Pumpkin City In Laguna Hills
Pumpkin City is a pumpkin patch in Laguna Hills, California, and I have been coming here since I was a kid in the 1990s. I really want to let you know I love Pumpkin City and that has been a big part of my life for thirty years. My children have grown up going to this patch every year and I have adult children, so if you see anything that you might take as criticism, please know it comes from a place of good intentions.
The last few years that I've gone that we've had to pay to get in. It's not a big deal for me. I have a background in retail, and I understand why they charge admission. Then I saw a post on Facebook about Pumpkin City venting about how expensive it was there. There were some points I totally agree with, but there is something I need to point out. It used to be free to go to Pumpkin City. When I was there the other night, I could see why there was an admission fee. I saw several groups of adults using the patch as a photo shoot location. While people trying to take pictures of their kids or pick a pumpkin had to wait around for them to finish taking what felt like was a million pictures.
I am not trying to throw shade. Keep in mind, these people weren’t professional photographers, and this is not a private studio. It’s a place of business aimed at kids and families. Your “photo shoot” is not that important. Sorry, but not really. If you know you're going to be taking a lot of pictures, let others go ahead of you OR hurry it up. There was this group on the tractor almost the entire time we were there, taking turns taking pictures and being obnoxious. There was another large group of women taking pictures with a wonky phone tripod. And then there was someone else with a tripod. It was crazy!
I have never seen it that chaotic before. Mostly when I visit it is on a weeknight earlier in the season. This is the first time I came this close to Halloween in a long time and the experience really shocked me because it was not good.
I was an Assistant Manager at the mall where Pumpkin City is. And I can say this with certainty: they probably would’ve gone out of business a long time ago without charging people to get in. Because people are cheap. Many people come to take pictures and leave and buy their pumpkins somewhere else.
When a business is being used as a photo shoot location that much, they’re ruining it for everyone. There's a difference between taking pictures and a full-fledged photo shoot, and that's what people were doing. I went there for personal reasons, and to make content, but wasn’t blocking anyone or hogging a photo opp. I take a couple of pictures really quick and if I didn’t get a good one, oh well, too bad. This one group was hogging the tractor for so long I lost track of time.
Another issue the local moms were talking about was that the games were too expensive. I agree, especially because they’re not giving away a cute, quality stuffed animal. The prizes are cheap.
This place has been around forever. It doesn’t feel like they have updated it in a long time. I hate to say this, but I wish they would add some different rides or a new bounce house and at least mix it up with the games. I get that this is a pumpkin patch in a parking lot. Often I felt like I was just standing in a parking light lot with the lights on and hay, and I wasn't getting my bang for my buck for the admission I paid.
I understand why they have to charge to get in, but if they're going to charge us $10 to get in not like three or four bucks, at least make it worth the $10. Remember, most people are coming here are families, so when my husband and I came with our daughter it ended up costing $28 just to get in. And there are other pumpkin patches in parking lots that don't charge you to get in.
They also have a staffing issues. A lot of the teenagers that were working there weren’t being very professional. They’re eating funnel cakes and looking at their phones. And at the giant inflatable slide, they weren’t paying attention. It was like they didn’t want to be there. There are a few booths, and at many we felt like we were interrupting their social time with their friends. There were two kids running each booth or inflatable, and they really did not like it when people interrupted them to use the ticket that they paid for.
That criticism aside, it’s still a cute place to go. They have a lot of vintage coin operated rides that are nostalgic and cute. There are some great photo ops. So I'm telling you the issues I encountered so that you can work around them. Maybe go during the day when there's nobody there. Everyone's at school. Or get your pumpkins and then skip the games.
It hurts my heart to say these things. I have lived in this community most of my life, and this pumpkin patch was a big part of my childhood and a big part of my children's childhood. It's a family tradition to come here every year, and this was the first year I really felt like I didn't want to come back again.
I'm telling you this stuff now so that you're aware of what it's like when you go there, so you can make it work for yourself. If you homeschool or have kids that aren't in school yet, then you can go during the day during school hours, and maybe you'll have a better experience.
