This Pumpkinland puts the "more" in Whittamore's Farm!

Pumpkinland 2015: September 12 to October 31, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (2016: September 17 to October 31)

Whittamore's Farm used to be nice, but now, "nice" does not even come close! It has become one of the best fun farms in the GTA.

I recently visited it on a Sunday during their Pumpkinland event and joined a sea of cars in the parking lot. Don't let this scare you! There was plenty of room to run from one activity to the next in the large Fun Farm Yard, where everyone was having a ball.
 
By the admission gate, I could see the normal fixtures of any good fun farm: sandbox with big tractor and small trucks, inflatable structure, piles of pumpkins and a few farm animals.

 

Once inside the Fun Farm Yard, I heard loud laughter coming from a little booth where players were vigorously activating antique water pumps to provide water for little ducks rushing down a gentle slope into a bucket. A duck racewas going on and it was a riot! It costs an extra $2, to buy a rubber chick (which you keep) but you can then race as long as you want, grabbing your duck from the bucket and putting it back in line.

 

There are lots of photo ops all around the site: wooden milking cow, the cow and calf bench and cut-outs peppered around the site. 

I love Whittamore's attention to detail, down to many cute games by the activities. 

The following was my absolute favourite. I assume it is offered only during Pumpkinland. It's Whittamore's take on the "Guess Who" game, called "Who's Your Pumpkin?", where two families can compete to guess each other's pumpkin off a giant board. "It was the pumpkin with a tongue!", exclaimed the toddler to his dad after a good game. Awww.

Part of the regular Fun Farm Yard are the playground with tractor tires and horse swings made out of tires, a pedal tractor track...

... a real tree fort,

... a "mining' experience (for an extra fee),

... and my three favourites: the jumbo jumping pillows (the largest bouncing structures I've seen in the GTA), the funny animated singing chicken show (funny animatronic chicken doing lip sync), and the Strawberry hill with a slide, from which we get a nice view over the largest pumpkin field.

  

    

 

During Pumpkinland, the wagon ride gets you through a tiny Spookey Forest. As we waited in the wagon for the ride to start, I heard a dad observing, for the benefit of his preschooler: "Look at this huge field! There must be at least ten pumpkins in this patch!" (a fact that his son was quick to rectify). Some dads are too cute.

  

During the Pumpkinland event, they also add a corn maze, a pumpkin bouncer and the famous Pumpkin Cannon Show to the rest of the activities we can normally enjoy in the Fun Farm Yard. 

  

On your way out, it is a good idea to stop by the farm shop to grab a pie (cooked or frozen and uncooked) or a treat from their bakery. They also carrying produce and preserves, among other things.