SHAKOPEE, Minn. — Minnesota Renaissance Festival leaders are hoping a new parking plan will eliminate backups and traffic jams of years past.
Starting on Saturday’s opening day, visitors will need to purchase a parking pass ahead of time in order to park on-site. Spots on the festival grounds come at a reduced number, with an increased emphasis on handicapped parking access.
Visitors will need to buy a pass online for the specific day of the festival they plan to attend – at a $10 price tag. Should you wait and try and purchase at the gate, the price jumps to $30 – with limited spaces available.
Organizers are hopeful the tens of thousands of visitors choose to park at one of a number of nearby park and ride locations, where roughly 40 shuttles an hour at peak times will transport visitors to the festival grounds.
The round-trip shuttle rides cost $5 for those 13 and older – which will then become a $5 voucher that can be redeemed for tickets or merchandise.
During the festival’s opening weekend on Aug. 19-20, park and ride locations will be hosted at Eagle Creek and Canterbury Park. By the festival’s end, more park and ride locations will open at the Burnsville Transit Hub, Southbridge Crossing and Scott County Fairgrounds.
Buses will run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
“It’s going to be huge,” said Renaissance Festival Entertainment Assistant Brady Lockwood. “The ease of getting into these grounds is going to make it so people who were hesitant in the past- had small children, didn’t want to wait to get in and park are going to have an easy way to park and come visit.”
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