**This Post was written in 2017. As such, the content and exhibits in the review below may be outdated. Please look out for updated content on this location in the near future!
It’s no secret just how much my family loves the Connecticut Trolley Museum. We have a family membership, and we probably visit once a month. So of course, we had to check out the Pumpkin Patch at the Connecticut Trolley Museum going on during the month of October. This weather lately was killing me. It finally felt like a Fall Day this past weekend (albeit a little too humid for my taste but tolerable) so we decided to spend our Sunday afternoon at the Pumpkin Patch!
If you have never been to the Connecticut Trolley Museum before, you’ll want to head over to my post from earlier this year. That will give you a more thorough description of the whole place as well as a breakdown of their normal admission prices, hours and operations. Just to summarize a few basic facts, the Connecticut Trolley Museum is located in East Windsor and offers unlimited trolley rides as well as full access to their museum of trolleys as well as the and Fire Truck Museum. They offer great events during the summer; as well as special holiday events around Easter, Halloween and Christmas.
For the month of October, the Connecticut Trolley Museum offers a trolley ride to the Pumpkin Patch where children (and their adults) get to pick out one pumpkin each and take it back to the museum for decorating. The event runs on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. They have fun events on the front lawn including a wooden train to play on; a corn pit, games and a teepee. You may also find additional activities like face painting depending on the day/time and sometimes even food for sale. The whole place is decorated for the fall season!
Admission for the Pumpkin Patch at the Connecticut Trolley Museum can be purchased inside at the gift shop. The prices are slightly different than their normal season prices. Adults are $12, children ages 4 to 12 are $10, children under 4 are $3 and Seniors are $11. If you have a museum membership, the price is reduced by half. You can also use your library’s museum discount pass. The price includes trolley rides, all activities inside the museum and outside (special things like face painting may cost extra), and a pumpkin for each paid person (children AND adults).
Once you have purchased your ticket and had your hand stamped, you are free to do whatever you would like next. The trolleys run often; so you usually will not be waiting too long to go out to the patch. They had two trains trolleys out (within approximately one half hour of each other) so we had little wait time. We spent our time waiting by playing on the front lawn in the wooden train and checking out the teepee. As I mentioned, they normally do have a corn pit but it was covered on the day we visited.
We hopped on the next departing trolley not long after we arrived. They had two closed cars running that day – we caught the yellow trolley!
He was quick to find a seat and get comfortable! He loves these trolley rides!
The drive to the pumpkin patch is slightly shorter than a normal trolley ride; but we still had a great time and it was a great ride with the motorman!
The pumpkin patch is located in a grassy field by the Skylark Airport. You stop at the Pumpkin Patch station and everyone disembarks for the patch. The trolley waits while everyone has a chance to pick their pumpkin, take some pictures and enjoy their time.
These boys of mine were off before I could catch up! I was a little busy with my camera… but they were also very excited!
The Pumpkin Patch is LOADED with pre-picked pumpkins! As I mentioned, every person (not just children) gets to pick out a pumpkin. There are plenty to choose from!
He took his time scoping the place out. We gave him free reign to pick out ALL three of our pumpkins so he took that task seriously.
Okay, maybe not that seriously…
Finally, he found some that he liked. What do you think of these?
They had a great little photo op area set up with some scarecrows, which our motorman told us he made. So, of course we had to take some pictures with those!
And of course, we had to take a picture with the motorman!
Before we knew it, it was time to load the trolley. We didn’t want to miss our ride!
Once we made our way back to the Trolley Museum, we were told to take our pumpkins inside the museum where they had crafting stations set up so we could decorate our pumpkins. This was located in the main area of the museum where you would normally find the stationary trolleys. Those were actually blocked except for two trolleys that you could explore inside and around. Instead, they had several tables set up for decorating your pumpkins, coloring and creating conductor hats, making train tickets and dressing up like a train conductor.
They had stickers, crayons, stick-on eyes and other things to decorate your pumpkins.
He did that for all of two minutes before he took off for the train table in the Trolley Museum lobby.
So, I ended up doing a little crafting.
We actually visited the Pumpkin Patch at the Connecticut Trolley Museum towards the end of the day; so the highlight of our visit was watching the trolleys go to sleep for the night in their shed. We thought this was a great idea to watch this with our three year old right before we left since he seemed excited to see the trolley go night-night. That is, until he realized our visit was over. And than a happy, exciting moment turned into a three year old tantrum… Oops! Oh well, good night trolley!
We had a great time visiting the Pumpkin Patch at the Connecticut Trolley Museum! They do a great job putting on these seasonal events. We visited earlier this year for their Easter Bunny event; and we went a few times during the summer to their story time trolley rides — hence why we have a family membership. I am really excited to visit their Winterfest and Tunnel of Lights during the Christmas season!
You still have two more weekends in October to check out the Pumpkin Patch at the Connecticut Trolley Museum. If you have never done this event before, I recommend that you make a trip over there before it ends this year! It may just become your family favorite too!
This about sums it up…
8 North Road (CT 14) – East Windsor, Connecticut
Pumpkin Patch Hours:
Specific Days in October including Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, as well as Columbus Day. Open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Pumpkin Patch Admission:
Adults: $12.00
Seniors: $11.00
Child: $10.00
3 & under: $3
Discounts:
Many local town libraries offer reduced or free admission with their museum pass. Make sure to check with your town library to see if this is offered!
The Museum also offers a membershipwhich includes half priced special event admission in its annual fee.
Features:
- Free Parking!
- Large parking lot with plenty of available spaces
- Stroller Friendly (overall, however there are some rocky paths that can be tricky to maneuver on, and strollers are not allowed on the trolley)
- Bathrooms and Changing Station
- Vending machines offering beverages and snacks
- Gift Shop on-site
- Unlimited trolley rides included in admission
- Cash or credit card accepted (except American Express)
- Pumpkin Patch is a seasonal event – includes trolley ride to the patch, a free pumpkin per person, outdoor activities and indoor crafts.