I have worked in retail and I have been a manager at several stores and often my staff was mainly teenagers. With that said, there was no one supervising them. I didn't see anyone walking around making sure that everything was going smoothly. These kids are operating the rides and bounce houses, and they're not paying attention to anything other than their phones or chatting with a friend that is also manning the booth with them. And the experience where the girl was on her phone and acting like we were bothering her by being there was at the giant inflatable slide for kids. Someone could get hurt, so someone has to say something.
I would like to support this business, and I don't want to say anything negative. It was hard for me to be so honest. Please know I still want you to go there. I still want you to have fun, but I would skip the rides if the teenagers are manning them.
Negatives aside, let’s talk about the good.
The real gem is the Oktoberfest tent where you enjoy live music and I really appreciated Da Stube Buben. They are a German folk, an American dance music duo, and they were singing pop songs from the 80s in German. It was very fun and I would go just to see them and have a beer.
I think because of the band alone, this would be a great date night location. Or if your kids love live music, go to the beer garden.
Another gem is the puppet show. I didn’t get to see the puppet show this year. Puppets and Players theater puts on a beautiful puppet show. I didn't get to see them this year, but The Wizard of Oz inspired puppet show was beautiful, and I really would hate for you to miss out on that.
If you want to go this year before Halloween or on Halloween, please call them and ask when the puppet show will take place. There was no schedule for it on the site. It’s still worth it just for the puppet show and the pictures.
Most people don’t consider during the school year during the daytime they’re probably almost empty and that they probably have the charge people to get in just a break even. Especially when you have people that are just showing up to take pictures and leaving
The cover charge doesn’t bother me so much. What bothers me is that once you walk the pumpkin patch, it feels like there is nobody in charge or supervising anything. I’d go back only to take pictures and enjoy Oktoberfest.
Tickets are required. For, ages 2-12, eight dollars. For 13+ years it’s ten dollars, so the cost was almost thirty dollars to get in for three of us. Then I ended up spending money on tickets, so my daughter can play a few games and go on the rides. A 25 ticket pack was $39.25. It became a very expensive trip to the pumpkin patch.
They don’t have the best prices in the pumpkins. I also noticed that a bag of kettle corn was $10. I understand completely what is going on here. They are literally having people come in to take pictures and leave, and that is why everything is so freaking expensive.
Ultimately, the mom group that had a massive thread complaining was exchanging tips on where to get pumpkins cheaper somewhere else. Or trick your kids into thinking you bought them a pumpkin from Pumpkin City, but it's really a pumpkin that you already have in the car! It became very complicated and it shouldn't be that complicated to go to the pumpkin patch with your kids! You should be able to walk in and take some cute pictures, go on some rides, get something to eat, buy a pumpkin and not have it break the bank.
And honestly, I’d like to think that mom group or having that honest conversation because I would not mention the fact that I thought the prices were ridiculous without hearing that I wasn’t alone in thinking that.
I have many years of experience as a parent and coming here every year for most of my life, I cannot sit here and say that this place is as good as it used to be. It could be good again, but only if someone says something and I intend to call.
However, this post is terrible for my anxiety. I don't want to post something that proclaims how great it was there, when that wasn't the experience I had. I'm an honest person, and I honestly can't recommend sending you somewhere where employees were NOT paying attention. Especially when there are little kids in a bounce house, and they're supposed to be watching what's going on. So I hope that if you're here, and you're not happy with what I wrote, you can either scroll away or take it into account that my experience might not be the same as yours. And that is ok.
I do not want you to think I'm bashing Pumpkin City. I have said several times this is a very special place for me and I don't want to see it like this. Because I know how good it can be here. Hopefully, you will find this to be a helpful post and understand that this critique comes from a place of concern.
Thank you for reading. If you've been to Pumpkin City this year, please leave me a comment and let me know what your experience was. I want to hear some positive feedback. And I really wish I had seen the puppet show as well, so if you saw this year, let me know what it was like.
