Munich · Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest with Kids: Family Days, Rides and What to Skip

By Ramya ChinnaduraiPublished 9 October 2026Checked 9 October 2026

Oktoberfest works well with kids if you go on a weekday, arrive in the late morning and leave before 18:00. Aim for one of the two family Tuesdays (21 and 28 September 2027), when many rides and stalls cut prices until 19:00. Avoid Saturdays and 3 October completely if you have a pram, because prams are banned all day on those dates, and remember that under-6s must be out of the beer tents by 20:00.

Oktoberfest 2027 runs from Saturday 18 September to Sunday 3 October on the Theresienwiese. Most of the ride and food prices below are 2026 figures. The 2027 prices will not be published until shortly before the festival, so treat them as a guide.

The rules that actually affect families

These come from the city's Oktoberfest rules and youth protection notes. In 2026 they were enforced, and the city's own end-of-festival report says parents with prams after 18:00 were the group its youth protection staff spoke to most often.

• Under 6 in a beer tent after 20:00: not allowed, even with a parent. This includes the tents on the Oide Wiesn.
• Under 16 on the grounds after 20:00: only with a parent or a person with parental authority.
• Prams and buggies: banned all day on Saturdays and on 3 October. On every other day they are allowed until 18:00, as long as the grounds are not too crowded.
• Bags: maximum 3 litres, or 20 x 15 x 10 cm. A nappy bag counts as a bag, so pack a slim one.
• Glass bottles: not allowed on the grounds. Bring an unbreakable bottle instead.
• Alcohol: beer and wine from 16, spirits from 18.

In 2027 the pram ban hits three Saturdays (18 September, 25 September, 2 October) plus Sunday 3 October, which is the German Unity public holiday and the last day of the festival.

Family days in 2027

The city has already published the 2027 Familientage: Tuesday 21 September and Tuesday 28 September 2027. On both days many rides, showmen and snack stalls offer reduced prices for children and families until 19:00.

There is no single discount. Each business decides its own offer, so look for signs at the ticket booths. In 2026 the city reported that attendance on the second-week family day was 57% higher than the year before, so these Tuesdays are getting busier. Arrive when the rides open at 10:00 and you get the best of the discounts before the crowd builds.

Best time of day and week

The city's youth office recommends midday or early afternoon for small children, because visitors spread out better across the grounds then, and it advises against weekends.

Here is how that plays out on the ground:

• Best days: Monday to Thursday in the second week. The first weekend is the most crowded, and the opening Saturday has rides starting only at 12:00.
• Best hours: 10:00 to 15:00. Rides open at 10:00 on weekdays (9:00 at weekends and on the holiday).
• Hard stop: 18:00 if you have a pram, 20:00 if you have an under-6 in a tent. Plan to be walking out before these times, not starting to pack up.
• Sunday: prams are allowed until 18:00, but Sundays are busy. Go early if you must.

Strollers: where to park and when to leave them at home

You can push a pram around the grounds Sunday to Friday until 18:00. In practice, the main streets between the big tents get very tight after lunch, and a pram becomes a liability. A carrier or sling is easier for babies and toddlers.

Free pram parking is available at the Familienplatzl, at the Marionettentheater on the Oide Wiesn, at Oide Wiesn entrance 2 and at many rides and tents. After 18:00 or on Saturdays you can leave a pram at the luggage storage points near the entrances. The city's German pages gave this as 5 euros per pram in 2026; the English page still shows 3 euros, so budget for 5.

The Familienplatzl: your base camp

The Familienplatzl is the official family area, on Straße 3/Ost and marked with a light-up sign. It is open daily and has:

• a step-free area with a wooden floor for little ones to play
• children's rides
• a pram garage
• a baby changing table and a children's toilet
• a microwave for warming baby food
• a beer garden where families may eat food they brought themselves
• a free drinking water point at the entrance

Make this your meeting point, snack stop and nappy stop. It is also where the cheapest Maß on the main grounds was poured in 2026 (14.80 euros, according to Sonntagsblatt's price list), if the adults want one.

