Long Beach Oktoberfest

My wife is of German ancestry. We love attending Octoberfest celebrations at Alpine Village, the Phoenix Club, and sometimes even Big Bear is happening, (Old World is usually kinda small). I live adjacent to ElDorado Park, so we HAD to check out this new Octoberfest!
The main reason that there were no people was the poor state of the economy! At roughly 15 to 20% unemployment in LAC and OC at the time of this event, it’s no wonder that nobody was there.
The next reason is the price. If you are accustomed to Octoberfests around these parts, it costs $ 8.00 to get in. But usually you can get in FREE, (or at a substantial discount) to virtually any of the local Octoberfests by clipping a coupon or chatting up any one wearing a dirndl or lederhosen that works there.
Finally, the GERMAN theme requires German beer, German food, and a German/​Bavarian setting! The organizers just blew it on these last three things. Sam Adams? And then they ran out of their Octoberfest brew!!! When you advertise a feast of food, you really should provide a feast, not a sample plate from Bristol Farms. The quantity and quality of food was pathetic, and a waste of cash!
This event has potential. The organizers just need to see how Alpine village does it, and how Big Bear has very gradually improved over the past six years! Big Bear’s was just as pathetic with Budweiser stadium beer at the beginning, and now serving actual Spaten!

One of the best festivals I have been to in the LA area! It was such a pleasure not having to fight large crowds. As another review said, it was like being at my own personal festival. The setting was also beautiful, in the middle of a El Dorado Regional Park. I also liked that the festival rides were included in the price for admission. Nothing like going round and round on rides after a couple drinks. Speaking of drinks, the Dancing Chicken drinks were great! They were very strong. You got your share of alcohol to make up for the steep price of the drink ($ 10).
I am going to deduct a star because the food wasn’t great but overall it was a great experience. I’ll be coming back next year for sure! 4 stars!

Parking — great, prices. After winning a giant stuffed Banana for a special friend, we decided to hit up the enormous swing ride. Hardly a line to wait in and we were greeted by an AMAZINGLY friendly and authentic carny who actually did have several missing teeth. The ‘coconut monkey’ drink, no wait. the ‘furry chicken’ drink (vodka and some kind of juice) was great. Bacon hotdogs — outstanding, and games and prizes were fun. Although the ricochet the wiffle ball into the basket game prize eluded me. = (
Great for kids as well.
Sincerely,
’tilt a whirl champions of the world’

It was like my own personal carnival.
no lines for anything.
cool location.
good value.
i think the weather and the newness played a factor in the low turnout so far. I’m going back next weekend to spend hours and hours on the rides.

This was one of the strangest experiences I’ve ever had in LA.
First things first: No German beer. The closest thing they had was Sam Adams Oktoberfest, which is great and all, but as we looked around at what essentially amounts to «October Carnival Time With a German Band Playing to Nobody» with our sam adams in a plastic coors light cup I knew we were in for an ironic good time (hence the second star). Oh and they ran out of Oktoberfest sometime before 4:30. They had normal sam adams, sam adams cherry wheat, and bud leftover. GERMANY!
I was stoked to bone up to a Germanic «feast», so not all was lost. The food was fine, but calling it a feast is kind of hilarious, and you got it at a giant bristol farms booth. ‘Cause Bristol Farms = Germany, right?
The band was entertaining, but there were so few people only a couple little kids were dancing. At one point the poor band lead said, «Guys, come on… get up and dance, please?» The chicken dance got some parents and kids up.
There was a woman in «German» garb walking around with what looked like a wooden sword with pretzels swinging on it, selling them for $ 2.00.
Besides all this, it was a carnival. They were selling tortas, hawaiian BBQ, greek food… you know, germany. You had your funhouse, sack slide, zipper, broken ferris wheel, swing whrilythingie playing classic rock (germany), really really bored essentially unemployable carnies, all that good stuff.
We paid $ 60 for two VIP passes, which included two beers, two «feasts», and all the rides you can stomach. Breaking it down, the beer is fairly priced at $ 5, the feast was worth no more than $ 10, and I guess if rides are your thing you’ll blow $ 10 each, so really when you think about it, we paid $ 10 for irony. And irony my friends is priceless.
Great for a first date «WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING» bonding experience.

