On February 6, the opening day of Funderland's 80th-anniversary season, the line outside the gate at 1350 17th Avenue lasted all day. KCRA reported that families waited hours for an anniversary deal: free admission for the first 80 guests and a $20.26 season pass, compared with the usual $90. When the gates closed at 5 p.m., some people were still waiting and had to be turned away. The park told them it would honor the deal if they came back another day.
The season ends November 29. Funderland is a private business on public land, and the rent it pays the City of Sacramento is split three ways: the Sacramento Zoo, Fairytale Town and Land Park itself. A Saturday on the teacups is also part of how the rest of the park gets paid for.
A lease that has outlasted three owners
The City has never run Funderland. It has always been in private hands, and each owner has operated under an arrangement with the City.
Funderland's homepage says the park has been "making memories in Sacramento since 1946." Its own history page, posted in 2012, puts the start in "the early 1940's," when Raymond Silva opened Land Park Kiddie Land on the same site. Since then the ownership has changed hands like this:
- Raymond Silva ran the rides until 1978.
- Raylin Silva, his daughter, took over in 1978 and ran Land Park Kiddie Land through 1983.
- Sam Johnston bought the rides in 1984. In 1990 and 1991 he rebuilt the park and renamed it Funderland.
- Gordon Johnston had worked at Funderland "in various capacities" for several years. In October 2020, Samuel Johnston told the City he planned to sell the business to him. The City Council ratified that transfer on March 7, 2023.
That 2023 vote did more than approve a new owner. The City Council staff report shows the lease was set to expire in 2026, which would have been this anniversary year. The amendment extended it five years, to March 31, 2031. It also updated the park's operating schedule, fee schedule and ride schedule. The report says attendance and revenue had returned to pre-pandemic levels under Gordon Johnston, and that he would finish the renovations agreed to in an earlier amendment.
Where the rent goes
The money is what makes Funderland part of how William Land Park runs. According to the 2023 staff report, the Funderland lease brought the City more than $303,000 in the most recent fiscal year before that vote. The City splits that revenue equally among three funds:
| City fund | Share of Funderland lease revenue | Equal share of more than $303,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Sacramento Zoo | One-third | More than $101,000 |
| Fairytale Town | One-third | More than $101,000 |
| Land Park | One-third | More than $101,000 |
Those are the attractions on either side of Funderland. The rent from the kiddie rides goes partly to the zoo across the road and partly to the storybook park down the path. The last third goes to the park they all share.
The arrangement has changed over time. Funderland's 2012 history page described the City's revenue going into a special fund "earmarked for Fairytale Town and the Sacramento Zoo," with benefits for William Land Park in general. By 2023, the staff report listed the Land Park fund as its own equal recipient. The $303,000 figure covers a single fiscal year before March 2023. The payment itself is set by the lease, which now runs to 2031.
What the lease explains about the park you visit
The partnership also shows up in the park's physical details.
The food trailer. In September 2017, a fire destroyed Funderland's concession building, the stand Sam Johnston had built during the 1990–91 remodel. The City received insurance money and agreed to help pay for a replacement. Funderland hired an architect, but the design came in well over budget. The pandemic then cut revenue and snarled the supply chain. Meanwhile, the food trailer that filled in after the fire worked well. In 2023 the City and Funderland canceled the rebuild agreement because a new building had become "cost prohibitive and no longer seems necessary." So the trailer is the plan now, not a stopgap.
The sound wall and the fence. The 1990–91 remodel enclosed the entire two-acre site to keep children safe. It also added a sound wall to soften the noise of "laughing and screaming children" for nearby residents. A business on public land in the middle of a residential neighborhood has to plan around the neighbors, and the wall has done that for more than three decades.
The ride lineup. New rides are rare at Funderland, and the old ones last a long time. Here's how the current lineup was built up:
- Classic Carousel, 1947. About 6,000 children rode it in its first week. The park now calls it a classic of more than 75 years.
- Oscar the Fish, "shortly thereafter," and still a favorite with the youngest riders.
- The 1990–91 additions: Backroads Buggies, the Flying Dragon Roller Coaster, the Funderland Train Ride, Spinning Teacups (now the Crazy Teacups), plus a Log Flume, Red Baron and Himalaya ride.
- Squirrelly Whirl, 2015. The park removed the Log Run that June to make room for it, and Happy the Squirrel came to the July naming event. Funderland's ride page still calls it the "newest ride in over 20 years."
The carousel has outlasted three changes of ownership. The ride schedule is also part of the lease the City updated in 2023.
The lean years
Funderland's lease has held up through hard times too. The pandemic temporarily closed the park and stopped its rent payments to the City, The Sacramento Bee reported, citing the 2023 staff report. Funderland's FAQ says it reopened in late June 2020 with capacity limits and distancing rules, and returned to full capacity on June 15, 2021. By the time the Council voted in 2023, attendance and revenue were back.
For the Zoo and Fairytale Town, that means one of their funding sources went quiet in 2020 and came back with the crowds.
The rest of the 80th season
Funderland is open Fridays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and weekends from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., weather permitting. On Fridays, October 23 and October 30, it closes at 4 p.m. for private events. Single-day admission is $25 for kids 34 inches and taller through age 17, $18 for adults 18 to 59 and $10 for seniors 60 and older. Children under 34 inches get in free.
The days still ahead, at Funderland and next door:
| Date | What's happening | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Sat–Sun, Oct. 24–25 | Trick-or-treat stations, included with admission | Funderland |
| Sat, Oct. 31 | Halloween Fun Day, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. | Fairytale Town |
| Sat, Nov. 7 | Richy Bee's One Man Circus, shows at 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. | Funderland |
| Sat, Nov. 7 | Land Park Clean Up Day, 9 a.m.–noon, meet behind Fairytale Town | Land Park Community Association |
| Sun, Nov. 29 | Final day of the 2026 season | Funderland |
| Dec. 5–6 and 12–13 | Winter Wonderland: $15 advance, $12 advance for members, $18 day-of | Fairytale Town |
| Sun, Dec. 6 | Meet Santa, free | William Land Golf Course, per the Land Park Community Association |
Season passes for 2027 are on sale online through Funderland. The first 500 sold at $49 until they ran out or until October 18, whichever came first. The next 750 cost $59 through November 30. The price then rises to $69 in December, $79 starting January 1, $89 from February 1 to 4, and $100 on Opening Day, February 5, 2027. Funderland says the price never comes back down once a tier is gone. A pass covers every public operating day from February 5 through November 28, 2027, with no blackout dates.
After November 29, Fairytale Town is open Thursday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., through February, weather permitting. General admission is $10 for adults and for kids 2 to 12.
Pierre Viard keeps up with these neighborhood details because they matter to the families he works with, whether that's which Saturday has the circus or how long the lease next to the zoo runs. If you're near William Land Park and want to talk about what's changing around your corner of Land Park, Caviard Realty Associates is glad to help. Work with Pierre and request a neighborhood consultation.
