Children's Fairyland in Castro Valley

The other comments about the food wait (tldr, bring your ownbeing 30-60 minutes is spot on. The other comments about age appropriateness of the shows is also accurate. They could use a major refresh (especially the puppet show). Rides and watching my toddler explore is worth overlooking, but I’d do things differently next time.

Love fairyland! We have members for 5+ years, but the food situation is terrible. It takes 30-60 minutes to get your food from the bean sprout cafe.

Heaven for toddlers in the bay area. Its like a mini amusement park where everything is exactly the size it should be for little ones. We went for the first time during Christmas and they did a nice job with all the lights. Place looks a bit beat up but hey, its not meant to be Disneyland. Kids and adults are having fun and they cover all the bases in terms of food, restrooms, etc. We are looking forvward to returning when the weather warms up. Taylor

My kids 2.5 and 4.5 years old had a great time. Went on Thursday and it wasnt crowded at all. It took us 2 hrs to just walk around the whole park and stop by each attraction for a bit (didnt stay for the puppet show). Highly recommend for toddlers.

The rides were ok, slow and for younger kids. Oddly enough, the rides were geared towards young toddlers and yet the shows had really advanced plots and mature subject material. So not appropriate for toddlers. The puppet show was lengthy and verbose. It was a Chinese version of Cinderella where they actually poison Cinderella after she marries the prince! Are you kidding me? Then her step sisters are caught and the king wants to send her to prison to punish her. I dont know man, they should be only showing G-rated shows. My other complaint is that none of the water features were running and all the ponds were empty. The put away all the animals before they even closed, so we didnt get to see them. Finally, the signage isnt very good, so its not clear where things are.

Super fun little amusement park for little kids in downtown Oakland. Close enough to BART to walk, closer to bus lines. And there are other nice things nearby like picnic under the oak trees, walk around Lake Merritt, lawn bowling center, dinner on Broadway… I LOVE their devotion to keeping alive the original charm of this uniquely Oakland attraction. It’s sad to see neglect in some of the structures and attractions. Please stop by with the little kids of your life and have a great time. There are bathrooms, water fill stations, snack shack, gift shop, live animals, and some small rides. Don’t forget to buy a magical key to activate the many story boxes, some of them are standalone, most of them accompany a display. They have different collectible keys at different times, but the keys all work forever as far as I know. We spent 2 1/2 hours on a Saturday, it was too crowded and there was so much that we didn’t see all of it—we’ll have to go back!

Really awesome place for kids, you could call it a budget Disneyland for younger kids

Very cute place and not expensive relative to other attractions. It is very very old school, but if you like nostalgia to the early 50s and dont mind that it is a bit run down, it is a pretty special place.Theres only one restaurant that I could find and they dont have many lunch options (hot dogs and mac n cheese).There are shows throughout the day and lots of places to play, and two carousels including one for younger kids.If you have kids between 2 and 5 years it is a good place to burn half a day.Theres also a park outside with a small lake to walk around.

We camped here. Its a small camp ground and tents are pitched really close to each other. Staff is courteous and friendly. Food is distributed on time. It is a camp zone so i am not going to comment on the food. Its fast food or ready to go. But you can bring what your kids like. Overall it is a good place to get kids started with their camping experience. Be mindful that a few babies/ toddlers might show up which might affect your kids sleep cycle. It gets really cold/dew at night even during summer, so get sleeping bags or thick blankets. Toilet facilities are there. Neat and clean. Bottomline, its a camp so I wouldn’t call anything as a drawback. I would just say that all children activities could have started early with a lot more shows. Lake Meritt is beautiful.

With the tickets being the price that they are, you would think they would renovate the place. Most of the statues and decorations are really looking run-down and could use a new paint job or something. I understand this place got some history but it could use some major TLC. My daughter still had a fun time so I can’t complain too much.

Charming little reserve in Oakland next to Lake Merrit. Easy to see how Walt found some inspiration for Disneyland here. There are a handful of small rides, slides, and shows for children enough to keep them occupied for half a day fairly easily. I’d imagine with kids after 6-7 years old you’ll see diminishing returns as far as enjoyment goes. But in the 2-5 year old range I don’t think you can go wrong.Party staff were very helpful and very accommodating. Would recommend.

