Storybook Gardens — Attraction in Ontario

This place needs a serious overhaul. We went with a group of friends with kids between 2 and 7. Right off the bat, they tell us they are discouraging the purchase of ride wristbands that day because two of the rides are broken. They neglect to tell us that the two rides that are broken are two of three that our obvious under height minimum 2 year olds can go on. So we buy tickets thinking they are saving us money. Nope we paid nearly $40 for tickets and didn’t even use all of them. We should have just bought a $15 wristband for our 6 year old because the little ones couldn’t go on anything.

Now for the rides. They are all old and rickety and need updating badly. My son and I spent at least 20 minutes, probably more, on the Ferris wheel that’s supposed to be a 2 minute ride. They need to load and unload people in specific orders or the ride doesn’t work properly (that’s a red flag on its own) and it’s long and tedious and then they forgot us and sent us on another ride and we had to wait for the whole load and unload process again. And believe me it wasn’t a fun bonus ride. We did NOT want to be on it anymore.

Now for the food. We wanted the grill em food truck, only to find out that it was cash only and had no cash on us. So we settled for the canteen that was near the splash pad. $50 for 4 mediocre hot dogs and three slushies is ridiculous. This was after they told us they were sold out of pizza and once we were sitting down with our hot dogs, see that they are in fact serving pizza. So it wasn’t sold out, I assume it was just cooking. Then the kids wanted ice cream/popsicles. They have a list of flavors. We asked for vanilla… didn’t have it. Asked for a lifesaver popsicle… didn’t have it. Asked for cookies and cream ice cream… they served our kids cookie dough. My son was not impressed.

They have drinking fountains throughout the park to fill up water bottles or grab a drink. The water was lukewarm in every single one of them. Forcing you to buy bottled if you want it cold. Which most would on the ridiculously hot day.

The kids liked the splash pad the best. The water was warm and they had a ton of fun there. So I’m giving 1 star for that. But the change rooms were gross and smelled like urine. And everything just seemed dirty. Plus splash pads are free everywhere so it’s not really worth the entrance fee for the splash pad.

Second star goes to the face painter. She did an awesome job and was great with our 2 year olds who both wanted their faces painted.

Overall I would not recommend this place to anyone. It either needs to completely update or...

So the castle in picture is actually the entrance n gift shop not a play area, a lot of the buildings are also not open for playing just for a picture outside. There’s a tiny town and that’s great for kids 6 n under. Went sept 2 long weekend with a 3 yr old who’s really small for her age. It was cloudy out n not too packed. Face paint again line but it’s near rides do after splashpad it’s $5 a girl crying cause her face paint came off. Trust me do rides paint at end. After paying hang a left, if you go right then you’ll be disappointed going through rides first as they are disappointing kids under 36” can only ride elephant with adult (sit in back adults don’t fit in front) The mary-go-round and train is actually outside park 1 ticket per kid unless under 2 but then you pay for adult who must accompany them assuming they are under 36”, each ride has different rules though ugh. Waited a lot and there’s not even many ppl but the rides take forever to slowdown cause they are old and loading ppl takes long as the signage is always not visible and neither are all the rules. They need signage in many areas so ppl know what they want at food counter by the time they get there and know if it’s worth the 35 minutes for the farris wheel line to find out your child is a quarter of an inch to short even though when you bought the day pass you were told she’s tall enough. Toddlers don’t do lines these ppl are very disorganized and this results in long lines. 1 ticket is $2.75. Day pass is $14 it’s not worth it unless your kid is tall enough like 46” then they can go on all 5 rides assuming they are all running. If you have 2 kids and aren’t sure get the ticket deal or hang a left first like I suggested. Bring food/water or you can also rent the BBQs if you have extra adults in your group that can do that while kids play. Gift shop only has hats for 0-6 months old so don’t forget that. There’s a free waterslide again it’s like 36”. There’s playground and splash pad (cold chlorine water but fun) and a sand pit for littles. There’s lines to buy entry and ride tickets. I believe only farris wheel was 2 tickets also it’s not for very tall husbands or larger ppl. Some broken stuff in the tiny town pix below fire house nails sticking out, tims table is dangerous if you touch it tips over, and vet clinic has 2 anatomy pictures on the wall including for some reason the dogs private areas and the medical name for those...

Loved this place since I was a little kid. What started out as a small, fairytale/nursery rhyme themed amusement park has grown into a year round local attraction. Great location in Springbank Park surrounded by nature and walking trails. Free parking lot next to the miniature train you can ride seasonally. Admission is cheap. I think 3.50 for adults. It is run by the city so likely this fee goes into improvements to the park and local attractions. Inside you can find many nursery rhyme themed statues and buildings - a giant shoe, Humpty Dumpty sitting on a bench. Tiny towns of photo ops and play tunnels for kids. Further back there is a splash pad and several large playgrounds. Brilliant place to take kids.

During the winter season their main attraction is the skating trail. A cute figure 8 almost but with 3 loops. Skate rentals are available first come first serve for 6.50 for adult skates. They have hockey and figure available. Those skate walker things are available for kids and adults who need them free of charge. Music is a nice selection of Christmas songs including music from Frozen and Charlie Brown Christmas. Trail and surroundings are lit with Christmas lights at night. Small fire pit area. Inside is a Beavertails where you can purchase beaver trails or hit chocolate, French vanilla, lemonade or apple cider. 2 hot chocoates is $5 flat. Think we got our admission and skate rentals as 2 adults for $22. We went on Boxing Day so sadly closed early and did not light the trail. All staff were super friendly and helpful - from the ticket girl inside to the ice marshal who took a pic for us when he saw us taking each other’s. You have to walk through the gift shop to enter but it’s not terribly distracting. The ice IS accessible but they ask you get your wheelchair or stroller wheels checked for dirt before proceeding to the ice. Plenty of benches around to sit or enjoy beverages. They ask you stay on ice or rubber walkways with your skates on. The ice is artificial so we could skate at 8 degrees c. All in all a fun place for a date or family outing that won’t break your wallet. They have a New Years, family day and Valentine’s Day skate.

I also remember a large maze inside from childhood however not sure if this is...