Mainstay Farm — Attraction in Burleson

We used our fall tickets for 10/26 and out of all the times we’ve been to the farm this was our worst experience to date. I’m not going to leave a low star review because we have been visiting here every season since the very beginning, long before all the attractions they have now. The owners are great and we love and appreciate everything they offer at the farm. We’ve had many great experiences in all the times we’ve visited but yesterday was a huge let down.

There’s not an occupancy limit that I’m aware of, so the park was extremely over crowded. This is the second time we have gone and it was so over crowded that it’s difficult to find parking, very long lines, no open tables or seating, very long wait times, being told food would be a 25 minute wait after standing in line for 15+ minutes, etc. trying to get any food ended up taking us an hour+ because by the time we’d get through the line we’d be told that they were either out of most things or it would be another 25 minute wait. We finally were able to get drinks which were $7 each and didn’t come with a lid or straw so it was hard to walk around with them and we were swarmed by bees the entire time. The other drink options were $15+ For one small pretzel, one small funnel cake and 3 small lemonades the price was around $40, We couldn’t find an open table to sit any where and the tables were all left dirty and sticky.

My two children weren’t able to do really any activities because there were SO MANY people. They tried to play on the trampolines multiple times but they were bombarded by teenagers and drunk adults, my 4 year old was hurt multiple times by other people kicking him, plowing him down, kids throwing rocks and hitting him in the face. The kids playground was full of teenagers and adults, playing rough, being obnoxious and not being mindful of the actual kids trying to play. It was impossible for them to safely play anywhere or do any activities without getting ran down by crowds of other people. We rode the mini train and the dust was so bad we were covered in dirt when we got off.

We went to ride the new big train and didn’t realize you had to buy tickets for that too so for 2 kids and 2 adults it was $24 to ride once. So $6 per person. The wait was very long and we had to stand in line for about an hour after we bought our tickets. Which can be difficult when you have young children. They did a great job on the train but by the time we made it through the line it was dark outside , so we saw nothing. There were no lights along the trail at all and we had a group of adults in front of us whom were all drunk and yelling, being inappropriate the entire ride.

There was not enough lighting after dark without needing your phone flashlight. There were over 50+ people waiting in line for the Farris wheel so we skipped that too. After the train ride, we tried one more time to play on the trampolines and again was hit with rocks and a teenager kicked my toddlers legs so hard we thought he broke it. We immediately left after that. Defeated and disappointed after spending hours trying to enjoy ANY activity but truly couldn’t do anything because of the crowds. We spent the whole time walking around or standing in lines. Not actually getting to do anything.

Now that the park is growing and advertising on social media, etc. there’s a lot more people traveling to visit here which I know is great for business but it’s not great for the customer experience when there isn’t any limit or control for attendance. It makes it impossible to enjoy the park or activities and felt like a waste of time and money.

We spent hundreds of dollars and there truly wasn’t anything fun about this visit. No matter how many times we tried to do an activity or enjoy our time it was repeatedly ruined by the mass amounts of people. We were really looking forward to our trip and because it’s so expensive, we hope to enjoy it and have a fun family day out but this is twice now that we left disappointed and unable to enjoy anything because of it being too...

We had a great time the first time we went in October but the food was way overpriced.

The second time we went was an awful experience. The blonde teenage boy running the roller coaster allowed a grandpa to ride with his baby grandson! The baby boy appeared to be between the ages of 1 & 2. He was tiny. There was no way he was even 3 feet tall. There was a height-requirement sign posted next to the line. I did not confront the grandpa who was in line in front of me, but I was pointing them out to teenage employee and pointing to the height limit, but the teenage employee ignored me.

Afterwards, our family went to the Texas Tube Slide. First, we got our wrist bands to show we'd signed the waiver. It was our second time at Mainstay Farm. Our boys had already been on that ride a few times. When we were getting our tubes, a brunette teenage girl whose name I won't mention asked us how old our boys are. I said 5 & 6. She said the 6 year old could ride but the 5 year old couldn't because they'd just changed the rules a few minutes ago when another 5 year old got hurt. I said my son has already ridden before without getting hurt, and we signed the waiver, and they can't just change the rules last minute. (My five year old is in the ninetieth percentile. He was wearing a size 7 shirt. A height or weight limit would have been more understandable because people of different ages come in all shapes and sizes. Regardless, it's not right to impose last-minute rule changes.) So we went to the front desk to get our money back. We had to wait for an employee to take a walkie talkie to the teenagers working the Texas Tube Slide. We didn't hear their conversation but the front desk lady told us she got onto them pretty hard & said they can change the rules for people who haven't signed a waiver yet, but not for people who have already signed waivers and done the ride in the past. We walked back to the Tube Slide, showed them our waiver bracelets, & carried our tubes up to the top. My husband and 6 year old son went first. But the brunette teenage girl who had turned us away before refused to let my 5 year old son ride down, even after I explained everything to her. The teenage boy who had spoken to the front desk on the walkie talkie had to come to the top and tell the girl they had to let my son ride. Then the girl passive aggressively & vigorously slathered the bottom of my son's tube with wax. I could tell she was angry. My son enjoyed the ride & was fine. Then I gave the girl my tube and even turned it over for her, trying to help, but she said no, and flipped my tube upright and told me to go. I asked her if she was going to put wax on the bottom of my tube & she said no. I pointed out that she'd put wax on the bottom of every other tube except mine. She said yes, that people were sliding too far so my didn't need wax. So I slid without further comment. What an awful experience! Going twice allowed us to break even on our season passes so we will not be back.

After the owner's response, I increased my star rating because I'm thankful they responded & I believe they will...

We've been coming here for several years so I'd like to give a fair review. Things of course changed since COVID just like anywhere else. Prices have gone up, like everywhere. Pros: With their increased ticket prices they HAVE made improvements to the grounds, they are not just pocketing the extra cash, so I appreciate that

The burger area makes salmon or burger patties fresh and to your requested level of done-ness, this in particular is worth the price

Employees are really trying their hardest and are very kind

Cons: The lemonade which I look forward to every year was bitter and tasted 'off' or spoiled on the last day of fall ops. at about $7 a cup with no lid and no straw available, this was also hard on sensitive teeth and trying to share with little kids. we couldnt really walk with it so we HAD to stop to drink it all. we ended up throwing a lot away because it was awful anyway

The price of the ice cream area is honestly way too high, even to match inflation, even at faire prices. The ice cream was freezer burnt and the brownie just wasnt good. It was $40 for 3 people to get assorted treats and no one finished theirs because the ice cream was bad. we would have gone in to request a refund on it but our littlest was having a melt down so we just left.

the hay ride. used to be our favorite way to get in the shade and take a break off our feet. they've started to stop the hay ride 2-3 times for 5ish minutes each stop. all the kids on the ride were extremely vocally unhappy about this, as were the adults around me, including myself. do you know what happens if one kid starts screaming/crying? because the answer was a symphony of tears and wails. if you'd like to give a history of the farm please post a sign that you're going to be doing this, and maybe just stick to putting up an informational sign somewhere prominent on the farm, and/or your website instead? the stop/go and screaming kids realllly was not a good time. and since they dont warn you they're going to be stopping for speeches- you are kind of along for the ride once it starts, its not a short walk back if youd like to get off because of the screaming kids complaining about the ride stopping.

All and all, even though I appreciate the improvements, the quality of concessions (minus the burger area) going down steeply while the cost increases and the hay ride of horrors means we probably wont be back again as the value was not there for...