Address
699 Bellevue Ave., Oakland, Ca 94610
Phone Number
(510) 452 - 2259
Date Visited
01/02/2016
Website
Childrens Fairyland
Description
Children's Fairyland is located at 699 Bellevue Ave, inside Lakeside Park, Oakland, Ca. Paid parking is available in the nearby paved parking lot. If the lot is full, or you don't wish to pay, street parking can be found (although most of it is metered).The ten acre park is almost entirely outdoors. Paved walkways lead to most areas - a few require walking on the grass/dirt.
Multi-stall, handicapped-accessible restrooms, with baby-changing stations are located near the Jolly Trolly, Jack and Jill Hill, and Alice's Reading Room.
The Johnny Appleseed Cafe offers kid friendly choices. Picnic tables and benches are nearby. Peter's Big Pumpkin offers grown up beverages. Seating is plentiful throughout the park.
- Surface of lot: paved
Distance to venue: not too far from lot
Terrain: flat
Places to rest: no benches outside of park
Paths and walkways: paved
Doors: no doors
Elevators: none
Ramps: none
Steps and staircases: no stairs
Width of aisles: plenty of space
Places to sit: a variety of seating throughout
Location of restrooms: near the Jolly Trolly, Jack and Jilll Hill and Alice's Reading Room
Type of restroom: multi-stall, handicapped-accessible
Ease of entry and exit: easy
Baby changing station: yes
Available food services: Johnny Appleseed Cafe & Peter's Big Pumpkin Express
Friendliness of staff: everyone was lovely
Notes: *Parking can be found in the pay parking lot (we did not see any handicapped spaces), or on the street - many of these are metered.
The beginning of the new year brought us to Children’s Fairyland. We had heard that this was a great place, particularly for young children. After our visit, we hardily agree.
A pay parking lot is fairly close to the entrance. Otherwise, parking can be found on the street. Most of the street parking we saw was metered. Since this is not a large lot it is probably full on nice weekends.
Just about everything here is outdoors, including the puppet theater and other performance stages.
The paved walkways are fairly level with some of the play areas requiring walking on the grass/dirt. No one we saw seemed to have a problem pushing strollers or a wheelchair. We found it to be easy.
As we walked through the Old Woman’s Shoe to admissions and then into the ten acre park itself we couldn’t help but feel that we had been transported back in time. The soft colors and pleasant attractions reminded me of my childhood. “Since 1950 Children’s Fairyland has delighted children and their parents with whimsical storybook sets, gentle rides, friendly animals and inspired live entertainment. It was the first storybook theme park in the U.S. They have close to 60 storybook sets, and kid-size rides…designed to delight visitors of all ages, especially those under age 8.” (website)
We walked a bit, unsure where to go first. Ivy had her own ideas and headed straight for “Alice’s Wonder-Go-Round” (the carousel for the younger set – the one where kids can’t ride alone). We waited our turn, watching the delightful imaginative animals and the kids riding them. We boarded, got her seated and saw the delighted look on her face. Our ride ended much too quickly. We had no choice but to exit ( one ride at a time). Since Ivy wanted another ride we returned to the back of the line once more, while she kept saying,”My turn???”
After the carousel we meandered a bit, passing a storyteller that Ivy wasn’t interested in and Snow White and her dwarfs. A bit later we discovered the puppet stage. She was held captive for the entire 20 minutes of the live performance.
We moved on to “Willie the Whale”, visited the donkeys and did some sledding on “Jack and Jill Hill” (without snow). Grandpa loved this as practice for skiing next winter.
The “Jolly Trolly” gave us a gentle ride around the park. We passed the “”bigger kids”” carousel (where one must be big enough to ride alone), a maze, and a climbing area (also for the bigger set).
Near the train station we found the outdoor Johnny Appleseed Cafe, with some of the usual kid-friendly choices. Picnic tables and benches are conveniently located nearby. We found grown-up beverages at Peter’s Big Pumpkin Express.
We took many turns on the slikes and many looks at the animals. We returned to the carousel and Crooked House several times.
“You’ll never find a “thrill ride” at Fairyland, but you will find fun and laughs.” (website) Our threesome certainly did!
Three multi-stall, handicapped-accessible restrooms, with baby-changing stations are located near the “Jolly Troll”, “Jack and Jill Hill” , and “Alice’s Reading Room.”
We had a wonderful time with our twenty-month old. There were many more things to see and do but Ivy was clearly tired. We can only imagine how much more fun we will have here with her as she continues to grow. We can’t wait to go back with her!
Everything in the park is easy to get to and there were plenty of places for us to sit and rest.
As always, we at Destination Accessible advise you to check a venue’s website, www.fairyland.org when planning a visit, to “know before you go.”
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