Storybook Ranch

Ok before I get into all the negative, here a positive… The Location and sense of ‘country’ in the city is great, good job there. And the only reason why I put 2 stars and not 1 is cause I did want to credit the location and feel. Everything else was a 1 star.
Background, I attended a kids birthday party here…
Ok, so when we arrived there weren’t any party hosts it people that worked there to help tell us where to go or meet everyone, etc. we just all stood around in the heat. We were told a hay ride would take us to the party spot. Well, a hummer with a creaky wooden trailer came up, not a piece of hay in sight. When we got to the partyspot, we were met with 2 kids who were the ‘hosts’ of the party. They gave us rules and then set everyone free. There was NO organization at all throughout the party. The kids were free to go to the ‘petting zoo’ down the way, ride ponies and jump in the bounce house.
Ok the ‘petting zoo’: first off, no one was down there supervising the animals or kids. They were HUGE goats and sheep. That’s it, nothing else. They were jumping all over the gate to get in and poking their heads through trying to nip the kids. I get that they can be fed, but that was a little excessive to me. They were bigger than all the kids, and I didn’t feel safe letting my child go in there with those animals.
The ponies: this is a big negative for me because I have a horse and I have friends who own their own stables. One of the ponies was injured! And they didnt even say anything or do anything about it. I actually pointed it out to one of the kid hosts, and she acted all ‘surprised’ and said she would tell someone… Well she didn’t and the pony was still working the rest of the time of the party. These poor ponies didn’t even seemed to have any kind of fly spray on either. They were so irritated at the flys out there. now me and my daughter ride. We know what we are doing and what’s what. We went up to the other pony so my daughter can ride it, well there were no stirrups at all ok this saddle. Also, all from the horn to the seat to the cantle, was torn to shreds. There was NO seat on this saddle. My daughter looked at it and then looked at me like, what is wrong with it. I just put her on and she rode. She liked it at least. Thank goodness she’s comfortable and likes riding with no stirrups.
I actually was, previously, looking into this location for my own daughters birthday party… But I’m SO GLAD we attended a party there first.

Deserve 0 star for safety issues. I know a man fell off the ranch’s horse and passed away this week. Anyone who wants to try the riding better prepared.

Ridiculous, uninviting and a rip off — $ 30 for a 2 minute pony ride.
I visited Storybook Ranch with my 2 and 4 year old for a scheduled pony ride. According to the website, $ 15 covers a 15 minute pony ride. We went, signed the waiver in their office, where the receptionist didn’t greet us, and never smiled or anything. After that, we were directed out to the ponies. There were multiple employees, but no one greeted us, so we weren’t sure we were in the right place. My daughter (2 year old) got on the pony, and had about a 1 minute ride, then it started raining. We stood under a shelter roof for 5 minutes waiting for the rain to let up. Then my son got on the horse for about 1 minute, he was brought back, taken off the horse, and we were told to move to a back corner to wait for a trail ride to come in. We wait through the chaos of all the horses coming in. No one comes back over to us and we see there is another child on the only pony available. We paid for two 15 minute rides and my time slot they told me over the phone was from 1:45 — 2:15, and by 2:00 another child was on the only pony leaving us confused and frustrated.
Horrible

My child attended a birthday party here, and I just cannot recommend this as a place to take your child. First of all, the playground area is just not in good condition and was literally falling apart. My husband is an architect and noted numerous issues with the safety and stability of the structures (example, the slide was barely attached to the rest of the play structure; hole in one of the floorboards; rotted wood).
They offered pony rides, and I felt extremely nervous putting my child on the pony after seeing the young staff member pulling and tugging on pony that CLEARLY did not want to walk. He was jerking his head around to the point that parents around us expressed discomfort over the safety of putting their child on an animal that was clearly unhappy.
I’m no animal expert, but the wool of the sheep was filled with mats and another looked emaciated. It made me question how cared for the animals in the petting zoo are.
My 3-​year-​old son picked up a rusty pipe on the playground, and in an area where a plastic cow is set up for what I assume is picture taking, my son walked upon a sewage pipe spitting out used toilet paper.
The children had a great time, I will say; however, it’s dirty, unsafe and completely inappropriate for children’s birthday parties. I think they need to invest some money into new play facilities and cleaning up their grounds where they hold these events. I just cannot believe this is a place that passes any kind of inspection. We will never go back.

