On the edge of Lake Merritt, a tiny castle gate still swings open to welcome families into a world of talking storybooks, gentle rides, and pint-sized adventures. This year, Children’s Fairyland, one of America’s oldest storybook theme parks, is celebrating its 75th anniversary with special events and renewed focus on inclusive programming.
Fairyland first opened in 1950 as a pioneering park designed exclusively for children, years before Disneyland debuted in Anaheim. With admission just 9 cents for kids and 14 cents for adults, Oakland parents flocked to the whimsical new attraction, built to spark imagination through play, storytelling, and theater. Today, the 10-acre park remains a beloved cultural landmark, drawing visitors from across the Bay Area and beyond.
“It’s more than just a theme park,” said Damian Barnes, Director of Academic Support at Bishop O’Dowd High School, who once served as Fairyland’s operations manager. “For 75 years, Fairyland has been a safe place for children and families here in Oakland to play and grow.”
Fairyland was the brainchild of Oakland nurseryman Arthur Navlet, who pitched the idea of a storybook-themed playland to city leaders in the late 1940s. The concept was groundbreaking: rather than focusing on thrill rides, Fairyland offered immersive sets inspired by nursery rhymes, pint-sized play structures, and live puppet theater.
The idea caught national attention. In 1954, Walt Disney visited Fairyland as he prepared to build Disneyland. He toured the Oakland park, studied its “spoke-and-wheel” layout, and even recruited Fairyland’s first director of theater and operations manager to help design Disneyland’s Fantasyland.
“Fairyland proved that communities cared about creating spaces just for children,” Barnes explained. “It helped inspire Disney’s vision and showed the world that these kinds of parks could work.”
Beyond its national influence, Fairyland has remained deeply rooted in Oakland. Over the decades, it has added the Jolly Trolly train ride, expanded its puppet theater—now the oldest continuously operating in the U.S., and introduced its signature “magic key” audio boxes. These boxes allow children to unlock stories at different sets, with recordings available in multiple languages.
The park also prioritizes accessibility. Through reduced-price tickets, free community days, and programming in diverse languages, Fairyland continues to adapt to Oakland’s evolving demographics. Recently, Fairyland has added a bilingual show to its iconic puppet shows.
“I think it impacts the community because they’re showing others and languages that might have been left out,” said Frenchy Sarkis ‘27, a Junior at Bishop O’Dowd High School and a visitor who attended the bilingual puppet show this year. “It exposes kids to more cultures.”
For many Oakland residents, Fairyland is woven into their childhood memories. Feeding goats at the petting zoo, getting lost in the Alice in Wonderland maze, or racing to the top of the Dragon Slide are experiences passed from parents to children, and now grandchildren.
“Who hasn’t turned to spot its colorful sign along the banks of Merritt Lake? In ways, the entrance and sign remind us all of the innocence of youth, the hope we have in the next generations, and the promise that we are a vibrant and uplifting place in the world,” Barnes said.
Even behind the scenes, the park carries its magic. Barnes recalls one morning when raccoons delayed opening. “Once a family of butterscotch raccoons were fighting in the trees around the Dragon Slide and I had to hold the gate closed,” he laughed. “We opened thirty minutes later after coaxing the raccoons away. Families were upset, but it was a reminder that safety always came first.”
For Barnes, hiring young ride operators who had grown up visiting Fairyland was another powerful sign of its impact. “There is a magic at Fairyland that brings generations back,” he said.
As Fairyland celebrates its diamond anniversary, it faces a modern challenge: how to keep children engaged in a digital-first world. The park’s answer is to double down on what it has always done best: imagination, play, and community.
Special events this year include expanded puppet shows, storytelling in multiple languages, and anniversary celebrations highlighting Fairyland’s legacy. Staff and volunteers say the goal is to make sure the park remains relevant for Oakland’s next generation of children.
“Life has so many stressors,” Barnes reflected. “But it is truly magical that there is a place in the heart of Oakland where children can laugh, run through a maze, and take a Jolly Trolly through lands of their imagination.”
As Fairyland celebrates its diamond anniversary, the park is also looking toward the future. Recent years have brought expanded inclusive programming, bilingual Storybook Boxes, and sensory-friendly days designed for children with autism and other developmental differences. These efforts underline the park’s original promise that imagination belongs to every child.
Fairyland’s leadership has also emphasized accessibility and affordability. Unlike larger amusement parks, admission remains intentionally modest, ensuring that local families can continue to make the park a part of their children’s lives. In an era where screen time competes for children’s attention, Fairyland offers something rare: the chance to play, to wander, and to experience stories in three dimensions.
Beyond its gates, the park’s legacy ripples outward. Generations of Oaklanders who once scrambled over the Dragon Slide now bring their own children and grandchildren, passing down the same joy they experienced decades earlier. For many, Fairyland is not just a park but a touchstone of Oakland’s identity, a reminder that the city values imagination, diversity, and community care.
In its 75th year, Fairyland’s values of imagination, inclusivity, and community mirror the same values celebrated at Bishop O’Dowd, reminding students and families alike of the joy and responsibility of nurturing Oakland’s next generation. What children find inside may look much the same as it did for their parents or grandparents: storybook sets, puppet shows, and pint-sized rides. Yet each child leaves with something new, a memory that folds into the ongoing story of Fairyland itself.
