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    Great Park Carousel

    4.3 (19 reviews)
    Open • 9:00 am - 10:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Great Park Carousel Photos

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    Reviews With Photos

    Lizelle P.

    Rides are free till the end of the year 2024. Waivers are not required. Just head straight to the line by the carousel. There are plenty of animals and spots to choose from. You can ride as many times as you want but you must exit each time and stand back in line. There's always an attendant checking that you don't stand up and have your safety harness on. Great free fun with the kids!!

    Not all horses. I saw a panda and ostrich too!
    Grace L.

    $3 bucks a ride! My 6 and 9yr old son enjoyed it? Get ready to hear some fun Disney songs! It about 1 full song will be played during the ride. My kids loved it..it's definitely a cheap fun thing to do while at the Great Park especially with kids.. Standing parents without a horse do not have to pay! Free ride for parents! A little history about carousels: What were carousels originally used for? "It was a way for them to practice their cavalry riding skills for combat training. Initially, they would ride atop horses in a circle, and the goal was to knock off the man's hat who was holding a stick. It prepared and made them stronger for war." Ha! Luckily the horse my kid got! It's ready for war!

    Let's ride!
    Nadine C.

    Free carousel ride in Irvine, Orange County, California... My main goal at the Great Park in Irvine was to ride the Ballon. However, since there was a free Carousel ride, why not ride that, too? After signing a waiver (at the Great Park Visitor Center) on the tablet for the Balloon ride, I also signed a waiver for the Carousel ride. I received a ticket right away, so we headed to the Carousel. On a Friday morning at about 10:30am, we had a choice of seats on the Carousel. Some seats were stationary and most went up and down. I almost chose the cute Panda. However, I decided to ride the Bunny! It was fun and reminded me of my younger days! The ride was about 3 minutes - just right! If I was in Irvine again, I'd like to return and visit the Carousel again!

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    4 months ago

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Great for kids walking sports and nature. Lots of trails and places to stop and sit and the bathrooms were well maintained.

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    14 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    7 years ago

    Fun ride for only $3. Adults can stand next to child. They let you ride through an entire song, which is probably 2-3 minutes. Not too bad.

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    3 years ago

    I can confirm it does spin. Super nice staff. It is $3 a ride and great music. You need a waiver and ticket from the visitor center

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    14 years ago

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    13 years ago

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    14 years ago

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    12 years ago

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    13 years ago

    I liked the Carousel. There was no wait. The wait for the balloon was 4 hours, so we spent time at the Sunday Farmers Market.

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    12 years ago

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    13 years ago

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    Ask the Community - Great Park Carousel

    Are the carousel and balloon open now?

    Hi Jamie, as of today, the Great Park balloon and the Carousel are still closed to the public. This closure remains in effect until further notice.

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    Review Highlights - Great Park Carousel

    “First you'll have to stop by the visitor center to sign a waiver form (mostly for the balloon ride).”

    Mentioned in 3 reviews

    Read more highlights

    Great Park - Merrygo Round

    Great Park

    3.7(421 reviews)
    0.5 mi

    + Pleasant place to run and bike around. + Plenty greenery…read moreall around. + Several public sand volleyball courts. . Can't wait for their upcoming many pb courts! Our county needs hundreds more pronto. + They still operate the big orange balloon ride, - but according to Irvine website it's $10/adult now. Glad I went when it was still free. + Amicable, family-friendly ambience. + Numerous ample parking lots. + Adjacent Wild Rivers.

    I was here for Daisy Chain Fields tonight and an excellent summary of the experience I overheard…read morewas "the musical performances were great, too bad this is the only thing people will remember". The "this" she was referring to was the unmitigated disaster that was the rideshare situation in Parking Lot 4. Drop off was fine, but the parking lot pick up procedure was both confusing, frustrating and a complete debacle. Keep in mind there were 45,000 attendees at least a third of whom probably booked a rideshare. Not only did police and event staff block off entry completely around 11:00PM (the show ended at 10:00PM) we were redirected to another parking lot supposedly letting drivers in (but didn't end up doing so) leaving people completely stranded to fend for themselves for their way home. Nobody seemed to have any idea what was going on or who had accurate information. You were completely out of luck if your phone died. Lord knows how you'd manage to get home. Our party didn't end up getting home until 1:30AM, 3.5 hours after the event ended. My guess is there's probably some kind of bizarre city ordinance that requires event spaces/parking lots close to residential homes to close at certain hours which is why they forced everyone out of Parking Lot 4 before anyone actually got picked up. I know this is the first year this music festival was held here and the space isn't properly prepared for traffic this size but this was completely unacceptable and avoidable. Shuttles and parking closer to the event were both pricy and sold out so for some folks the only reasonable alternative was a rideshare. What was otherwise an enjoyable space gave people a terrible impression and a bad taste in their mouths not to return to a place so poorly equipped to handle transport. If you're going to hold huge events like this, sort out the rideshare situation after the event or not do them at all at Irvine Great Park.

    Photos
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    Lunar New Year parade

    Great Park - Great Park Live seating for Pacific Symphony's SummerFest

    Great Park Live seating for Pacific Symphony's SummerFest

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    Hot air balloon

    Bill Barber Community Park - Best park in OC

    Bill Barber Community Park

    4.6(162 reviews)
    4.2 mi•Westpark

    Hands down one of the cleanest, most convenient parks in the Irvine area!…read more There are several baseball fields, tons of gated tennis courts, playgrounds for the kids, countless picnic areas that are numbered for parties and gatherings. I think what makes this park stand out is the crowd. Any park can be beautiful but, without the proper maintenance from the park crew (and most importantly the park goers) it doesn't stand a chance. You see tons of regulars here with their dogs, families, kids. Everyone is friendly and respectful of one another. The dog crowd at this park is also one of the best I've seen. Although the park is not off leash, there's wide open areas for you to allow your fur family to play catch, run around, and have a bit of freedom! They do have a couple of posts that have doggie bags however, they run out quick so please do come prepared with your own poop bags just in case! There are plenty of water fountains throughout with water filling stations attached, so don't forget a bowl for your fur family!!

    The park is located on Harvard Ave just next to the Irvine Civic Center. There are plenty of…read moreparking spaces around the park area. We visited there on a Saturday around noon. There were quite a few cars in the lot already. However, we didn't see a lot of people milling around as the park covers quite an extensive area. The park features a flower garden with a fountain near its center. Beyond that are several picnic shelters amidst an elaborate children's playground. Further on, there is a large expanse of grass area amidst soccer fields, base ball diamond and tennis courts. There are paved walk paths through out the complex that winds up and down the various terrains. Overall it's a nice place to enjoy a leisure walk!

    Photos
    Bill Barber Community Park - "Dogs have a way of finding the people who need them." --Thom Jones

    "Dogs have a way of finding the people who need them." --Thom Jones

    Bill Barber Community Park
    Bill Barber Community Park

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    Great Park Carousel - carousels - Updated October 2026

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