Children's Fairyland
Today we took Baby Dog for the first time to Children’s Fairyland which is something of an Oakland landmark/institution, though one neither Mama Dog nor I had visited since living in the Bay Area. Adults must be accompanied by a child to enter, so we’d never before had adequate bona fides. Mama Dog had been there as a child, but I’d only ever passed by it on the bus, and we’d both been very curious about it in different ways. Mama Dog hardly remembered anything about it except that she thought it was fun as a child.
Well, it’s hard to say how much Baby Dog understood of what she saw, but she seemed to enjoy the excursion. Mama Dog and I, on the other hand, were thoroughly charmed. The place is a time capsule of children’s entertainment from a bygone age. There are no thrill ride monstrosities, obnoxious video displays, or pyrotechnics. The most adrenaline-inducing ride was a small and slowly-moving Ferris wheel. Everything is made of painted wood, not moulded plastic. There are live animals rather than animatronic ones. Baby Dog got to see an alpaca, which we mistakenly told her was a llama (like her beloved Fernando), and she yelled “Yama! Yama! Yama!” at it. We also petted a pony, which is a big thing because she’s recently learned about “neighs.” It took a bit of work to convince her that this particular animal was a “neigh” rather than a “moo,” but she caught on eventually.
Mama Dog and I took turns carrying Baby Dog through the Alice in Wonderland maze, which was completely deserted and very fun. The story is depicted in murals on the walls and in life-size diorama scenes. Baby Dog doesn’t know the story yet, of course, but she was able to identify the bunny and various other elements in the murals. Again, probably more fun for us, but she seemed to like it.
Well, it’s hard to say how much Baby Dog understood of what she saw, but she seemed to enjoy the excursion. Mama Dog and I, on the other hand, were thoroughly charmed. The place is a time capsule of children’s entertainment from a bygone age. There are no thrill ride monstrosities, obnoxious video displays, or pyrotechnics. The most adrenaline-inducing ride was a small and slowly-moving Ferris wheel. Everything is made of painted wood, not moulded plastic. There are live animals rather than animatronic ones. Baby Dog got to see an alpaca, which we mistakenly told her was a llama (like her beloved Fernando), and she yelled “Yama! Yama! Yama!” at it. We also petted a pony, which is a big thing because she’s recently learned about “neighs.” It took a bit of work to convince her that this particular animal was a “neigh” rather than a “moo,” but she caught on eventually.
Mama Dog and I took turns carrying Baby Dog through the Alice in Wonderland maze, which was completely deserted and very fun. The story is depicted in murals on the walls and in life-size diorama scenes. Baby Dog doesn’t know the story yet, of course, but she was able to identify the bunny and various other elements in the murals. Again, probably more fun for us, but she seemed to like it.
posted by PapaDogDuvalier | 9:07 PM
2 Comments:
How marvelous to have such a wonderful asset in your community! It sounds delightful!
The thing I liked best about Fairyland was its complete lack of licensed characters. No Sponge Bobs or Winnies the Pooh to be visually assaulted by. (Okay -- Pooh is innocuous, but you get my drift.) Really a charming place!
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