Hear from Our Customers
Staying at Bay Lake puts you about as deep inside a resort as it is possible to be in Florida. Everything within walking distance was planned, built and maintained to a standard, which is exactly what people come for. It also means that by midweek a lot of families are quietly craving something that nobody art-directed.
We are twenty-five minutes south, which makes us one of the shortest journeys off property available. If you have no car, a rideshare works perfectly well in both directions and costs less than most days out around here. There is no ticket window to navigate, no reservation system and no advance planning required. Admission is $18 a head for anyone 2 and over, with under-2s free, and that is the whole transaction.
What you find at the other end is a genuine farm. The cattle are grazing because that is what they do, not on a schedule. The goats will investigate your pockets. A Tractor-Drawn Wagon Ride goes out through the trees, there is a playground under old oaks, and the whole place runs at whatever pace your children choose. We close at 1:00 PM midweek and 2:00 PM on weekends, so an entire afternoon and evening back at the resort remains untouched.
Coni and Bob Keyes opened this farm in 1988 on shaded ground in Kissimmee, and for close to three decades it was a fixture of growing up around here. Local schools brought classes. Local families brought birthday parties. It was never built with visitors in mind, which is precisely why it feels so unlike everything else within a half-hour radius. Then it closed, and seven years went by before it returned.
The reopening happened at Lancaster Ranch Park with the City of Kissimmee’s support, and remarkably little was changed on the way through. Cattle, alpacas, donkeys, pigs, goats, chickens and rabbits live within reach of a child’s hand rather than at a viewing distance. The wagon ride carries on across the pasture. Old oaks still keep the temperature down. It is a farm rather than an attraction, and the difference shows in about ninety seconds.
You will find us at Lancaster Ranch Park, 1881 Jack Calhoun Drive, Kissimmee, FL 34741 — roughly fifteen miles and about twenty-five minutes south of the Bay Lake resort area, running down toward the 192 corridor. Close enough that the journey barely registers as an excursion.
Our opening hours will be the main surprise, because they are short by local standards. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we are open 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM; Saturday and Sunday, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. We stop admitting at 1:00 PM Wednesday through Friday and at 2:00 PM on Saturday and Sunday. Monday and Tuesday we are closed entirely, and there is no evening opening at all. Aim to arrive at ten, when the animals are at their most active and the heat has not yet built.
Getting here is easy whether or not you have a car. A rideshare each way is straightforward and the fare is modest for the distance. If you are driving, parking is free and there is no structure to navigate. Wear closed shoes rather than sandals, and bring sun hats and sunscreen, since this is genuine farm ground with pasture underfoot.
Bring food with you. There is no cafe on the property, only vending machines, and that catches out more visitors than anything else about us. Shaded picnic tables are provided and a packed lunch eaten outdoors with cattle in view beats a food court comfortably. Admission is $18 per person from age 2, under-2s free, bought online or simply at the gate with no advance booking needed. We are entirely cashless and take all major credit cards. Animal feed is an optional purchase at the gate, or added to your tickets online — and it is what your children will actually remember.
Plan Your Visit
The Pumpkin Zone opens each fall and becomes the busiest corner of the farm. Given where you are staying, the honest framing matters: we are not a pumpkin patch and nothing here is grown on site. What we do is give every paying guest a pumpkin from the Zone to take home, free with admission, chosen by the child. It is open every day we are open through the season rather than on a few weekends. The Candy Hunt falls on 2 weekends close to Halloween.
Birthday parties are mostly a local tradition here, though we are glad to host anyone celebrating while they are in Florida. Agree the date and time, then pay in full, and your tent is reserved for your celebration. A tent is $450 for up to 25 guests, with additional guests at $15 each, and four are available each day on Saturdays and Sundays with tables provided. Guests roam the entire farm, so the animals, the wagon ride and the playground handle the entertainment. Bring your own decorations and food. Something to tell your guests: pony rides and lettuce for the animals are optional extras, bought at the gate or added to your tickets online, and everything happens outdoors.
Larger parties are welcome on our group rates, which occasionally suits an extended family holidaying together. It is $15 per person between 10 and 19 guests and $12 per person from 20 upward with a reservation, including one free admission for every 20 paid. Easter Egg Hunts arrive in spring and other seasonal events appear across the calendar, all listed on our Special Events page. Settling up in advance moves a group through the entrance a good deal faster.
We are at Lancaster Ranch Park, 1881 Jack Calhoun Drive, Kissimmee, FL 34741, roughly fifteen miles and about twenty-five minutes south of the Bay Lake resort area. The route runs down toward the 192 corridor and is straightforward in either direction.
You do not need a car. A rideshare works well both ways and the fare is reasonable for the distance, which makes us one of the easier trips off property for families without a rental. If you are driving yourself, parking is free. Check your maps app before setting out, as the corridor slows at certain hours.
No. There is no reservation system for general admission and no timed entry. You can buy online beforehand if you prefer, or simply pay at the gate when you arrive. Admission is $18 per person for everyone aged 2 and over, with children under 2 free, and there is no parking charge on top.
One thing worth knowing before you set off: we are entirely cashless. All major credit cards are welcome and cash is not accepted anywhere on site. If you are coming with a larger group, rates drop to $15 per person between 10 and 19 guests, and $12 per person from 20 upward when booked with a reservation.
It is a farm rather than an exhibit, and children pick up on that faster than adults do. The animals here are not on display; they are fed, handled and known individually by the people who look after them. A goat approaches you because it wants the feed in your hand, and a donkey leans in or does not according to its own opinion of you.
That means the visit is entirely hands-on from the moment you buy the optional animal feed at the gate. There is no viewing platform and no commentary. Most families spend the bulk of their morning at the fence, then take the wagon ride out across the pasture and finish at the playground under the oaks.
Not at Green Meadows, and we will not dress it up. We do not grow pumpkins and we are not a pumpkin patch. Our fall version is the Pumpkin Zone, and every paying guest chooses a pumpkin from it and takes it home included with entry.
Nothing on this farm was designed to look like a farm, which after a week of engineered scenery is rather the point. The Zone is open every day we are open instead of on a narrow weekend window, so it fits around whatever else is booked. The Halloween Candy Hunt falls on 2 weekends either side of Halloween, and we post the dates on our Special Events page and to Facebook and Instagram first.
Lunch, above everything. We have no cafe, just vending machines, and it is the single thing visitors most often wish somebody had mentioned. Shaded picnic tables are set out for exactly this purpose, and eating outdoors with cattle grazing behind you is a fair swap for a resort lunch. Bring plenty of water too, particularly between May and September.
Dress everybody for a farm rather than a day out — closed shoes instead of sandals, hats and sunscreen for all. Old oaks shade most of the property, so it stays cooler than most outdoor options nearby, though Florida will still do as it pleases. If the weather looks uncertain, call us at (407) 994-2775 before you set off, because every part of the visit is outdoors.
It stretches across a wider age range than most things you will do this week. Very young children are content at the fence for far longer than parents expect, and the under-2s come in free. Older ones head for the wagon ride and the playground once the animals have had their turn, and there is enough open ground that nobody feels hemmed in.
Adults do well out of it too. There is shade, there are tables and there is nothing to keep pace with, which is not a claim every family outing in this area can make. Weekday mornings are quietest if you have a toddler along; weekends carry more atmosphere and stay open an hour longer.
Know Before You Go
Other Services we provide in Bay Lake