The Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round, where Walt Disney dreamed up Disneyland, is getting a full restoration. Los Angeles hopes to have it spinning again by the 2028 Olympics.
The merry-go-round where Walt Disney dreamed up Disneyland is finally getting some love.
Los Angeles has started restoring the Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round, and the city’s goal is to have it fully restored and running again by the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, ABC7 reported Friday, Oct. 30.
“It really is a jewel box in the middle of the city,” Tracy James of the city’s Recreation and Parks department told ABC7. She’s leading the effort.
It won’t be cheap. ABC7 put the cost at an estimated $5 million. James told the Los Angeles Times earlier this month she expects it to top $3 million to $4 million, with a full assessment coming soon.
Here’s a ride on the carousel from Attractions Magazine, filmed before it closed:
Why did the Griffith Park carousel close?
A mix of bad luck and paperwork. The carousel closed in March 2020 for COVID-19, reopened in May 2021, then closed again in May 2022 “because of needed repairs and uncertainty over ownership,” according to a city report.
Longtime operator Julio Gosdinski died suddenly in August 2020, and his estate ended up in probate court, Friends of Griffith Park and the LA Times reported.
In August 2025, the city’s parks board approved buying the carousel and its parts for no more than $1 million, so it would stay in Griffith Park. The sellers had higher offers but wanted the ride to stay put, the LA Times reported.
“It’s going to need a complete restoration and that restoration is going to be extremely costly,” James told ABC7. Asked about raising money from the public, she said, “There’s no way to do it without it.”
Friends of Griffith Park is handling fundraising.
How is Disney connected to the Griffith Park carousel?
This is where Disneyland started, in a way. Walt Disney used to take his daughters to Griffith Park to ride the carousel. The Walt Disney Family Museum says Walt would spend “Daddy’s Day” with his girls, “including a regular trip to Griffith Park to ride the carousel.”
While they rode, he sat on a bench and daydreamed about a place where parents and kids could have fun together. That idea became Disneyland.
You can see that bench today, sort of. The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco displays a Griffith Park bench that visitors can sit on. Disneyland has one in the Main Street Opera House, with a plaque calling it the bench “where Walt Disney first dreamed of Disneyland.”
When Disneyland built King Arthur Carrousel, Walt had it changed to closely match the Griffith Park ride, with every horse made a jumper, the LA Times reported.
Are Disney Imagineers helping restore it?
Yes, on their own time. Walt Disney Imagineering employees Kurt Sawitskas, Troy Leverton and Pim Renting are volunteering, unpaid, the LA Times reported. It isn’t a Disney company project.
“There’s obviously a connection with Walt Disney and what we do,” Leverton told the LA Times.
Sawitskas was blunt about the work ahead. “Honestly, I don’t think carousels were ever intended to last 100 years,” he said. “There’s no way to just keep painting over this and hiding the problem.”
How old is the Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round?
It turned 100 this year. Spillman Engineering built it in 1926, and it started out in San Diego before moving to Griffith Park in 1937, when a ride cost a nickel.
It originally had 68 hand-carved horses. Sixty-six are there today, and one is at Disneyland, the LA Times reported. The horses ride four abreast, and all of them jump.
“It’s an extremely rare carousel. Many carousels are not four abreast like these are,” James told ABC7.
The ride also has a Stinson 165 Military Band Organ, and the city named it Historic-Cultural Monument No. 942 in 2009.
When will the Griffith Park carousel reopen?
There’s no date yet. The city’s target is the 2028 Olympics, and the LA Times says the work will take at least two years. The city plans to find a company to run and maintain it once it’s done, and restorers want to add modern controls and better accessibility.
In the meantime, the doors have been open on some days. “I just saw the doors open and the lights on, and I had to come take a look,” visitor Melissa Merriweather-Webb told ABC7.
Article compiled and written by Kambrea Pratt (editor-in-chief), Derek Gibbs (beat editor) and the Pirates & Princesses newsroom. Pirates & Princesses is part of WebReef Media.
Pirates and Princesses is your destination for Disney news, theme park updates, and the pop culture you love. From Disney cruises and travel tips to Disney fashion, food, collectibles, and movie news, PNP covers it all. Visit us at piratesandprincesses.net for daily coverage. Follow PNP on Facebook and Instagram, and listen to the Pirates & Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
Hat Tips:
ABC7 Los Angeles (Oct. 30, 2026), the restoration, cost estimate and quotes
Los Angeles Times (Oct. 18, 2026, and Sept. 7, 2025), the Imagineers, history and city purchase
Los Angeles Recreation and Parks (Aug. 21, 2025), the board report
Walt Disney Family Museum, Walt’s carousel trips and the bench
Friends of Griffith Park, the operator’s estate and fundraising
Attractions Magazine on YouTube, the carousel ride
AI Disclosure: All articles are assigned, edited and reviewed by an experienced human editor before posting. Like most modern newsrooms, WebReef Media uses a variety of AI tools to help with accuracy and efficiency. Ways AI may be used in article creation include research, grammar, fact-checking and ideation, as well as occasional AI generated or enhanced thumbnails or graphics. No articles are generated or posted without human oversight or involvement.