Children's Fairyland, the nearly 80-year-old storybook theme park on the shores of Lake Merritt, is getting a $5 million infusion from the state of California to replace century-old pipes and modernize the park's physical infrastructure. The funding, part of a state budget package, includes $2 million for operations and $3 million for restoration and upgrades, including the replacement of 100-year-old pipes running beneath the park.
The grant was announced on October 5, 2026, as part of a broader $14 million state budget package for Oakland secured by East Bay state legislators, according to the City of Oakland. That same package also included support for the Juntos Fruitvale Cultural Arts Center and Samuel Merritt University. As reported by NBC Bay Area, the state funding comes from the state budget and completes the first phase of Fairyland's long-term capital plan.
What the Money Actually Fixes
Beyond the century-old piping, the investment closes out Phase One of Fairyland's Strategic Capital Investment Plan by funding modernizations to the park's farm animal exhibits, puppet theaters, and its trademark talking storybook boxes, which require special keys for visitors to trigger fairytale audio recordings, according to CBS News. Children's Fairyland CEO Kymberly Miller said, per the same NBC Bay Area report, that park improvements will include maintenance of sets and possibly new buildings for indoor winter programming.
Miller called Fairyland an iconic part of Oakland and an East Bay icon, adding that the funding provides what the park needs to prepare for the future. She said the park needs improvements to its physical space after celebrating 75 years in Oakland last year and weathering major challenges including the pandemic. Miller also credited local leaders and Governor Newsom with giving Fairyland a vote of confidence, and she urged people to volunteer their time, energy, or money to help the park last the next 76 years.
A Park That Helped Shape Disneyland
Children's Fairyland opened on September 2, 1950, on the shores of Lake Merritt as the first storybook theme park in the United States, drawing 15,000 visitors on opening day with ticket prices between 9 and 14 cents, according to SFGATE. Walt Disney toured the park in the early 1950s while developing ideas for Disneyland and later hired Fairyland's first director, Dorothy Manes, who went on to serve as Disneyland's youth director from 1955 to 1972, the outlet reports.
The park's Open Storybook Puppet Theater, established in 1956, is recognized as the oldest continuously operating puppet theater in the country and served as the teenage training ground for Muppeteer Frank Oz before he co-created the Muppets with Jim Henson, according to the Los Angeles Times. The park's gardens were designed by Oakland nursery owner Arthur Navlet, and the Lake Merritt Breakfast Club later helped Fairyland achieve nonprofit status, per KQED.
Oakland Leaders Weigh In
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee said the investment will ensure families continue to have a place to play and make memories, calling the funding vital for the city and describing Fairyland as a storybook brought to life. Assemblymember Mia Bonta said she is proud to deliver funding that preserves Oakland's artistic and cultural legacy. Bonta, who represents California's 18th Assembly District covering Oakland and nearby East Bay communities, founded the California Legislative Children's Caucus in February 2026 and chairs the Assembly Health Committee, according to SFGATE.
Fairyland is a 10-acre park on Lake Merritt and an independent nonprofit. The park welcomes an estimated 150,000 visitors annually. It runs Fairyland for All, an accessibility initiative launched in 2023 offering $5 admission to low-income families using CalFresh or WIC, with qualifying families who return within four months earning a free one-year family membership, according to The Oaklandside.
