The RNA is hoping to attract more than 400,000 patrons across the 10-day celebration of all things country.

Full Ekka coverage

If you're planning to be one of them, here's a few timely tips and hints to help you truly enjoy the experience.

Get your tickets online

If you’ve got a family, it’s worth grabbing your tickets online and taking advantage of either the Adult & Child pass ($40) or the Family Funday Pass ($69 for two adults and two children).

Even those not eligible for discount tickets should consider pre-paying – it will save you queuing in person at the ticket booths.

Start the day stress-free with a calm commute

In an ideal world, transport to and from the Ekka would involve a plush helium-fuelled Zeppelin airship and a private landing field. In reality the choices usually boil down to the car or the train. Paid public car parking is available at:

• Wilson Parking, Royal Brisbane and Women's hospital, Cnr Herston Rd & Gilchrist Ave, Herston
• Metro Parking, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, 20 Butterfield St, Herston
• Secure Parking, Valley Metro, Alfred St, Fortitude Valley
• Secure Parking, McWhirters, Warner and Ballow Sts, Fortitude Valley
• Secure Parking, 55 Little Edward St, Spring Hill (entry via Hope St)
• Victoria Park Sportsground, entry via Gilchrist Ave, Herston
• Fortitude Valley State School - $25 per day (subject to availability)

A few entrepreneurial local pop-up parking lots spring up every August, but prices vary.

For most guests the train is the better option, particularly as the Ekka is one of the few times you can still get a daily paper ticket. Any Ekka round trip on the Translink network is just $6 for adults and $3 for children. Plus you get dropped right in the middle of the action.

Translink has also put on a swathe of direct shuttle bus trips - nearly 400 every day, in fact. They leave a regular intervals from six suburban stations: Chermside, Shorncliffe, Woolloongabba, Eight Mile Plains, Carindale and Dutton Park. For the full schedule check online.

Tag Your Toddlers

If you have yet to lowjack your children with high-tech computer chip implants, the next best thing is to take them to the police station on Gregory Terrace, near Gate 1.

They’ll attach a wristband listing the child’s name, your name and your phone number, so if the youngster gets separated, they can be tracked back to you. The Lost Persons station is at the same location and is open from 9.00am to 7.00pm daily.

Bring Your Own

A bit of preparation can go a long way on an Ekka excursion. Visitors are more than welcome to bring their own food and non-alcoholic drinks into the showgrounds. So pack a few rounds of sandwiches, snacks and water into a cold bag, throw it in a backpack and save yourself a queue and some dollars.

If you have to choose an edible treat, a strawberry sundae should be at the top of your list. All money raised from selling the desserts goes to the Prince Charles Hospital Foundation. But just as importantly the mix of vanilla and strawberry ice cream with fresh strawberries and cream is still the most delicious thing at the show. Fact.

Be the master of your own Domain

The free Domain app has incorporated a neat functionality for this year’s show.

Download the app suitable for your Apple or Android phone, then find Bowen Hills on the map. Look for a blue pin marked “Ekka” and click to open it. It will show you dozens of coloured pins, each representing a different venue within the showgrounds.

Click on a pin and it will give you details about events taking place there, what’s happening next, nearby venues, and even real time information like waiting times for rides and the Showbag Pavillion.

Stay healthy and happy

Last year’s Ekka saw an outbreak of e.coli that affected around 50 people. The bacteria was linked to the popular petting zoo exhibit, and the RNA has consequently ramped up its hand-washing facilities there to prevent a repeat. Instead of the taps being just outside the zoo’s exit they will now be before you leave and staff will be on hand to remind you to soap up.

If you or a family member is sick consider postponing your trip. It’s not worth passing on germs or picking up extra ones in an immune-weakened state. Besides, you want to be fighting fit to enjoy yourself and get the most out of your day.

Eat lunch or dinner AFTER going on thrill rides.  This cannot be stressed enough.

Most importantly, wash your hands and wrists with soap and water before and after eating, using the toilet, or touching animals.  Make sure any children with you get thoroughly scrubbed as well.

It’s common sense, but in all the excitement anyone can get forgetful.

Enjoy what's new

Ekka NITES is back but revamped for 2014. The evening entertainment program is worth the price of admission alone, featuring monster trucks, trick motocross riders, animal stunts, Troy Cassar-Daley and Prinnie Stevens on vocals and finally a spectacular laser and fireworks show.

The Extreme High Dive is set to become one of the hits of the show. Directed by Australian diver and former world champion Steve Black, divers will display spectacular sky-high stunts before splashing into a tiny tank of water right before your eyes. Daily dives at 10.30am, 12.30pm, 2.30pm and 4.30pm.

Little ones will go wild for Sesame Street presents Elmo and Friends, three times daily in The Auditorium at 10am, 11am and 12pm. Regulars Elmo, Cookie Monster, Grover and Abby Cadabby are joined by the best-named new character in years – Lady Baa Baa – singing and dancing their way through this live stage show.

Over in Sideshow Alley the Freak Out is the new extreme ride, rotating high into the air with a long swinging arm, accompanied by surround sound music; while two new Mega Loom Band showbags are set to be the hot items at the showbag pavilion.