The fall season has started in Orlando. The weather has gotten cooler and nice. I wanted to do something outdoors that had animals and activities. Santa's farm had various fall activities and had optional horse riding and zip lines available. I decided to book a combo admission and horse ride for a Saturday, and an extra animal feed for the farm animals. The total cost was about 28 dollars, which includes the fees and taxes. I was given an hour window to enter, which was between 11:30am and 12:30pm. It took me about 40 minutes from Metrowest to get to the farm (plus tolls). When I entered, I was greeted by attendants who helped me find parking in their free lot. Upon entering, I was greeted by a friendly agent, who asked my name, then gave me a ticket for the horse ride, and feed for the animals. When I was then greeted by a nice pumpkin display. Going to the left was the food area, where I could get hotdogs, burgers, tacos, sweets, and drinks for a reasonable price. Going to the right were the activities and farm animals. The feed was very little in a plastic bag, but ample enough to give to the animals. I saw chickens, goats, donkeys, cows, and pigs. All loved having their treats and being petted, and most looked happy and nicely groomed. Going further are various other activities. I saw kids jumping on the pillow mat, and people enjoying the zip lines. There was a hay ride pulled by a Kubota Tractor going to the tree area. Upon walking further, there were more activities. Because I heard that the horse rides were popular and can have long lines, I went there first. I got lucky and didn't see much of a line. I gave my ticket to a friendly attendant, and wanted a min or two max for a horse. When my turn came, a horse walker greeted me to step on the mounting block, and staddle my steed, Cisco. He was the oldest horse in the barn, and was fine giving me a ride right around a short circle, which lasted about 2 minutes max. I was led throughout the whole ride by the walker. All I had to do was sit, relax, and enjoy the comfortable and relaxing ride. The horse looked well fed and groomed. After the ride, I tipped the walker for the ride.
There were other free activities including a small maze, tricycles for kids and adults, a barrel ride pulled by John Deere tractor, space hoppers (hopping balls), shark tooth finding, and barrel bull lasso. I saw the kids having fun with the activities, and I tried some too. I enjoyed the short maze, looking for pictures of horror movie characters. I tried the tricycle, which brought back my childhood. It was a workout to pedal, but still fun to do a round. The hopping balls were mostly kid sized, but I was about to sit on the bigger ball and hop a bit around the area. I tried to lasso the barrel bull, but couldn't really capture it. Instead, I saw kids pretend to ride it, so the equestrian in me got on for a pretend ride as well. I thought about doing the slides, but when I saw how steep it was and how hard the ground for the landing, I decided against it. I also didn't care for the hay ride or the barrel ride, since I don't care for noisy engines.
For the food area, I tried the sausage hotdog, which had a good sized spicy pork sausage in a bun with peppers for 6.50. I could have a drink and chips combo for two dollars more, but didn't take the offer. There were plenty of seats, and a live band was playing various kinds of music. Bathrooms were mostly port a potties, but they looked clean.
For the 15 dollar admission, plus 7 dollars for the horse ride, I thought it was a pretty good deal. I could have done the zip lines for 10 dollars more (as a combo in the ticket), but didn't care for it. It did look fun though as I saw many people enjoying it. Helmets were required for the upper line, but optional for the lower line only for little kids. I was not sure if they sold those tickets during the event, and I am pretty sure you had to buy them in advance. Tickets were not refundable, so you must commit to what you buy. While I found the farm to be a bit commercialized, I still found it to be nice, fun, and a good deal. With the cooler weather and nice shades, it was a good outdoor event for fun. I might visit again next year if I get a good deal.