Balboa Park Carousel

Jamie Edmonds

One of, if not THE best carousel we've ever been on! The animals and carousel have been very recently refurbished (for a small fortune!) and it SURE shows! It's a gorgeous and yet functional work of art! It's one of the few that really goes fast enough AND it actually still has a functioning "brass ring game" (the origin of the original idiomatic expression)! 😍 I remember riding it as a kid and the day I was finally old enough and tall enough to grab a ring was like a "rite of passage" for me! 🥰 They also still have the original mechanical musical organ that plays from punched rolls (!), but it obviously needs some work as well to restore it as many stops are now missing/not working, but it's still WAY better than the recorded Star Wars and other movie themes that they also play. :-/ They are going to close it again soon to do yet more work on it to restore the building and bring it back to its earlier look. If you have kids and you can experience it before it closes later this fall, don't miss it! Also, the miniature railroad next door is a treat! ♥️

Heidi Sharipov

This is the best carousel in town (and we've seen them all)! It is gorgeous, the staff is 100% dedicated to making it enjoyable, and there is the added fun of the brass ring.

Jill Forbath

I've been riding this beautiful carousel since the 1960s and it is soo much fun! I used to try to catch the brass ring riding on my fav animal, the giraffe. It's beautiful to just watch too!

Avishek Aiyar

Pretty awesome especially if you have kids. My twins loved it. And it has a wonderful piece of history attached it it. A must see. Location is great as you can easily combine it with a visit to the Zoo since it's right next door. We came in before 11 right when it opened and did not have issues finding a parking spot. The carousel was fairly empty as well. But when we were ready to head out (1:30pm) it had gotten a lot more crowded. Parking was a mess as well at that time and it took us forever to get out of the lot. Don't forget to also checkout the toy train ride that is run by the zoo..