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| - We made our annual trip to the CNE yesterday and it continues to decline as an enjoyable experience. I first went there in 2000 a year before I moved to Canada and it was so much better then. There were lots of freebies, the shopping in the international bazaar was fun and cheap, the food building actually had bargains, and there were lots of shows that were actually good. over the years, the freebies have vanished, the international bazaar has been taken over by mostly Chinese vendors, and there are fewer and fewer shows. In the past, there was always an act on the International stage to watch while you wandered around shopping, but now you are lucky to get 3 or 4 in a day there. There was no skating show this year either, with an acrobatic show substituted instead, which was a big disappointment. Bring back the skaters! The food building is nothing but a HUGE cash grab with almost everything overpriced. Even last year you could still get $1 hotdogs and Jamaican patties, but this year the cheapest dog was $1.79 and the patties were up to $2.79! The last few years we have said we may skip the CNE next year and we probably would if we didn't get free tickets using Air Miles.
I can't speak for the rides since we never go on those, although many of them are the same I remember seeing every year. We also don't play the (overpriced and difficult to win) midway games and I would definitely recommend staying away from those. Buy a stuffed animal at Toys R Us and it will probably wind up cheaper and definitely be better quality.
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