The first time I played I skipped all the carnival games and just went straight to the prize counter and got a new doll then took it back to the car.
TBH, I didn't even realize there were mini-games until reading the comments here, so I went back and checked them out and I'm glad I did! The story is a great idea, makes a good wrapper around a mini-game collection. Plus I'd swear I've lived the story in real life at least once before, perhaps twice! ;)