Oide Wiesn: the calmer option

The Oide Wiesn is the historic section in the south of the Theresienwiese, and it is the single best part of Oktoberfest for families. The music is brass band rather than party hits, the rides are vintage and slow, and there is room to move. The city lists it for 18 September to 3 October 2027.

2026 prices (the 2027 figures are not yet published):

• Entry: 4 euros from age 15. Children up to 14 are free. Entry is free for everyone from 21:00.
• Historic rides: 1.50 euros per ride (the official site's family page still shows 1 euro, but the city's 2026 price list says 1.50).
• Münchner Marionettentheater: puppet shows daily from 11:00 to 18:00, no extra charge.
• Museum tent: face painting and balloon art on set days, plus a search game where children who answer nine questions earn a Wiesn-Diplom.
• Festzelt Tradition: has a Limogarten. Sonntagsblatt reported that children could drink unlimited lemonade there for 1 euro in 2026.

The under-6 rule still applies here: little ones must be out of the Oide Wiesn tents by 20:00.

Rides by age

Every ride sets its own price, posted at its ticket booth, and minimum age and height are posted at each ride. Nothing is booked in advance. In 2026 small children's rides cost around 4 to 6 euros, big rides 10 euros or more. The big Riesenrad charged 11 euros for adults and 4 euros for children in 2025.

Toddlers (roughly 1 to 4)

• Classic children's carousels, dotted around the grounds and on the Oide Wiesn
• Märcheneisenbahn, the fairy-tale train
• Krinoline, a gentle merry-go-round with brass band music and sofa gondolas
• The historic rides on the Oide Wiesn, slow and cheap
• The Marionettentheater, a sit-down break with no screens

School age (roughly 5 to 10)

• Willenborgs Riesenrad, the 50 metre Ferris wheel. Go in the morning for a clear view of the grounds and no queue.
• Wellenflug and the other chain swings
• Teufelsrad (Devil's Wheel), a spinning disc where riders try to stay on against the centrifugal force. Funny to watch even if they do not ride. The official site lists a 1 euro child price.
• Toboggan, a fast conveyor belt up the tower and a slide down. Children love watching adults fall off the belt.
• Flohzirkus, a real flea circus, and Hexenschaukel, the oldest ride on the Wiesn
• Riesenrad 1925, a small nostalgic Ferris wheel

Older kids and tweens

A family coaster such as the Wilde Maus suits bigger children. Check the height sign before you queue, because limits are set by each operator and the city does not publish a single list. Leave the big looping coasters to teenagers who meet the posted limits.

Lost children and safety

Six children aged 0 to 13 were looked after by youth protection staff as lost in 2026. Getting separated is rare, but the crowds make it scary. Do these four things when you arrive:

1. Get a free Kinderfinder wristband. Stewards hand them out at the entrances. Write your mobile number on it.
2. Agree a meeting point and walk there together. The city recommends the "Festleitung" entrance at the Servicezentrum Theresienwiese, directly behind the Schottenhamel tent. Do not use the Bavaria statue, the Ferris wheel or the main entrance, which are far too crowded.
3. Tell children who to ask: ride staff, tent staff, security stewards or the police.
4. Keep your phone on and charged, and put a note with a second number in your child's pocket.

The Servicezentrum is also where you find the youth protection office (open 18:00 to 23:30) and a public accessible toilet. Medical cover on the grounds is run by Aicher Ambulanz, which had around 430 staff including 36 doctors on duty around the clock in 2026. If anyone needs medical help, alert the nearest steward or call 112.

Toilets, nappies and water

• Baby changing: the nursing and changing room in the Servicezentrum (Festleitung entrance, behind Schottenhamel) is open until 19:00. The Familienplatzl has a changing table and a children's toilet, and some tents and many rides have changing tables too.
• Toilets: all big tents and most small ones have toilets, including an accessible one. There are seven public accessible toilets on the grounds, including at the Servicezentrum, behind the Oide Wiesn Marionettentheater, at the Esperantoplatz entrance and to the right of the main entrance in front of the Marstall tent. They use the EURO key.
• Water: in 2026 there were ten free drinking water fountains on the grounds. Bring an unbreakable bottle. A litre of water cost about 11 euros on average in the tents in 2026.

