Confirmed Field Trip, Not Open, and No Real Solutions
We were really excited to bring our first grade class here for a fairy tale field trip, and it ended up being incredibly disappointing.
We had a confirmed 10:00 AM reservation and even called to confirm both the day before and the morning of. We arrived early with 42 students and 8 adults and were told to enter through Dillard's--only to find it closed. We then had to walk our entire group around the building and through the mall.
When we arrived, the experience was completely dark and not set up. At 10:15, we were told the characters "weren't ready yet" and asked to wait. That turned into being asked to wait until 11:30.
Managing that kind of delay with 42 first graders--especially with rotating groups--is simply not realistic. Some of our students would have been waiting well over an hour.
What made it worse was the lack of meaningful solutions. We were offered 50% off their maze next door (after already paying a significant amount for the experience), but couldn't even access it right away. The only free option suggested was a toddler play area, which was not appropriate for our students.
At that point, we had to ask for a refund and completely pivot. We ended up taking the kids to a park just so they could eat lunch and play. Many of them were confused and upset--some were even crying.
Field trips take a lot of time and planning, and we chose this experience specifically to connect to our fairy tale unit. It was incredibly frustrating to lose both the experience and a half day of learning due to poor communication and lack of preparation.
I would strongly caution any school or large group before booking here. read more