Volunteers work to get Storyland ready for grand reopening

More than 170 people donated their time Saturday at Storyland in Fresno to help renovate the park for its reopening on Labor Day weekend, said Bruce Batti, vice chairman of the Storyland/Playland board.

“What was here, we’re going to bring back to shape,” Batti said.

Batti said there is a tendency to tear things down and rebuild them, but he wants Storyland to feel the same now for adults as it did when they visited as children.

Volunteers, who were adults and children alike, were doing a lot of work to spruce up the park. Much of Storyland got a fresh coat of paint, and there was landscaping being planted throughout.

Besides the visual renovation, Batti said volunteers were working on atmosphere as well.

“We’re going to kill them with guest experience,” Batti said. He compared some of the additions to Disneyland: There will be at least four storybook character mascots walking through the park at all times.

Officials installed additional play areas and have been working on getting the train ready for opening day. Batti said Kopi Sotiropulos, KMPH FOX 26 news anchor, will be running the train for a couple of hours on Saturday. The sound system also is being upgraded.

Since March, almost $500,000 has been raised from donors, local businesses and community members.

Even though the park isn’t normally open at the end of the year, Storyland officials are planning to collaborate with the Fresno Chaffee Zoo and have events on Halloween and Christmas.

Batti said it’s been a big community project to get Storyland up and running again. In addition to the 170 volunteers, workers from Home Depot were on site to help with renovations. “They donated the paint and are helping repair the water feature,” he said.

Storyland has implemented a stronger security system and the city of Fresno has provided security guards, Batti said.

There is a formal press event scheduled on Friday. The Playland area of the park is set to reopen next spring.

This story was originally published August 29, 2015 at 4:26 PM with the headline "Volunteers work to get Storyland ready for grand reopening."