We finally got to go to Irvine Park Railroad last Sunday for the very first time. I was actually worried we’re gonna miss the Easter Eggstravaganza due to weeks of cough and cold that has deterred us from attending any events nor doing any outdoor activities.
There’s a lot of fun things to do inside Irvine Park Railroad and I was literally more excited than my daughter. If you’ve never been to Irvine Park Railroad.. I’m telling you now.. You should go. The place is huge, lush, clean, and just non-stop fun. We went for the Easter Eggstravaganza event and did so many activities. It’s definitely a fun place to Easter Egg Hunt in Orange County, so check it out.
We arrived by noon at the park and there were a lot of cars going in. It took us a good 20 minutes before being able to get pass the 2 lane entrance where you pay for the $5 entrance fee. We got a good parking spot close to all the Easter activities after circling the park for a bit. It didn’t feel crowded though once we were inside the park and doing the Easter activties. Probably coz’ the place is huge so everyone is scattered doing something else.
We ate at the park first before starting any of the Easter activities. They do sell food inside Irvine Park Railroad. One is beside the train station and another beside the bike rental. The line at the food concession wasn’t bad and neither was the cooking time. I got me some yummy grilled cheese. The hubby got hamburger and fries. And the lil one got her hotdog and kept asking us to go ride the train already. Lol.
We settled in at one of the many picnic benches and planned on which activities to do first. It’s mid April and the weather couldn’t be more perfect. There’s a lot of trees at the park so even though it’s sunny, you get a really good shade from the sun. Next time I’m going to bring a picnic blanket and find a good spot at the park.
Irvine Park Railroad is beautiful.. We’re already thinking of having the kids birthday at one of the pavillions there. Hopefully it’s not too hot in the summer. I’m sure everyone will have fun. We’ll do Bbqs, bounce house, train rides. She can go on pony rides with her cousins. Oh I’m already getting excited and it’s not even my birthday. Haha.
Irvine Park Railroad tickets are $5 each or $60 for 15 tickets. You can use them for the egg hunt, carnival games, train ride, egg decorating, and moon bounce. Picture with the bunny is separate for $10. Easter egg hunt is done every hour. After you purchase your Irvine Park Railroad tickets, you can exchange them for a blue band near where the egg hunt is being held. And just get there 5 minutes before your scheduled time. The time slots were getting sold out fast. We got there by 12 and had to book the 2PM, coz 1PM was already sold out.
There’s so many activities you can do at Irvine Park Railroad including Pony rides for $5, paddle boats are $15 for 30 minutes and bike rentals range from $10 for a kids bike to $35 for a double surrey. After we scheduled for our egg hunt time slot. We went to do the pony ride. My daughter loves pony rides. This is different from your typical pony rides that just goes around a circle like a merry-go-round ride. This one you actually get to go around a loop. For $5 you get to circle the loop 3 times. Pretty cheap.
After the pony ride, we took pictures with some picture stands; check out the face painting, cookie decorating & carnival games before the actual egg hunt. My daughter could not contain herself after seeing hundreds of eggs on the ground. It took the kids participating in the egg hunt like 5 seconds and all the eggs were gone. The eggs contained mini Snickers & mini Milky Way chocolates. Each kid is only allowed 8 eggs each. So you can just imagine my daughters face when we tried to lessen her overfilled Easter basket. Lol.
We rode the train after the egg hunt and it went around the park. We were able to scan the park, saw people on bikes and paddle boats. Before you know it, the train ride was done and we went for a short walk to get to the paddle boat rental. The 30 minutes paddle boat ride gave my husband a workout while I enjoyed the breeze and the view on the side with our baby. It was very relaxing.
We did so many activities at Irvine Park Railroad, yet we still weren’t able to do everything. I so look forward to trying the Hay Ride in the Fall when they have their Pumpkin Patch as well as to rent a double surrey bike. That is if we can wait til Fall. I wanna go back already.
If you haven’t gone, I invite you to visit Irvine Park Railroad. Well more like I insist coz’ it’s really a lot of fun. There’s also Orange County Zoo inside the park which we have yet to check out. Next time we’ll go early so we can do more acitvities. I really LOVE the place and I can’t wait to go back.
The Irvine Park Railroad Easter Eggstravaganza will only run til this weekend, April 19..Easter Sunday.
