Schilter Family Farm — Attraction in DuPont

We have been coming to this location during the fall festival for over 6 years and it's not as enjoyable as it used to be. As a big family we always purchase the combo family pass and get some food and small pumpkins so we spend a significant amount of money but it wasn't worth the cost this year. We arrived as it opened on a Saturday morning and already was in a pretty decent line which looked promising. Parked pretty smoothly, bought our bracelets pretty smoothly and then we headed out for the adventures..or so we thought...we went into the wooden play area because the boys were looking forward to roping a cow head and pumpkin bowling first but without any supervision in there at all there was a teenager trying to yank the cow head off the fence which was pulling down the entire fence, we turn around and there is a 5 year old smashing the pumpkins with the bowling pins into smithereens..we looked around for a parent zoning off into their phone or a staff member maybe...nothing....ok..well, as much as your thinking I should have approached either child, you can stuff it..with 6 of my own and a new baby on my chest the last thing I need to do is parent someone else's kids or get in a yelling match with some ghosting parent who shows up out of nowhere after their kid has done the damage.. Moving on..we walked over to the corn maze and enjoyed the screaming banter of 4 grown men screaming for each other and swearing the entire time who would randomly run out at different points of the maze wall and scream and run back in, one time almost running over one of the toddlers, the little baby and myself who were waiting outside for the big kids, and to note we were nowhere near the entrance or exit, we were out of the way....good times. ... It became expectantly busy so the lines were long but thats normal. We moved out of the area this past summer and only made the long drive back here because the kids felt it was tradition, but we all agreed to start a new one at a new farm in...

Update: I have been advocating for better care and more breaks for the kittens they have in the petting zoo for 4 years now. After years thr company responded to my review. Though they are spouting the same line as 4 years ago, "the kittens go into the employee barn. That is allowed" They did mention implementing new policies for scheduled breaks for the kittens. If they follow through and provide the kittens with proper care, mental and physical, I would consider coming back as my family goes without me every year. I really hope they can improve and put the animals under their care first. Over profit, over customers.

Older: I've been coming here my whole life. I have always loved it but going back as an adult I notice they aren't paying attention to the animals welfare at all. I could see the kittens trying to get to their food and water but they would be scooped up before they could get there. I held one for 15 min, it just ate, drank and passed out. I asked if the kittens, 7-9 weeks old, get breaks throughout the day; I was told that it normally slows down around 2 they get a 20 minute break where they can eat, drink, and go potty. Other than that they are constantly held. The company says employees are allowed to move the kittens into the employee barn if the kittens need a break. Meaning, if an employee doesn't notice the kittens need a break, the kittens have no way of getting one themselves. The employee has to actively see they need a break, leave the petting zoo unsupervised, and take the kittens in and out of their pen/employee barn. Even if they are allowed to give the kittens a break, they don't know it or do it. All the other animals have an area they can get away when they want and have food and water avalible to them all the time. I tried to find someone to talk to about it but there was no...

I can see why this place has good reviews if you don't encounter the staff. Unfortunately I'm pretty sure the rude staff member we encountered is one of the farm's main operators (I'm basing this off of the family picture on their website). We came here for a preschool field trip and one of the older male staff members randomly walked up to my daughter without saying a word and aggressively grabbed the tray from the gem mining activity center out of her hands and marched away, very clearly unhappy, without offering any explanation as to why he took it from her. It was so incredibly bizarre I can't even describe the situation well enough for you to understand how rude it was...you'd have to have been there to see it yourself. I was so caught off guard by what had happened that I didn't even have time to say anything to him, but we left almost immediately after this. Luckily my daughter is a very easy-going 3 year old but I think a lot of kids her age would have been extremely upset if he'd done that to them. I don't know why you would offer preschool field trips if you don't enjoy children who aren't your own. There were a TON of school field trips the day we went so my guess for the reason why they offer field trips in spite of this is because they make a lot of money off of them during pumpkin season. There are plenty of other kid-friendly pumpkin patches in the area to go to with wonderful staff. I would...