Old-Fashioned Nostalgic Fun: Kiddie Park
San Antonio Amusement Park Keeps The Tradition Alive With Classic Carnival Games, Carousel Horses And Only Minor Park Changes Since 1925
Long lines, waiting for hours with the sun beating down on your shoulders... Expensive admission, overpriced food, commercialized merchandise... Amusement parks have become a nightmare for some families whose young children still beg to make the trek (despite being scared of almost every ride in the crowded, noisy park). Some things are better the way they used to be...
Kiddie Park in San Antonio is not only the oldest children's amusement park in the nation, but it's barely changed since it opened in 1925. In a city (and country) oversaturated with Sea World, Six Flags and other amusement park giants, Kiddie Park is a nostalgic breath of fresh air, with its simple rides, classic carnival games and kid-friendly snacks.
Everything at Kiddie Park is made for children ages one to 12. While most places don't charge for kids under two, “we are the opposite,” explained Manager Amber Leatherwood. “Kids are the ones that are going to be having the fun. We don't charge adults.”
The small park – which is roughly the size of a city block - is home to nine classic rides, all from the 1950s or earlier. While the rides are repainted and fixed when needed, the basic structure of the rides and the park have remained the same over the years. Because “if it's not broken, why fix it?” And that's the appeal of Kiddie Park, after all...
While the mini ferris wheel, pony rides and simple carnival games are all aimed at children, it's really the adults who can't get enough of Kiddie Park. In a world with ever-changing technology, once in a while there's a small oasis, a pure world void of screens. No televisions, no iPads, no video games...
Instead there's the Herschell Spillman carousel, the amusement park's focal point. Built in 1918, the carousel will be 100 years old in 2018. All of the horses on the ride are the 36 original wood-carved horses. It's one of the only rides that adults can also fit on. And while it may seem like they're getting onto one of those horses to accompany their children, they're really stepping onto the carousel to relive their own childhood.
The classic music, the horses floating up and down, the lights... Especially in the evening, the ride can really seem like it's not just spinning in circles but carrying people back in time.
“The carousel is a tradition. It's a family tradition,” said Leatherwood. “We have grandparents that come here with their grandchildren. We have parents coming back here with their kids. We see it all the time. We had one woman send us a photo of her on a carousel horse. Then she came 20 years later with her children to ride on the same horse.”
For Leatherwood, every story she hears is memorable in its own way. Just a few days before the interview she had a woman tell her that she remembered having her seventh birthday party at Kiddie Park. She still remembered her excitement, opening gifts...
“I like that Kiddie Park continues a family tradition,” said Leatherwood, who has been with the park since 2009. “That's an awesome aspect of my job. I hear about people coming with their grandparents and now coming back with their kids. Your whole job is to make people happy and make kids smile. There's not a lot of jobs like that.”
The park's powerful memories have made it a landmark in San Antonio. So it's surprising that at one point Kiddie Park had fallen into despair and closed. But it was the park's ability to bring people back that saved it.
“We used to ride by that park all the time,” the park's owner Ashley Weaver was quoted as stating in Amusement Today. “My husband remembers going there as a boy. We used think of all the possibilities there. When it came up for sale, we decided to buy it.”
The couple purchased the facility in 2009, making major improvements and renovations. And they were met with success. The demand for Kiddie Park was so immense that they had to add more picnic tables.
“We had 30 birthday parties one weekend,” recalled Weaver.”We had 1,250 people in this park on a Saturday. And that's been pretty consistent.”
“There's just no place like it,” said Leatherwood. “Even if you haven't grown up here the Kiddie Park offers things for your children like nowhere else. It's a place where kids can be themselves and experience childhood without an iPad in front of them. And it's unique in that it has never changed. It's the same as it always was.”
And in a world where everything is changing constantly, where updates are always around the corner... Sometimes the original really is better. Sometimes the improvements, the updates, can all be a hindrance. The Kiddie Park aims to provide family fun the old fashioned way.
Olivia Richman
A graduate of East Connecticut State University in Journalism, Olivia has written for Stonebridge Press & Antiques Marketplace among others. She enjoys writing, running and video games.
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