Playland is an amusement park in Roeding Park in Fresno, California. It was built in 1955, and it shares the space on the southwest corner of the park with Storyland, its sister park, and Fresno Chaffee Zoo. For most of its history, Playland and Storyland competed with the Zoo for guests, but after years of poor turnout, and the rise of prominence of the Chaffee Zoo, in 2015, Playland and Storyland underwent a massive overhaul and repair project, and the owner of Playland and Storyland, the Fresno Rotary Clubs, decided to collaborate with the nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that runs the Chaffee Zoo to offer discounts to encourage guests to visit all three parks. History Opening and Competition Playland was opened in 1955, six weeks before Disneyland in Anaheim. Local Rotary Clubs, acting upon a proposal by Dr. Joe Logan, then-president of the North Fresno Rotary, teamed up to raise money and build the park. That first day, 14,000 ride tickets were sold, at 10 cents each, and the construction debt was repaid within three years. Playland was much smaller in scope and size than Disneyland, however, and because it offered a cheaper alternative, it was capable of drawing in above 250,000 guests in its debut season. Playland was built on the southwest corner of Roeding Park, bordered to the west by California State Route 99. At the time, Fresno Chaffee Zoo was small but popular, and building an amusement park was seen as a good way to capitalize on the zoo's popularity and contribute to the city's culture and raise funds for public projects. At the time of opening, Playland offered a merry-go-round, small roller coaster, and a miniature diesel train that travelled around Lake Washington, an artificial pond in which guests could swim in. Seven years later, Storyland was built on the other side of Lake Washington, and the diesel train system was connected with a second station, so passengers could travel between the parks freely. Because the park was owned and operated by the various Fresno Rotary Clubs, profits from the amusement park were planted back into the community by the Rotary Playland board of directors. It was Playland money that, in 1964, bought 50 acres of extra land to help form Woodward Park. More cash went toward the Zoo’s reptile house, a new exhibit for Nosey the elephant (the zoo's first elephant who had previously been held