Oh how we love the Ekka! We have written a detailed Ekka Guide with all the things you need to know about the Ekka 2024.
Families Magazine are the recognised experts in providing trustworthy Ekka resources, as evidenced in our multitude of Channel 9 News appearances showing you how to save at the Ekka!
First, a bit of history – The Ekka has only been cancelled four times:
The Ekka takes place 10 – 18 August 2024.
Get the most out of Brisbane’s Ekka this year by reading our detailed articles listed below. And towards the bottom of this article we have our guide to the areas of the Ekka that families love best. Here you can find out all about our experience at past Ekka over the years. It is quite the read!!
So rug up warm (or at least take warm clothes for the evening, it is August in Brisbane, it gets cold at night) and pack up the kids and get amongst it – it is our show and we LOVE IT!
Make sure you follow us on Facebook because we will be posting about our visit to the show on the first morning including hot tips and all the discounts we spot!
We have written about just about every aspect of the Ekka over the years from our experience. We update our articles every single year to ensure you have the accurate details you need:
To manage daily capacities, tickets, ride cards and food cards for the Ekka 2024 must be purchased online. Below are the full price prices:
However, you can save 20% by selecting a Super Saver Ticket – available on Monday 12, Tuesday 13, Thursday 15 and Friday 17 August 2024.
If you require a ticket for a Companion, a valid Companion Card is accepted at the gate as a ticket for entry. Please present your Companion Card upon entry to enter the Ekka showgrounds.
Here is the Ekka map for 2024 so you can plan your day. Click on it to download a printable pdf.
There is always so much to see and do at the Ekka that you will be forgiven for needing more than one day (and night)!
The Main Arena comes alive each night of show with the spectacular never before seen night show EkkaNITES proudly presented by Brisbane City Council.
This year’s theme is ‘NEON NITES’.
The night show will feature an action-packed program including:
Every night at 7.50pm, you can watch the Ekka Firework Spectacular in the Main Arena.
The fantastic daily daytime entertainment on offer this year includes:
Plus there is a variety of exciting one day events including:
Adrenaline junkies will love all of the Ekka rides in 2024.
Here are a few of the highlights to look for:
There are rides for everyone (even for those of us that prefer not to be hurled upside down and dropped from great heights!).
There are a few car parks within walking distance to the Brisbane Showgrounds if you want to drive, including:
Public transport is the easiest way to get to Ekka. Trains will NOT be running to the Exhibition Station right in the middle of the Brisbane Showgrounds in 2024 due to track works around the Cross River Rail project. See the updated Ekka transport information from Translink here.
Dedicated EKKA buses stop close to the entry gates.
The Ekka opens at 9am each day. Different displays and areas close at different times. For example, the Ekka Emporium closes at 6pm, the Gourmet Plaza at 9.30pm and the Kids’ Carnival at 8pm with both the Sideshow Alley and Showbag Pavilion closing ‘late’.
Yes, it might be expensive, yes, you might be able to go on unlimited rides at the theme parks… but the Ekka is more than that!
It’s the atmosphere.
And its City meets Country.
It’s a family tradition in the making.
It can cost a fortune or you CAN actually be careful and do Ekka on a budget.
It’s the Ekka… and we love it to bits. It’s a part of our family.
Want to learn about past Ekka events? Read on to read our review of Ekkas of old.
We’ve zoned the Ekka map and given you the lowdown on what’s in each area, so no matter which gate you enter by, you can save time and get it all done without a foot full of blisters and a pram full of frustrated children. Pick the zones you want to visit in the map below and scroll down to see what’s there. Keep this web page open on your phone – you’ll want to keep referring to it!
So here it is, nothing but practical information, specifically for families with all of the family friendly events and hidden free fun activities for children!
Collect the full Ekka map at the entrance – or even better, head to the App Store and download the free Ekka app, which has an interactive map that allows you to zoom into each area to see what’s there – zoom in enough and it even lifts the roofs off some buildings, like the Woolworths Pavilion, to show you who is inside! The app can also help you navigate to the areas you want to get to, and contains useful information about show and event times.
Looking at the map above, we’ve broken up the Ekka grounds into handy “chunks” or sections i.e. these are sections of the Ekka that you’ll want to do together (to minimise walking!)
