Castle Park

Castle Park is, by far, one of the most awesomely ghetto theme parks out there and it holds an especially fond place in my heart.

I used to go to Castle Park with my Dad every now and again when I was a young child. We would do mini-golf and play in the arcade. If I was lucky, we'd even go on an adventure to the 'park' area and go on a couple of the carnival-esque rides that were presented as 'permanent' fixtures at this place.

The Gravitron, coming to Disneyland in Spring 2014...

But there is something magical about this low-rent theme park that gives it that certain something that I will definitely miss about California. Maybe it's the can-do attitude that permeates the place with their attempts at creating themed areas and making the park look less like a bunch of carnival rides on a gigantic parking lot and more like a legitimate place for fun and amusement. Maybe it's the fact that it's in Riverside and that pretty much sums up why it's so ghetto. And maybe it's the memories of driving by it and seeing the various rides lit up and active that would ignite my imagination as a child, hoping and begging that we would get to stop in and have a magical day.

I did have quite a few adventures at Castle Park and I'd wish them the best, but the fact that they've lasted this long has me thinking that they don't need any luck.

Photos from:
1. http://images.listenernetwork.com/instance_images/Contests/188943_c6a99879-445c-4d29-b8c3-f3cdb4bee7c2.JPG
2. http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/files/castle_park_038_352.jpg