Carnival & Fair News

Yes – weather tops the list of concerns for every operator in the fair and amusement industry in 2026 so far, but that's probably true every year. Nationwide, the first half of the year – particularly the spring months that encompass the bulk of the still dates, mall parking lot dates, small local and regional fairs, and fundraisers – was damper than usual.

According to NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), for January–June 2026 an average of 15.70 inches of precipitation, 0.40 inch above the long-term average – although a national average, the NCEI reports pointed out that in recent long-term climate trends – increased precipitation is occurring in regions alongside other areas that remain in drought conditions.

“Most of the western half of the country, along with a narrow band from the central Plains through the mid-Mississippi Valley and parts of the Southeast, were drier than average. Above-average precipitation was recorded from the southern Plains through the lower Mississippi and Ohio Valleys into the Northeast, as well as in parts of the northern Plains and upper Mississippi Valley.”

Cold & Windy

Unfortunately rain as well as other spells of unseasonable weather hit on the weekends, or at least that's the way it seemed to carnival companies and midway providers. Bob DeStefano of Dreamland Amusements recalled, “What's the old adage, it's 90 percent perspiration and 10 percent luck? Our Florida route had a cold spell which hurt us, but by the time we got to Long Island in May, we had rainy weekends. Memorial Day, and other weekends.”

Neither bad weather nor complaints about it are anything new to the fair industry, but in 2026 weather has clearly topped the list of concerns. At the same time, midway operators wondered how persistent inflation, a softening labor market and higher fuel prices driven by conflict in the Middle East would affect consumer spending.

Surprisingly, the appeal of rides, food and games may have been mitigated by meteorology, but proved remarkably resilient despite economic uncertainty. “Consumer spending has remained healthy,” said DeStefano. “When the weather cooperates, people come out.”

Robert Briggs of Modern Midways noted that their spring dates were tormented by “torrential rains, even a tornado” and combined with price upticks on everything from food to fuel, 2026 has been a challenging year. As for attendance, “it's strictly weather. When you get the weather, people come out, people still prioritize a day of family entertainment.”

Briggs added that “spending this Spring, February, March, April and May was the same this year as it was last year.”

Games Taking a Hit

Current economic woes may not be curtailing turnout, but on the midway consumer patterns are emerging that augur a more frugal, price-aware fairgoer. “We had a break with the weather, we lost some dates due to high winds and rain, but when we got to Salt Lake City, we had very good, very busy weekends,” said Danny Brown of Brown's Amusements, an Arizona-based midway provider whose Spring Route crosses Colorado and Utah.

“We were not seeing the downfall of rain that happened in other parts of the country. We own the rides, the games and the food, and when the money gets tight, the games suffer. It's always the ‘3rd dollar' that goes to the games. The first two dollars go to the rides and food. People feel that they cannot play the games and feel they've still done the fair. It used to be that game owners groomed the people for years and years, making the games very hard to win, not giving out prices. We try not to beat up people in terms of the price to play and not winning a prize. We're not afraid to be liberal with the prizes and that makes the game worth playing.”

The pandemic and lockdown had an acute impact on Plush, disrupting manufacturing, shipping and delivery times. Those issues have been resolved and prize scarcity is no longer affecting the game sector. Enhancing the appeal of the midway games when the family's purse strings are tightening, Brown emphasizes that in addition to affordable play, getting the popular Plush is key. “This year, we sell a lot of squish-toys. Kids want Skittles, Sticks of Butter, food is big.”

While spending remains on par with 2025, affordability remains top of mind for fairgoers. Discount-oriented marketing has been on the forefront this spring, a trend likely to continue for the second half of the year.

“We are very forthright in our promotions,” said DeStefano. “We are doing more price promotions like free admission nights, two dollar days, Buy One Get One nights. People are looking for discounts. We sell advance sale ride armbands online at a reduced price before the event begins, which has been a major part of our promotional strategy.”

Inflation is most apparent in the cost of food – higher food prices are occurring at all strata – and that segment is the most challenging for midway providers to maintain.

“Our costs for housing and feeding our workers have risen,” said DeStefano. “People are used to paying more at restaurants and the grocery store. It's more of a challenge to keep prices affordable to fairgoers this year, but people are more understanding when they see a higher price because everything costs more.”

Digital Evolution

Briggs had an extra pressure this year in terms of ticketing. Modern Midways got significantly more modern this year by introducing a digital ticketing system to eliminate ticket sellers.

“We kept the prices the same, which was a challenge, even though we invested in a new digital ticketing system at all our dates,” said Briggs. “It's been a real asset with the season, it has been a cost savings already in payroll and the office.”

One apprehension about implementing the new system that was proven unsubstantiated was the fairgoer acceptance. The company has experienced little-to-no resistance by attendees.

“Customers embraced the system almost immediately, our customers really liked it.”

Another worry was downtown due to network outages. “That's what we were worried about the most, the loss of Wi-Fi, the system going down and the midway coming to a halt. But knock on wood, we haven't gone down once. I think now that the systems are using Starlink [the satellite system built by SpaceX], it works really well,” said Briggs.

He admitted that there was a “learning curve, but it wasn't really bad. We have less payroll, we have no ticket sellers, we have ambassadors to help customers. Our next step is to partner with sponsors to sell tickets, but that is down the road.”

Teen Takeovers

Guests enter through metal detectors at a local still date at a suburban mall carnival, a proactive measure Dreamland Amusements put in place.

In recent years, midways were plagued by disruptive teens, with 2025 being one of the worst. This is a national problem, impacting malls, entertainment centers, downtown neighborhoods and other venues where teens disrupt the public peace, brawl, vandalize and cause violence. Many facilities have implemented stricter policies regarding unattended minors.

Family fun is the paramount appeal of the midway and if unruly attendees undermine that safe and welcoming atmosphere, the entire event is marred. This year, reports of disruptive teens at midways have been nearly nil, indicating that the industry has responded to the problem with positive results.

But it has come at a price. Dreamland Amusements, who had to cancel dates in the past due to disruptive teens, have had only minor issue this year – outside the gates of a still-date – but has maintained its security costs – fences, admission scanners, security guards – often local police, sometimes with canines – and like other costs, it has gone up.

“What has happened is that security costs have plateaued at high level. It's not less expensive this year. We use the local police departments, and some are now tracking those social media things that are going on so they can prevent a problem.”

Maintaining a safe midway requires collaboration with the venue owner, local police and municipality.

“We get along great with the police and the towns, when we get the permits. There is a greater understanding among all parties about the challenges. There have been some good malls where we appeared in the past that have been designated as possible takeover places by teens and they no longer allow a carnival. We weren't having a problem when we were there, but the malls were having problems and the corporate office didn't allow a carnival this year.”