The Parent’s Guide to Austin Kiddie Limits

The family-friendly Austin City Limits music festival returns to Zilker Park October 4-6 and October 11-13. If you’re an adult with a wristband for weekend one or weekend two who’s planning on bringing the kids along for the fun, here’s everything you need to know about getting around ACL with the whole family!

Registering Your Children

For every adult festival attendee with a GA, GA+, or VIP wristband, ACL festival allows two children (age 8 and under) for FREE (guests with Platinum wristbands must purchase a platinum kids ticket for children older than 2). Kids older than 8 must have a paid wristband to attend the festival.

One major change for this year’s festival is that all children must be registered with a Tag-A-Kid wristband in advance before entering the festival. Parents can register their children and secure their wristband in one of the following ways:

• Before the festival: Child registration will be available at the Palmer Events Center (900 Barton Springs Ave) Hall 1 on Thursday, October 3 from 11 am – 7 pm.
• The day of the festival: Each day of the festival, parents can complete child registration at one of the following locations before going through security at the festival entrance:
  • West Box Office: Located next to the west entrance to the festival on Barton Springs Rd, the West Box Office offers tag-a-kid from 11 am – 9 pm on October 4^tth and 11^th and from 10 am – 9 pm on October 5^th, 6^th, 12^th, and 13^th.
  • East Box Office: Located on Barton Springs Rd next to the ZILKR on the Park condo complex, the East Box Office offers tag-a-kid from 11 am – 9 pm on October 4^tth and 11^th and from 10 am – 9 pm on October 5^th, 6^th, 12^th, and 13^th. Note that this box office is closest to the family entrance to the festival.
  • Ladybird Box Office: The Ladybird Box Office on Stratford drive offers tag-a-kid from 11 am – 9 pm on October 4^tth and 11^th and from 10 am – 9 pm on October 5^th, 6^th, 12^th, and 13^th.

The bottom line: Don’t show up with unregistered children at the family entrance! It might be a long walk to one of the tag-a-kid box offices. Visit ACL’s Kids at the festival page for more information.

Using the Family Entrance

By far, the biggest perk of braving a music festival that draws 10,000 people with your kids is the ability to use the family entrance. The family entrance is located adjacent to the East entrance to the festival, on westbound Barton Springs Rd. near the Austin Kiddie Limits area of the festival, the family services tent, and the East Box Office (refer to the Festival Map for reference). Because this is a dedicated entrance for families with children, long security lines are rare if not nonexistent.

There is a comprehensive list of allowed and prohibited items on the ACL website, but here’s a primer on kid-centric stuff:

• Strollers: Everything on the spectrum of simple umbrella strollers to boujie Cadillac models of strollers with 800 pockets are allowed, but are subject to search. Wagons are not allowed.
• Sunscreen: Aerosol spray is prohibited and will be thrown away at the gate. Bring your lotion or solid stick sunscreen – a small bottle of expired Banana Boat will run you $10 inside the ACL general store inside the fest.
• Diaper bags: The bag policy at ACL fest has gotten stricter, and only clear bags 12 x 12 x 6 and single-pocket hydration packs are allowed. Fanny packs are also allowed, and there’s plenty of time to get a kid-sized one in time for the festival. All bags will be searched.
• Breastfeeding: Breast pumps and milk storage supplies (including refrigeration bags) are allowed as approved medical equipment. If you plan to bring an electric breast pump, you can use it in the family services tent, but you might want to rent a locker so you’re not lugging it around the festival all day.
• Medication: If you or your child require medication, bring only the amount needed for the day in a clearly marked prescription container.
• Ear protection: Use it, especially if you plan on getting close to the stage.

Keep in mind that what’s allowed inside is at the discretion of the security guard at the entrance. If you have a specific question about a specific item, submit a request and bring a printout of the response with you to the entrance.

The bottom line: Use the family entrance to quickly enter the festival and check the list for prohibited items; it’s a long walk back to the car, especially when you’re pushing a boujie stroller.

Family services

The family services tent inside Austin Kiddle Limits is a safe, private place for parents to change diapers and for nursing moms to pump (with electricity!) or breastfeed babies. There are additional family services locations inside and just outside the festival, all with tag-a-kid kiosks for those with older kids (refer to the Festival Map for reference):

• Inside Austin Kiddie Limits
• At the Accessibility Center
• The family entrance
• The Ladybird entrance
• The Ladybird box office
• The West box office
• The East box office

Tag-a-kid is a service that provides an RFID wristband with parent contact information that can be used in the event a child gets separated from their parents. Parents registering with children without festival wristbands (GA, GA+, VIP 8 and under, Platinum 2 and under) can complete the tag-a-kid process when registering their children at the box office locations or the Palmer Events Center.