Great place, slowly running. Train ride wait is obscene. There is seemingly no reason why they can’t make the train a bit longer and lessen the misery of the waiting children.Children’s performance in masks is absolutely sad and incomprehensible for adults. Our son had zero understanding of what was going on.The wait for the kiosk food is unbelievable. It was truly truly difficult and we will not come back. Will avoid performances, train and food. And recommend avoiding for everyone else.

I absolutely will never bring my daughter here again. This is not a safe place for children. While we were there we noticed a creepy man with a camera following families and recoding the children on rides. When he started filming my child I asked him to stop. He informed me he was a celebrity Youtube host from The Carpetbagger show and had permission to film whatever he wants, including children. I went to speak to security and they said there was nothing they could do as he too was a paying customer. When we realized my child was in his video on Youtube the next day I was absolutely appalled. I never gave permission for this park to sell our images to the third party to profit off of. Id like to know where all the other footage he shot went as he filmed for an entire day but made a thirty minute video. This park doesnt care about our children. They cared more about the rights of this grown man to film other peoples kids then my own desire to not be filmed. I will never be back. Children should be a priority over paid vloggers.

Fairyland is a wonderful place to spend time with our toddler! We appreciate this historic amusement park for families with young children. Its so fun for the little ones, and at $15 per person with unlimited rides, space spaces to run and play, and puppet shows, its well worth the price of admission.

It was fun for kids but my 8yr tall grand-daughter couldnt get on any rides cuz she was to tall. Rides was 1-8 yrs olds only.

Weve been bringing out granddaughter here for 5 yrs now and she will be 9 next month.She loves this place. The coffee and food is way better then youd actually think. They have an awesome little coffee house that serves up yummy and strong cappuccinos. Lunch is on the other side, I recommend the veggie burgers.She really enjoys the pirate ship area and climbing to the top, puppet and or magic shows, the dragon slide, card house, this little grassy hill where they slide down on cardboard (loland old west Town the most.We maybe can fit one or two more trips in before she is too old. It will always have a special place in my heart.I do wish they would clean the cobwebs off their garden creatures, sculptures, etc. Fresh paint jobs would turn this park around too.But the grounds outside have gotten much prettier and the garden inside is looking really lovely, so I can see they are actively keeping up.Its a bit depressing when you go through some of the attractions and they just look neglected . Which is why I give 4 stars instead of 5.

I came here for an adult night roller skating event. It was amazing. So many decorations and props reminiscent of childhood

Fairyland was one of the first theme parks created for children. Some people say that Walt Disney visited Fairyland several times before he created Disneyland.Recently, I took my 2 grandsons to Fairyland. The 8 year helped watch over the 3 year old, and still had fun himself. We went to the puppet show—it was a little slow for them—they seemed to be more interested in moving their bodies. One of my grandkids favorite spots was the Alice in Wonderland Maze.PROS--Inexpensive tickets for a theme park: $13 each compared to over $100 at Disneyland--Limited number of people allowed in park--Parking close by--Discount days available for groups of at least 5--Free tickets available for people who can’t afford it--Kid sized rides, petting zoo, and puppet show--Park can be rented out for weddings and parties when not open to publicCONS--Older kids, who aren’t into fairy tails or tooth fairies might be bored--Have to reserve tickets in advance—can’t just drop in on a whimHighly recommend for children around 8 years old and younger!

Havent been back here in years but Im definitely glad to have revisited. Bought our tickets online which was good because since covid theyve modified some things which are clear on their site. Tickets are sold in 2 different time slots: 9a-12p or 1p-4p (they close 1 hour in between for deep cleaning and sanitization of the park). Some attractions are closed including the food court but they have a modified park map online that you can download. Prices were 13.99 for anyone 2 years old and over. CDC approved masks are required inside the park at all times (expect when eating/drinking).My 8 year old niece LOVED it so much here. She darted through most of the attractions in the brief hour and a half we had to spend before they closed for the cleaning/sanitizing. When I asked her what was her favorite part she grinned and said everything! We brought my mom with us and even she loved it. Seeing the nursery rhymes and fairytales my mom read throughout her childhood in "real life" at fairyland was magical for her, definitely an endearing experience for them both despite their age difference! Although it was a bit crowded Ive seen worse here and there wasnt so many kids that lines were super long or my niece felt discouraged by the wait times. The flora and fauna are breathtaking. The choice in flowers help bring that fairytale feeling even more. This was a great way to spend our Saturday morning!

