I loved going to Funderland Amusement Park in Sacramento’s William Land Park with the kids when they were little! The two acre family amusement park is large enough to allow the kids to run around and play, but small enough to keep it manageable and easy.
In fact, it’s the perfect family activity to pair with a visit to the awesome Sacramento Zoo, which is directly across the street, or a visit to Fairytale Town, which is right next door.
- For our family, Funderland was a special reward for after the Sacramento Zoo and all the walking — we always made our kids walk to wear them out for nice long naps. We even did this for Mother’s Day one year when the kids were much littler and it was so fun!
- Funderland is also a fun Sacramento family activity to do before visiting Fairytale Tale Town. Trust me, your kids won’t care when you run out of ride tickets when they have another entire adventure park to play in!
Today my kids are getting a bit old for the rides at Funderland Amusement Park (sad face). But luckily both of my sisters now have young children, ranging from 3 months to 5 years old, so we still get to visit this Sacramento icon with my nieces and nephews.
Funderland Rides
From slow moving Backroads Buggies to the fast spinning Wild Stagecoach, there is a wide variety of kid-friendly rides in this small but mighty Sacramento amusement park.
All Funderland rides take one ticket per rider, if your child doesn’t meet the minimum height and safety requirement another ticketed rider that does meet the requirements will need to accompany that person — the only exception is standing next to your child on the carousel. Expectant mothers or those with bone injuries (hard casts) are not allowed to ride any rides for safety reasons.
- Backroads Buggies
The Backroads Buggies, also called the Cars by my kids, are slow moving, buggy-style cars that putt he kids in the driver’s seat. The track takes even the smallest drivers on a curving, twisting drive through the trees. - Crazy Cups
This Tea Cups ride has kids spinning and laughing like crazy. It’s definitely not a good choice for anyone with motion sickness like me! - Flying Dragon
On the Flying Dragon Roller Coaster, you race around a track with turns and dips on the back of a dragon. Riders must be at least 48″ to ride alone. - Carousel
The Carousel is a classic ride that has been delighting Funderland visitors for more than 60 years. All riders that have full head and body control are welcome to ride. - Funderland Train
Funderland’s miniature train travels around the perimeter of the park and takes riders on a tour of the rides and activities in tiny passenger cars. Yes, parents can ride this train too, but trust me when I say it’s a tight squeeze! - Oscar the Fisher
The Oscar the Fisher ride is the perfect place to start if you have an apprehensive child. The small fish bucket seats gently move up and down while the ride spins slowly in a circle. Riders must be less than 42″ to ride Oscar the Fisher. - Red Baron
Children can soar up and down through the sky on the Red Baron airplanes, and because they control the up and down movements, the plane can stay low (or high) the whole time. Riders must have full head and body control to ride. - Wild Stagecoach
The Wild Stagecoach is indeed wild! This ride spins in very, very fast circles so hold on tight. After spinning forward in circles, the ride slows to a stop, but doesn’t stop! It’s just slows down enough to then spin backwards in very fast circles, so hang on tight! Riders under 42″ must ride with a responsible party. - Squirrely Whirl
Happy the Squirrel, Funderland’s newest ride, is a smooth swings-style ride that your kids will love. Riders must be at least 42″ to ride with an adult or over 48″ to ride alone.
Constantly Improving
I also appreciate that this beloved Sacramento family attraction continues to reinvest in the visitor experience, and improve the park.
Funderland lengthened the Backroads Buggies track and redesigned the loading zone, the Carousel was refurbished and the horses were repainted, and the Red Baron train ride and Wild Stagecoach rides got new centerpieces. They also added photo op spots:
- The Train Depot where you can take a photo with Happy the Squirrel as you wait to board the Funderland Express.
- The Red Baron Plane that is the perfect place to get a photo of your child flying a Red Baron fighter plane.
- The Duesy Car, modeled after a classic Duesenberg, is a great photo spot that kids also love to climb and play on.
Funderland Favorites
Carter’s favorite rides were always the Backroads Buggies cars, the Red Baron airplanes, and the Funderland Train. Natalie loved the Flying Dragon Coaster. My nieces loved riding around in the Oscar The Fisher fishies! I loved that it was all contained in two acres.
Another one of our favorite rides was the Log Flume Ride, even though it always broke down and had a crazy long line. It has since been removed and replaced with Funderland’s newest ride in over 20 years, a swings-style ride called the Squirrely Whirl that lets more kids ride at a time and keeps the line moving much faster.
Some of our other favorite things about Funderland are:
- Admission to Funderland in William Land Park is free.
- All rides are one ticket per rider. There isn’t any of that, “this ride is 4 tickets and this ride is 6 tickets,” crap. If you buy 6 tickets, you get 6 rides, and ticket prices aren’t very expensive. Also, the tickets are good forever and never expire. If you buy a big lot of ride tickets and don’t use them all, you can save them for your next visit.
- If you visit during the week, the lines for the rides are very short, and if you arrive right when they open, there are no lines.
- The Funderland Snack Bar menu is posted on their website with prices, so if you’re on a budget, you can plan ahead.
- You can bring any food or drink into Funderland to enjoy as long as you do not bring in any alcoholic beverages or cooking devices. So you pack a picnic and then treat the family to a snack bar dessert!
- During the week, they sell unlimited ride wristbands if you’re going to be there a long time or you’re bringing a lot of kids.
Also, here are a few things you should know before you go:
- Funderland is located at 1350 17th Ave, Sacramento, CA 95822 in William Land Park next to the Sacramento Zoo and Fairytale Town.
- There are no restrooms inside the Funderland gates, but there are restrooms just outside. They are definitely not as clean as I would like though.
- Because Funderland is an outdoor park, our hours change throughout the season and closure is possible due to weather.
- Parking within William Land Park is free, and is on a first come, first serve basis. Weekend parking can get very full and kind of crazy so arrive early. If you have trouble finding street parking, there is a large lot behind Fairy Tale Town.
Now, it’s time to make a date to visit Funderland again with my nephews — they have never been!