We came here for the pumpkin patch & will definitely not come again. The $ 15 admittance plus $ 5 for adults was supposed to include a mini pumpkin, which they were out of. The wagon ride to the town was extremely bumpy & while we could see others were able to get off the wagon to explore the little town, we were not because they were filming a movie there & needed to clear everyone out. There are no picnic tables or places to eat lunch. The areas they do have we were told were reserved. The only people we saw working the patch was the guy doing the pony rides & the lady collecting admittance. There are 4 bounce houses, a maze & a petting zoo that are ALL unattended. I found this particularly disturbing at the petting zoo. My friend’s 2 year old was standing in the corner doing nothing and was literally rammed by a large sheep. That was the last straw-​on the way out my friend told the lady at the front what had happened & we were told both the sheep & the goat are pregnant! I find it very concerning to have 2 pregnant animals unattended among so many small children. We were told the sheep would be removed… when I left 30 minutes later to get a lunchbox we left she was still in there. Now I understand why they make you sign a waiver in the way in… it’s very unsafe :(

Not worth it IMO. It’s 15 per kid to get in and 5 per adult. For that the kids get to jump and slide on 3 different bounce houses and take a short pony ride look at some goats and chickens. A hay ride was available too. Can’t comment on opinion prices cause I didn’t even look at those. I won’t ever be back and can’t recommend this place to anyone. Now I’ll wait for my copy and paste response from the pumpkin patch.

The pumpkin patch was an extreme disappointment. The experience is nothing like it is advertised on their website. I would no stars if I could. It is extremely overpriced. I would only recommend going if you feel like it is worth paying $ 15 for your children to see or ride a pony. The «hay ride» is on a truck, basically circling the parking lot. My daughter loved the bounce house the same fun can be accomplished at Jump Street for less. Definite waste of money.

We went to a birthday party at this place and it was really fun. They let the kids ride ponies at first, they had two of them going so the kids didn’t have to wait long, a person working there walks with the pony, the kids ride on the saddle and parents can walk beside the kid. They have farm animals that the kids can look at an pet if they want. There are a few kind of run-​down play areas, they could use some serious work to make them a little safer. There are some covered party areas that have plenty of space and are covered. The people running it are very nice and helpful.

Took my cousin there as he was visiting Texas and wanted the ‘cowboy’ experience. We are both avid riders, and he has even owned a therapy horse center. The guide treated us like young children. Very demeaning, and cut our time short. Would not recommend.

Awesome time. Karen and Sydney were awesome. The trail was wet and muddy from all the rain but it was a blast! My daughter loved it. Her first time on a real horse. They were so patient and great with her! We’ll be back.

I tried to book my son’s 3^rd birthday party here back in December for a March date. I was told I could only book two months in advance and could not hold a date! So I called right when they opened on the exact 2 month mark to find out that my date was already taken. Needless to say I was furious. I was told I couldn’t book in advance but they some how let someone else do it (probably for a friend of theirs). Very poor way to do business. If you have a policy you need to stick to for all customers. I would never recommend them as they don’t live by their word.

We have had great luck with their pumpkin patch. However, my review is about their horseback summer camp for kids. I enrolled my 9 and 7 year old daughters in a week long camp in the summer of 2014. My 9 year old came home with daily commentary that the teenagers «running» the camp were derogatory and condescending to the campers. On the last day of camp, my girls were told that if they don’t trot their horse for the parent finale, they would «fail».
I had decided over the summer to let all of this go, never to enroll my daughters again… Until this weekend. I took my now 8 yr old to Girl Scout camp, with horseback riding. My 8 yr old used to be confident on horses, but panicked and cried when she got on her horse. Come to find out, the teenagers at Storybook told horror stories that if the campers didn’t behave, the teenagers would make their horses buck the campers off! Thankfully, the Girl Scout teenagers/​leaders were able to help my daughter get over her fears this weekend, but I’m appalled that a one week camp this past summer caused almost irreversible fear of horses in an 8 yr old.
These teenagers should all be let go, to never run a summer camp again. The adult that should have been managing these teenagers should be fired.

We are so disspaointed in Storybook Ranch! I contacted Storybook Ranch on their website via email, with my phone number to make a reservation with them for 2pm, November 26^th on November 10^th for my 3 year old daughter’s birthday to ride on a pony with her brother and cousins.
When we showed up, the kids were over the Moon!!! It was her surprise birthday present! :) Sadly, we were told, that they are closed AND FORGOT TO CANCEL our reservation! Then we were told, there wasn’t a phone number with the email and that’s why they didn’t call me. My phone number was ij the email, I had to give my phone number out when I fill their online form out.
Still, they could have emailed me to cancel just like they could email me to confirm the reservation.
My daughter was crying in the car because she had her hopes up! It was heart breaking to see my baby so sad!
The girl there, was very nice and apologetic and said she did not know anything about this.
But as a business who supposed to make kids happy, today did the exact opposite. Made a 3 year old girl cry on her birthday and 3 little boys really sad as well.
If they can’t reach us to cancel, they should have stayed there and let her ride for 15 minutes! That’s all we were promised!
So sad, that they care so little about their clients… their little clients!

