How children can feel at home at Oktoberfest
Among adults, the Oktoberfest agenda is quite clear. Amusement rides, beer tents, and fun. But even as a families can have a great time at the Oktoberfest if you know what child-friendly offers are available.
Tips for a relaxed visit to the Oktoberfest with children
Those who like it cozy should choose the quieter days during the week for the Oktoberfest stroll. The morning or early afternoon are also recommended for a stroll with children. The offspring may also be present at a snack in the beer tent. But what rules do parents and guardians need to be aware of? In addition to the Oktoberfest regulations and the house rules of the tents, there are also recommendations from the youth protection authorities. Basically, it is a decision of the legal guardians, whereby their task is to prevent harm to their children.
- The Oktoberfest regulations apply to stays on the Festwiese: children under the age of 6 - even when accompanied by adults - are not allowed in beer tents and catering establishments after 8 p.m., not even with a parent or guardian.
- Children and young people under the age of 16 are only permitted to be present on the Festwiese (and therefore also in the beer tents) after 8 p.m. if accompanied by a parent or guardian. They are then allowed to stay until the end of the Wiesn.
- Adolescents over 16 years of age may remain on the festival grounds until the end even without an adult, but in the tents (wine tent, Käfer) only until 24 o'clock
Tuesdays at Oktoberfest: Family Day is savings day
During Oktoberfest, every family’s favorite day is Tuesday, Family Day. Until 7 p.m. many rides and snack bars offer special prices, a significant relief to the wallet, especially if you’re travelling with several children. On this day, parents are offered conditions that make it much easier to give in to children’s wishes.
Explore the “Familienplatzl”!
This place is unfortunately not known to all families, yet they could experience the most relaxed Wiesn time ever there. The Familienplatzl is located on Street 3/East and is clearly marked with a neon sign. Here, families enjoy "their area" where they can experience driving pleasure, Wiesn fun and hospitality all bundled into one street. There are benches and tables where big and small family members can relax from the Oktoberfest stresses and strains. As a service, there is a stroller garage, changing table, children's toilet and a microwave. The family place is completely barrier-free (no steps!) and laid out with a wooden floor, which invites you to play.
When hungry, the beer garden of the Familienplatzerl invites you to linger and offers, for example, snacks in family-friendly varieties and fun surprises for the little ones. In Bavarian beer gardens, it is customary to bring your food to the beer garden and eat it there. It's no different at Familienplatzl.
Special service for families
No matter where you pass by as a family at the Oktoberfest: It is striking how welcome parents and children are at this folk festival. There is an inexpensive stroller parking garage, baby changing rooms with changing tables and, of course, microwaves for heating baby food and food you bring along.
It is allowed to enter the Oktoberfest with a stroller: on the festival grounds, strollers & Co. are allowed Sunday through Friday until 6 p.m. On Saturdays, strollers are generally prohibited on the Oktoberfest.
You can park your stroller for 3 euros each at the luggage storage stations, which can be found around the Oktoberfest grounds near the entrances. If you are already at the Oktoberfest with your stroller and would like to park it for a while, there are stroller parking spaces at the Familienplatzl (Street 3 East), at the Marionette Theater on the Oidn Wiesn, at Entrance 2 to the Oidn Wiesn, as well as at numerous rides and Oktoberfest tents.
For all those who want to escape the hustle and bustle of the Oktoberfest for a short while or just want to recharge their batteries for the next fun, many fairground rides and their own tents offer rest areas with seating.
There is a nappy-changing and breastfeeding room in the Theresienwiese Service Center (Festleitung entrance), behind the Schottenhamel tent. If it is more urgent and the way to the authorities' yard is too far, there are also changing tables in tents and at numerous rides.
There are even separate children's toilets for the little Oktoberfest guests. You can find them at the Ferris wheel, at several children's carousels, in the Marstall festival tent and in Poschner‘s Hühner- und Entenbraterei.
Independently of Family Day, many rides offer bonus cards and frequent rider discounts as well as lower children's prices. In the Devil's Wheel, the little Oktoberfest guests even pay only 1 euro.
At the entrances to the Wiesn grounds, the stewards hand out child finder wristbands. Provided with a telephone number on the wristband, little visitors cannot get lost. The free wristbands are not only helpful for parents and carers, but are also a popular souvenir for the kids.
Independently of Family Day, many rides offer bonus cards and frequent traveller discounts as well as lower prices for children.
The ‘Oide Wiesn,’ a children’s paradise
Munich locals love their “Oide Wiesn”, the nostalgic Oktoberfest like in the old days, which takes place on the southern edge of the festival grounds. Not only are things more leisurely here, all the rides from the classic children's carousel to the chain flyer to the boat swing cost just one euro! Here children can get the Oktoberfest diploma: Those who answer 9 questions about the Oide Wiesn in a search game will receive the Oktoberfest Diploma and can look forward to a small prize.
The museum tent brings the history of the Oktoberfest to life. A special exhibition provides an insight into the history of ghost trains. A new feature is the "Humoristic Velodrome", where children and young people can ride on penny-farthings for the first time this year. Here, face painting for children is offered every Monday, Wednesday and Friday as part of the free children's program, and balloon arts on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The Festzelt Tradition, for example, is already suitable for small children during the day, although it is not quite a small beer tent: Here, a soda fountain flows in the beer garden where the Münchner Kindl stops by every Wednesday from 10 a.m. to noon. As a special service, there is a covered stroller parking area, children's toilets, diaper-changing facilities and a Münchner Kindl figurine for souvenir photos.
A special tip: At the Munich Marionette Theater, puppeteer Siegfried Böhmke and his ensemble present a program that changes every hour from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.
The Oide Wiesn is open daily from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Children up to 14 years of age have free admission. Admission for adults costs four euros, and from 9 p.m. admission is free.
Treats for little Oktoberfest guests
This year, the festival tents are once again offering Bavarian delicacies for the smallest Oktoberfest guests. For example, in addition to the standard tickets, many small and large festival tents offer children's tickets with reduced prices or tickets to color. In the Münchner Knödelei, for example, "Smurf soup" and the spinach dumpling "Popeye" are on the menu. But the stalls outside the tents also have a lot to offer. A special tip is the almond stand of Doris and Stefan Grill (Schaustellerstraße 554). On family days between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., cotton candy is free for children of kindergarten age. From 2 to 6 p.m., the cotton candy is then available for 1 euro, instead of 2.50 euros.
Oktoberfest tours for parents and their children
Have you been to the Oktoberfest before, or are you even one of the long-time Otkoberfest fans? Let us surprise you in both cases, because the guided tour with our guides is just as interesting for newcomers as for connoisseurs. Even those who have often ridden traditional rides such as the Tobaggan or the Krinoline can be curious about funny anecdotes and interesting incidents from the long time in which the showmen's businesses have their place at the Oktoberfest. Guided tours can be booked at München Tourismus.
