We love the Balboa Park Carousel and always stop if it's running when we're at Balboa Park or the…read morezoo. It has such a charming, historic old-school feel. Some of the animals go up and down while others stay stationary, so there are options for younger kids too. It's $4 per person, but you get plenty of time going around, so it feels worth it. Such a fun little Balboa Park tradition!

This carousel is so cute. Kids and adults both will enjoy! Tickets are $4 each! The inside animals…read morego up and down, the ones on the outside do not move. Benches located on the outside of the carousel where you can watch! The worker at the carousel booth wasn't very pleasant though. When we asked how much tickets were he just lifted up one finger, we thought ohh a dollar, guess that was him pointing up to the sign that says $4. He definitely looked like he hated his job and didn't want to be there.

Ok How can you not want to ride on the carousel especially with your grandkids! Even if you can't…read moreor do not want to this historic beauty brings back so many memories you cannot enjoy it . Each ride is 6$ and full of memories!

What's not to love about an old fashion Carousel? This particular ride has been operating at…read moreSeaport Village since 2004, which is a tourist destination. This masterpiece was hand carved by Charles Loof in 1895. It's first home was in Dallas Texas in 1904. Completely restored, it has been a wonderful addition to the Seaport Village (surrounded by restaurants, specially shops), it provides entrainment for all ages. I was too shy to ride it, but a big part of me inside really wanted to. $5 flat rate for an admission ticket is reasonable to keep this beautiful Carousel operating. It is open at 10am, seven days a week (even holidays). Don't be shy, bring cash and give it a whirl. Don't forget to tell'em that Rosemary sent ya!!

So much to do. Best food places. Safe and happy area…read more We enjoyed it so much, we will be back.

Such a cute neighborhood to visit. I came here recently and stopped by the local ramen shop…read more Although it was night time, I still noticed that there were so many businesses open and honestly, it was thriving. There are so many shops in this neighborhood too, making it a great place to shop and eat and simply spend a day with friends and fam. Def a spot to visit in NCSD.

The best park in the Vista/Oceanside area. I come here every day with my son and he loves…read moreinteracting with the other little kids and running around, he's a big fan of the musical section of the park. This is a very kid friendly/parent friendly park, no matter what time you show up, there will always be a good crowd of kids.

Not a park of choice. Not well kept and the longer you walk into it there was more and more garbage…read moreand dog poop. I did not feel comfortable at all. When I decided to turn around and leave there was a homeless person who scared me coming out of the bushes. Did not feel safe.

This is a fun little attraction, especially if you have young children. One of the best surprises…read moreis that the carousel is now free to ride--it used to require a fee, so that's a nice bonus. The music creates a pleasant atmosphere, and it's a charming place to stop and enjoy for a few minutes. That said, the carousel could use some maintenance. Many of the animal figures are showing their age, with paint peeling and visible wear in several areas. A few tips before you visit: The carousel is only open Thursday through Sunday, so be sure to check the operating days and hours before making the trip. Parking right next to the carousel can be difficult, especially during busy times. There is another parking lot about a 5-minute walk away that usually has more available spaces and is much easier to use. Overall, it's a nice family-friendly attraction and worth a visit, especially since the rides are now free. Just manage expectations regarding the condition of the carousel and plan ahead for parking.

I went to Knotts and Disneyland with a family group and my 4-yo granddaughter last week. We passed…read morethe carousel at both parks multiple times but the agenda never allowed for my granddaughter to ride the carousel even though she pleaded with everybody. I had my granddaughter all to myself the next two days and remembered there's a carousel at The Great Park in Irvine so I took her. We were there BOTH DAYS! She had a blast! I can't wait for her to visit me again! BONUS the carousel is FREE!!!

This is such a beautiful hillside park adorned with drought tolerant landscaping that makes it feel…read morelike a peaceful retreat. The upper level has a small children play area. The middle level is for kids 5-12. The lower area has a skating zone and basketball court. The little kids area have an interesting two person swing. The middle level has a cool looking slide that is recently taped off. The fake grass hill was fun to slide down on card board. There are covered tables for eating in the middle and upper section. There is limited street parking and no restroom.

