Page 22 - 2025-2026 Travel Guide to California

THEME PARKS
BY MATT VILLANO
THE FUN STARTS HERE
Smiles abound for the young and young-at-heart at California’s theme parks
standout is The Secret Life of Pets: Off the
Leash, a dark ride through animated New
York City. Fan favorites like Jurassic World
— The Ride and The Wizarding World of
Harry Potter endure, with rides like Harry
Potter and the Forbidden Journey. The park’s
Upper and Lower Lots host family-friendly
attractions like Despicable Me, Minion
Mayhem and thrill rides like Transformers:
The Ride 3-D.
Meanwhile fans of the Fast & Furious
franchise, anticipate the debut of Fast &
Furious: Drift Force, a high-speed thrill ride,
opening in 2025. It's sure to bring new
excitement to the Lower Lot.
Diversions abound in California, as
plentiful as its sunshine. The biggest
being the state’s theme parks. Each
one is a world of its own, centered on
fairies, films, bricks, sea life, or a certain
famous mouse. Though most parks are in
Southern California, the granddaddy of
them all lies up north.
AMUSEMENT PARKS
Europeans started the concept of
amusement parks centuries ago with
fairs and pleasure gardens created
for recreation. The world’s oldest
amusement park is Bakken, just
north of Copenhagen, Denmark,
which opened in 1583. The oldest
theme park in the United States is
Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari
(called Santa Claus Land from its
opening in 1946 until 1984) in Santa
Claus, Indiana. California’s theme
parks date from 1950.
Universal Studios Hollywood
This film-themed park began in the 1960s
with walk-throughs of Universal Studios’
sets. Over time, it evolved into a full-
fledged park, anchored by its famous
backlot tram tour showcasing stunt
demonstrations and thrilling staged events
like the Jaws shark encounter.
Recent highlights include Super Nin-
tendo World, featuring the immersive Mario
Kart: Bowser’s Challenge, Bowser’s Castle,
and the interactive Toadstool Cafe. Wear-
able Power-Up Bands sync with a free app
for an enhanced experience. Another
Children’s Fairyland
Believe it or not, the first theme park in the
U.S. to cater to families with young children
was Children’s Fairyland, a blink-and-
you’ll-miss-it theme park on the shores of
Lake Merritt in Oakland. The place opened
in 1950 (original admission started between
9 and 14 cents), making it the first official
theme park in California, as well. According
to some, it was one of Walt Disney’s inspir-
ations for the eponymous park he created
five years later.
Today, Fairyland includes small rides
such as a mini Ferris wheel and carousels,
and life-sized sets depicting scenes from
timeless storybooks (The Old Lady in the
Shoe and The Alice in Wonderland Tunnel
are two favorites). The theme park also is
home to the Storybook Puppet Theater,
which opened in 1956. A number of the
country’s most famous puppeteers got their
start here, including a teenager by the name
of Frank Oznowicz. You likely know him as
Frank Oz.
20 2025-26 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA
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