Food kids will actually eat

Children rarely want a half chicken, and at 17 to 20 euros in 2026 you do not want to waste one. What works:

• Brezn (pretzel): the big ones cost about 7 to 8 euros in 2026 and one feeds two small children.
• Wiener or Bratwurst in a roll from the snack stands
• Steckerlfisch for adventurous eaters, and Kaiserschmarrn (shredded pancake with apple sauce) to share
• Gebrannte Mandeln and gingerbread hearts as treats, not lunch

Several tents offer cheaper children's meals on family days. For the cheapest lunch, bring your own food to the Familienplatzl beer garden, where it is allowed.

Noise and ear protection

The big tents are loud from the moment the band starts, and the rides each blast their own music. There is no official decibel guidance for the tents, but hearing experts generally treat children's ears as more sensitive than adults'. Bring proper kids' ear defenders (over-ear, sized for children), not foam plugs, which small children find hard to keep in. A simple test: if you cannot talk normally to someone a metre away, it is too loud for your child.

Toddler vs school-age: two different days

With a baby or toddler, keep it short: two to three hours, mostly at the Familienplatzl and the Oide Wiesn. Use a carrier, plan around nap time and skip the big tents, which are loud and hot. Go on a Tuesday or a quiet weekday.

With school-age children, you can do a longer day with more rides, a sit-down lunch in a tent and the Teufelsrad show. Set a ride budget up front and let them choose. Still leave before 18:00 if anyone in the group is under 6 or you have a pram.

A sample half-day plan (weekday)

1. 10:00: enter, pick up Kinderfinder wristbands and write your number on them.
2. 10:15: walk to the Servicezentrum behind Schottenhamel together so everyone knows the meeting point.
3. 10:30: Riesenrad before the queue builds, then two or three rides on the main streets.
4. 11:30: Oide Wiesn. Puppet show, historic rides at 1.50 euros, lemonade in the Limogarten.
5. 12:30: lunch. Either a tent lunch (book or arrive early) or your own food at the Familienplatzl.
6. 13:30: Teufelsrad and Toboggan, mostly to watch. One last ride each.
7. 14:30: gingerbread heart, nappy stop, out before the afternoon crowds arrive.

Budget tips

Sonntagsblatt estimated about 135 to 185 euros for two adults and two children in 2026, without tips, transport or souvenirs. They suggested at least 30 to 60 euros per child for rides alone. To keep it lower:

• Go on a family Tuesday before 19:00.
• Do most rides on the Oide Wiesn, at a flat price per ride.
• Use the free water fountains instead of buying drinks.
• Look for multi-ride bonus cards and child prices at the booths.
• Bring your own lunch to the Familienplatzl.

What to skip

• Saturdays, the opening weekend and 3 October. Prams are banned and the grounds are at their fullest.
• Big tents after mid-afternoon. Benches fill, people stand on them and it gets loud. Not a place for little children.
• The main entrance and the Bavaria statue as meeting points. Too crowded.
• Evenings. After 18:00 the mood shifts towards adults, and the youth protection staff start sending prams home.
• Big-ticket thrill rides with young kids. Expensive, long queues, and the height limit may stop them anyway.
• Ride marathons on the main streets. Do a few highlights, then move to the Oide Wiesn for cheaper, calmer rides.

What parents learn the hard way

• The 18:00 pram rule is enforced. Staff will ask you to leave, and in 2026 this was the most common issue youth protection raised with families.
• The Ferris wheel is the worst meeting point at Oktoberfest. Everyone can see it, so everyone picks it.
• A nappy bag that is too big will be turned away at the entrance. Keep it to 3 litres.
• On a hot September afternoon the tents get stuffy fast. Plan lunch outside if your toddler overheats easily.
• The lost property office moved off the grounds in 2026 (to the Deutsches Museum Verkehrszentrum). Keep track of soft toys and jackets.

For tents, dates and where to stay, see our full guide on how to plan Oktoberfest 2027.

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