Rachel J.
Yelp
I want to start by stating this review does not apply to their regular operation of business. This applies specifically to their Halloween event(s).
The Trick-n-Treats/Nightmare in the Redland event was so poorly organized this year you would think it was their first time hosting the event.
I do not think they were prepared enough for the crowd size or for poor weather/rain probability. I've been to the event in previous years and this was the first time that I had been introduced to their process of signing of a waiver, which is great. However, I do not understand why the waiver is not included in the process of the ticket purchase at the time of sale, especially if you're purchasing tickets online. Instead, they have QR codes on stands and on lanyards with employees randomly shouting that everyone in your party needs a waiver, all for the waiver to not even be adequately checked when they scan your ticket.
The line control was insane. People were standing in the street with little to no direction. At one point the line was split by an employee, which caused a whole commotion, and led to people arguing/fighting in the line. When I mentioned this to an employee who was scanning my ticket she laughed.
I have 3 kids in different age ranges. I brought my little one along for the trick-or-treat portion of the event and we did not realize until 2 hours into the event where the trick-or-treating stations were because there was zero signage throughout the dark, low lit farm to provide navigation. It ended up being maybe 5 trick-or-treat stations next to blow up figures.
The only organized food station seemed to be the Milk Shake station. Everyone else did not appear to know what they were doing, adding to the disorganized vibe of the night. There also is no staff at any of the playground areas, which is why I'm assuming waivers are now needed, because there is not even age divided signage to distinguish between play areas. There were 10+ year old girls doing gymnastic stunts and toppling over 1-3 year olds in the toddler jumping section of the play area, which is clearly set a part from the bigger jumping section. It was a free for all, and we all know common sense is not so "common" these days and it cannot be expected for parents and children to govern themselves accordingly.
For the money that Berry's Farm is charging and the poor, low quality experience we received, I highly recommend finding a different Halloween experience and sticking to their day-time aesthetic. I recommend the same advice for Berry's Farm owners. Having parents/adults sign lengthy waivers while standing literally in your active, dark parking lot in attempt to excuse yourselves from responsibility by not properly and safely staffing your event is not ok. Yes, accidents do happen, but this whole production is an accident waiting to happen.