Very Poorly Managed. Inadequate seating, water, restrooms, parking.
It is big, with buildings and many shows. However, they have been in business since the mid 1970's and have never installed bathrooms. They have porta-potties. NASTY! On hot days, in full garb, it is a nightmare. Inadequate seating, shade, and available water/drinks to accommodate 20,000-30,000 people. It gets muddy, as there are no wooden walk ways or sidewalks. There are tree roots in some areas of walk ways. Dangerous. You have to walk half a mile just to get in, and then there are only 3 restaurants, with only two have seating. There also are booths to get food, but excessively long lines, and limited on what you get. If you want a turkey leg, a beer, an ice cream, a soup bowl, and fries, you have to stand in 4 or 5 long lines and wait. You cannot get a full meal at any stand. This place is horribly mismanaged. There are about 300 shops that are nice. The costumed people are fun to look at. The jousting is nice, however, every single time I have been there are audio issues. You basically just walk and walk and walk. Have to use a restroom, long walk to find a porta-potty. Have to get a drink, long walk to find, then long line to wait. Getting hot in the sun? Have to WALK again to find shade and a seat. It has grown too large and the management has absolutely NO IDEA how to make guests comfortable. Parking is $10 now, and the people who parked me last time did not give me enough room to open my car door. Even the car next to me had to explain that the distance between the cars was not enough. Total armatures of low IQ. I will instead visit the 10 or so smaller faires around Michigan and perhaps go to Wisconsin to visit Bristol, which looks well managed, with actual manicured grass and sidewalks and large seating area near the food court. Michrenfest.com. It is big and nice, but really sucks if you want seating, shade, water, good parking, and restrooms. They have NONE of that.