A top amusement park in California announces it’s shutting down after 50 years

Fiesta Village Family Fun Park, the beloved amusement park near San Bernardino, is closing for good later this week after more than five decades.

The Colton, California, park’s final public operating days will be July 10 and 11 before it closes to the public. A private event is scheduled for July 12, with a few additional private bookings to follow, after which the park will permanently cease operations, owners Michelle and Patrick O’Brien told SFGATE. Nickelodeon Pizza, an independently operated restaurant on the property, will remain open.

The O’Briens said rising operating costs and declining attendance, driven by tighter consumer spending amid the rising cost of living, led to the park’s closure.

“The economics of the amusement park industry and what we’re doing have changed dramatically,” Michelle O’Brien told the outlet. “We’ve just reached a point where continuing simply wasn’t sustainable.”

“We used to do 22 [birthday parties] on a Saturday, and now we do nine,” Patrick O’Brien told SFGATE.

“Company picnics were a big part of our revenue, and when things get difficult, they’re not coming out,” Michelle O’Brien added. “School visits have gone down. Schools are doing different things. There’s a lot of things that have contributed.”

Fiesta Village opened in 1974 and was purchased by Michelle and Patrick O’Brien in 2002. The couple expanded the park with amusement rides, laser tag and a roller skating rink, while preserving longtime attractions like mini golf, go-karts, waterslides and batting cages, SFGATE reports.

“The waterslides were the first in California,” Michelle O’Brien told the outlet. “The batting cages were the largest — are still the largest — and were the first in California … We claim they’re the largest in the world because that’s what was shared with us when we took over.”

The closure is especially emotional for longtime employees, the O’Briens said, many of whom have worked at the park for more than a decade. Before announcing the shutdown, staff members gathered for a farewell celebration and created a time capsule filled with photographs, memorabilia and personal messages. The capsule was buried in a secret location somewhere on the property as a lasting tribute to the park’s history.

“We wanted our team to know how much we’ve appreciated them and the way they’re walking through this,” Michelle O’Brien said told SFGATE.

The closure has sparked an outpouring of nostalgia online, with former guests sharing childhood memories and mourning the loss of the independent amusement park, the owners said. Many also hope its signs and memorabilia will be preserved.

“We’re going to do what we can,” Michelle O’Brien said about the inquiries. “We think if Fiesta can live on in other people’s homes and hearts, then we will do everything we can to make that happen.”