Hello everyone, I am back and no, this is not a throwback picture.
(If you prefer to watch a quick recap of our time at Live Oak Canyon Pumpkin Patch, you can watch my Instagram Reel here or my TikTok here)
I think it is safe to say that this is my favorite pumpkin patch ever considering I have visited every year since I was pregnant with my daughter. We went back during opening weekend, which was the last weekend of September and had so much fun. There were a few things that were different this year--good and bad.
The Good:
Children 2 and under are free, but admission prices vary depending on age, day of the season and time. You can find the admission price list here. There is plenty of parking and porta potties everywhere! It's not fun being pregnant and having to pee every hour, so this was a huge plus for me!
We started by walking through the gardens and they were beautiful as always. I was blown away by the colorful flowers and giant gourds. Before we continued walking through the rest of the pumpkin patch, we went on a train ride, which was included with the price of admission during opening weekend. A tractor ride is included with admission, so I recommend doing either ride at the beginning of your visit so that you can have a better idea of how the patch is set up.
We were looking forward to getting on the rest of the rides, but my toddler got too excited with the corn box, fun house and pumpkin pillow. PRO TIP: take an extra change of clothes because the corn box will leave your kids extremely dusty and with pieces of corn in all the places you can possibly imagine. Luckily, we still had enough tickets to play some of the games and visit the petting zoo.
Entrance to the petting zoo is not included with admission and if I can remember correctly, we paid about 4 tickets per adult and children 2 years and under get in for free. For an extra two tickets you can get a small cup filled with food to feed the goats. The petting zoo area had all kinds of animals ranging from parakeets, horses, bunnies and bulls!
The food and drink options at Live Oak Canyon were plenty and reminded me of all the yummy food from the fair. We saw stands for pizza, tacos, ice cream, fried everything, popcorn, pretzels, etc... The options for alcoholic beverages include beer, michelada and spiked seltzer. Prices roughly range from $4-$14 for food. There are a lot picnic tables spread out around the food area, so you should find a place to sit and enjoy your food when you visit.
We ended up spending about 3.5 hours there and could have stayed longer if it wasn't so hot. We intended to get there earlier when it was still cloudy, but you know how hard it is to get out of the house on time with a toddler. It also did not help that we stopped to get donuts on the way. Oops. If you end up going to Live Oak Canyon, plan to stay at least 4+ to make the most out of your visit. Here is a map and list of all the attractions, so that you are able to plan ahead.
Let's talk about the cons. Are you ready?
CON 1: They had more (and much cuter) photo ops last year compared to our last visit. They usually have several really cute installations set up and you can tell not a lot of effort or time was put into it. Only one of the houses was decorated with pumpkins, which really sucked because I know a lot of people look forward to taking pictures there. I would have appreciated some sort of notice at the entrance, or on their social media pages informing us about this. I am hoping to find more photo ops when I visit this week.
CON 2: Guests are not allowed to go into the enclosed areas to pet the animals. This was different than last year, but again, we were not told anything about this ahead of time--not even at the petting zoo entrance.
CON 3: We always look forward to buying pumpkins at Live Oak Canyon because prices are affordable and there is so much to choose from, but inventory was definitely lacking. They only had some gourds and a few tall pumpkins available when we arrived. Luckily, they had just started setting out white pumpkins on our way out and we were able to get a few before leaving. I'm sure it had to due with either staff shortages (which we are experiencing everywhere), or mother nature doing its thing, but a clear notice would have been appreciated.
CON 4: It's really expensive! Attraction tickets are $1 each and some of the rides/attractions require 3-10 tickets. You can save money on tickets by buying more. 20 tickets go for $20, 45 tickets for $40 and 120 tickets for $100. I really wish there was a list of how many tickets are required for each attraction to make it easier to budget/plan. Prices for food are also pretty steep, similar to what you would expect at a fair, or more. Most of the drink and food prices that I saw from the vendors started at $10, but you can also purchase snacks and drinks from the little shop by the exit to save a bit.
A few tips:
Double check pricing, dates and hours on their website.
Take closed toe shoes that you don't mind getting dusty, or even muddy.
Set aside at least 4 hours to enjoy your time there.
Outside food and beverages are not allowed, but we were able to take our own water bottles.
Last but not least, before you get into the corn box ask yourself these two questions:
1. Am I willing to get pieces of corn in the most random places?
2. Will I mind if my clothes get extremely dusty?
If the answer is yes, then you may proceed and have fun!
Final thoughts:
Live Oak Canyon is still worth visiting especially if you budget and plan accordingly. The good definitely outweighs the bad and you can still have a lot of fun without spending so much. Even though I did run into some things that I did not like, I am still planning on going back before the end of pumpkin season. Plus, the pictures at Live Oak Canyon always come out so cute! Thank you for reading along!
Much Love,
PerlaGiselle
Can anyone recommend me the best service from the list mentioned in this site.
ReplyDeleteMaternity Clothing