Sonny Acres Farm — Attraction in West Chicago

The whole experience was not good from the beginning. They are very disorganized and nobody knows what's going on. We had to call them several times to book and get a contract. They got our number of students and chaperones wrong from the beginning. Our parents are our clients just as we were yours. The staff was very rude and short with our parents. We have several kids that have special needs and we only wanted 2 wagons. The lady was very rude about renting it to our parents. It was suppose to be a nice family oriented place that we read about. And we brought 30 parents/families with us. It was far from that. Our parents were yelled at for wanting to go to the play area or just in general. The workers at the rides were very snippy. We purchased the fun tour. The kids can go on the rides as many times as they want but could not go on the pillow or the play area. Yes we understand that it is free entry for parents, as it should be because there was nothing to wow about for the parents and kids to pay for an entry. We paid for 41 children and 30 adults to ride on the Hayride. For which all of our parents did not go on the Hayride because they kept telling our parents they could not go in that area and that included the Hayride. So that confused our parents. It was not until we complained about our kids wanting to play and take pictures in the play area and it was already almost time for us to leave. Our kids are 2 years old to 5 years old. It is a Daycare. The play area was just simple. Taking pictures, sitting on hay and slides. So why would it matter that we had to pay an additional fee? When I told the workers it was 12:45 and we are ready to leave and get our pumpkins they were so rude. The lady yelled as us and said, "Everybody has to be here now to get their pumpkin or nobody gets one" How rude is that? First of all, some kids were using the restroom and waiting for everyone to get there took up more time. Another lady was like, "Your bus does not come until 1pm." Our bus came back at 12:45 like I asked him to because we were so unhappy, we were ready to leave the farm already. We will not be going back. This is not a fall festival field trip to go to with students, not even families. I would not even take my daughter here. I have never seen so many workers so unhappy with their job and so mean. We paid a good amount of money to give to your business today and I've never been so upset about a field trip. The main reason why I am upset because my parents were sad about being yelled at and the workers being rude to them. When my clients/parents are unhappy, that...

My husband and I decided to check out Sonny Acres after reading a great review on one of my moms groups. We decided to bring our 2 children, who are 3 and 10 months. Our 3 year old daughter has a severe speech delay and some sensory issues. We know sometimes public situations can be overwhelming so we always bring grandma with us. We lucked out today and both my mom and mother in law wanted to share in the fun as well. Things were going great, the farm was laid out very nicely, and it was a wristband day so the rides were at a fantastic deal. Sonny Acres Farm would have gotten a 5 star rating from us if one of the staff members would not have made such a rude comment about our special needs daughter. Having a child with sensory issues, they sometimes can not process instructions, especially from strangers. The attendant at the train ride told our daughter she needed to put her belt on in order to ride, and attempted to help her. Unfortunately because of our daughters special needs having a stranger touch her is a traumatic event. Our daughter swatted her hand away and started to scream. Immediately my husband and I intervened and removed our daughter so the other children could continue the ride. The attendant turned around and rudely told a group of parents, "I am glad that is not my child!" My heart sank. I didn't have the time, or the patience to make this an educational moment. Nor did I feel that I needed to. Special needs or not, children are children. For someone who is working in a setting that is catered to children and families, she was extremely closed minded. We decided we would be ending our trip and stay. It is unfortunate because we had planned to stay, eat, purchase, and make this an all day event. We will not be coming back, or recommending Sonny Acres Farm to our friends and family. Not only were we publicly humiliated by an employee to another group of guests, we felt our daughter being judged for her special needs. I would highly suggest the directors, owners, and management team of Sonny Acres Farm educate their staff on special needs. As well as having an open mind, and not...

In the past, I have always preferred Sonny Acres over other farms in my area. Anyone of any age can find some level of enjoyment there, and as far as attractions go, that is still the case. I have always respected how well the animals appeared to be taken care of and that they do not have exotic animals. However, my most recent trip provided a completely different experience. The crowd level was unlike any I had ever seen there, to the point that no one could keep a safe distance even if they were trying to. They did take everyone’s temperature upon entry and they offered hand sanitizer at many of the booths, but that’s about where the precautions stopped. I have always gone for the petting zoo, and only because the animals appeared happy and cared for. This time, the pen was so overcrowded that the animals weren’t eating (likely because people had been feeding them all day) and they were visibly stressed. The sheep were huddled together and wouldn’t move. There was a duck that was shaking the entire time I was in the pen, chickens were being chased by children, and even the goats were lethargic. I understand that a petting zoo is appealing to children, and I understand that not every child (or adult) is conscious of how to treat animals. In this case, the pen should be monitored by an employee to ensure humane treatment. In addition, there should be a much more limited amount of people allowed in at a time. I do not fault the staff entirely because I imagine no one could have prepared for such a large crowd, and you can only do so much with the employees that you have. What I would ask is that they start putting a cap on the people that are allowed to enter the farm as well as the animal exhibits, as it is a huge risk to both customers and animals alike. I feel it would have gone more smoothly if you had to make a reservation to get in, instead of a free for all at the gate. I am giving Sonny Acres the benefit of the doubt that they just weren’t prepared, and I’m leaving two stars as I still love what the place has to offer. I’m hoping they take this into...