PTR: Balboa Pavillion and Fun Zone 9/4/06

[speedracer]

Having been a regular visitor to the SoCal parks since the age of 5, I had always heard of the Balboa Pavillion and Fun Zone in Newport Beach, but had never been before since there didn't seem to be much there. But after hearing that the 70yr old seaside park would be closing forever on September 18th, I knew I had to make an effort to at least see it before it goes away. With Labor Day weekend being my last and only chance, decided to check it out while I could, the last Labor Day forever for this California seaside landmark.

 

For a bit of history on the Fun Zone and Pavillion, check out the History and Pics links (note the beach beside the Balboa Pavillion, will be a point to it later):

 

http://www.thebalboafunzone.com/

 

http://www.balboapavilion.com/

 

Street entrance to The Zone:

 

Very cool mural near the entrance:

 

Here's the view approaching the Pavillion from Balboa Blvd:

 

Closer shot of the 1906 built Pavillion:

 

In front of the Pavillion, looking down the midway (note the junk shop on the left):

 

Strolling more down the miday toward the rides (way too many junk shops like the one on the left, had they had more unique specialty shops instead of the swap meet crap, may have attracted more visitors):

 

Looking back the same midway toward the Pavillion (yeah, pretty ghetto!):

 

Main ride area:

 

Bumper cars:

 

Cool classic signage in the bumper car pavillion:

 

Small court, location of 4 of the 5 park rides ("Scary Dark Ride" was not so much!):

 

Classic Merry-Go-Round:

 

Time for a spin on Ferris Wheel (don't you just love all the creative ride names?)

 

Starting our way up with creepy toy soilder watching over the midway:

 

Main arcade building:

 

The Zone through the spokes!

 

Nice palm tree lined seating area in front:

 

Ariel view of most of the park:

 

View from the top, notice anything missing?:

Yep, looks like the beach that once surrounding the Pavillion and in front of the park is completely gone! Some of it paved over, most of it filled in with water for the Marina? Had they kept the beach, maybe the park would have been more successful.

 

Nice view showing the ocean in the distance on the other side (park is built on an island):

 

Walked over to the other side of the island to see a beach, was such a nice day!:

 

Only spent a few hours there, but got a good feel for the place. Sad to see it go, but from the looks of things, maybe just as well. I'm sure the park has seen better days, and with the park's beach paved over with cement, no wonder it's closing and being razed. Non the less, very sad to see another California fun zone disappear into the history books. RIP Balboa Fun Zone: 1936-2006

[savemagicmountain]

hey do they still have that ghetto dark ride there?

[Hercules]

It's sad to see a ghetto place go. I have an appreciation for ghetto places like this. Sure, they suck, but that is what makes them cool.

[What Now]

I've lived in So Cal all my life and I never even heard of this place before.

[speedracer]

^^^ Yep, still have it, still totally ghetto! I guess the scary part is suppose to be that it moves SOOOOOO slow inbetween jerking forward here and there, I questioned whether it was actually going to be able to make it back to the loading platform!

 

Yeah, the place may be ghetto, but it's better than more buildings and concrete. Would much rather have a few ghetto rides in a great outdoor location, than the stuffy boring building/museum that's gonna replace the entire park.

[socalMAN123]

I'm gonna miss this place, no matter how ghetto it is. I've had some of the greatest moments in my life there. Sure, the Scary Dark Ride really isn't scary, and the merry-go-round and bumper cars are the parks only redeemers (and DDR).

 

RIP BALBOA FUN ZONE 1936-2006

---Brent

[haiderodes]

RIP!

 

I only visited there once, back in June 2001 during my senior class trip. I was pretty cool just to visit some place that isn't as crowded as the big parks with some history to it. It always sucks to see things like this go.

 

Funny story tho, some of my classmates and I rode the "Scary Dark Ride" for like 75 cents each. It was funny. One of them was even like "that was better than some of the stuff at Disney. Hardly, but it was funny.

[speedracer]

I've lived in So Cal all my life and I never even heard of this place before.

 

Should really try to check it out this last weekend if you can. Just be sure to get there super early, parking in the area is a #%*@, the few lots and street parking around weren't nearly enough for all the traffic in that area.

 

And my condolences socalMAN123, I totally know how it feels to loose a favorite local park even if it wasn't the biggest or bestest. Saw alot of folks having a great time out there, will be very sad to see this little place disappear.

[ECZenith]

Looked like a fun little place, kind of reminds me of Old Orchard Beach's little park up here in Maine. You covered the dark ride but I noticed a sign that said Fun House. Did the park have some kind of walk-thru attraction? Do you have any other photos of the dark ride?

[speedracer]

^ Dunno what was up with the Fun House sign, maybe in the past there used to be a fun house there or something, but definitely no fun house now where the dark ride is.

 

Wasn't able to get any good pix of the dark ride, the loading area is just a tiny entry to get in the cars, and the ride itself is very much like the carny dark rides. You shuffle around in the dark for most of the ride (not much to see!), then a few strobes flash and some cheesy black lit scenes pop up, shuffle around in the dark some more, back to the loading area. If they once had a fun house, they really should have kept it instead of removing it for this.

 

The most I got out of my visit was a brand new appreciation for my Santa Cruz Boardwalk, all the things I love about a traditional seaside park like my Boardwalk were sadly missing from BFZ, and not just in the rides department.

[ECZenith]

Too bad the dark ride is so ghetto... there's not nearly enough quality "traditional" dark rides out there. My favorite is definately Stillwalk Manor at Seaside Heights NJ (Casino Pier) It's tradional in that it's a tiny 2 seater car but has the special effects and tricks of a high end theme park.