ojy Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 I don't know if anyone still reads this, but I will give it a shot. I am not old enough to remember playland park, or most of these places, but I do know about the kiddie park with the "tired old ponies" that was over by Braeswood. Kiddie Wonderland was off S. Main and Kirby. I think the actual location was 7800 S. Main, if my memory is correct. In the 80's and early 90's there was a carousel, a train that went around the park, a boat ride, airplane ride, car ride (had all the bases covered), a petting zoo, and the ring on the side for the ponies, who were actually more ornery than tired. There was also one donkey named Jack who pulled a wagon. My favorite horse was Tippy, a brown and white shetland pony who always refused to trot. In about 1989, the carousel got smaller. This is because they sold the one they had to the Texas Renaissance Festival. TRF still uses this carousel, though the horses have been replaced. Kiddie Wonderland had this cute multicolored wooden fence around the front and a little shack where you bought tickets for the rides. Often, 2 adorable little girls could be seen "working" the ticket booth. That place held great memories for me.If anyone is looking for pictures of the place, I have some. I would have to scan them in because they are in a photo album right now, but I can do so easily. Just send me a note and let me know. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isuredid Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 I don't know if anyone still reads this, but I will give it a shot. I am not old enough to remember playland park, or most of these places, but I do know about the kiddie park with the "tired old ponies" that was over by Braeswood. Kiddie Wonderland was off S. Main and Kirby. I think the actual location was 7800 S. Main, if my memory is correct. In the 80's and early 90's there was a carousel, a train that went around the park, a boat ride, airplane ride, car ride (had all the bases covered), a petting zoo, and the ring on the side for the ponies, who were actually more ornery than tired. There was also one donkey named Jack who pulled a wagon. My favorite horse was Tippy, a brown and white shetland pony who always refused to trot. In about 1989, the carousel got smaller. This is because they sold the one they had to the Texas Renaissance Festival. TRF still uses this carousel, though the horses have been replaced. Kiddie Wonderland had this cute multicolored wooden fence around the front and a little shack where you bought tickets for the rides. Often, 2 adorable little girls could be seen "working" the ticket booth. That place held great memories for me.If anyone is looking for pictures of the place, I have some. I would have to scan them in because they are in a photo album right now, but I can do so easily. Just send me a note and let me know.I think there are many here that would love to see your photos of Kiddie Wonderland 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ojy Posted June 21, 2007 Author Share Posted June 21, 2007 I think there are many here that would love to see your photos of Kiddie WonderlandTime to dig out the photo album and do some scanning. I will post some as soon as I can get thim digitized. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ojy Posted August 12, 2009 Author Share Posted August 12, 2009 Hi. the miniature coaster you remember was not at Playland. It was at Kiddy Wonderland where the small pony ride was. My brother ran it for a while. Hope this helps.Kiddie Wonderland had the ponies trained to walk around the paths, but I do not really recall a miniature coaster. They had an airplane ride, a boat pond ride, a car ride, a carousel, a train, and a petting zoo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gto250us Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 Kiddie Wonderland had the ponies trained to walk around the paths, but I do not really recall a miniature coaster. They had an airplane ride, a boat pond ride, a car ride, a carousel, a train, and a petting zoo.Those ponies were great. There was Champ and Ginger. Ginger bit my daughter on the arm one day. She was about 3 or 4 at the time and just came from a doc visit at the Med Center. It was back to the doc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ojy Posted August 12, 2009 Author Share Posted August 12, 2009 Those ponies were great. There was Champ and Ginger. Ginger bit my daughter on the arm one day. She was about 3 or 4 at the time and just came from a doc visit at the Med Center. It was back to the doc.Yeah, the horses were always a bit feisty. My favorite was Tippy. I Loved the shetland ponies because I was smaller at the time and they weren't as scary to me.Haha, I just read through all the old posts and discovered that my sister found me on here. XDStill need to post pics, life keeps taking over. Hopefully I will find the video interview as well. I did find a couple of old newspaper articles about Kiddie Wonderland that I figured I would post.Chronicle Lifestyle piece from September 1986Chronicle piece about polo with a mention I love how the ponies were so well known that they were often referenced like that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna M Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 When you refer to Kiddie Land, are your referring to Kiddie Wonderland on South Main St. on the opposite side of the street from Playland Park? I loved and frequented this little amusement park during the 50's. The ponies all had their names tooled in contrasting leather on the back of their saddles. My favorite was "Calico" and a close second was "Blackie." You could ride like the wind around that track without a seat belt! They also had a carousel and these little pedal cars you mentioned that you propelled with your hands spinning the handles in a circular motion as you chugged down the metal track. You could build up some pretty good speed on those little machines! Seems like I also remember riding in little boats in the water with bells you could ring by tugging on a string. Loved the old white wooden roller coaster at Playland Park, and their Spook House was pretty scary, too! Was the swimming pool with the breathing bubble Gateway Pool on South Main? I used to swim there but never located that "bubble" everyone talked about. I remember Busch Stadium with the Buffalo logo on the front. Prince's for hamburgers and Valian's for pizza! Thanks for the memories! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonhart Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Nice photos and home movie clipsKiddie Wonderland 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamrock1949 Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 I found an pic I took of Kiddie Wonderland in 1986, I think it was in the process of being taken down.... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted May 22, 2021 Share Posted May 22, 2021 Kiddie Wonderland was the amusement park with the pony ride. Not Playland Park. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earlydays Posted May 24, 2021 Share Posted May 24, 2021 On 5/21/2021 at 10:57 PM, Dave W said: Kiddie Wonderland was the amusement park with the pony ride. Not Playland Park. I was referring to the park "at which I got motion sickness once ", not the pony ride park. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted June 17, 2023 Share Posted June 17, 2023 Around the internet, there is some confusion about the opening and operating years of this amusement park. Some articles say Kiddie Wonderland started to operate in the 1930s. However, according to libraries and the website opencorporates, the company was founded in 1946. As a matter of fact, the Texas history library that I read does not have any newspaper/publication articles until the 1950s. I don't see this as being in the 1930s. However, there could have been an unofficial version of Kiddie Wonderland. Maybe a smaller operation, just for the neighborhood? I believe KW was also sold once or twice. There are several incorporation registrations on opencorporates. Most definitely different owners at some point. The internet articles also like to say it was founded by O.D. Drane and his wife Elizabeth Drane. I figured out O.D. stands for Oliver Drane. On opencorporates, there is a listing for Drane Development Company. Kiddie Wonderland Inc Incorporation Date: April 19, 1947 (around 76 years ago) Dissolution Date: December 27, 1950 Company Type: Domestic For-Profit Corporation Jurisdiction: Texas (US)  2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted June 17, 2023 Share Posted June 17, 2023 Or Mr. Drane could have operated it as a sole proprietorship before then. It was rundown and old looking even back in the 50s, hard to believe it was new in 1946. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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