Horse trek at Disney

[Jadeey]

We want to do the 45 minute horse trek when we are there in January. We'll probably do it while the New Years crowds are still there since the parks will be so busy.

Does anyone know if reservations are critical? I just don't know exactly what time we'll make it over there so I'd like to not have to make a reservation but don't want to miss out so will make one if it often gets booked up.

 

[lroger01]

I was able to get a reservation the day before we rode. This was in mid-August during free dining. If I remember right there were only 6 of us and I'd guess they could take 10 to 12.

The ride itself is a walking only ride on a flat, wide trail used just for the horses. You might see some wildlife like deer, but mostly you're just riding through the woods. The horse are trained to go one way only. I lost a poncho from my back pocket and started to turn my horse around to go get it and the lady riding in the rear nearly freaked out. I know how to ride so didn't think anything of steering my horse out of line, but evidently the trainers don't want the horse to learn that going back toward the stable is even an option.

The slow, flat trail is best for inexperienced riders. It would be nice if the ride past by some scenery - a ghost town or Indian camp or something. If you don't see wildlife it can get a little dull.

Oh, and the safety spiel is a hoot! I've done lots of trail rides, and only Disney does it that way.

 

[momof2n2]

Lroger01 - silly question - do you think we'd be at risk of encountering an alligator? I'm terrified of that possibility.

 

[Susiec]

Where is this and how much is it?

 

[MinnieGirl33]

Personally, for New Year's, I'd make reservations for anything/everything I wanted.

Susiec - https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/recreation/tri-circle-d-ranch/

 

[lroger01]

The ride went nowhere near water that I could see. From what I know of alligators they don't stray far from water. You should be fine.

 

[Jennasis]

I saw a gator on the ride I did WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY back (20 years ago). It was very small.

I thought I'd read that reservations were required.

 

[Jadeey]

Thanks everyone.

I was hoping they would have something for people who are more experienced, but I'm sure I can live with a sedate walk in one direction if it means getting to be on a horse at Disney!

I'm still debating making a reservation. Not only am I not sure what time we'll want to go, but it looks like you can only make reservations over the phone. I live in New Zealand so that'll be an expensive phone call! Thanks for the responses though.

 

[Brian_WDW74]

Since this is a resort offering, I've moved this thread to the Disney Resorts board.

 

[goofy4tink]

When we did the trail ride about 6 years ago, it was me, dh and dd, about 11ish. It was mid-August, with daily storms. I did ask about storms since my dd was already nervous just being on a horse. I was told that they were always checking radar and watching for any 'weather' heading in our direction. And we were 'good' to go. So off we went. Dh was in the rear, of about 12 riders, then dd and then me. I used to ride so it was pretty tame just walking nose to tail in the woods on a somewhat wide path. Well, we were about 20 mins into the hour long ride when the skies opened. There was thunder off in the distance. Man, those CMs were in touch with home base in about 20 seconds!!! They sakes if we wanted to keep going or would we rather just turn around. Everyone opted for turning around. You have never seen anything funnier than people who never ridden a horse before, trying to turn their horses around! And because the horses didn't usually turn around, they were confused as well. I asked the CM if he wanted me to just turn around so that my family could lead the way back. He was very happy to have me turn my poor horse around and get the tail end moving. There were some guests that were freaking out as well. Well, I have never been so wet....with my clothes on! So, I turned the horse around, convinced him that it wasn't a good time to stop and munch and the horses behind me followed suit. The other horses, that had been in the front, were now finally getting turned around. We got back to the paddock in about 15 mins. The horses were very calm,a not so much the riders tho. When we got back and off the horses we were told to go to the office to get towels to dry off. Wile we were drying off, we were told to give our credit card info to the office person so they could refund our money! Sad to say there were about 5 people that just ran to their cars to leave. Not sure how they were dealt with.
But I have to say that it was a good experience all in all. I think I would try to make reservations...at least the day before.

 

[JennyDrake]

Thanks everyone.

I was hoping they would have something for people who are more experienced, but I'm sure I can live with a sedate walk in one direction if it means getting to be on a horse at Disney!

I'll chime in here as well! I UNDESTAND why they don't have different offerings, but as a very seasoned rider, I too wish they had a ride at a brisk walk that maybe included a bit of trotting.

 

[JennyDrake]

When we did the trail ride about 6 years ago, it was me, dh and dd, about 11ish. It was mid-August, with daily storms. I did ask about storms since my dd was already nervous just being on a horse. I was told that they were always checking radar and watching for any 'weather' heading in our direction. And we were 'good' to go. So off we went. Dh was in the rear, of about 12 riders, then dd and then me. I used to ride so it was pretty tame just walking nose to tail in the woods on a somewhat wide path. Well, we were about 20 mins into the hour long ride when the skies opened. There was thunder off in the distance. Man, those CMs were in touch with home base in about 20 seconds!!! They sakes if we wanted to keep going or would we rather just turn around. Everyone opted for turning around. You have never seen anything funnier than people who never ridden a horse before, trying to turn their horses around! And because the horses didn't usually turn around, they were confused as well. I asked the CM if he wanted me to just turn around so that my family could lead the way back. He was very happy to have me turn my poor horse around and get the tail end moving. There were some guests that were freaking out as well. Well, I have never been so wet....with my clothes on! So, I turned the horse around, convinced him that it wasn't a good time to stop and munch and the horses behind me followed suit. The other horses, that had been in the front, were now finally getting turned around. We got back to the paddock in about 15 mins. The horses were very calm,a not so much the riders tho. When we got back and off the horses we were told to go to the office to get towels to dry off. Wile we were drying off, we were told to give our credit card info to the office person so they could refund our money! Sad to say there were about 5 people that just ran to their cars to leave. Not sure how they were dealt with.
But I have to say that it was a good experience all in all. I think I would try to make reservations...at least the day before.

GREAT story!!! Thanks for sharing!!!

 

[conniehar90]

We did this in July. It was $45 each. I called to make reservations a few weeks in advance and it seemed like I did not need to do that. When I called she asked if I was coming that day. When we went, we had about 10 riders and one boy was scared so his mom stayed back with him. When dad and other child returned she went out on the next ride with the daughter and dad stayed with the scared boy. So, it was not full!

Ride was slow but there had been a lot of rain that week and we had to do a lot of maneuvering because of big puddles (some horses didn't like getting wet) so it was fun. DD12 LOVED it!

 

[kahrani]

I didn't even realise there was a horse trek at Disney... it would be nice if there were an option for more experienced riders. Jadeey, I live in NZ too and I'm going for NY until the 10th Jan - sounds like we will be there at the same time. Do you use Skype at all? I phoned Disney using Skype and it didn't cost very much at all, if you have a Skype account you can load some money onto it and use it to call them.