We’ll explain the sections below, but here they are:
A – Showbag Pavilion
B – Rides (Areas 1, 2 & 3)
C – The Old Museum
D – Agricultural Hall & Channel 7 Pavilion
E – Woolworths Pavilion
F – John Reid Pavilion & Ekka Emporium
G – RACQ Animal Nursery
We’ve spent hours poring over every Ekka Showbag and have put together a guide to help you determine how to get the biggest bang for your Ekka buck, regardless of your child’s individual interests. Read our Detailed Showbag Review.
There are 3 main areas that contain rides, looking at our map you’ll see them indicated as B1, B2 and B3. They are all outlined below.
When you’re looking at rides, there are a few things to consider (in regards to cost):
(In previous years, a lot of showbags have had ride vouchers in them – we haven’t found any showbags with vouchers this year! Comment below if you happen to find any… I’m not convinced they exist!)
This area has changed a little this year, the Euroslide (i.e. giant slide is still there, and has bulk discount tickets).
The “Pirates Revenge” log ride is a great choice (yes, you get wet) and there’s also a separate (fantastic) walk through pirate themed fun house that has a great ticket deal.
They now have water balls (right near exit 5 – just near the red cross symbol on the map).
This is the “main” ride section and has a lot of the thrill seeker rides, mainly for the older kids.
It does have a few rides for younger kids, so it’s worth a look.
One of the best rides for younger kids is the dodgem cars. Note that the big dodgem car ride is just outside the Ekka Showbag Pavilion. Kids from around age 7 should be able to drive them on their own i.e. reach the pedals (and they’ll also fit a passenger… and that passenger may be left slightly traumatised and wondering whether they have the stomach to teach their child to drive at some stage in the future). For the younger kids, head to location 2C and you’ll find a smaller version.
This is a hidden gem, but has shrunk a little over the years due to development. It’s still a great place to visit with kids aged between 3 and 8!
The Fun House is a favourite in our house and offers a bulk ticket deal. Just go with the bulk deal, your kids are likely to ask you to go on it again.
In regards to pricing, you’ll find some of the cheapest ride tickets in this section. Some rides are teamed together to offer multi-buy deals, allowing you to go on more rides for less.
As mentioned earlier, this is where you’ll now find the Fungee Bungee trampolines at $12 a pop.
There are craft and gardening activities here … and there are also some free activities for the kids.
If you have a child in school and they’ve entered some of their school work into the Ekka competition, you’ll find it here.
Generally, if you go inside the museum, you’ll find “stuff” for the grown ups to look at… but outside there are a few things for the kids, such as a mini maze treasure hunt. Whilst it’s not very tall, our 3 x 8 year old children all really enjoyed finding the clues.
Like last year, there’s a stall where you can make a free fresh flower headband.
Firstly, this place is amazing… and not to be missed. It provides hours of free entertainment for kids of all ages and they have somehow managed to scale the entertainment for littlies, up to big kids. The littlies have things to play with, the bigger kids will enjoy the play, but also learn in the process. There are two levels in the Agricultural Education Hall, downstairs is the Agricultural Education area (with lots of fun activities) and you’ll find heaps of fun but different educational activities upstairs, along with the new Technology Precinct.
I’ll start with upstairs, and break this pavilion into categories:
Firstly, as you go up the escalator, you’ll see an ambulance (which the kids can investigate), and they can play a CPR game on dummies (all free).
Everything in here is free to play with, and there are lots of souvenirs for the kids to take home. I’d estimate that a curious child could spend an hour or two in this section alone.
Start by going to the Police display to pickup your passport – then start the police adventure (collecting stamps, freebies and having fun along the way!)
Whilst you’re collecting the passport stamps (after your child is finger printed… at which point you ask the police officer whether your child is being setup to be a cop or a criminal), kids can dress up as a police officer.
2019 is the Year of Outback Tourism, so there is a lot of focus of things to do and places to visit. Be aware in this area – you might get chased by a dinosaur. Sacrifice the child and save yourself!
Don’t worry, it’s just a green-screen, and you’ll be given a print out of a photograph to keep and emailed a gif to download.
The Channel 7 Pavilion is where you’ll find a real helicopter (don’t ask me how they got it in there!), plus a television news station for children to put their reporting skills to the test, a virtual reality racing car game, technology (Fortnite is heavily featured!) and the Channel 7 Kids Zone.
The Kids Zone has LOTS for kids to do. They can show off their talent to get a golden buzzer, pose with props, play games and do other activities. There is even the opportunity for them to win a few prizes or pick up some freebies.
