The Coconut Grove Pumpkin Patch? Meh

I attended the Coconut Grove Pumpkin Patch Festival this weekend and for the most part, I enjoyed it. And the event did bring a lot of people out.

I did feel that the event was overpriced for families. $8 for a gyro, $3 for water and $10 for a baby pumpkin, the size of a cantaloupe was a bit much, especially after paying $15 per child and $10 per adult to enter. Rides were promised but there were none. The reason given was that the company that provides the rides is on some sort of circuit and they didn't reach our area yet, I am assuming that this was known way in advance and wasn't a last minute thing, so this should not have been part of the advertising which was, "Pay at the gate and all rides are free."

And about the gate, $15 per child is a bit much for a family, the entry maybe could have been free and it could then be pay as you go. Give people a fighting chance, once they are in, let them decide if they choose to partake and pay for various things. Parents told me that they felt ripped off, but the kids were happy, so they were happy; sort of a passive aggressive response.

Oh, and the photos. They would not allow us to take photos using our cell phones unless we paid $5 for a photo by the professionals they had on hand. The one guy told us we could take all the pictures we want, once we paid him $5! They of course didn't stop us from taking general photos as you can see here, but in the pumpkin patch, they gave us a hard time about photos. 

Now this is not the impression we want people to have as they leave the Grove after spending the day here. That is the last impression they have of our village. Between $10 and $20 parking fees and the $15 per child entrance fee and the price of everything else a la carte, it was an expensive day.

What did you think? Is this on par with a day at the movies or other places you take the kids on the weekends?

I personally would go to the Boys & Girls Clubs or even Publix and get a large pumpkin for a fraction of the price and I don't have to pay an entrance fee to do it.