a maze'n farmyard

We have been coming here every summer with the kids. It has grown a LOT over the years too. They have always had the petting animals and the gift shop, outdoor maze, goats, camel. and a few puppies for sale. Now they have this GINORMOUS outdoor slide, putt putt golf, extensive indoor bounce house, canary sanctuary for the kids to walk into and they birds fly around. They have more gifts to sell now, much more snacks and food with ice cream. You could spend a lot of time here with the kids having a BALL. They also have a LOT more of a selection of puppies. They clearly pull in several varieties for local area breeders. I read other reviews, they have plenty of teenage staff constantly cleaning up. You can pay a little money for food that your children will have a ton of fun feeding the animals. The animals are used to being around little kids and they are all used to it and very friendly. We bought our first dog here last year and we had a good experience. They were very thorough and gave us lots of details on the puppy and all of it's shots. They do a good job with the puppy area and they have a lot of great supplies to purchase and to help train your new pet. My one suggestion would be that they need much BETTER ventilation where the puppies are, they try to cover up the odor with candles but what they need is just better ventilation.

We have visited A Maze'n Farmyard I believe every summer since they opened. It is a great place to take the family with a lot to do from the Large wooden Maze (I still can never get to all 5 towers in one try although I have made it to each tower at one time or another). We love the barn and the animals and the bird house. My boys like playing miniature golf and going down the giant slide. I love the fact that each year they try to add a new attraction or improve on one already there. A few years ago we purchased our puppy there and Maddie is a wonderful addition to the whole family. I think this year we may try to take in their fall activities. I definitely recommend taking your family!

There is not enough supervision by the teenage workers and sometimes some children get very rough with the animals. The puppies and kittens that are out to be petted are usually miserable and struggling to escape. The puppies usually have some crustyness on their eyes and sometimes have a nasal discharge. There are hand sanitation stations everywhere so that is helpful, I always made sure we made use of these, because I do not want to bring anything home to my dog.The parakeet barn is a cute idea in theory but in reality it's dangerous for the birds. I've seen dead birds lying on the ground, and have seen birds get accidentally stomped by children, not realizing the birds were under their feet. The last time we were there this happened and a bunch of other birds rushed up and started pecking the dead bird, which was horrifying. I was trying to get the attention of a teenage employee outside of the barn but couldn't get his attention. One of the other moms there picked up the dead bird and put it in the garbage can. Needless to say this was very upsetting to my young children and made me sick to my stomach. There needs to be an adult employee INSIDE the parakeet barn, supervising, telling children to shuffle slowly through the barn and not run or harass the birds.There also should be an adult employee inside each of the puppy and kitten areas, supervising, since little ones get very rough with the animals and their parents don't always correct them.They do have pizza and snacks for purchase but that gets expensive quickly. The admission fees are high especially when you have multiple children with you (which is why you're there). They do have a picnic area and you can bring a lunch so that is nice. The indoor bounce houses were a big hit with my kids and they spent about half their time there.There is one more thing that I feel I must mention. I've just recently found out that the same family that owns A Maze'N Farmyard also operates one of the largest puppy breeding operations in the state of Minnesota. Because of the high number of dogs (over 800 in the official inspection report that I read) some people call this a puppy mill. I know there is a lot of debate over this issue but I thought it was important to at least mention this, so a person reading this can do their own research and decide if they want their money supporting this type of operation. I had no idea that our money was going towards this, and we've decided as a family that we cannot, in good conscience, continue to support them, for this as well as the other issues mentioned above.

There is something for everyone here! The little ones will love the animals that you can get up close to and even hold. There is a train that they can ride on. Inside is a room with bounce arounds inflatables.The older ones will have fun in the maze, going down the big slide, the bird house and more. Adults can browse and find treasures in the giftshop. The Farmyard also has a snack bar where you can purchase food items.Everyone we were with had a great time! Bring your camera!