My sons 13 and 4 years old. Had a blast here. Just wish they were open longer couldnt do or see everything in a 3 hour period. 3 hours is not enough time for this place especially having young children with you. I understand they need time to do their deep cleaning and have to go by what the covid rules are right now. But at least let people come back if they want so the finish seeing everything. Its not like the tickets are cheap and some people come from different cities that are not in the bay area so they cant just go here whenever. This was my first time ever going here and couldnt see everything and dont know when I can come back I live 3 hours or so away. But I would go back for my kids.

This place is wonderful. Its the magical world comes true. It has many of the classical storyline and characters that make the park so fun and interesting.

Decent little place for bringing your kids for few hours. It has ferry wheel, carousel, kids train, maze and lots and lots of slides.There is a theatre, puppet show, eateries and bunch of other activities.Good place for 5 to 6 year old. Bigger kids well probably get bored easily.

They have two different times you can go and play. Purchase tickets in advanced on their website to save time upon entry. Overall, the place is pretty large and could spend the entire 3 hours allotted. I would say its more for younger kids, toddler aged. But even my 6 and 8 year olds enjoyed it and didnt want to leave when it was time to go. My only complaint is the upkeep of all the displays. A LOT of them are aged over the years and some behind the glass displays are super dirty/dusty. They have a plastic key you could purchase and insert into some boxes throughout the park to hear it give an audio story telling. But some of these boxes were jammed with an object. The audio is also very poor, low volume and quality, almost like trying to listen to a cassette tape and hearing that static sound in the background. Other than those complaints myself, this is a great place to bring your little ones.

Great place to take small children. Nicely shaded. Kids seemed to like the puppet play which surprised me. Interesting little buildings for the kids. Staff was patient working with the kids. Worth supporting this place.

Discount Disneyland is a perfect reflection of Oakland.Though this aging heart beats irregularly surrounded by the broken car glass of its parking lot, Children’s Fairyland is a testament to Oakland’s tenacity to exist despite all odds.This is a place where all of the multi-cultural denizens of Oakland can exist in harmony while their children frolic in the ignorant bliss of children’s play. There is no other place where you will see so clearly the beauty of what unites all of the different people of Oakland, our children.Located inside of this barbed wire compound is a deteriorating dream kept alive. Started in 1950 as a direct response to the success of Disneyland, this wonderland has never seen better days. While this might appear to be a dis at first glance, it is actually a testament to the staying power of this gem of Oakland. This park is better than it’s ever been, and the patina of age only adds to its charm.As long as you don’t eat the food and the “Ferris wheel” doesn’t collapse, you and your children will most likely survive this adventure unharmed.While the deteriorating creatures and cobwebbed rides caught my eye at first glance, I felt the love and beauty of the place by the time I left. What appeared to be a completely dilapidated relic has been partially restored by a skilled painter, adding a real flair to the scarcely veiled Disney knockoff vibe. To the park’s credit, Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio, Peter Pan and Aladdin no more belong to Disney than they do their original creators, so all’s fair in Love and the reappropriating of beloved Creative Commons IP. Despite the occasional Mickey Mouse hidden in the frescoes, a great amount of care has gone into being true to the original art of John Tenniel on all of the Alice themed sections and they even added an emerald city from Wizard of Oz to throw off the scent for any circling corporate lawyers. While the Tom Sawyer fence is a cheeky throwback, I might be the only adult in Oakland under 60 years old who got the joke. The new paintings are clearly created by an actual artist, down to the custom no smoking signs sprinkled around the park. Without this loving restoration I would struggle to give this place more than 2 stars, it’s only a shame the artist remains unknown, at least to me.To say the park is tone deaf is irrelevant, the Children love it. The boys can be bandits as they hide in the old west town and pretend to hijack the barely operating train as it struggles along its dutiful double loop for each group of occupants. There is a real charm to the dark cracked cement tunnels that instilled a sense of wonder even in my cynical and rusty heart. This is because the park has the perfect amount of Mystery for a child. There is nothing straightforward about this Labyrinth stuck out of time. The brilliance of the place is that Imagination is the real fuel of Fairyland, and as long as the specter of Oakland is kept outside by the barb wire and the paint is refreshed every 20 years, that can never be taken away.

