Rotary Storyland Playland

Oh the childhood memories! The fresh paint and landscaping has done this place some good. I was so sad when I came back to Fresno and wanted to take the hubby and they were closed. So glad they are back open it really is a special place to being younger ones or even jus have a nice walk around. I missed the life piggies and I think sheep (?) But no biggie. The shoe slide be careful kids shoot down that thing so cautious for the littles. The children I nanny for had a blast and keep asking when we will be back. Having the train running still was a bonus! The kiddos love trains and it was such a great experience to see they have so much fun! Love it here will deff be back!

For families with toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarteners, Storyland is the place to go. First– and maybe second-​graders might like it here, too. Plenty of things for them to do, but there are some down sides, too.
The good:
– Lots of exhibits, from Alice in Wonderland to Peter Pan and Mother Goose.
– Many exhibits have play areas. The Old Woman Who Lived In a Shoe is a playground; so is the Three Bears’ house, Pooh’s treehouse, and the gingerbread house. There are some that are less entertaining, like the pirate ship, McGregor’s Garden, and the castle.
– Colorful posters in the Mother Goose area attract children’s attention; read them aloud to your child for some classic nursery rhymes.
– A kid-​sized chapel has wise sayings from many religions.
– The Mad Hatter Tea Party space is a party rental that kids love.
– The grounds themselves are nicely kept: lots of sitting areas on mushrooms and benches, greenery all around, and a flowing river through the middle.
– The restrooms are kid-​sized and are in a nicely-​decorated cottage.
– Train ride to Playland is nice, though creaky.
The bad:
– Half of the story boxes are broken, and a lot of the exhibits could use some fresh paint or other forms of maintenance. A couple of areas in the castle are roped off because they’re deemed unsafe.
– The adult restrooms are Port-​a-​Potties by the pirate ship.
– There’s a beautiful outdoor theater that never gets used. Why not?
– I was with someone in a wheelchair, and though the majority of the trails are nice, a couple of patches are rough, and they wouldn’t be able to get to the top of the hill for the snack bar or castle.
I give this place three and-​a-​half stars. I rounded up because of how much the little ones enjoy the park.

This is really cute place to take toddlers and kids maybe 7 and under. My one year old nephew enjoyed it very much. Very cutsey with little areas to play in. They do offer scheduled tea parties for up to 10 people usually for kids 5 – 10 yrs old I think. The train ride is very cute. Everything about was cute lol

you can’t beat it for toddlers. it’s dirt cheap for a season pass $ 40 for four people??? and the train ride is only $ 2. there’s plenty of playgrounds and it’s all super clean. I never went here before but you can tell it’s totally retro and old-​school, with super-​fast slides, running water kids can get into and train tracks that wouldn’t be that hard to find yourself in front of. so keep an eye on your damn kids!
they could use some more food options! I’m also interested in how much it costs to host kids parties. i always see one being set up and i bet it’s cheap!

I took my son here almost a year ago and it brought back so many found memories. He was
awe of everything I once was when I was much younger. Storyland is a part of Fresno history and it would be ashame if they shut it down for good. I was also so excited to see that they brought back the keys! Wondeful place to take young children or even just to revisit your childhood.

This pace is probably best for kids six and under. It kept my seven year old niece and 1.5 year old daughter for about an hour.
We purchased the «mother goose» package (admission for for adults, four train tickets and one magic key). Unfortunately, the key/​boxes didn’t always work so by the fifth attraction, my niece didn’t bother with the key anymore.
The place needs a lot of touch ups. My niece days and of the characters (jack and Jill especially) looked scary (because they were so dilapidated).
She had the most fun at the Hansel and Gretel area (riding that merry go round thing).
These days, kids love electronics, even at age seven, so the fact that nothing is animatronic didn’t help.
The train ride was fun/​decent.
My issue is that we paid a little over $ 36 for everything (including $ 5 parking) and my niece had as much fun as she could have had at a park. As a matter of fact, we hitched a train ride to «play land» and my niece and daughter has a lot more fun playing in the mini water park at play land (free).

Storyland is great for kids! Cheap– don’t know price for kids, because I took one who was under 2, and they’re free, but adults are $ 5. It’s being renovated, and looks great! The area past the castle where there used to be lots of greenery is a little ugly– I think it used to be the crooked mile? Playland is a little more pricey– $.50/​ticket, and the rides are like 6-​ish tickets and more. We only went on the carousel and train, because my baby nephew can only go on those with adults.

I was there for a toddler birthday party this weekend and my kids absolutely loved it. I am a Fresno native and have always known about this place but had never been there. My kids had a blast! I will be back for sure! We got wristbands that our party hosts provided and the kids were able to ride all the rides and play inside both parks with those.
The staff did a great job getting us where we needed to go once we arrived at the ticket desk we let the attendant know we were there with a party. They quickly found our name on the guest list and had an employee escort us to the party location (king Arthur’s Castle. It is all so cute.
My kids are 1 and 2 and they had lots of fun on the playground areas of story land and interacting with the displays. And the loved the train! Even waiting for the train was fun for them (it only runs every 30 min).
The rides at Playland were a little run down but the kids don’t care! The lines were amazingly short (I was shocked at how few people were there). Because I have two little ones it was awesome that I was able to ride some of the «bigger» rides with them– and I did not have to buy tickets for myself. Their wristband was my ticket on to the ride!

