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Osceola County has no shortage of things to do. What it has rather less of is somewhere a five-year-old can put a hand flat on a cow’s side and feel it breathing. Green Meadows Petting Farm is that place, and it has been since Coni and Bob Keyes opened the petting farm in Kissimmee under the live oaks in 1988.
The farm is genuinely hands-on rather than a viewing experience. You buy the optional animal feed at the gate, or add it to your tickets online and from that point the morning belongs to your children. Cattle work their way across the pasture. Alpacas and donkeys drift over to the rail when it suits them. Pigs, goats, chickens and rabbits are all close enough to touch, and the goats in particular will take a very direct interest in whatever you are holding.
Beyond the animals there is a wagon ride out through the trees, a playground shaded by old oaks, and picnic tables where families spread out a proper lunch. Admission to the petting farm is $18 for anyone aged 2 and over, with children under 2 free, and that one ticket covers the animals, the wagon ride and the playground together. Nothing is timed, nothing else is sold at the gate, and children set the pace themselves.
A great many people in Kissimmee do not need this farm introduced to them. Coni and Bob Keyes opened Green Meadows Petting Farm in 1988, and for close to three decades it was where children across Central Florida had their first real encounter with farm animals — arriving by school bus on a weekday morning, for somebody’s birthday at the weekend, or simply because a parent wanted everybody outdoors for a few hours. Parents bringing children here today were often brought here themselves.
Then the petting farm closed, and Kissimmee spent seven years without it. Thanks to the City of Kissimmee, it has made a comeback and now runs at Lancaster Ranch Park. The reopening was deliberately faithful rather than clever: the same animals within reach of a child’s hand, the same classic wagon ride, the same live oaks doing the cooling. More ground than there used to be, and the same farm working across it.
You will find the petting farm at Lancaster Ranch Park, 1881 Jack Calhoun Drive, Kissimmee, FL 34741, with free parking on site. This is the farm’s only location. If you are coming from elsewhere in Osceola County or from further out across Orange, Polk, Lake or Seminole County, the drive is worth planning around our opening hours, which are shorter than most attractions in the area.
The petting farm is open Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, and Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Last admission falls at 1:00 PM Wednesday through Friday and 2:00 PM on weekends. We are closed Monday and Tuesday, and there is no evening opening. Arriving at ten is the single best decision available to you: the animals are at their most active, the air has not built up, and the paddocks are quiet. Wednesday is Grandparents Day, when one grandparent is admitted free alongside each paid general admission, every week of the year rather than as an occasional promotion.
General admission is $18 per person from age 2, with under-2s free, and no reservation is required — buy online in advance or simply pay at the gate. The farm is entirely cashless and accepts all major credit cards. Group rates begin at ten guests: $15 per person from 10 to 19, and $12 per person from 20 upward with a reservation, which also includes one free admission for every 20 paid. An annual pass covering unlimited visits for a year from the date of purchase is available for families who expect to come back, and school field trips and large groups are welcome on the group rates.
2 things surprise first-time visitors more than anything else. There is no cafe on the property, only vending machines, so bring a picnic and plenty of water and use the shaded tables provided. And every part of the petting farm is outdoors — the paddocks, the wagon ride, the playground and the picnic areas all sit under open sky and oak canopy, so dress everyone in closed shoes, sun hats and sunscreen. If the weather looks doubtful, call us at (407) 994-2775 before setting out and we will tell you honestly whether to come.
Plan Your Visit
Each fall the Pumpkin Zone opens and becomes the busiest, most cheerful corner of the farm. It is worth being clear about what it is and is not: we are not a pumpkin patch, and nothing orange is grown on this land. What we do is simpler. Every paying guest walks into the Pumpkin Zone, chooses a pumpkin and carries it home, included in the price of the ticket. It stays open every single day we are open, straight through the season, so there is no weekend scramble and no separate pumpkin admission to buy. The Halloween Candy Hunt runs on 2 weekends around Halloween, and those are the days the whole place is at its loudest.
Birthday parties at the petting farm ask very little of the person organizing them. Fix your date and time, then pay in full, and your tent is reserved for your celebration. A tent runs $450 covering up to 25 guests, anyone beyond that at $15 each, with four available each day across Saturday and Sunday, tables included. Every guest gets the run of the whole farm, so the animals, the wagon ride and the playground handle the entertaining and you arrange no games at all. Decorations and the menu are yours to organize. One for the guest list: pony rides and lettuce for the animals are optional extras, bought at the gate or added to your tickets online, and the celebration is held outdoors from beginning to end.
School field trips and large groups are a long-standing part of what the farm does, and Osceola County classes have been coming here since the 1980s. The group rates above apply from ten guests upward, and settling the bill in advance moves a class through the entrance considerably faster on the day. Beyond fall, the calendar keeps turning: Easter Egg Hunts arrive in spring, and other seasonal events appear across the year. Everything is listed on our Special Events page.
The petting farm is at Lancaster Ranch Park, 1881 Jack Calhoun Drive, Kissimmee, FL 34741. Parking is free and on site, and there is no structure to navigate — you park and walk in.
This is our only location. If you have visited the farm before its seven-year closure, note that it is no longer at the old site; the City of Kissimmee helped bring it back at Lancaster Ranch Park, so set your maps app to the Jack Calhoun Drive address rather than going from memory.
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we are open 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, and Saturday and Sunday 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. The farm is closed Monday and Tuesday and does not open in the evenings.
Those are shorter hours than most Kissimmee attractions, so it is worth checking before you set out rather than assuming. Weekday mornings are the quietest of the week and suit very young children particularly well; weekends carry more atmosphere and stay open the extra hour.
General admission is $18 per person for everyone aged 2 and over, and children under 2 are free. That single ticket covers the entire farm — all the animals, the wagon ride and the playground — with nothing further charged inside and no parking fee.
Group rates start at ten people: $15 per person from 10 to 19 guests, and $12 per person from 20 upward with a reservation, which also includes one free admission for every 20 paid. There is an annual pass giving unlimited visits for a year from purchase. Animal feed is an optional few dollars at the gate, or added to your tickets online — and it is what most children remember longest. Please note the farm is cashless — all major credit cards are accepted, but cash is not.
No. There is no timed entry and no reservation system for general admission. You can buy online beforehand if you prefer, or simply pay at the gate when you arrive.
Groups of ten or more are the exception — those rates require a reservation, and paying in advance moves a large party through the entrance far quicker on the day. Birthday tents and school field trips also need arranging ahead.
Not at Green Meadows, and we would rather say so than have you arrive expecting one. We do not grow pumpkins here and we are not a patch. What we run each fall is the Pumpkin Zone, and every paying guest chooses a pumpkin from it and takes it home free with admission.
In practice most Kissimmee families find that easier. There is no pumpkin ticket to buy on top of entry, nothing gets weighed at a register, and the Zone is open every day we are open rather than on a handful of weekends. The Halloween Candy Hunt runs on 2 weekends around Halloween, with exact dates on our Special Events page and announced first on Facebook and Instagram.
Yes, and birthday celebrations are one of the things the petting farm does best. Settle a date and time, pay in full, and your tent is reserved for your celebration. A tent costs $450 and covers up to 25 guests, with additional guests at $15 each, and there are four available each day on Saturdays and Sundays, all with tables set out.
Because guests can roam the entire farm, the entertainment is settled before you plan anything — the animals, the wagon ride and the playground manage it between them. The tent comes undecorated, so decorations and catering are your choice. Do let guests know that pony rides and lettuce for the animals are optional extras, bought at the gate or added to your tickets online, and that the celebration is outdoors throughout. Once fall arrives the weekend tents go early.
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