Children’s Fairyland in Oakland to reopen soon
After having to lock the gates in early December, Oakland’s beloved Children’s Fairyland plans to welcome families back at a limited capacity starting Friday.
Attractions that can soon be enjoyed once more include the slides and some play areas and sets, as well as the gardens. Visitors may also greet Fairyland animals again, like Gideon, the park’s miniature donkey, and Pixie, a miniature horse.
Children’s Fairyland, located along Lake Merritt, made modifications to reopen this month as a zoo, said Fairyland Executive Director Kymberly Miller. Under the state’s updated pandemic protocols, amusement and theme parks in counties that fall under the state’s red tier, such as Alameda County, can open at 15% capacity starting April 1.
The park, however, does not have plans to reopen its rides on that date, Fairyland spokesperson Morgan Rothenbaum told The Chronicle on Thursday.
Previously, small amusement and theme parks were allowed to welcome patrons back only at 25% capacity until the county they’re in reached the third-most-restrictive orange tier. No Bay Area county has entered the orange tier, though San Francisco Mayor London Breed said this week that San Francisco will probably enter the orange tier by March 24.
The park’s puppet shows, toddler story times, live performances and rides are still shuttered until Alameda County reaches the orange tier. The orange tier allows smaller amusement and theme parks to open outdoor attractions at 25% capacity. The county moved from the purple tier to red last week.
The county is “moving in the right direction,” Alameda County Public Health Department spokesperson Neetu Balram told The Chronicle this month.
When reopened, the park will have a limited capacity of 1,000 people per day from Friday to Sunday. It will open five days a week starting March 31.
By June 7, park officials plan to open seven days a week. There will be two daily sessions, from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m., allowing 500 people per session, with an hour break for cleaning.
Patrons can purchase tickets in advance online. Visitors older than 2 must wear masks and keep 6 feet from other patrons. The park will have signs throughout to remind people to “pause” to allow people to walk by.
Children will be able to safely “play and be free” by rolling down the Jack and Jill Hill, park officials said.
This will mark the second time Children’s Fairyland has had to reopen. After the region’s initial lockdown last year, the park reopened in October only to shut down again in December after Gov. Gavin Newsom imposed a stayathome order caused by lack of ICU capacity statewide.
While there are fears among the community that Children’s Fairyland would close permanently due to the coronavirus pandemic, Miller feels optimistic for the park’s future.
“As long as (coronavirus infection) rates continue to decline and vaccinations increase, I feel hopeful for the park remaining open as a resource for our community,” Miller said.
In honor of the park’s 70th anniversary last year, “Blindspotting” stars and East Bay natives Rafael Casal and Daveed Diggs hosted a virtual Celebrity Storytime fundraising event that featured Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry and now Vice President Kamala Harris. They raised more than $170,000 for the park.
“For those of us who didn’t come from families with a ton of money that went to Disneyland every year, Fairyland was our big amusement park,” Casal told The Chronicle last year. “It was our most magical place on Earth.”