• Location: 699 Bellevue Ave. Oakland, Ca 94610

• Phone: 510-452-2259

• Website: www.fairyland.org

• Pricing: $

• Hours: 10am-4pm

Description: Fairyland is a magical place for young children! A nice small storybook themed park set right on Oakland's Lake Merritt. It is really geared towards younger children about 2-7 years old. Most of the rides can not accommodate children over 90 pounds so most 10 year olds are out, they probably wouldn't be that engaged anyways. But the park is great for younger children, an amusement park with out the hustle and bustle of other larger amusement parks. There are small rides, a big dragon slide, an Alice in Wonderland themed maze, a giant pirate ship to climb on, and a small farm like area with little animals set in storybook themed houses. There is a lot to capture small children's imagination! If you purchase a storybook key at the front desk, your child will have fun running around sticking the key in the story boxes listening to musical tales. There is a pretty decent sized snack bar with many options to choose from, but you also may bring in outside food and sit and eat in their picnic area. Fairyland is $8 flat rate to get in for everyone 1-100, so you will not have to hassle with buying ride tickets or anything like that. Once you are in your children have free reign to do whatever they want. It is nice the ticket prices have remained so cheap because you can bring a large family or a lot of children here and keep it on your budget. If you are going on a weekday check on Groupon, they often have a Fairyland deal for the work week.

Highlights: The best thing about Fairyland are the puppet shows! After letting your children run all over the place it is a nice break to sit down and enjoy a 20 minute puppet show together! The children are engaged and you can take a break- it's a win-win situation.

Tips: Save the puppet show for last! The park closes at 4pm, so be sure to walk by and check what time the last puppet show is of the day. After walking around in the sun, your feet will thank you for giving them a break as you sit with your child in the shade and watch the show. I always get us ice cream from one of the many stands right before the show so we can sit and enjoy the ice cream in the shade after a busy day.