butler's orchard fall fest/apple picking

[Anonymous]

Is the Butler's Orchard pumpkin fest thing a total zoo? I just want to take my kids to pick apples and maybe pet some farm animals. Not wait in a ton of lines for rides. But there clearly are some fun things there. Anyone been recently?

[Anonymous]

We go every year and it's usually not that crowded. There's a line for the pony rides, but not anything else.

It's a fun time!

[Anonymous]

I think they now charge an entrance fee on weekends per person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think they now charge an entrance fee on weekends per person.

Yes. Why wouldn't they? They need to pay to maintain the place.

[Anonymous]

It's not a total zoo, but if you just want to pet some animals and pick apples Homestead Farm would be the better choice. No to very minimal admission (there was no admission last year but I believe there's like a small charge now) and not as crowded because it's not a "festival". This is assuming you don't want slides.

[Anonymous]

If your kids are younger than 5 it will be a waste of money and time. The place gets super crowded and even the play structures intended for toddlers are over run with older children.

I left early one year because it got too exhausting trying to keep my 3 year old from getting trampled and saying “no” to everything because it wasn’t safe with all the older kids. There was nothing she could do safely except the pony rides (which cost extra and only last a few minutes.) Even the toddler playground is overrun with bigger kids.

It is a zoo, but I can see how it would be fun for older kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think they now charge an entrance fee on weekends per person.

Ha! They charge an entrance fee during the weekdays too! It is more expensive on the weekends, but there’s always a fee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your kids are younger than 5 it will be a waste of money and time. The place gets super crowded and even the play structures intended for toddlers are over run with older children.

I left early one year because it got too exhausting trying to keep my 3 year old from getting trampled and saying “no” to everything because it wasn’t safe with all the older kids. There was nothing she could do safely except the pony rides (which cost extra and only last a few minutes.) Even the toddler playground is overrun with bigger kids.

It is a zoo, but I can see how it would be fun for older kids.

That's ridiculous. My kid is almost 3 and we have been going for the past 2 years. We always go on the weekend and have never had a situation where we had to constantly say no to her. Maybe you're overprotective? She's fine running around with older kids.

[Anonymous]

It's $12/person on weekends, so $48 for our family of 4:
https://www.butlersorchard.com/festivals/pumpkin-festival/

We did Homestead instead last year and kids (4 and 6) were perfectly fine.

[Anonymous]

I just took the kids last weekend. It cost $12 a person. We went late in the day around 3:30pm and the crowds had thinned. My 4 and 6 year old loved it! It is best to go early when it opens or later in the afternoon. It is a bit of a zoo around noon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your kids are younger than 5 it will be a waste of money and time. The place gets super crowded and even the play structures intended for toddlers are over run with older children.

I left early one year because it got too exhausting trying to keep my 3 year old from getting trampled and saying “no” to everything because it wasn’t safe with all the older kids. There was nothing she could do safely except the pony rides (which cost extra and only last a few minutes.) Even the toddler playground is overrun with bigger kids.

It is a zoo, but I can see how it would be fun for older kids.

That's ridiculous. My kid is almost 3 and we have been going for the past 2 years. We always go on the weekend and have never had a situation where we had to constantly say no to her. Maybe you're overprotective? She's fine running around with older kids.

Nope. I’m the one who usually lets kids roam at playgrounds and explore on their own. However if there are dozens of 8 year olds twice her size on a tiny play structure, it’s not fun for the little kids. She couldn’t even get on the little train play structure it was so full. The pirate ships had even more kids who were much older and we didn’t even try. The corn pit was too full to get in. I suppose if I wanted to be touching the parent next to me I could have soldiered on. But I wanted to have fun, not be on top of other adults. We paid extra for a couple pony rides and called it a day.

For reference it’s Cherry Blossom festival at the tidal basin type of crowded. If you don’t mind being packed like that at a farm, then you’d find it enjoyable.

[Anonymous]

I find it to be a total zoo. I miss the calm, nice apple-picking farms in the northeast

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think they now charge an entrance fee on weekends per person.

Yes. Why wouldn't they? They need to pay to maintain the place.

What do they have to maintain? It's a farm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your kids are younger than 5 it will be a waste of money and time. The place gets super crowded and even the play structures intended for toddlers are over run with older children.

I left early one year because it got too exhausting trying to keep my 3 year old from getting trampled and saying “no” to everything because it wasn’t safe with all the older kids. There was nothing she could do safely except the pony rides (which cost extra and only last a few minutes.) Even the toddler playground is overrun with bigger kids.

It is a zoo, but I can see how it would be fun for older kids.

That's ridiculous. My kid is almost 3 and we have been going for the past 2 years. We always go on the weekend and have never had a situation where we had to constantly say no to her. Maybe you're overprotective? She's fine running around with older kids.

Nope. I’m the one who usually lets kids roam at playgrounds and explore on their own. However if there are dozens of 8 year olds twice her size on a tiny play structure, it’s not fun for the little kids. She couldn’t even get on the little train play structure it was so full. The pirate ships had even more kids who were much older and we didn’t even try. The corn pit was too full to get in. I suppose if I wanted to be touching the parent next to me I could have soldiered on. But I wanted to have fun, not be on top of other adults. We paid extra for a couple pony rides and called it a day.

For reference it’s Cherry Blossom festival at the tidal basin type of crowded. If you don’t mind being packed like that at a farm, then you’d find it enjoyable.

We've been there tons of times and have never found it that crowded. You must have gone on a particularly crowded day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find it to be a total zoo. I miss the calm, nice apple-picking farms in the northeast

Oh come on. I grew up in the northeast and know the farms you're talking about. A couple of things:

1. We've been to these farms a lot and have never found them too crowded.

2. Population increases mean EVERYWHERE is more crowded, especially in popular metro areas. (Hint: that includes the northeast).