LARC's Acadian Village — Attraction in Lafayette

We find ourselves going every year to see the Christmas lights. The line of cars to get in (along with parking itself) is pretty rough. Once we got to our parking spot there were a just a few people scrambling and rushing to stack are in there like tetris. After waiting quite a while for the line just to park you are met with another rather large line to get into the gate. I would definitely suggest getting there sooner than later. It was nice that the local fire department had their fire truck next to the line for the kids (and some adults lol) to check out. I feel that their real short coming was their ticket line, pretty much choas. There were people everywhere trying to go through with no guidance on where one should go. Some people had purchased online (likeus) and some were there to purchase on sight. Turns out there were three lines that took either. There were no signs or not even at least a person to tell people that there were three lines because it basically became a heard of cattle funneling through three shoots (there was a fourth booth that wasn't open at the time). It wasn't pleasant. People were confused, talking loudly and kids were crying all over. We spent around 30 minutes in the ticket line. ALL that being said, it was a nice place once we were able to get in. The lights were beautiful as always. As large as this place is it did get pretty congested . People were stopping to take photos here and there and at some points you sort of get trapped behind a huge line to make the loops to see everything. There were some new displays and some of their classics with music playing almost everywhere but not in an obnoxious way. ALOT of effort went into this place and it shows. We really did enjoy it once we got in. Highly recommend getting there early so you can enjoy all the...

Our first time ever going. We saw advertising on Facebook and heard about people going. I think expectations were too high. We drove from 2-3 hours away. We went for the Christmas lights. I think it would have been great had it not been so over crowded, if all of the lights had been working, and if the food was worth the price (the caramel apples were mushy).

Location: easy to get to using gps however it takes you to the exit, not entrance. If you are at the turn about, follow the signs for the village, not gps

Parking: available on the grass. I was very happy that employees directed parking. It made it so much easier and quicker.

Price: we bought tickets online for $9 each. They are nonrefundable. Carnival rides, Santa photos, and food are all additional prices.

Food: We did get a funnel cake, caramel apple, and snowball. Out of all 3, the snowball was the better purchase. The funnel cake was small for price and apple was mushy so we threw away. They also sold cotton candy, nachos, popcorn, hot chocolate, etc.

I think the experience would have been more enjoyable if it weren't so over crowded. It would have been nice to be able to stop and take our time, but it was a massive line to walk through that was constantly moving. We stayed for about an hour, which includes showing our tickets to get in, walk through for the lights, getting a few food items, and seeing the general store (very expensive items). We did get a couple of photos but we felt so rushed to get out of the way for other people. I also wish all of their lights had been working. They also had all of the water drained out of the village.

It was good to do something new, it just didn't meet the hype. The best parts were: the church in lights, nativity scene, the walkway with overarching lights,...

Great place for the family during Christmas holiday. Kids had a blast. Gift shop, a few amusement park rides, food & drinks - all in one place! Reasonable entertainment. Little kids get in free. Wait lines can be a bit long but moves quick enough. We bought advanced tickets but still waited. Can probably get tickets at gate and it'll amount to same wait. Gift shop sells a variety of great gifts. I bought an ornament for every family in our group to commemorate our family visit. (My three grown kids and their kids) Don't forget pics with Santa & Mrs Claus. Lots of fun!

P.S.-I spent $25 on an advanced ticket that included admission, one concession snack, and choice of jambalaya or nachos and a drink. My VIP ticket didn't get me in any quicker and the dinner choices were anything but desirable. Acadian Village at Xmas is nice every five or ten years. I can't see making this a tradition. I hadn't been since my children were wee ones. After all this time, it still looked exactly the same...not...