Major renovations for Playland entrance at Roeding Park

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Construction crews are busy making a new gateway to Playland.

"We are working right now to do a brand new entrance to Playland I think for years if you went to the zoo and looked across the street you might not even know what Playland was," said Bruce Batti.

Batti is on the Playland-Storyland board of directors. He is hoping the new way in and a new ride will attract more visitors.

"We are bringing at no small expense a teacup ride back to Playland," said Batti.

GENE: Where do you buy a teacup ride?

BATTI: That is a great question, the teacups are made in Italy and they are sold from a guy in New Jersey. I know a guy who knows a guy type scenario.

The teacup ride will cost a quarter of a million dollars. The octopus ride is being repaired and the rest are ready to go.

"All the rides have been inspected every year we brought them up to scale. We keep them running on an annual basis," said Batti.

Playland and Storyland are projects run by the Rotary Club. Much of the labor and materials for the park improvements are donated.

Both parks will be closed this coming weekend, but expect to reopen the following week.