FOUR General Donation Tickets to Children's Fairyland
Item Number: 205
Time Left: CLOSED
Description
A favorite way to think of our park was summed up in San Francisco magazine in 2004. Children’s Fairyland, they said, is “as miniature and uncynical as a toddler’s beating heart.” We agree. Children’s Fairyland is, in many ways, a timeless reminder of the joys of standing three-feet tall.
History of the Park
The year 1948 was a prehistoric era for children’s entertainment. There was no Disneyland or Nickelodeon TV, and most amusement parks catered to thrill-seeking teenagers. The few “kiddielands” in the U.S. included a simple carousel, pony ride, and cotton-candy stand.
In 1950, the year Fairyland first opened:
- Admission cost between 9 and 14 cents
- Costumed guides led children through the fairytale landscape; see pictures of Fairyland in 1950
- All of the fanciful storybook sets were created by local architect William Russell Everitt
- Businessman Arthur Navlet, who owned a successful nursery, designed the gardens — some original plantings still thrive today
- Walt Disney visited and incorporated ideas from Fairyland in his “magic kingdom,” which opened in Anaheim in 1955
- Walt Disney also hired Fairyland’s first executive director, Dorothy Manes, and one of our puppeteers, Bob Mills
The park thrived, and in 1956, the City of Oakland Parks and Recreation Department hired Burton Weber to promote the wonders inside Fairyland’s gates. Mr. Weber created a program for young children called Fairyland Personalities, which is still part of our Children’s Theater program.