CNE offering deluxe ticket option for 2025 and the cost may shock you

Among the 1.6 million people who look forward to closing out their summer with the iconic Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Toronto each year, there are many who hold the long-running event particularly close to their heart, whether because it’s their first time, their hundredth time, a family tradition, or for some other reason.

For those superfans, first-timers and anyone else looking for an extra-special CNE experience, there is a new ticket option to splurge on in 2025 for the ultimate day of summer fun.

For the first time in its 146-year history, the Ex now boasts a fancy VIP ticket package, which has a jam-packed list of inclusions for attendees.

With each VIP ticket, you get admission to the CNE grounds and unlimited rides (yes, you heard that right), along with a fast pass to skip all of the lineups, drink tickets, and a $50 food voucher to gorge on all of this year’s viral eats.

Ticketholders are also provided access to the best seats in the house — in a private VIP area, front and centre — for the day’s live performance at the CNE Bandshell, along with front row access (and skip-the-line passes, of course) to their choice of either the CNE SuperDogs or Acrobatic Ice Skating shows, plus VIP locker space at the Withrow Common Gallery.

You’re even assigned your own dedicated concierge team to help plan your day and make it run as smoothly as possible, which includes accommodating any additional requests you may have — now that’s service! And, you’ll head home with some limited edition CNE goodies, including merch, treats and more.

For diehard CNErs (such as myself, having gone every single year since I was three months old), it is the best of the best; a total dream pass.

But, given the rising cost of everything as of late, one might wonder what ostentatious price tag such a one-of-a-kind experience comes with.

While the standard advance admission pass available online at the time of publication is $25.11, the standard ride all day pass (admission with unlimited rides) is $47.24, and the standard express pass to skip ride lineups has been anither $25 per person or so in previous years (prices are not yet listed for 2025), the VIP ticket will run you… drum roll, please… a whopping $452.99.

Even harder on your wallet is the fact that the tickets can only be purchased in packages of four, and not individually, making for a grand total of over $1,800, at least.

For some, paying this amount for just about anything may seem bonkers given the hard financial times we’re in right now, on the precipice of recession and all. But, for others, the VIP experience and all that it comes with may seem well worth it for a top-of-the-line, all-inclusive CNE visit like no other.