My son and I had a blast! He is 6 and RAN for DAYS. I think I am still more tired than he is somehow... ANYWAY.. its was CLEAN and the staff were GREAT! SUPER friendly and helpful. Well worth the admission. Parking is $4 for 4 hours. The park outside of Fairypand is also a FANTASTIC spot to let the kids play and run. I will be coming back.

What a fun day with the family. Plenty of stuff for the kids to do. The puppet show was very well put together. We missed out on the magic show but we will be back again. Thanks for the amazing time.

Great place for young kids! My son is 1.5 and he is usually a little too young to be interactive with some places but he had a blast here! Some things were closed because of COVID but it was still worth going for sure.

Enjoyed our visit. Friendly staff. I like their washing hands station, pour drinking fountain and signs where is likely that many kids touched. Havent gone out much during covid. Signs everywhere to remind people of social distance, take turns and stay in your bubble

Perfect for little ones, not so much bigger children. We took my 2 y/o for his birthday (just a small family outingfor a couple of hours close to sundown. The place was all lit up with beautiful lights strewn everywhere. My 11 y/o daughter was bored very quickly, she is too big for most of the attractions. But my toddler, and my 8 y/o son and niece had a great time

Fairyland is the best kids place in the East Bay. My father used to being me to Fairyland in the 70s and I just love that its still around for my daughter to enjoy. Weve had many a magical escapade at Fairyland; Winter Wonderland, Goblin Jamboree, random weekends or weekdays and have even thrown a birthday party there in the "tea room" party area. Its a favorite of most East Bay families.The price to get in is reasonable. The whole park is one big fairytale after another and is so much fun. With a Fairyland magic key you can listen to all the great stories and songs. There are animals to see, tunnels to run through, pirate ships to climb, music to play & trains to be ridden. And, lets not forget Western Town, a newer addition to Fairyland, but the kids have lots of fun. There is a jail, two story western style houses, a slide, fake ponies-lots if imaginative play opportunities. We love Fairyland and will continue to go til my daughter gives me the stink eye! LOL

We went during the adult fairyland and had a great time! It was so much fun to experience all the different activities while walking around with a beer! Also the area was very well maintained and managed.

Awesome place to have family day! Admission is only $12 which is reasonable price. Children must be 54" or under to ride the rides.

If you are old like me, you will find this delightful place a total throw back to your early childhood. It reminds me of Story Book Gardens at the Wisconsin Dells back in the 1950s where we took family vacations. You will relive the childhood adventures in Fairyland while children delight in climbing, sliding and tunneling through recreations of those tales. We attended a delightful program about starlight, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. 2 year old grandson loved and so did I. Train ride and sweet treats, yes.

This place is awesome for kids 2-6-ish! There are little vegetable patches, mechanical exhibits, ponies and other live animals. All around a great place to spend a day with family ❤️. Must come early though as parking gets filled up quick.

It has been about 30 years since my last visit! But I remember so many things being the same! It was a fun experience with my kids. Now I dont recall the Jack and Jill hill, but its Soo fun I want to make one in my yard!!! The story telling boxes are so loud, we didnt listen to many, some were not working, and the food took forever to get... But it was fun none the less. It looks well kept in some places, others could use attention. The animal area was very cute and one of our favorite sections. Lots of scattered restrooms it seemed like and I appreciated that! Everyone needs to take their family at least once.

This place is amazing! Or 9 year old loves it and couldve spends the whole day riding rides and exploring every inch of this park. None of the rides were adult friendly (besides the train I thinkso I thought the $13 per adult admission fee was a bit ridiculous, however the kids are able to ride all the rides for free unlimited, which was nice. For 2 adults and 1 kid it was $36 admission just as a reference. We came on a Thursday afternoon, and while there were animals, we couldnt pretty them which was disappointing but the staff informed us there are designated days for petting them, but he didnt have too much more information on that. The animals seemed happy and healthy and it wasnt super stinky (always a plus!). Beware of kids taller than 58", they wont be able to ride a good majority of the rides.