If a child loses a wristband at any time at any reason, visit one of the family services locations to get a replacement. Note that the West entrance does NOT offer tag-a-kid services.

The bottom line: If you need to breastfeed, pump, or change diapers, the family services tent in AKL is the place to be. Tag-a-kid ensures reunion if you’re ever separated from your child, regardless of age.

Austin Kiddie Limits

Each day until 6 pm, the Austin Kiddie Limits section of the festival is the place to go for kid-centric musical showcases, free activities, and air-conditioned bathrooms (take full advantage; the porta-potties get real funky real fast).

Kids can enjoy musical showcases from The Barton Hills Choir, Homescool, School of Rock, Mister G, Andrew & Polly, Miss Tutti & The Fruity Band, Q Brothers, Uncle Jumbo, and Lucky Kalantari & The Jazz Cats. The Austin Kiddie Limits area includes free children’s activities from these festival sponsors:

• Lifeway Kefir Art & Play: Probiotic kefir snacks, group yoga, and photo mural
• Café Monet Art & Clay Studio: Make your own AKL button
• Siete Foods: Gluten-free snacks, swag, and superhero masks
• Hip Hop House Party: hip hop workshop where kids can create a song and send the recording to parents
• Kati’s Tattoos: Colorful airbrush tattoos for kids
• Goodpop: Fresh fruit popsicles
• Leap of Joy: Craft station where kids can create beaded keychains
• TK Photography: Rock star photo booth
• Pigtails & Crewcuts: Hairdooz for kids – glitter, braids, or spikes
• Drum Zone: Drum-playing area for kids

Austin Kiddie Limits also includes the family services tent and the AKL Lounge, where kids can take a quiet break with a book or coloring pages.

The bottom line: even if you’re only bringing your kid to ACL to see Dua Lipa, you should make a stop at AKL for the free activities, snacks, and air-conditioned restrooms.

Getting to and from the Fest

There are many ways to get to the fest from wherever you are; it’s up to you to pick your poison on which method is best with your kids in tow.

Bike: Your butt might hate it a day later, but it’s by far the closest parking you’ll get to the festival, just a short walk from either the Ladybird entrance or the West entrance and the family entrance. Make sure all the grownup and kids’ bikes have locks that can’t be foiled by a simple bolt cutter.

Bus: Kids always ride free on Capital Metro, and ACL is no exception. From South Austin, take the 803 to Lamar/Barton Springs and walk westbound on Barton Springs to the family entrance. From everywhere else, take one of the routes that departs at Republic Square park and take either the ACL shuttles to the West entrance or the pedestrian bridge to the Ladybird entrance.

Shuttle: ACL shuttle buses run between Zilker Park and Republic Square Park downtown throughout the festival. Not all double strollers may fit through the shuttle doors, so plan accordingly. There is a separate accessibility shuttle that will be far more stroller-friendly. Note that the shuttle drops off near the West Box Office and the West entrance to the festival.

Parking: Let’s face it – any time 10,000 people converge on one place, parking is going to suck. The closest parking you can get (and closest to the family entrance!) is at the Long Center, but it fills up very early in the day. Parking downtown and taking the shuttle from Republic Square Park is always an option (the notoriously cheap City Hall lot fills up first). If you want to plan ahead and avoid scams, use a reputable app like ParkMobile or SpotHero or visit ACL’s parking page for options.

Taxi or Rideshare: Lyft is ACL’s rideshare partner. Entering “Austin City Limits Music Festival” or “Zilker Park” during the festival will automatically direct the driver to the closest dedicated dropoff spot. When leaving the festival, you must exit first and then request your ride once you’ve crossed the Mopac Frontage Road, South Lamar Blvd, Wallingwood Drive, or across the pedestrian bridge on your way to Austin High School. Prepare thyself for surge pricing.

The bottom line: Prepare your kids for a potentially long walk regardless of how you get to and from the festival. Whichever option gets you closest to the family entrance is the best option.

Is it worth it?

Well, kids get in free, so yeah! Kiddie Limits aside, make no mistake, the prospect of attending a McLargeHuge event like ACL with your kids is intimidating, but you can do it! The last time I did it, our twins were potty training, and we left before 5 PM, but they also had the time of their lives (before the witching hour meltdown, that is). I can’t wait to bring my girls back to Zilker Park this year, and hope they stay awake long enough to see the same band I saw for my first-ever concert (Blink-182) after I take my ibuprofen. If you’ll be at Austin Kiddie Limits with your little ones, say hello! I’ll be the one with a Kindle, a paperback, and multiple packs of baby wipes in my 12 x 12 x 6 clear backpack.