Review of Pony Rides at Disney’s Tri-Circle-D Ranch

When my family heard that Disney’s Tri-Circle-D Ranch offered pony rides at Fort Wilderness, we knew that we had to take advantage of this magical opportunity! We visited Disney’s Tri-Circle-D Ranch in May of 2024 with our 3 year old and 4 year old. This was to be our children’s first time riding and we knew that we could trust Disney for a great experience!

Tri-Circle-D Ranch

We decided to enjoy this experience on the last day of our vacation after we checked out of our Disney resort. We didn’t want to interrupt any park or resort time, and we felt like it would be a fun close to our vacation. We arrived at Ft. Wilderness around 11am. We told the Cast Member at the entrance to the resort that we were there for pony rides and he instructed us to park and then catch the bus headed toward the “Settlement” where we would find the ranch. We were a bit confused because we saw a stable near the parking lot that had Tri-Circle-D Ranch on the front but that building was for housing other horses and other activities like trail riding. We walked to the nearby bus stop where an empty bus was already waiting. We told the driver where we were headed and he made sure that we got off at the correct stop.

Tri-Circle-D Ranch was just a short walk away from the bus stop. Once we arrived we saw some beautiful horses in the stable as well as interesting things to look at like Disney’s historic horse-drawn carriage that is used for special events. To the right was a clearly marked sign for pony rides so we made our way toward that area.

The Ponies

There were three ponies in the stable during our visit to the ranch: Fancy, Dory, and Dezi. The Cast Member prepared Dory for our children to take turns riding on. Dory was about 5 years old and she was on her first official year on the job. Prior to working, Dory spent her time acclimating to the ranch and the enviroment that she would be working in.

Process and Experience

I was a bit hesitant about the experience because my younger daughter had only just turned three, and I myself had never ridden a horse before! But when I arrived at the pony station I felt comfortable because of the Cast Member’s kindness and confidence. In order to participate in the experience guests must be at least 3 years old, able to hold on by themselves, weight under 80 pounds, and be less than 48 inches tall. We signed waivers and paperwork indicating that our children met these requirements. We decided to do 2 laps each, for a total of $30.00.

Our children were given helmets with the Cast Member taking care in making sure they were properly fitted. Our older daughter went first. She climbed the stairs and the Cast Member helped her get on the horse. The pony ride was parent-led; my husband led the horse because I was too nervous but it turned out that I had nothing to worry about. Dory was incredibly well-trained! She knew exactly what to do and walked at my husband’s pace perfectly. Whenever my husband would stop or look to the side, Dory would stop as well. The Cast Member explained that Dory was trained to follow where your eyes were pointing.

Near the end of the first lap Dory paused. The Cast Member laughed because Dory knew exactly where the pictures were taken! We snapped a few pictures in this area before my husband led Dory on.

After the ride was completed, the Cast Member led Dory back to the mounting stairs and helped my daughter off. I was a bit worried about my 3 year old’s ability to hold on by herself but when it was her turn she had no issues at all.

Final Thoughts

My children loved the pony ride experience at Tri-Circle-D Ranch! It was one of their favorite things we did during our Disney vacation and they are still talking about it long after we returned home. I was very pleased with how well-trained Disney’s ponies were and I was glad that their first riding experience was at Tri-Circle-D. This is something that we would definitely do again, and we recommend it to anyone with little kids!

Featured Photo: Megan Woodard.