I loved milking Daisy the cow and patting chicks – but has the rest of the Easter Show become too expensive?

• The Royal Easter Show is known for bringing the country to the city. But has it picked up some bad city habits?
• I loved milking a cow and patting a chick.
• But the funfair rides weren’t much fun, the food was overpriced and I have to ask the question: is our favourite show in danger of becoming just another Saturday market?
• READ MORE: Sydney Royal Easter Show 2025: Dates, Tickets & Highlights

The Sydney Royal Easter Show is Australia’s largest annual ticketed event, and its 102 years old. It was once billed as bringing the country to the city.

Where else in Sydney could you watch a woodchopping competition, eat cheese on a stick and milk a cow?

Today, the show organiser claims it’s a “celebration of Australian culture”. But while I found parts of the show genuinely contributed to my scant knowledge of the country’s rural heritage and the people who produce our food, in other areas the heart and soul of the show felt lost.

A lot has been written about the high price of showbags and entry tickets. But there are a lot of other areas that need attention.

I boarded the T7 train from Central Station with an open mind. The hype around Clarkson’s Farm, the global show from the former British car show host, had passed me by. And I’m certainly not a country girl.

I arrived at Sydney Olympic Park at 9 am, 30 minutes after the Show opened. To my excitement, the queue was short (there had been videos circulating from the weekend of huge queues out of the Showground) and I quickly passed through security and entered the ground.

But sadly, my first impression of the Show was underwhelming. I entered through the main entrance on Olympic Boulevard and was met with a series of market stalls selling overpriced clothes and expensive fairground games. Where was the authentically Aussie experience I’d heard so much about?

I was given a map by a friendly guide, which helped me get my bearings and escape the carnival grounds. I made a beeline for the Ugly Fish Woodchop Stadium, which is where my enjoyment of the day really started.

Watching the huge and brawny competitors pick out their axe before lining up and seeing who could smash through the log the fastest? Pure gold.

I decided quickly that the best way to enjoy the show was to scope out the activities that you wouldn’t normally find at a fair or a carnival, and stick to those. And the best thing about this strategy was a big surprise: all of these activities were free.

So my day included milking a cow, patting baby chicks, seeing rescue puppies race, watching dressage competitions and learning about Australian produce. I left with the feeling that I had got my money’s worth just from this. And it’s authentically Easter Show.

So the wisdom I can pass on to any other Easter Show newbie would be: plan your day and don’t get sidetracked.

Although my day was amazing, the Easter Show can be expensive, and if you don’t plan, it can also be disappointing.

We all know about supermarket gouging. So no surprise, the Woolworths show had expensive food. But the produce exhibitions are amazing,

I’ve rounded up the best things to do at the Show (all of which are included with your admission), as well as what to avoid, with a breakdown of food stall, showbag and ride prices.

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What to do

Milk a cow

Jamison Station has a pony-riding paddock, a flock of ducks and, best of all, a fresh milking barn. Farmer Ben demonstrated how to milk Daisy, before letting me have a go. Although it was a very strange experience, it was interesting to see the process of milking a cow and to appreciate where the main ingredient in my latte comes from.

Luckily, I was sent to milk Daisy, as the cow next door had a bit of an accident, which nearly hit the children milking her. Go to the milking barn, but if you’re assigned to a cow that isn’t Daisy, proceed with caution.

Watch the wood chopping

Head to the Ugly Fish Woodchop Stadium to see the Easter Show’s most strapping men and women hack at huge pieces of wood. Over 150 competitors will face off at the Easter Show to win a cash prize (and major bragging rights) in this peculiar but amazing sport. You can also catch sawing competitions at the Ugly Fish, which require an immense amount of stamina and power.

With plenty of woodchopping and sawing competitions occurring every day, make sure to head to the Stadium to see this free show. The stadium has no cover, so make sure to wear sunscreen and a hat- or bring an umbrella!

Pat a baby chick

Want to have an instant serotonin boost? Go to the Poultry and Pigeon Pavilion and queue to pat a baby chick. The volunteers tell you how to gently stroke the chicks, and will answer any questions you have about them. These babies were roughly 2 weeks old and had the softest feathers.

This is available every day from 10am-12am and 1pm-4pm. When it hit 1pm, the queue wasn’t big at all, however, when the lesser prepared people realised what everyone was lining up for, the queue grew extremely long very quickly.

Check out Woolworths fresh food dome

Many people might be put off the Woolies dome, thanks to the high price of the food on offer. I too was sceptical, however it is definitely still worth a visit. Don’t want to spend money on food? Many of the pop-up stalls offer tasters – I tried biltong, honey, banana, cheese and even a piece of matcha cookie, all for free.

This year, they celebrated 125 years of the District Exhibits, where each region of Australia brings over 50,000 pieces of their best produce to display in the fresh food dome.

