Kiddie Treat: Victorian Gardens at Central Park

Every Summer, from May till after September's Labor Day, the Wollman Rink in Central Park transforms into the Victorian Gardens Amusement Park.

Directions by Bus: We took the M2 Bus to 64th Street (East side), proceeded to Central Park using the 5th Avenue Zoo entrance, veered to the left, then followed the directions to "Wollman Rink" - it was about a 10-15 minute walk.

The Amusement Park is open 7 days a week - from 11 AM till 7 PM on Weekdays, and from 10 AM till 8 PM on Weekends and Holidays. Occasionally, a celebrity will book the Park for a private party, or sometimes there'll be some sort of Fundraising Event going on. With this in mind, it's always a good idea to double-check the Parks' Operating Hours before heading there. Admission is $6.50/pp (little toddlers are free) and it costs $2.00 (or 2 tickets) for one ride. S announced that she intended to get on the rides "3,842 times", so I guess paying an additional $12.00 for a wristband (entitles the child to unlimited rides) actually ended up as being cost-effective for me. Besides, this allowed me to stretch out on a bench for some relatively peaceful "me-time" (I was armed with a juicy gossip mag and some Cherry Icee) while she ran amok for a couple hours. On the safety issue - the Park is fairly small and is situated in an enclosed space (there's only one EXIT), so it allows the parents to have their kid/s within vision at all times.

Among S' favorite rides were the Mini Mouse roller coaster, Aeromax...

... Family Swinger, Samba Balloon...

...and the Convoy.

LINK: http://www.victoriangardensnyc.com/rides.html