Every year we go to Waimanalo Country Farms and this year we were so excited when they announced the Drive-Thru Pumpkin Patch! If you haven't already booked your spot, I totally recommend it!
Halloween might be one of my favorite holidays to celebrate with the kids. Since Kalei was born, I have enjoyed making their costumes. Over the years I would spend the summer planning the costume and then trying to execute it come October.
This year I had big dreams of what to make. But then COVID happened and I still thought maybe I could do my usual costume making, even if it was for just a photo. Then distance learning gave me a good reality check that the hours I normally spent making the costumes (times three this year) would mean I have no time to make the costumes.
This year the kids chose Paw Patrol and I was like let's do it! They chose their favorite characters - Kalei wanted to be Marshall, Kili wanted to be Sky...and Mehana, they wanted her to be Everest but I said she's not a main character so we voted on Rubble. My husband got to be Ryder and somehow I ended up being Chickaletta!
I was absolutely stunned at how organized the Drive Thru Pumpkin Patch was. We signed up for our time slot on their website and got to the patch about 20 minutes early (we were surprised there was not much traffic but we didn't mind waiting). It gave us time to get into our costumes!
We were super impressed by the audio tour! It was a nice addition to listen to the history of the farm and what they grow on the farm. They had the animals in different areas of the farm while you drove through which was pretty cool too! At one point, a large bird flew on our car and the kids went wild! Thankfully it flew off but only after it pooped on our car!
How the drive-thru pumpkin patch works:
You get 20 minutes in the pumpkin patch which was more than enough time to take some photos and choose a pumpkin (they cost $10 each). They had a bunch of photo areas set up which was perfect and everyone that was part of our time slot respected the social distancing rules.
On your way out you drive through their country store which was amazing! In addition to the lemonade that comes with your admission (for ages 3 and up since you pay for those people in your car), you can also purchase other food items they have available and decorative pumpkins.
Recommendations:
If you go, I would recommend practice using your camera and have a tripod ready. I had my tripod and DSLR camera but I totally forgot to practice using it! I could not remember for the life of me how to use the timer! I ended up using my phone for our family photos and my tripod does not have a phone adaptor so that was a bummer.
Don't forget to bring cash if you plan on buying pumpkins or food!
Overall, this was probably the most fun we've had at the Pumpkin Patch! It was very special and even though it was different from previous years we thoroughly enjoyed it!
As a family that is on the cautious side, we felt very comfortable being out in public. Our keiki rarely go anywhere outside our home so we loved the social distancing measures that were put into place.