Stanley Pond Adventure Farm

Very neat place! I was very shocked at the entrance fee (16.95 adults/​14.95 kids– no longer a token situation– you pay one fee and it’s all inclusive) and said to myself this place better be worth it. It was. My four year old loves it all! The jumping pad, slide, tennis ball cannon, trikes, tractor pull, story time, «haystack» ride (no hay, just seats but nice) and of course fishing. We could have filled the whole day easily if we had come at opening time. I signed up for their email list and got a coupon code and plan to go back tomorrow for their last day. Very pleasant surprise. Very happy with this place.

I held my sons fifth birthday party here yesterday and everyone loved it. I wanted to get away from the chuckie cheese environment of chaos and have a party that everyone would enjoy, that’s exactly what I found here. parents complained about the location but once they got there and saw the place and participated, everyone told me it was awesome and we are already planning more trips there. pricing was great, staff was friendly and awesome, farm was clean and well kept. some paper bag lunches and a cooler made our event a huge success.

Learned about this great farm from a LivingSocial voucher and am so glad I visited. I purchased a pass for an Easter-​themed event that featured a hay ride, story reading, egg hunt and photo with the Easter bunny. The day was chilly and windy, but my toddler had a blast.
We arrived early and the staff wasn’t quite set up for the day. It was a little disorganized, but everyone was friendly and was sure to make sure we enjoyed the day.
We watched the hay ride, air boat ride and other adventures get set up. My son loved watching the boat trailer, tractor and other trucks drive around. First up on the adventure was a hay ride. The flatbead had seats around the sides and in the middle. It was decorated like a large Easter basket, which made for great photos. There wasn’t much hay on the ride due to some kids’ allergies. Parents, dress your kids in pants and don’t’ ruin the fun for the rest of us.
Each child received a basket to collect eggs and a copy of the story book that was read in in the little theater. The story has a great moral and the pictures were colorful. The egg hunt followed and the kids had a great time searching for eggs beneath the trees. Each egg had a prize inside, some items weren’t so great for toddlers who stick everything in their mouths, but it was better than receiving tons of candy.
After the hay ride and egg hunt, the Easter bunny photos were inside a large barn. It was DIY photos, but iPhones and digital cameras abound; glad we were prepared. Crafts were also available in doors and the snack bar made some hot cocoa. Additional activities were also available for purchase, but our hour-​long adventure was just enough for a 2-​year-​old attention span.

What is an adventure farm, you ask? Well, after visiting Stanley Pond Adventure Farm I’m still not sure how to describe one. The property is expansive with some of the land used as a plant nursery (open to the public) with a few homes on the site. In the front there is a stocked pond where you can rent rod and reel or just get some bait if you have your own gear. This seems to be mostly for kids, but we were told a 15 pound bass was caught in the pond. It is catch and release so don’t hope to catch dinner.
We traveled waaaaaayyy out to Astatula for a birthday party. If you have ever been to Long and Scott’s corn maze, this is even past that! There is very little shade and the property is HOT. DO NOT come here when it is warm as there is no place to escape the heat (ie. no air conditioned areas). All parts of the facility are clean and well-​kept, in fact, everything looks fresh and new.
Here’s how it works: Entrance is free but most of the activities require tokens, $ 10 for 12 tokens or $ 25 for 35 tokens. Then you trade in tokens for activities. Activities include horse rides (5 tokens), jumping pillow (3 tokens), Mini Airboat (6 tokens), hayride (2 tokens), Tractor ride in blue cows (3 tokens) and fishing (10 – 12 tokens). There are a handful of free things like a sand pile and a toddler play area. Most of the activities were very «Meh». The horse ride entails being led in a short circle in a field (mostly in the sun). The jumping pillow is kind of hard to describe. It’s like a flat inflatable pillow the kids can jump on. They jump for two songs then are taken off, but at least there is a cover over it.
The guide we had, an older gentleman, was nice enough but he had A LOT of rules. He kind of barked them at kids and adults alike. No standing up on the tractor ride, no pulling the plastic bull horns, no climbing on this part of the pillow, no laying down on the pillow, no exiting the pillow from that direction, etc. I know you need rules but even the adults were making comments about this, maybe it was his delivery was just too harsh.
They didn’t seem to have enough staff to work all the areas. They had a few people rotating through the activities but the areas were so spread out it took quite a while. I saw one lady shut down the pillow/​horse ride area to help in another area. She basically locked the gate in some kid’s face. They have a small snack bar but it would be best to bring food and drink of your own. My son’s favorite activities were probably the mini airboat, which is actually pretty neat, albeit short. For 6 tokens you get two laps around the pond. Not sure the people fishing appreciate this! He also liked the jumping pillow, because, what kid doesn’t like to jump? And of course playing in the sand «mountain». What kid doesn’t like to get dirty? What parents don’t like so much is being hot and sweaty and putting a sandy kid in the car!