Kiddieland

Kiddieland (or Kiddieland Park) was a small amusement park which operated at the Alabama State Fairgrounds from 1948 to the mid 1980s.

The park opened the week after Memorial Day in 1948. Special guests that week included Joe Rumore and Happy Wilson's Golden River Boys, as well as the Industrial High School band and Captain J. P. Snyder's trained bears. Ernest Norris of Southern Railways dedicated the park's miniature train

The Birmingham News sponsored a weekly contest during the first summer, inviting kids to send short essays to Miss Ann, who read comic strips over the air on WSGN-AM, describing which character they'd like to bring to the park. The winning boy and girl would be crowned King and Queen of Kiddieland and have their pictures in the newspaper.

The park and each ride within it boasted a neon-lit entrance arch created by Dixie Neon.

After the majority of the original rides were dismantled, the site continued to be used for traveling carnivals, such as Spring Fling and Fall Carnival, which were subsidized by the city of Birmingham.

Rides and attractions

• "Little Southerner" miniature train, a replica of the The Southerner with six streamlined open coaches
• "Kiddie Merry-Go-Round"
• Ferris Wheel
• "Airplane Ride" swings
• "Auto Ride" cars
• "Scrambler"
• "Comet Junior" roller coaster
• "Caterpillar" roller coaster
• Clowns on Tricycles
• Swans and Turtles
• "Auto Scooter" bumper cars
• "The Little Navy U Drive It 'Speed Boats'"
• "Laff in the Dark" dark ride ("pretzel")
• "Laugh Land" funhouse
• "Penny Arcade" and "Shooting Gallery"
• "Kiddieland Zoo" petting zoo
• Bandstand gazebo

References

• "Boy, Oh, Boy! Kiddieland Open! It's Fun, It's Thrillin', It's Super!" (May 1948) Birmingham News - via Birmingham Rewound
• Hollis, Tim (May 2010) "Iconic Entertainment: Kiddieland was a magical attraction for generations of Birmingham children" Birmingham magazine.

External links

• Kiddieland feature on Birmingham Rewound