Its a constant classic that everyone it Oakland loves. Its a pride of the city. My kids love it. My son especially loves the puppet shows. Almost stupid to not buy the membership if you have kids and live in the bay. They should have the pumpkin open more for us parents. Coffee is sometimes essential when you have kids running around the whole place. Which also means there is always something to do. Never a disappointment. Go yesterday.

Wonderful place for kids to play, admission fee of $12 per person and kid. Small rides , amazing themes of rhymes and stories bought to life with house and characters. Petting animals like donkey,small horses, rabbits. Good puppet show and story telling. Kids will totally enjoy. Cafe bar for quick grab of foods. Sadly we missed the jolly train ride. Definitely recommend for kids under 5 yrs.

Our 2 year old grandson is captivated by this place. The staff is extremely friendly and welcoming. The Fairytale scenes (crooked house, the whale, pirates shipare a bit dated and need some rehabilitation. Puppet shows are fun. The setting next to the lake is beautiful.

Great spot for a family picnic and adventure for the little kids. Especially nice if you have toddlers who want to visit grandparents/great grandparents up the street at St Pauls Towers. Good parking. Great place to let toddlers run, ride the train, pet a sheep, listen to fairy tales, etc. Excellent soy lattes at the little pumpkin.

Just one of Oaklands magical places.Had so much fun with the grandkid.Bummer...summer camp sold out in January. Back when my daughter was a camp leader or little kid, there was still room when summer started. This year they sold out like it was a Bruce Springsteen concert in 1983.

I loved Fairyland as a child! Had to take a trip down memory lane from afar! I had my dog with me:)UPDATED REVIEW:My favorite place as a child I got to relive it as an adult! Fairytales 101 for the children now days! No one knows who Jack and the bean stalk is anymore! Regardless of what fairytales they know this is a must for children to attend! Created before Disneyland, this is one mans dream that has turned into a legacy for children to enjoy. With rides, puppet shows, slides and mazes for them to enjoy. See my pictures for more detail!I spent about 2 hours there and that included waiting in a long line for lunch. Several items they were out of so I settled on nachos and pizza. The healthy humus was no longer available! I was also surprised to hear they were out of milk! I did notice several people having a picnic lunch out on the grass and I wish I would of thought of that! Would of saved time and money!All in all...I throughly enjoyed my day and highly recommend visiting Fairyland. Its an inexpensive trip for children ages 2 - 10.

Great place, so much things for children.pack a lunch or you can buy food here. Good selection of food. You can reserve for birthdays and there is a first come first serve part where you can have a party..

Awesome park for the kiddos! Borrow some extra kids and they magically entertain themselves with minimal parental mediation. Added bonus for me, the park is creepy/cool.

Great place to bring children ages 1 to 8. There are many attractions for little ones including a train, puppet theatre, crafts, and many other things. Parking is just 5 dollars and you can also buy food. It is in a park with a lake. It is a good idea to buy the membership for the year if you live in the area.

Quaint. For$10, this is good entertainment for kids from 3-5 years. Simple recreation of classic childrens stories. Throwback to more simpler times. Plan to spend around 2-3 hours.

Fun for everyone!! Of course kids absolutely love it here and could spend all day wandering around looking at all the funny characters, going inside the adorable little houses and playing on all the rides. And for "grown-ups" there is an unmistakable sense of nostalgia and you can feel like a kid again too :)

I was a bit skeptical given how run down it appears, but was pleasantly surprised. My very active 2-year-old boy wanted to explore everything. Being a little past its prime ends up adding a lot of charm to the whole place. Even though the rides might not be as nice as the zoo, they are part of the ticket cost and my son cant really tell a difference. We even saw a goat jump from a roof to a tree! But what really set it apart in my book were the employees. The woman working at the entrance was so pleasant and seemed genuinely happy to be at work - this trend continued through all the employees I saw - train operator, carousel operator, pumpkin coffee vendor and the cafe manager, Brandon, who was incredibly sweet. Thanks for a surprise afternoon of fun!

Massively charming. Its a kids amusement park without all the garbage. Its simple and sweet. Disarmingly low tech, but painstakingly crafted. Each attraction is full of beautiful little details. Kids looove this place.