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You won’t wait 5-plus hours at State Fair of Texas' long drive-through anymore

The experience is expected to take 1-2 hours, after a series of fixes.

Big Tex and friends have significantly slimmed down the wait time at the State Fair of Texas' drive-through food parade.

Whereas drivers idled in their cars for as long as five hours in late September — and some even ran out of gas — wait times have shrunk to 25 minutes, on average, says Karissa Condoianis, the fair’s spokeswoman and senior vice president of public relations.

She says the wait is 45 minutes at peak times, usually around 1 p.m. Saturday or Sunday, when a rush of ticketholders arrive and leave at the same time.

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Once attendees get their tickets scanned, the drive-through is expected to take 45 to 90 minutes.

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Add together the wait time and the drive-through time, and customers should expect to spend between one hour and two and a half hours from start to finish.

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The State Fair Drive-Thru has been explained as a “progressive dinner” through the fairgrounds, says Jennifer Schuder, the fair’s senior vice president of marketing. Drivers roll down their windows and pick up drinks, french fries, corny dogs, cotton candy, fried Oreos and kettle corn. In the middle, participants stop to take a photo with Big Tex, who is wearing a mask this year. At the end, they get a toy from a drive-by game meant to mimic the carnival atmosphere on the Midway.

It's a big change from Sept. 26, when hundreds of cars sat in a line that was more than 2.5...
It's a big change from Sept. 26, when hundreds of cars sat in a line that was more than 2.5 miles long. Here, on Oct. 11, a driver winds through a mostly empty parking lot towards the entrance for State Fair of Texas Drive-Thru.(Ben Torres / Special Contributor)

The State Fair Drive-Thru costs $65 to $99 per car. The event was created after the State Fair of Texas was canceled and fair leaders wanted to bring the public into Fair Park in a way that felt safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The loss of the fair is devastating,” Condoianis says. “This [event] helps keep the state fair spirit alive, helps us further our nonprofit mission ... and helps support some of our vendors and seasonal staff.”

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She notes that the State Fair Drive-Thru “isn’t about the money,” and that when someone asks her to compare the Drive-Thru to a typical fair, she can’t.

“This isn’t the fair," she says. "This isn’t us trying to make up for the fair.”

The snake of cars in line to wait to enter the State Fair of Texas' drive-through is called...
The snake of cars in line to wait to enter the State Fair of Texas' drive-through is called the "Texas rattlesnake." The line is significantly shorter than it was in late September, when some people waited up to five hours to get into the fairgrounds.(Ben Torres / Special Contributor)

Condoianis reports that 60% of the funds from the State Fair Drive-Thru in the first two weeks went back to concessionaires. The concessionaires have suffered tough losses without regular State Fair revenue. Some of the Drive-Thru money will also go to the North Texas Food Bank, which the State Fair ordinarily supports with its canned food drive — which isn’t taking place this year.

The fair’s total revenue was $66 million in 2019. State Fair of Texas president Mitchell Glieber and his team are aware the revenue will see a significant dip in 2020, though the final tally won’t be available until early 2021.

“We’ve all had a tough year,” Condoianis says. “We wanted to offer something where people could feel safe, get a taste of the fair, and create some new memories — although different.”

“2020 hasn’t really been that fun,” she says. “And the fair is fun.”

How did the State Fair of Texas decrease wait times?

Fair officials expanded the number of scanners at the ticket booth from four to six; widened the drive-through in some areas from one lane to two; added extra staff in congested areas; increased signage to tell customers what’s coming next; added security to control traffic; and offered a way out for cars that are running low on gas.

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Before the event launched, Condoianis estimated that 2,400 cars could drive through the grounds each day — and they’ve hit those numbers on sold-out Saturdays and Sundays. Since leadership made logistical changes to the event, the event can accommodate 2,700 cars per day, Condoianis says.

Staffer Maurice Haworth prepares to catch a bottle of milk while working the beverage...
Staffer Maurice Haworth prepares to catch a bottle of milk while working the beverage station at the State Fair Drive-Thru at Fair Park in Dallas, on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2020. Signage and an extra line has been added at the beverage station to move vehicles faster.(Ben Torres / Special Contributor)

Customers receive an email in advance with tips. It reminds ticketholders to fill up their gas tanks, double check the date and time of their tickets, pack a cooler and games for the kids, and to “plan for a multi-hour experience.”

“Yep, that’s right — us Texans sure do love our fair food, and boy is it worth the wait!” the email reads.

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An area of the parking lot called the “Texas rattlesnake" — a 2.62-mile line of cars before ticketholders enter the fairgrounds — has been shortened.

On a trip on Oct. 11, I clocked the entire experience at 40 minutes, including a 5-minute wait in the parking lot to get in.

Once inside the fairgrounds, I found dozens of smiling staff members moving quickly. The air smelled like sugar — a smell that floats through the fairgrounds during a typical visit to the fair — but this time you’re in the car, pulling up to the cotton candy booth.

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Live musicians sing to customers as they drive towards Big Tex Circle, a nice addition because it was also the only area with a backup of cars. The Big Tex photo was swift, however: Inside of 8 minutes, we parked, walked to Big Tex Circle, smiled in front of the big cowboy, walked back to the car and got back in line for drive-through desserts.

Condoianis acknowledges that "there is no room for error” at an event like this one.

“We couldn’t catch up that day [on Sept. 26]," she says. "But what we found is that the things we modified are working.”

For more food news follow Sarah Blaskovich on Twitter at @sblaskovich.