Go to the dog judging lawn

Who wouldn’t want to watch Australia’s cutest pups battle it out for best in show? Walk through the Advance Dog Pavilion to see the adorable competitors, talk to their owners and potentially even pet a few. The exit of the Pavilion leads out to the Dog Judging Lawn, where you can see the dogs and their owners strut their stuff.

I spied Afghan hounds, golden retrievers, all kinds of poodles and the cutest little whippet.

See the piglets

The Pig and Goat Pavilion gives you a chance to pet a pig, but if you don’t fancy having any up-close animal encounters (some children were complaining about the smell) go and see the piglets instead. Nestled in the hay, they make super cute ‘oink’ noises and bring back fond memories of the movie Babe.

Watch a show at the Engie Stadium

The Engie Stadium schedule includes rodeo events and equestrian competitions daily. One favourite is the Bison Stampede, which sees an Aussie Stockman and an American Cowboy go head-to-head in wrangling bison. For those who love horses, there’s show jumping and dressage to keep you entertained.

Although the main events happen in the evening (the Bison Stampede is at 7:55pm daily) if you want to see some horses with no crowds, head over to the Stadium earlier in the morning.

What to avoid

Midday crowds

The Easter Show is immensely popular, so obviously there’s going to be some queuing and waiting around. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I turned up at 9am to see a short queue by the entrance. The queue was quick and efficient, and when I headed to my first stop of the day, the Ugly Fish Woodchop Stadium, there were plenty of free seats.

The crowds started to pick up at around 11 am, and by midday, it was very busy. I would recommend coming to the show either in the morning or in the evening (at around 5pm) to avoid the peak of crowds, especially if the weather is hot and sunny.

The Rides

Call me a killjoy, but the rides at the Easter Show are overpriced and nothing special. You could see most of them at an average fair or theme park. They even had a knock-off Wild Mouse, similar to the Luna Park ride but without the Harbour views.

You can pay for the rides with credits, and each credit costs $1.20. Some rides are 4 credits, like one go on the super slide, however, the bigger, more exciting rides cost much more. The slingshot is 40 credits, meaning it will cost you over $40 to ride it once. I’d recommend that you save your money and go milk a cow instead.

Overpriced food

Many people head into the Woolworths fresh food dome and go straight to Bianco Kitchen, seduced by the huge parmesan wheels and fancy-looking pasta. However, I don’t think the spaghetti with meatballs is worth $24. I also don’t think that a few strawberries dipped in chocolate are worth $7. However, if you want to splash out a bit, I won’t judge—I did fall victim to the $7 fresh lemonade and the $8 cheese on a stick.

Sun stroke

Although there are lots of shaded areas, make sure you wear sunscreen, a hat, and sunglasses when you head to the show. This is especially important over Easter weekend, as temperatures on Saturday, Sunday and Monday are forecasted to hit 27 degrees. Drink plenty of water and allow time to sit down in the shade and relax. With busier crowds on the weekend, it is important to pace yourself when attending the Show.

It is also important to remember that there can be a lot of walking involved. I did over 15,000 steps in a few hours, as the venue is large and you have to walk to all the different areas. Use your map to plan out your best route, so that you’re not walking round aimlessly in the sun.

How much will the day cost me?

I’ve put together a list of prices for the most popular snacks, showbags, and rides at the Royal Easter Show to help you plan your day- maybe you’ll decide that a packed lunch isn’t such a bad idea after all.

Food

There were lots of food stalls dotted around the Easter Show, with many located at the Woolies fresh food dome. The Show has recently become notorious for its expensive food prices, so I thought I’d do a breakdown of what is and isn’t worth your money.

To reemphasise what I said before, just because your spaghetti was pushed around a parmesan wheel doesn’t mean it’s worth $21 (especially without any add-ons). Bianco Kitchen’s pasta looked ok, but the portion size did not warrant the price.

The fresh lemonade served at the Show has proved popular on social media, however at $7 for a regular cup, I’m not sure it was worth it. Yes it was nice, and at least the regular cup was big, but I think I fell victim to it because there were so many lemonade stands around the venue, and when the sun came out, I couldn’t resist.

Buying the cheese on a stick ($8) was a silly move, but I was fascinated by the battered snack and wanted to see what it was like. It was mostly battered bread, with a tiny bit of cheese in the middle. Disappointing.

Now if I were going to recommend buying anything, it would be at the Prawn and Oyster Bar. The freshly caught seafood is delivered daily, representing quality Australian produce (unlike the cheese on a stick). Half a dozen oysters were $15 and a dozen were $28, which I think is fairly reasonable, especially as you could choose between Sydney Rock and Pacific, or a mix of both. You could also choose a mixed prawn and oyster plate for $25, which was a perfect sharing plate.

