Today, we loaded up the family truckster and made the hike to Libertyville for our first-ever Lamb's Farm experience. Overall, it was a great time, but to simplify my compliments and complaints, I'll separate my review into pros and cons:
(Just to clarify, the people in attendance were:
1. Yours Truly
2. Husband
3. 5 y/o son
4. 4 y/o daughter
5. 3 y/o severely disabled [wheelchair bound] daughter
6. 22 month old daughter
7. Grandma [my mom])
+'s:
+The petting zoo area was top notch and rather spacious. While I was a little discouraged that it wasn't supervised (animal welfare concern here--I mean, come on), the animals were totally chill and more than accustomed to being handled. Oh, and there were about ten million of them between the goats and the sheep. My kids loved brushing them, and they (the animals) were all pretty awesome. Everyone in the petting zoo area was very respectful of the animals, at least while we were there. The farm provides hand washing stations with soap, water, and paper towels immediately upon exiting which is unequivocally beyond fantastic. Best attraction of the farm, hands down.
+The actual farm area (non-petting zoo style) was pretty good. I always think animals in captivity should have more room than they're given, but the animals seemed well cared for and content enough. The farm was overall rather clean and it is fully "sidewalked" so pushing a stroller or wheelchair (or both, in our case) is a breeze. The animals were all out and about and friendly, although there are lots of warnings not to pet the non-petting zoo variety.
+They have a carousel, mini golf, and a train ride. While we didn't golf, the other two attractions were huge hits with my two oldest kids.
+The grounds themselves are huge. Sure, there's a farm, but across the street from the parking lot, there's a pet store, a restaurant, a gift shop, a park. We spent next to no time on that side (save for getting a few cookies from the gift shop for the kids--thanks, grandma!) but I hope we can check it out in the future. The "country store" was very cute, if a little small. And by all accounts, the cookies were delicious.
+The fees are reasonable, IMHO. To take a family of six plus grandma to anywhere where you don't hold a membership--say, a zoo or a museum or what-have-you--we'd be spending big bucks. Admission came to $33: three adults, three kids (the under two set is free of charge), and a ride on the carousel and train for two kids plus an adult. Not too bad for a few hours of family fun, especially on a day as beautiful as today..
And now, the -'s:
-The parking lot left me feeling very WTF. The handicapped parking for the farm was opposite the farm entrance. Wait, what? We wound up walking from the bitter back of the lot to the farm entrance. It was fine for us (since we were pushing our daughter in a wheelchair) but wouldn't be so fine for someone who had trouble walking across the entire lot. Not a fan of that. For a non-profit dedicated to developmentally disabled individuals, I expected parking to be a bit more accessible. I understand that the goal was to make it easy to get to both sides of the farm, but there should be some at least a little reserved parking near the area of admission.
-I touched on it briefly, but finding someone who worked there and was actually walking the grounds was virtually impossible. For having an area open to the animals (i.e., the petting zoo), I feel this is a very poor choice. Also, someone came to feed the goats and sheep toward the end of our stay in the petting zoo and it was all but a stampede. My kids were okay with it, but quite a few other kids were pretty freaked out--and understandably so. Some of the animals--the sheep especially--were enormous and man, do they love their mealtimes. A warning wouldn't have been a bad call, especially since there were several really, really little kids meandering about.
-While being "sidewalked" is an absolutely amazingly huge plus, the pathways were rather narrow at times. We were able to make it through, but it was a bit snug here and there.
Overall, we would most definitely return to the farm. There's not much shade, so I wouldn't recommend going on a day when it will be exceptionally warm, but it's definitely worth the drive, especially if you can't resist the opportunity to cuddle up with a sheep or goat or twenty. :)
EDITED TO ADD:
To the parents of the boy (maybe 11 or 12 years old?) who took one look at my severely disabled daughter and turned to me and said "she's SO cute!", thank you. Thank you for teaching your child tolerance, acceptance, and respect. What a special young man. I'm sure you're incredibly proud of him--I would be, too. Thank you, thank you, thank you. :) read more