This was the First Annual Long Beach Oktoberfest, and it showed. Essentially it was a quiet Oktoberfest surrounded by a carnival, what with the midway games, fleecing carnival barkers, and deadly/​fun rides.
The El Dorado Park location is different, and has a lot of potential. I dunno if it was due to the sprawling size of the park, the newness of a LB Oktoberfest, or sheer lack of interest, but the place was definitely not packed. Goin in, it had more of a family friendly due to the carnival atmosphere. This may have deterred some young adults from sticking around.
The food and beer were good enough, despite not being overwhelmingly Deutsch-​inspired. But never look a gift bacon dog in the mouth. And Sam Adams is always good wherever you go. There was plenty of live music, but it went mostly unnoticed due to lack of attendance.
Once we gave up any expectations, we all had a good time. Food was good, rides were fun, and no waiting for anything kept things moving along smoothly. I think with a bit of a push, and some hard-​learned lessons from the first-​ever LB Oktoberfest, there is a lot of potential for success in the future. The price is right, the location is cool. Just needs more Oktoberfest and less creepy carnies.

Went to the first annual Long Beach Oktoberfest on Saturday night. It was pretty empty, but was told that is was busy during the day. It’s an Oktoberfest/​carnival in the same area. It’s a great concept for parents as mom and dad can bring the kids and have a beer while letting them go on the rides. It was not like the Oktoberfest you might expect at Alpine Village in Torrance. In that reguards, it was weak. But there is a lot of room for improvement! It’s just the first one, give it time, and it can be a great event.
$ 15 to get in, $ 5 for 16oz beers. Not overally priced.

You might call me a connoisseur of festivals. My poor husband gets subjected to every fair/​festival/​anything-​ending-​in-​fest I can talk him into and October is his favorite month to get dragged to events because undoubtedly it’s just a slew of party gimmicks guised as appreciation for the German culture celebrated by raising one too many steins. And he has a liter stein.
Enter Long Beach Oktoberfest in its first year. For $ 15 you get admission to the festival which includes unlimited rides. Yes, you heard me right. Everything from the zipper, sky diva, carousel and hang gliding to the Tilt-​A-​Whirl was included in the $ 15 ($ 13 presale) price. For $ 35 ($ 30 presale) you get admission including unlimited rides, a Bavarian feast and a beer.
The Bavarian feast consisting of a bratwurst, potato salad, sauerkraut and red cabbage slaw is higher quality (Bristol Farms catered) than anything I’ve had at the Old World or Alpine Village Oktoberfests but slightly overpriced for $ 15 a plate. There are so many other more wallet friendly vendors offering German Pancakes ($ 5), Hand rolled Pretzels ($ 4) and oddly, Hawaiian, Cajun and Mexican food.
There is a lot that sets this Oktoberfest apart from the other party hardy harvest festivals. First, instead of being stuck in a small tented or cramped area, the rides, games, food vendors, Ooompopop entertainment and dance floor, merchandise vendors are all spread far out so you can walk, talk, drink, play, dance and ride resulting in hours of entertainment.
I recommend loading up on drink tickets. 1 drink ticket is $ 5 and will buy you a 20 oz beer or, if you’re lucky enough to run into the adorable shot gal, 1 test tube of Jäger. It can also buy you a glass of wine. 2 drink tickets will buy you a vodka punch concoction they call a Chicken something or other. It’s tasty and a good alternative for boys and girls who don’t enjoy the brew.
If you are in a group happy to share food, try 1 Bavarian plate, 1 order of German pancakes, 1 hand rolled pretzel and 1 small order of Cajun shrimp per 2 – 3 people so you can get a taste of the best the festival has to offer.
Make sure you get a picture at the photo booth ($ 0) where you can dress up in various German hats, boas, necklaces, beer goggles and chicken gear to commemorate the occasion. They’ll email you the picture at no charge.
When you’re done getting your fill of rides, shopping and carnival games, grab a table by the band, help some people build the requisite cup pyramid, and get your chicken dance on.
A few things to note: because it’s the first year, it wasn’t crowded. No lines for ANYTHING skews this review with rosy lenses.
They do not have any German beers. That’s right, in lieu of Spaten you get Sam Adams Oktoberfest or Boston Lager and I believe Coors Light.
Because the ‘Fest is on El Dorado Park grounds, there will be unevenness in the walking areas. Avoid heels for the sake of saving your Louboutins from getting muddy and you sinking into the ground.
Parking is easy and abundant but beware of mud ditches. We saw a minivan get stuck because the driver didn’t avoid the obvious muddy area. It’s a bumpy ride once you get on the grass, leave your lowered car at home.
This is a kid friendly Oktoberfest. If you are looking for a huge drinking only party, there is a space for that near the Biergartens but there will be little ones running around the rest of the festival grounds.
Long Beach Oktoberfest, you will be my number one southern California Oktoberfest venue from now on as long as you keep the lines short, the prices cheap, entertainment value high, the food good and the service pleasant like it was the first year every year.