food review, by adding "Most items were not that good, but the cinnamon rolls at Buni's and the pizza on a stick were the highlights for us."

Even The Grumpiest Reviews Are Love Letters

None of this is new. Back in 2016, a photo of a spectacularly bored couple on the Sky Glider chairlift went viral on Reddit and became an internet meme — even though that exact fair drew a record 1.9 million-plus people.

SEE NOW: 11 Food Vendors Not Returning To The Minnesota State Fair

That's the beauty of it. Minnesotans will complain about the crowds, the prices, and the walking, and then buy a season pass.

The 2026 fair opens on Thursday, August 27, so consider this your invitation to go, have a blast, eat too much, and see if you can actually find something to gripe about at the Great Minnesota Get Together.