I love that this is a neighborhood park!…read more Pros- good size grassy area, lots of shade, my 2 year old actually had a ton of fun at the skate park on her scooter even with older kids bouncing around her, the kids were so mindful of each other it was really great to see! Cons- street only parking, no bathrooms, equipment was all over the place, the hill that folks slide down on is very steep! and goes right into a large jungle gym, the zip line was challenging to get on and off and pretty intense for ages 5-12 imo, but kids were loving it! My daughter enjoyed this park a lot! It was very busy for the long time period we were there with her friend. I do feel like this park is probably for ages 4+ as the equipment leaned more toward jungle gyms, one tire swing, two (never enough swings) interesting looking adult joined baby swings, a couple spinners, one huge scary looking slide that was under repair, a huge zip line and two concrete slides. We came with a friend and tried the swings, the concrete slides, a little climbing on the jungle gym, we did slide down the hill with the girls and sent them down with one adult at the bottom to catch them and it was a little scary! We also tried the zip line with the girls on our laps but needed to assist each other to get on and off. Would love to see more swings up top around the grassy area and maybe moving the jungle gym at the bottom back and actually creating a large slide on the part where folks ride their cardboard down to prevent injuries

A fantastic park near me that I've driven by but never walked in. Three or four immaculate baseball…read morefields, skate park, kids play area and really great trail of a mile and a half. But the best thing is how they keep it up and the employees that walk around and clean the grills and everything else. Really a fun find try it out.

There's a wonderful hidden gem playground for kids here at this park! It's shaded and a big…read moreplayground with swings and monkey ropes in a large structure. Highly recommended for kids

Super fun and affordable date night!! Thanks David for the ride!…read more Appreciate the value & friendly professional staff :)

I never heard of a parent having to pay just for standing next to a toddler for safety during ride,…read morebut ok, this isn't why I'm mad. First off we got there at 4pm which means they were open for several hours. We are a total 7 children and 3 adults @ $5 per person. It says CASH ONLY. Great, cause that's all we had. So the total is $50. We only had a $100 which means he had to break it. Long story short he was refusing to break it, being extremely rude in front of children with ZERO consideration that we walked all that way just so our children can sit on this ride. Then he goes like " I get a lot of 20's so I have to give away lots of 5's and 10's" lol. And I said " well that's just perfect because our change consists of 2 20's and a 10! " idiot! Rude! Low life! Waste of energy! The Moran bought the change. After we sat on the ride be basically didn't want us to sit on, I can honestly say, save your $100's ppl. He was a short Asian mixed man(a disgrace). He should be fired asap.

It was a very good experience for my grand son,it is next to Target, a very short line and good…read morepricing

I had a horrible experience here yesterday 8/14. I had my 3 year old daughter who was 42 inches and…read morethen my one year old son. First off, I didn't realize that we couldn't stand and hold my 1 year old. That's okay had to strap him in. Waiting at least 5 minutes for it to start and he starts whining. They are staring at us. Then proceeds to say. No crying on the carousel and told us he has to get off. CRAZY. He would have been fine once it started. They had a problem with us because then it was my daughter. Who's tall enough to ride on her own. Demanding me to stand next to her when we paid for her ticket because she is big enough to ride it herself. I wanted to start screaming at this point because ANYTHING we did they had a problem! Horrible experience. Made kids upset. NEVER AGAIN. Bad people running this who don't understand children.

KIND OF DIRTY (3 stars)…read more This area use to not be THAT dirty but it's close to the tourist area, has the kids playground, homeless conquer parts of the bank, and the sand around the bay is littered with leftover trash from the night before (likely left by stupid college kids). Since there has been occasional shootings at Mission Beach in 2021-2022 there has been a lot more police presence (mainly during the day). Cop vehicle is always parked on the grass close to the kids playground. Still, I would be vigilant of your surroundings.

Delightful afternoon relaxing, enjoying the ocean breeze, and visiting with family from back east.read more