So..if you live in Southwest Ohio, chances are a magazine comes to your house every month or so full of advertisements and coupons. The Waynesville Fall Fest has been featured on the cover of this magazine and it caught my attention. This fall I decided to stop with “We should check that out!” and actually checked it out….and WOW. It is truly a premiere Autumn event in this area.
Admission
Admission is currently 13 dollars for adults, 11 dollars for children 3 to 10, and 2 and under are free (September 2023). This admission gets you access to all activities except water wars, carnival games, gem mining and water wars. This is honestly a steal at this price for how much fun we had during our visit.
Saturday and Sundays mid September through the end of October.
So what activities do they have?
Way too much to name. We spent over 5 hours here and still left a few of the activities unvisited. Some favorites from our visit were the MASSSIVE playground (1.5 hours spent here alone), the S.L. expedition (like a hay ride..but honestly, better), and the pedal cars.
They also have a petting farm, two putt-putt courses, Disc Golf, Soccer Golf (which is a WORK OUT, for real), Human foosball, Gaga ball…and what might be the most difficult corn maze ever + so much more.
Concessions
SO MANY CONCESSIONS. This surprised me. They had everything from soft pretzels and ice cream to full meals of pulled pork, chicken tenders, hot dogs. Prices were fair – I believe it was around 9 dollars for a kid’s chicken tender meal and the soft pretzel was 5 dollars. The concessions are spread out so we did not wait in any long lines since there were several options available for people to choose from.
I’ll take this opportunity to say you are allowed to bring in unopened bottles of water and I suggest it. While there is a lot of seating and every shaded areas – we all went through our bottles of water + more.
Bathrooms
Porta-Potties are located throughout the Fest BUT they do have flush toilets near the soft pretzel concession stand (near the pedal cars and front putt-putt)
The Grounds
This is something that pictures just do not do justice. This place is immersive. They didn’t just stick a few hay bales around, a couple of pumpkins and call it a Fall Fest. THIS PLACE IS FALL. There are beautiful photo-ops around every corner. Mums, pumpkins, skeletons, and more! It is an experience just to walk around this place. And everything is very well maintained. Most of the pathway near the front of the Fest are paved concrete – making stroller pushing a breeze but the back half is rubber mulch and grass – though still very well maintained.
Staff
The staff were all so very kind. Directions for each activity were clear. Everything was staffed well so you weren’t standing around the putt putt course wondering what you are supposed to do – someone was there to pass out clubs and balls. I’m not sure where they find these staffers or how they train them – but every interaction was very pleasant.
My Favorite Part?
The S.L. Expeditions, by far. This is their version of a “hay ride”. It actually has a mild thrill level to it with some curves and hills as well as a story line that you listen to as you pay a visit to Skeleville. It is soooo kitchy – but I loved every bit of it.
What’s Missing?
I only have one single thing that I feel like they need here and that’s some sort of inflatable bounce pad. They have become a staple for pumpkin patches and fall festivals and every kid is always on the look out for one.
If you are looking for a fun fall activity for a wide range of ages – this is it. There is enough to do here that even teenagers and adults on a date would be able to have a good time – especially if you just enjoy the atmosphere of fall.
