Part 02 – Biltmore Gardens, Grounds, & Antler Village

[Watch Part 01 – Biltmore Estate Home & Stables Cafe]

Should Your Family Plan This Trip?

As with any of our trip reviews, we believe that YOU have to make that decision for your family. However, our corresponding video is intended to show you what the Biltmore Estate has to offer. The venue appeared to be clean and well staffed. The facilities at the time of our visit as a whole appeared to be well cared for and executed for your visit.

Here are some of our thoughts for families (especially foster and adoptive families):

Things to Watch Out for:

• Lack of Temperature Control
  Much of this portion of the trip takes place with outdoor activities. Thus, you are going to be at the mercy of the weather for that day. Be sure to bring along snacks and water bottles.
  It seemed that the best bet to escape the elements at the Biltmore grounds and gardens was to go back to the house which could be quite a hike depending on where you’re at on the grounds.
  Antler Village on the other hand offers many shops and the winery IS temperature controled. Therefore, you can escape the heat or the cold from the farm area by heading into the village.
• Partially Handicap Accessible
  Just as we mentioned in the first part of our trip review the age of the estate grounds were not created in a time that was concerned with being handicap accessible.  You will have to navigate stairs to get to the gardens and conservatory. Once you are in the gardens by the estate home you should be able to navigate a wheelchair. The inside of the conservatory doesn’t have any stairs but the paths are narrow with tight turns. The paths to other locations on the grounds such as the Bass Pond and Waterfall have areas that cross streams that are not handicap friendly.
  Antler Village is more modern and appeared to be handicap accessible.
• Sensory Issues
  Since much of this portion of our trip took place outdoors, we encountered many flying and buzzing insects. Some children with sensory issues may have a difficult time having so many buzzing noises around them. We would suggest preparing your child for this experience and giving them some coping mechanisms – holding an adults hand or staying close by an adult. Noise canceling headphones may help but your child may still see flying insects which may in turn psychologically set them off due to past experiences.

Strong Points:

• Plenty of Running Space Outside
  Whether you are on the hiking paths, in the gardens or at the Antler Village farm, there is plenty of space for chidren to run off energy. The Antler Village farm and petting zoo even have a nicely maintained playground next to them.
• Plenty of Hands On Activities
  On the grounds, gardens and at Antler Village farm you are going to find that you have to say “Don’t” less and more, “Do’s.”
  • The gardens and grounds are outdoors and the most abundant attraction is nature. Children will have fun running on trails, seeing streams or a waterfall, and discovering all sorts of forms of flowers.
  • At Antler Village there is a petting zoo that was made for little fingers to pet barnyard animals. The farm area has stables with many period toys for young ones to play with and the staff will even show them how to use the toys and teach them about them. The best part is that there are benches for adults to relax and a video playing about the history of the village.
  • While we were present there were also staff members doing kid-friendly crafts and we saw signs by carriages and farm equipment stating, “Please, climb on me.”
  • Around the stable area in the farm there is a woodworker, smithy and other craftsmen performing their trades and ready to answer any questions your family may have about their craft.
  • The actual village area even has a grape stomping activity for children to enjoy.
• Knowledgable and Helpful Staff
  No matter where we were at or what activity we were participating in – the Biltmore staff seemed to know everything about the area they worked and were very engaging with our children.

How Was Your Experience?

Comment below and let us know your advice or suggestions for helping foster or adoptive families in visiting this venue.

*Note: Transfiguring Adoption is grateful to a donor/fan that made this trip and review possible. If you would like our crew to review a trip destination in your area, please contact:
[email protected]

[Watch Part 01 – Biltmore Estate Home & Stables Cafe]