Storybrook contacted me and explained that their pumpkin patch is a charity event with proceeds going to give less fortunate children riding lessons, etc. I didn’t notice that on any signage I saw but I wasn’t looking at much beyond the pricing. I think any event that helps needy children is fantastic. Children are the future and we should invest in them. Having 5 kids means I have to budget and be intentional on how I spend money so I still think it’s fair to let others know that the pumpkin patch portion of this place is pricey for us. $ 25 dollars for myself, my husband and one child would be fine… if we only had one. In our case we would pay $ 90 for our family of 7 and that’s just not in our budget when it comes to a pumpkin patch. I will say I am checking this place out for my daughter who wants to begin horseback riding lessons. I do see the value in spending money allowing my children to explore their interests. That’s why I save money on things like pumpkin patches! ;) I’ll be sure to review the lessons here and hope they don’t disappoint.

Awesome place for kids to have a awesome time. Place is clean staff is friendly animals are very well groomed and love how well they are being cared for. Price is great just a nice place to have family time.

We have gone to this pumpkin patch 2 years now, just because we didn’t know any better. If you go early enough, there are lots of pumpkins and that earned it the second star.
I simply take issue that the staff doesn’t seem friendly. Kinda rude. And it is SO RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE! The pumpkin prices are fair. But, to let your kids do anything, it is $ 15 per kid (no matter the age) AND $ 5 per adult just to watch the kid. The picture backdrop spots are even behind the paid area. Yes, a hayride is included, but that’s not a selling feature really. That is crazy! I get that they want to make a profit, but they would get far more people to pay and participate if it was cheaper. SO if you bring your kids, either expect to fork over too much cash or leave with a screaming child when they can’t get near the bounce house, slides, petty farm, hat maze, and hay ride. Not cool.
Found a local church that had a cute little pumpkin patch and good picture spots. Nothing fancy but at least the money goes somewhere better.

Not worth $ 15/kid.Kids had fun despite a poorly staffed event. The 2 people that we encountered working were not friendly. The guy driving the truck pulling the trailer for the trailer rides did not speak or acknowledge anyone in the trailer. No one was in Pumpkin area to help with purchase of pumpkins, kids played in all the areas then we left and purchased our pumpkins elsewhere.

Went to check out the pumpkin patch today. Very disappointing to say the least. Read that admission was $ 5 for adults and $ 15 for kids. Price included a palm sized pumpkin which they sell for $ 1 btw, a wagon ride pulled by a Hummer and bounce houses, pony rides and petting zoo for the kids. You don’t actually have to pay to walk around the pumpkin tent which is what I did when I saw how dismal this joint was. I wouldn’t recommend families paying for this. You will be disappointed as I was :(…

$ 5 admission for adults gets you a free palm sized pumpkin. $ 15 admission for kids gets them on 3 bouncy rides. Their hay ride system is horrendous. Only 1 wagon which appears to be dropping people off at the patch then waiting for them all to be ready to return before coming back for the next group. If you enjoy spending your pumpkin picking outing waiting on a hay ride line, this is the place for you. Otherwise find a better farm to visit.

I’m reviewing the kid’s camp piece of this facility. We haven’t ever been to do the trail riding or attended any events here.
My son has been attending summer camp here for the past 3 or 4 summers — first at the original location in Frisco and now at this location in McKinney. He absolutely LOVES it — and if I let him write this review it would probably be in all caps with a ton of exclamation points.
Lucky for you, he’s not writing this. As a parent I also love it, they take very good care of the kids and the camp counselor’s are mostly in their teens but for the most part are all horse lovers and well behaved around the younger children. Not only do the campers obviously ride the horses, but there is also a bounce house, blow up slide, swimming pool and a creek that they play in. Make sure to pack the sun screen and bug spray.
The kids develop favorites with the horses and for the most part do get to ride their favorite pick all week. They not only get comfortable riding, but they learn about horses themselves and how to care for them.
At the end of camp every week is a «rodeo» where the kids all get to show off the skills they learned that week. Parents are all encouraged to come, and it lasts for a couple of hours with an awards ceremony at the end.
NOTE: If you attend the rodeo, be prepared to sit outside for 2+ hours. If you get there early, you can get a seat in one of the covered bleacher areas — but they are small and fill up quickly. Otherwise, bring an umbrella for the sun and your own chair and PLENTY of water. I also recommend a personal fan of some kind and a book or something else to keep you entertained ;-). The rodeo itself only lasts 30 – 45 minutes but you spend a ton of time waiting. Can you tell this isn’t my first rodeo? (Sorry, I couldn’t help the cliché)
Overall, best kid’s horseback riding camp in the area hands down. Heart you guys!