Other Sydney favourites were present at the show, including Cherry from Up South Bondi, at her store Cherry’s Goods. She did let me try some of her matcha white chocolate cookie, which was delicious, however, the $12 strawberry matcha was overpriced and bland, tasting more like a weak strawberry milkshake than a matcha. Considering the same strawberry matcha costs $9.50 at Up South, I would avoid buying at the Easter Show.

Food stall prices:

• Cheese on a stick – $8
• Hotdog on a stick – $9
• Fresh Lemonade – $7 for a regular, $9 for a jumbo
• Donut puff balls cup – $9, to add on chocolate or caramel, an extra $3
• Cherry’s Goods strawberry matcha – $12
• Cherry’s Goods pistachio matcha crookie – $13
• Cherry’s Goods matcha white choc cookie – $8
• Cherry’s Goods hot cross bun crookie – $13
• Half a dozen oysters – $15
• A dozen oysters – $28
• Mixed prawn and oysters – $25 a plate
• Tyrell’s Deli charcuterie board for two – $26
• Tyrell’s Deli Cheese board – $26
• Tyrell’s Deli Whole baked brie – $26
• Brooklyn Boy Bagels lox bagel – $15
• Bianco Kitchen gnocchi handmade – $22
• Bianco Kitchen rigatoni fresh pasta – $21
• Bianco Kitchen spaghetti from parmesan wheel – $21
• Bianco Kitchen spaghetti with meatballs – $24 (add parmesan for an extra $1)
• Chocolate fondue skewers (fruit or marshmallows) – $7
• Cheeky crumbles apple crumble – $15 (2 for $25)
• Thirsty Monkey açai bowl – $18
• Dole soft serve – $8
• Dole pineapple bowl – $15
• Chips on a stick – $7
• Chebbo’s Burgers classic burger – $20
• Chebbo’s Burgers cheeseburger – $20
• Chebbo’s Burgers smashburger taco – $16
• Chebbo’s Burgers BBQ loaded fries – $15
• Firepop the O.G., 2 pops – $18
• Firepop the butter cube (wagyu) – $21

Showbags

The Showbag Pavilion had a bag for everyone, from pokémon to maltesers to marie claire. The showbags ranged in price, from $6 to $40. The cheaper showbags just had chocolates or sweets in, whereas the more expensive showbags had costumes and props.

Maltesers – $6
Smiths – $6
Skittles – $6
Twix – $6
Chupa Chups Megabag – $10
Oreo – $12.50
Fyna Licorice – 15
Nutella – $25
NRL South Sydney Rabbitohs – $30
Perfum Girl – $32
Brooklyn Nine Nine – $32
Garfield – $32
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – $32
Sonic the Hedgehog – $32
Pink Floyd – $32
Peppa Pig – $32
marie claire – $32
Miffy – $32
Minnie Mouse – $35
S.W.A.T. Jnr – $35
NBA Chicago Bulls – $36
Stitch Backpack Bag – $40

Rides

Payment for rides is done through the Carnival Fun Pass system. Each ride costs a different amount of credits, and you can top up these credits at the EFTPOS kiosks dotted around the grounds, or online through the Easter Show Fun Pass app.

1 credit: $1.20
30 credits: $36
60 credits:$68
90 credits: $93

The number of credits that each ride costs varies from 4 credits to 40 credits.

• Super slide – 4 credits
• Royal tea party – 6 credits
• Fiesta balloon ferris wheel – 6 credits
• Adventure island – 7 credits
• Jumbo flying elephants – 7 credits
• The spook haunted house – 8 credits
• Crazy coaster – 9 credits
• Rebel coaster – 9 credits
• Pirates revenge – 9 credits
• Kyle & Jackie o’s haunted housev11 credits
• Speed 2 – 16 credits
• The Wild Mouse – 8 credits
• The Joker – 30 credits
• The Slingshot – 40 credits

My advice? Let your children go down the super slide once if they really want to, then steer them away with the promise of patting a chick or seeing a piglet.

How to get there

I found that getting to the Easter Show was very easy. Simply hop on the T7 train from Central Station and ride for 3 stops. Get off at Olympic Park and follow the signs to the main entrance. Line up in one of the queues through the security tent and wait for the fun to begin.

If you have a Sydney Easter Show ticket, then your travel is included in the price and there will be no additional fee if you want to catch the train to Olympic Park station. This definitely makes it the cheapest and most convenient option for those who can travel from Central, Redfern or Strathfield Station, or those who are near western line stations.

Car parks at Sydney Olympic Park are in very high demand each day of the Sydney Royal Easter Show so if you do want to drive, then you’ll need to pre-book your parking. Pre-booked parking made directly with Sydney Olympic Park should set you back $35 for the whole day.

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