Goofy's Playhouse

Today we are visiting Goofy's Playhouse. 

Last summer we spent a great deal of our time over in Disney California Adventure keeping cool in the splash area that was once Bountiful Valley Farms. When that area closed, I will admit I was a little sad because it brought so much joy to my little guy. He loved running around in the open with other kids, and he loved getting wet. Am I still sad? Nope, not at all. I'm pretty excited for Carsland, so the closure of Bountiful Valley Farms is for a good reason. Once Bountiful Valley Farms closed though, I was on a lookout for something at the park that brought as much joy to him as the water area did. Sure they have Princess Dots Puddle Park in A Bug's Land, but the water over there is more like a drip compared to the water feature that was once in Bountiful Valley Farm. 

When Mickey's Toontown opened I was in High School. Goofy's Playhouse was a bounce house, and I was too old to go inside. I never really got to experience that part of the park, and I remember wanting to go inside and jump up and down really bad. 

Fast forward to today, I never really paid attention to Goofy's Playhouse because I figured my son wasn't old enough for it. Wrong. 

In September of last year right after Bountiful Valley Farm closed, I took a closer look and was surprised  at what I found. It's basically a themed playground for kids! I parked our stroller, and together the little guy and I explored. The excitement of running around with a bunch of kids was back in his eyes. We found our new spot to play. 

Crates are set up all over to create steps to a slide and to act as crawl tunnels.

There is a giant watermelon and pumpkin to crawl inside. 

More crates to sit on.

Let's go inside.

For those of you who love taking photos of your kids around the park like I do, this is a great place to do it. There is a couch, a chair, and a piano that make for great photo spots. 

Goofy's armoire has doors that slide back and forth to reveal different items, and there are spinners on the left to create a look with Goofy's clothes. Older kids may find this kind of boring, but for a two year old it's something fun to play with.... endless fun let me reassure you. 

Some of the details inside.

Silly Scales in G Goofy.

The keys on this piano work, and when you have two toddlers playing at once it's actually pretty "goofy" sounding. 

Two different angles of the same clothesline.

Back outside there are lots of details all around. 

The pumpkin in the middle is a tribute to Jack Lindquist.

Outside around the backside has some great detailing too. 

Closeup details of the front side. 

The front door is a little misleading, and actually does not function as a way to enter. You must enter through the garden/ play area to go inside Goofy's house. 

Recently we have been spotting Goofy pretty regularly standing out front of his house for meet and greets. 

Goofy's Playhouse is geared toward 2-5 year olds. My little one has been happily playing here since he was 18 months old. There are benches all around for parents to use if they want. 

The outdoor area has covers and trees for shade. 

This area can get a little crowded just like any place at the park,  but it is a great place to take a break and let your little one run around freely in an enclosed area. 

Pioneer Road Park

I'm always trying to find new things to do with my son. Right now he is really into playing with water. He has one of those water tables you can find at any Target or Toys R Us that you fill with water and they splash around in, and we visit Disney California Adventure at least once a week to play in the splash area over in A Bug's Land. The other night I was browsing through Yelp.com, and I typed in water park. Pioneer Road Park in Tustin came up, and I decided to take a look since it's not too far from where we live. There were no pictures, but the reviews that were on there said that the park had a water area that is free. Okay, water and free? This I had to check out. 

So we headed over on  Monday afternoon to not only find a splash area, but also a really neat and unique park. 

This place is right down the street from Peter's Canyon, a place I have been to many times. How did I not know about this park? 

The parking lot is quite small, but there is an upper lot with a short climb down stairs to the back side of the park. 

Right away you walk through this arch with a silhouette of a riding cowboy, and are instantly greeted with three chuck wagons. Each wagon is made to climb and play on with different aspects to it. At first glance they look the same, but they are not because there is a different activity on each one. Only one has a slide attached to it. 

Then off to the left is a separate play area with your typical park playground. I do think that maybe the slide is longer than most parks though. My son is too young for the really big slides, so we skipped it, but part of me did wish I could go down it. It just looked like fun.

Then around the corner you will find a small basketball court, which is really just a half court. This is where you can find the water area. A little path along the court takes you right to the water. 

The water area is really simple, yet lots of fun. 

There are three stick horse fountains that shoot out water, that you can move and aim at your friends or foes. My son, who is 17 months old,  was too short to actually move them around, so this part is geared towards older kids. 

Then there are little fountains all over that shoot water up into the air, some higher than others, and water shooting out the side of the wall. Here is the thing that is kind of neat, they don't all go off at once. It's a nice way to conserve water, but still have a working water park.  So one minute you are shooting water from the stick horse, then that goes off, and you move to the water coming from the wall. 

My son had fun running to each area, and if your children are old enough to walk around then they will do just fine exploring.

Even though he isn't old enough to play with everything, this is a nice little hidden park that we will be visiting many more times in the future. 

Pioneer Road Park is located at:

10250 Pioneer Rd
Tustin, CA 92782