This is definitely a great place to spend a day for the younger crowd. Plan to get the wristband that lets you into both parks, plus the use of the train that goes between them, all day.

This place really captures the spirit of Fresno

Just took my two year old to Storyland and was incredibly disappointed. We are zoo members and love it. We were expecting the same kind of quality. It was terrible. Everything was really dirty, we were walking through cobwebs, and there was no way I was letting my daughter crawl through some of the things, especially the pirate ship. Who knows what kinds of spiders were in there. Many of the slides were in pretty bad shape, and one was covered in tree sap. The standing, stagnant water was really nice too. The whole thing was just kind of haphazard and dated. I was really mad about spending $ 8.50 on that. Would have been better off going to the zoo and having a corndog! Don’t waste your money!

Delightfully fun place for small children. There are so many places to explore and play that kids can be entertained for hours. Fairytales are brought to life with houses and castles and slides. Even a beached pirate ship on which to climb. As for the adults in the group, there are plenty of shady places to sit and watch the children play.
Catch the train right outside the gate and make a trip to playland and enjoy a few rides before catching the train back to Storyland.
If you really want to do it up right, plan a birthday party for your child here. You can choose the castle or Alice in Wonderland’s garden.

Terrible customer service! The park closes at 530 yet at 515 the rash rudely rushes everyone out. At 525 I was inside a stall using the bathroom and the lady shouts out «hello were closing !!» I couldn’t believe her! Could she not have waited 2 more minutes? They have bad attitudes and are lazy… In an economy like this try to be good and glad u have a job since Many wish they do yet u act so miserable and rude. I’ll never return

Ive been going here all my life, Im an adult now, I remember when the train was topless and looked almost like a monorail. The cave for the train was the first place you went in instead of all the way around, and it had seven old men like dwarfs painted inside cave interior. Its basically the same ride attractions with a few new additions. I miss them selling regular snow cones in concession stand, but they do have big delicious hot dogs, my compliments to the chef. Will be back this summer for more! Love the new train too.

I live in Fresno county for about 4 – 5 years and never been here. Been to the zoo about 4 time and saw this but never planned on going especially during summer. Well so 10/​24/​2010 was my daughters 5^th bday and i gave her choices on where she wants to go celebrate her day. And this was her choice. As soon as we got to Storyland it was already a disapointment. Very dirty and not fun at all. I was expecting it to be bigger and have much more. The snack bar was closed so that sucked. All employees were not so welcoming. They just seemed like working zombies. Playland was ok… The carousel sucked thou, cuz it only like went around for a minute and it was done. I think they should charge to get in Playland and let Storyland be free entrance. I saw the web site on Storyland and Playland and it looked like it would had been fun but nope wasnt. Very disapointed. I should had spent my money at the zoo.

It’s funny I used to go to Storyland and Playland as a child and I remember it as being much bigger. If it were up to my little ones they’d give them 10 stars, but because of the current condition of the park and the attractions I can’t go quite as high. If your kids have some stamina you will want to spring for the wristband so they can ride all day. If your little one is too small to ride by themselves they’ll allow a parent to ride with the child.
I’m sure the staff does the best it can with the limited funds they receive/​generate. In Playland some of the attractions were out of order and most of them could use a thorough cleaning and a coat or two of paint. Playland would defiantly benefit from a brick wall around the street, it’s not a very magical feel as you ride the train along side traffic accelerating onto the freeway.
Storyland is in the same condition of Playland and needs the same coat of paint. I hope that they find a way to refurbish the park someday but even if they don’t we’ll be back as long as the kids enjoy themselves.

My parents used to bring me to Playland as a kid and I will forever cherish those memories. Now it was my turn to bring our daughter and my little nephew here. I saw their smiles and at that moment life was perfect. Located in Roeding Park right next to the Fresno Chaffee Zoo, this tropical oasis is a treasure for young and old alike. Playland is a small amusement park that has 13 rides. There is something to keep everyone entertained especially the little ones and you can’t beat the prices. From the small train ride around the park to the historic carousal and the paddle boats for a workout or a corn dog at the concession stand it’s the perfect spot for a quick getaway.
Next to Playland is Storyland which is a walk-​thru park with themes of Mother Goose Stories and Nursery Rhymes. This area has a separate fee but it’s definitely entertaining for the little ones.
Yes both could use a remodel and they are not huge but this is Fresno’s answer to Disneyland and I gotta say I love it and so do the kids. Let’s hope this stays around forever.
* 50¢ a ticket for the rides

I LOVE this place. I like the fact that it looks a bit run down, it creates a nice effect. Any kid would adore this place, and when I say kid I mean bout 8 and under. The older ones might be a little bored with the 3 little pigs, and little red riding hood stories.
Be sure and buy a key~it’s worth it!