Head downstairs and you’ll find the Agricultural Hall. This area has a heap of free activities for children that teach them about the food they eat, the clothes they wear, basically things like:
There’s a virtual paddock where children can don virtual reality goggles to experience farming for themselves, and lots of craft and interactive activities.
The ground floor of the Agricultural Pavilion is also where you will find the marvellous arts and craft displays, including stunning cakes and photography. If you want to set your kids a challenge, ask them to find Thanos’ glove!
In summary, you could easily spend a whole day in this pavilion… and the whole thing is free, fun and educational. It’s amazing.
Firstly we’ll start with a tip… it’s near impossible to get a table at lunchtime, the food here is fantastic and reasonably priced (and not rubbish), just try to eat outside of peak times if you can. There are SO many things to see and do in this pavilion, but let’s start with the food.
For a super quick fill-em-up snack, grab a $3 cheese toastie.
The Gotzinger $2 mini hotdogs are now $3 (sorry, no new photograph), but kids love them.
And while you’re here, try the Woolworth’s fresh food samples. This year they’re sampling fresh fruit, green beans and banana smoothies.
There are lots of other food retailers here offering tasters and samples too, and a gourmet selection of dining options. You can even watch a live cooking demonstration while you eat.
These pavilions are mainly shops, however, some of them have activities for the kids… but they are a limited.
On the way to the pavilions (if you’re heading from the Woolworths Pavilion or Agricultural Hall), there’s a stall that sells amazing hats for $10! There are superhero themed hats, the traditional NY hat and so many to choose from, all $10 each. I thought it deserved a special mention, as it’s a great idea for cheap b’day / Christmas presents. There Queensland firefighters are also here selling their fundraising calendars. I just know my great auntie is going to love her Christmas present this year!
In the pavilion they have some really unique things that you don’t find in shops (for both kids and adults), it’s definitely worth a visit. Perhaps head to these shops before going to the Showbag Pavilion, so when your child wants to buy everything you can say “you can have this… or showbags!”.
They even have costumes (think about book week people!)
There are so many animal related exhibits to see, but obviously the stand out for young children is the RACQ Animal Nursery where you can enter for free and buy a cup of feed for $3, or 2 for $5 (which will guarantee your child will be delightfully stalked by the animals… in a nice way). EFTPOS payments are accepted.
As a family of animal lovers, all I heard from the children in our group was “cuteness overload!, cuteness overload!”, and then we came outside and look – it even says it on the sign! This is a place where my children could remain ALL DAY and be quite content.
There are donkeys, sheep, lambs, goats, calves, llamas, pigs, ducklings, chicks – and check out this for “cuteness overload”…
While two of the rambunctious litter were still tussling and playing, these exhausted pups clambered into the trough for a snooze!
For safety reasons I write my phone number on my son’s hand, given it was in the picture I attempted to photoshop it out. I appear to have removed his whole hand (in the photo, not in real life… obviously).
In addition to the animal nursery and feeding there are a few events that you can attend (all free):
And if the kids still want MORE animals, a visit to see all the show animals on display should see them right.
The EkkaNITES entertainment is fantastic, and don’t forget they now have the 6.05pm Fairy Tale and Fantasy themed Children’s Fireworks display!
The Children’s fireworks are pretty simple, the kind of fireworks we remember as kids, but with a little extra entertainment, they do flow directly into the rest of the show. Here’s the EkkaNITES agenda:
8pm – Meet the Stars (they ride up close and high 5 the kids)
For you…. yes, the grown ups, you won’t love the children’s fireworks, but you’ll be suitably impressed if you have littlies (and we thank the Ekka for doing this). But nothing compares to the main EkkaNITES Fireworks Spectacular even at 7:40pm. If you can make it, it’s worth the wait!
To give you a little clue about the theme… in the picture below, as I was taking the picture I got a big surprise and nearly fell off my chair.
If you’ve never been to the Ekka, watch our video from a previous year for a preview of the type of things you’ll find there!
Check out these options:
Janine Mergler is a veteran Queensland teacher, graduating from QUT with a BEd majoring in Social Sciences. After many years in the classroom, Janine moved on to academia. She has proudly trained new generations of teachers in her role as a lecturer at Queensland University of Technology Faculty of Education. She has also worked in the Queensland Government as an education specialist, developing education resources and delivering community awareness programs to help families conserve water. Currently she is the owner and editor of Families Magazine, a publication specifically targeted at parents who value a quality education for children. Janine leads a team of professionals who write about family lifestyle, early childhood, schools and education information and family-friendly events.
