The Royal Melbourne Show brings back so many great memories of my childhood when we visited as a family when I was young, and now we are so excited to give this first time experience to our daughter as she is the perfect age for it.

The Royal Melbourne Show is on from the 17th- 27th September 2016 at the Melbourne Showgrounds in Flemington.  It’s opened from 10.00am to 9.00pm daily.

We arrived at The Royal Melbourne Show at about 3.30pm, so it was peak time on a weekend.  We opted for parking at Flemington Racecourse for $20 a day. Entry to the car park is via Epsom Road or Smithfield Road.

Our first stop was the Jayco Animal Nursey.  My daughter was very excited to see all the animals.  We had to line up to get in and once we were in, wow, it was so over crowded.  I must honestly say, we did a quick walk around and headed right out.  There were just too many people in there and the animals seemed quite frightened.  There were some animals roaming around freely and some in holding pens.  We couldn’t even get close to the holding pens to see anything.

After the trying to see the animals we headed to the Kids Carnival to check out some of the rides.  The Kids Carnival is dedicated for children six years and under.  Tickets for my daughters age group (3) was $5 each ride. My daughter ventured on the Circus Train, Farm Tractor Ride and the Merry Go Rounds.  She loved every moment of it.

Next on the agenda, was to grab something to eat.  We headed over to the Woolworths Fresh Food Pavilion and they had some amazing dishes.  I was only expecting your everyday fast food, but I was very surprised with some of the dishes.  They had everything there from Indian Cuisine, hamburgers, Asian Cuisine, Kebabs, Pizzas and lots of dishes made with Nutella (donuts, crepes, ice-cream, milkshakes) and even a couple of healthy options too.

After diner, we decided it was time to head to the Show Bag Pavilion.  Be prepared to line up and compete with the crowds.  We walked away with a few goodie bags, some stuffed animals and a giant ball.

HOT TIPS

Wear comfortable shoes.

Bring drinks and snacks with you and save your money for the rides, showbags, and divine desserts.

Be prepared for crowds and crowds of people.

Head over to the Woolworths Fresh Food Pavilion for lots of FREE food samples.

It’s best to buy your show bags last so you don’t have to carry them around all day, but be prepared as everyone will be doing the same thing.  We had to line up to get in and once we were in, it was completely overcrowded and chaotic.

OUR THOUGHTS

Overall, we had a great time.  We managed to battle the crowds and come out on top.  Exhausted, but we did it for our daughter who can’t stop talking about her first experience.  We walked over 10km for the afternoon (thanks to my Fitbit reading) and we made some great memories.  The was a moment in the great Melbourne weather where we had our four seasons in one day but that was okay.  We got wet, we had sore feet, we ate far too many calories and I burnt a whole in my wallet, but a great day was had.  We didn’t get to see everything, but that’s okay, there’s always next year.

For more information, please visit:

The Royal Melbourne Show

Melbourne Showgrounds, Flemington, VIC

Website: www.royalshow.com.au

I would like to thank The Royal Melbourne Show for hosting our visit and allowing us to share this experience and as always, my opinion is definitely my own.