Pretend City
add photosWith over 15,000 sq. feet of interactive exhibits and activities, Pretend City brings to life every profession, necessity and daily occurrences of a real city. They can do anything and everything from grocery shopping to banking to visiting the doctor to collecting their pay from the local ATM. And don't forget to visit the fire station, police station, the café and all of the many other exhibits.
Open early for members from 9-10am!
Prices from 10:00 A.M. TO 4:00 P.M. Ages 1-10 - $8, Adults - $11, Military and their family members (with ID) $8
AFTER 4 P.M. Half price! (Park is open until 5 pm)
5 Reviews for Pretend City
27
51 family found this helpful
"My kids didn't even stop to eat!"
Where have you been oh fun, little pretend play place?! I thought about going here last summer but honestly the price turned me off (on the day I went it was $8 per kid age 1 and over and $11 for adults) which adds up when you have four boys, so I never went. My friend had four extra passes so we jumped at the opportunity to go this year.
My boys loved every minute of it! We spent four hours there and the boys didn't even go into each exhibit. It reallly is a city--there was a fire station, police station, dispatch (which you could really call the fire and police), library, sushi shop, post office (with letters and cards you could write on and take to mail in various places in the city), a marina (with build your own boats and wind tubes you could turn to race your boat or you could fish), a dentist office, a doctor's office, a farm (complete with a hatchery and baby chicks), various building construction sites, a dress up stage and lights, kid cars to ride on, grocery store and more! Each place had all of the clothes you needed to dress up in and the appropriate toys to pretend that you really were a sushi chef, a police man or the mail man. When lunch time hit they opened "real" cafe where you could buy snacks, drinks or real lunch but they had tons of tables set up and most people had packed their own lunches! They had lots of healthy optionstoo! Oh, and they also had a fully stocked art room which we spent time in before heading out! I need to weigh my options and see if I'd like to get a family pass!
The only things that I didn't like were when the school classes came it got crowded (but they have it open an extra hour early for members only) AND the parking is atrocious (bring a stroller if you have someone who doesn't like to walk), There is parking right next to it but it is in an industrial park so when that parking is gone you have to walk past three or four businesses and around a building--it is free parking though! If you haven't gone here it's definitely worth a day! Tip: If you go at 4:00PM, admission is half off ($5.50) but my kids would'nt have been happy only spending an hour there. The museum closes at 5:00. Good way to try it out though!
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1 family found this helpful
"This place makes ME want to be a kid again!!"
Wow, Pretend City has it all! Your kid will literally not want to leave this place, as here, HE is the grownup! Complete with "cars" to "stores", a "bank" and "restaurants", he can be anyone he wants to be and go anywhere he wants to go. Whatever vocation he wants to pursue, he can do it now!! As a parent, its hard to not put on the fireman hat and play along:) This is a good, cheap ($11 per child) day out. There is an on site cafe and classes are offered at Pretend City also. Seriously, this is a "must-do" for any So.Cal. family!!!!
'11, '12
1 family found this helpful
"Hands-on fun for the younger set"
My kids (3.5 yo, 1.5 yo) really enjoyed our visit to this little city and had fun grocery shopping, driving around town, cooking at the restaurant, and putting gas into a car, to name a few. The neat thing that they could do was punch their "timecard" around the different areas of town and then "cash in" their "paycheck" at the ATM. Tip: If you go at 4:00PM, admission is half off ($5.50). The museum closes at 5:00.
0 families found this helpful
"Perfect for kids 1-5"
This is a great little town full of imagination. There are tons of dress up spots and stores to run. It's great for kids ages 1-5. I think after that, they may be a little bored with it. Bring a change of clothes with you, because they will get soaked playing in the marina water table.
3 families found this helpful
"A City Just for Kids"
When you walk into Pretend City, you are on a little pretend street, complete with street lamps. And then you realize that this place is literally a whole city just for kids. They have everything a pretend kid could want:
-A grocery store, complete with a checkout area, sandwich bar, and fake ralphs grocery. I was able to purchase a fake frozen panini (only in CA right?!)
-A farm with little chickies you can look at, and trees you can pluck fake apples from, as well as a dirt area where you can garden.
-A construction area with trucks where you can construct your own sewage system with pipes or build a house with the pipes, be creative!
-Little streets where you can ride a car on.
-A stage where you can dress up, dance, and sing.
-A house with a living room, kitchen, two bedrooms and a bathroom where you can pretend away. Complete with supplies like a flat screen TV and books. And of course a rocking chair on the porch.
-A building area, the part of your house that is incomplete where you use your tools to finish it!
-A gas station where you can pump gas into cars.
-A beach with sand and Adirondack chairs for the parents.
-A dispatch station where you can pretend you are feeding calls out to the emergency service people.
-A water area, with boats and spray guns, complete with rain boots and waterproof cover ups.
-A thai restaurant (again, only in LA right?) where you can be a waiter or waitress and serve food to your parents.
-A doctor's office, where you play doctor (the kids of course! lol).
-An art area, where the craft of the day is yours to create and explore.
-And finally, a park in the center of it all where you can run and play and visit your pre-walking sibling in the soft play area.
This place is a dream come true for any kid. It can get crowded and there is also a small eating area. The snack bar sells lunch items, but it's not always open so bring your own food and have some fun!
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