Pony Rides?

[eventamy]

My DH and I are thinking about doing the Segway tour at Fort Wilderness. While we're on it my DDs are going to be with my mom. We're thinking about sending them over to the stables for pony rides. Has anyone done pony rides with their kids? Any links? Ages? We have horses but my kids will spend time with horses any time of the day no matter what! We thought it would be fun to see the Disney horses and their stables.

 

[Robo]

My DH and I are thinking about doing the Segway tour at Fort Wilderness. While we're on it my DDs are going to be with my mom. We're thinking about sending them over to the stables for pony rides. Has anyone done pony rides with their kids? Any links? Ages? We have horses but my kids will spend time with horses any time of the day no matter what! We thought it would be fun to see the Disney horses and their stables.

 

[banks37]

We just did the pony rides last week. The pony ride is a quick lap around a marked path which takes about 5 minutes, where as the Segway tour, which I've taken on a previous trip, is about 2 hours. There are other things to keep kids busy like a playground, look at the stable and animals and a beach area but 2 hours might be stretching it unless they also had a bite to eat at Trail's End Buffet. I believe there is a 48" height limit for the pony rides and you may want to make sure it's open the same time as your tour.

 

[nuttypretzel]

The adult accompanying the child must lead the pony around the trail. If your DDs are only with one adult, then they will have to wait by themselves while the other one rides. Some of the ponies like to take shortcuts and can be a little difficult to manage. Make certain your mother is up to this. Other than that, this is alot of fun for young children. My son would ride each of the ponies they had out, so he was good for three or four laps.

 

[wmharley]

wow.. i did not even know there were pony rides here.. I think i'll surprise my DD one day..

do you just show up or what?

 

[Robo]

do you just show up or what?

No ressies are required.

 

[eventamy]

The adult accompanying the child must lead the pony around the trail. If your DDs are only with one adult, then they will have to wait by themselves while the other one rides. Some of the ponies like to take shortcuts and can be a little difficult to manage. Make certain your mother is up to this. Other than that, this is alot of fun for young children. My son would ride each of the ponies they had out, so he was good for three or four laps.

The adult actually leads the pony or the adult walks with the child to make sure they stay mounted? I certainly wouldn't ask my mom to lead a pony! I would lead a pony no problem, I probably have more experience then the people paid to do it, but that's a liability waiting to happen! There's a reason why P.O.N.Y is a 4 letter word, they can be stinkers!

I am planning on having them do other things as well, including the pony rides, for the time that DH and I are on the tour. We stay off-site and will only have one car, so I thought if we all went together we could meet up again after and have lunch somewhere. BUT if you the pony rides are the way you say they are then I will go with the girls and do the pony rides with them. My DD6 is an advanced-beginner rider, riding walk/trot and starting to canter, has shown since age 2, and is in Pony Club. But she still loves meeting new ponies and doesn't mind the occasional pony ride. She's too young to do the trail ride even though she can ride. My fearless 2 year old has pony rides all the time, including on my 16 hand Percheron cross mare (just think BIG), but will do ANYTHING to get on a pony and would love to do it at Disney! Even more special!

 

[nuttypretzel]

The adult leads the pony. They hand you the lead and you walk next to the pony's head. The child just sits and hangs on. They don't have reins, so they are not set up for the rider to control the pony.

 

[Brian_WDW74]

I've moved this thread to the Camping at Disney World board. This is the best place to discuss all of the offerings available at Fort Wilderness.

 

[tink70]

Does anyone know the charge for riding the ponies?

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Does anyone know the charge for riding the ponies?

They are $5.00 per ride.

Here's a thread from a few months ago with some more information:Pony Rides

TCD

 

[tink70]

Thanks! I think we will be checking that out when we go!
My DD loves horses and it looks like fun.