Gilcrease Orchard Christmas Wagon Rides, A Mom’s Review

Leanna Carson

Christmas

2180

The holidays are here, which means Gilcrease Orchard Christmas Wagon Rides are back for the season.

If you are not familiar with their Christmas Wagon Rides, it is an affordable holiday experience for the whole family – because kids 5 and under are free!

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Gilcrease Orchard Christmas Wagon Rides

Visit Santa at Gilcrease Orchard! Enjoy beautiful photo displays, warm bonfire fun, a holiday wagon ride through magical light displays and live Christmas music from 5pm – 7pm. Concessions, hot cider, hot cocoa, candies, apple cider half gallons, gifts, jams, produce, and more available for purchase.

Location

7800 North Tenaya Las Vegas NV 89131

Dates

Dec. 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 2024 from 4:30-8:30pm

Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays From 4:30PM – 8:30PM

Cost

Purchase your tickets online and in advance.

$5 General Admission
Free for Ages 5 and under

*Timed-Entry Tickets must be purchased online to enter event. Visit Santa or ride the Wagon anytime after entry as tickets are not a reservation time for Santa or Wagon. Timed-Entry Tickets are needed for entry to purchase Apple Cider Donuts.*

Our Experience

My little guy is 11 mths and enjoyed the experience! He was most fond of the live music (as he loves music) and was able to dance / walk around in the dirt area.

The wagon ride was underwhelming. You wait in a line as two separate wagons drive around with groups of people through a small set of holiday lights. To be honest, the lights inside the wagon lighting it up were more intriguing to the kids than anything.

They have a handful of tunnels you go through with holiday lights and some inflatables. It was a bit hard for kids and adults to see because the wagon was lit up so much and also felt a bit unsafe to have the kiddos linger over the side of the wagon to see.

Back at the orchard they have the following to enjoy for the Gilcrease Orchard Christmas Wagon Rides:

(1) Bonfire area that is much to small for many people to enjoy – especially since it is right near the entrance and next to wagon line, so its not necessarily enjoyable.
Small shopping area for gifts and goodies – pink lady apples, kettle corn, honey, dried apples, etc.
Area with live music, tables, and concessions – this is where we spent the majority of our time as it was fenced in for the kids and live music is from 5-7pm.
Visit with Santa – was pretty long and didn’t move that fast. Santa was OK, but if you are looking for photos with Santa, I’d recommend elsewhere. He was very friendly though and good for a quick little visit with the kids.

The live music was great – my son loved it. The food, in my opinion was not worth it. The chili was super salty and no real flavor (only $5) and the burger is premade with a fried egg on top (my husband said it actually was decent, but expensive ($10). Apple cider donuts were $6-8 for six (6) donuts – no mixing already prepackaged.

We would definitely go again because it’s affordable and fun for families to get out and mingle and also kids under 5 are free.

Tips For Your Visit

Duration

If you are visiting just for the wagon ride, it is less than 8 minutes long and underwhelming. I wouldn’t recommend. However, if you are coming to enjoy the full experience you’ll spend maybe an hour or so here depending on your arrival time.

Bring Your Own Snacks

While there are concessions available, there is not much for little kids so bring your own snacks and drinks.

Choose An Early Arrival Time

Since your time slot is selected when you purchase tickets, I recommend choosing to arrive between 4-5pm. Live music is from 5-7pm and makes the experience that much more fun! We chose a 5pm arrival time and would recommend arriving between 4-5pm.

Porta Potties

They only have porta potties on site and there are no lights. Go before you arrive if possible or bring a flashlight.

Stroller / Wagons

If you can baby wear that is recommended. There is gravel and dirt everywhere and strollers don’t glide well at the Gilcrease Orchard Christmas Wagon Rides event. So bring a wagon or don’t bring one at all. If you do (like we did) be prepared to push around and get a little sweat going LOL.