3.5 stars Another…read moretourist trap The young one loved it and was the most favorite part of irvine regional park--kids having a fun time is what matters most. BEWARE -- when the pony pees, it is a strong and long stream that bounces high off the ground and onto your child...WITHOUT WARNING. So have your child stay several feet away from the rear of a pony , unless your child wants a face splash. Otherwise the young one loved the pony ride which lasted 3-4 minutes (2 laps). Kids can choose between a slow walk to a trot on the pony....usually older kids would choose the trot and younger ones would like to ride on a walking pony. It is nice to experience once but We would not go again.

I would not recommend the pony rides at Irvine Regional Park after our experience…read more We went toward the end of the day and waited in line for about an hour with our young daughter. While we were waiting, an attendant told us we needed a ticket. Someone who was leaving the line sold us their unused ticket, so we thought we were good to go. After waiting all that time, when we finally reached the front, the employee suddenly told us our daughter couldn't ride because we also needed to complete a waiver. Nobody had mentioned a waiver during the entire hour we were standing there, including when the attendant specifically told us what we needed. Because it was already toward the end of the day, their failure to tell us about the waiver essentially wasted our entire opportunity for our daughter to ride. Instead of acknowledging the miscommunication, the employee became argumentative and accused my postpartum wife of yelling at her, which she was not. We asked to speak with the owner, expecting him to handle it professionally. He was even more rude and dismissive and threatened to call a park ranger over what should have been a very simple customer-service issue. We weren't asking for special treatment. We waited an hour and followed the instructions their own employee gave us. The staff handled the situation poorly, and the owner's behavior made it considerably worse. Very disappointing experience, especially with a young child who had waited that long to ride. We won't be returning.

The OC Marathon is truly one of the most fun weekends of the year! There's so much community…read moreinvolvement, positive energy, and support throughout the entire weekend. Gary, the race director, is an amazing human being who puts so much time and effort into making this one of the best races in Southern California. I'm lucky enough to get to participate in both Kids Run the OC, an awesome one-mile running event for kids, and the OC Half Marathon myself. Whether you're just starting your running journey or you're an experienced runner, I highly recommend signing up. The weekend is filled with fun, encouragement, and beautiful courses through some of the best parts of Orange County. With options including the 5K, half marathon, and full marathon, there's truly something for everyone!

05.03.2026 I ran this event about 5 years ago. But this time…read moreI am a spectator cheering on our peers at mile 12 for a half marathon. I had such a pleasant time cheering on all the runners. There was alot of police presence directing traffic. I parked about 1 mile away from my meet up. This marathon is awesome! Lots of people with a great running scenery. Definitely a great run for all the participants. I recommend this marathon event. It ended at the OC Fair. Lots of restaurants nearby. Traffic is a given. Every marathon has it. Kudos to this OC run! As a runner and spectator it was definitely a memorable experience. Good crowd control and great ambiance.

Running through the OC Fair instead of having a deep fried Oreo? Yes, please! Most fun 5k ever…read more.. 5 stars!!!!! What makes the OC Fair 5k Fun Run true to its name is the 5k course with its fun detours along the way! Yes, you probably will not set a new PR for a 5k if you're doing the fun detours, but the run will definitely be not as fun without them. Although for some, running through the actual fair grounds may be fun enough! Kudos to the race organizers for making most of the course take place inside the OC fair grounds. For 2019, the fun detours involved shooting a basketball, breaking a plate, shooting a ping pong ball in cup, and going on the actual stage of the Pacific Amphitheater. So excited that my aim was just right, and I broke a plate! Not a just a 5k medal gets added to my medal collection, but also a pretty cool donut pineapple plush!!! The fun run takes place at 8 am on a Sunday, and since the fair is not yet open to the public, there's free parking for 5k runners. Race bib and t-shirt pickup is also available on race morning, which is a big plus! There was a water station available in the middle of the course, and bottled water, snacks, and fruit were given out at the finish line. It was my very first OC Fair 5k Fun Run, and I found it well organized with lots of friendly volunteers and staff. A major bonus of the fun run is being able to see the animals and plants in the Centennial Farm area after the race. Centennial Farm is directly adjacent to the finish line area. Although, I'm not too sure if there will be access available next year or in future years. The Centennial Farm staff were happily greeting runners in the area while OC Fair security officers were making announcements that the fair is not yet open and that runners cannot be in the area. Luckily, the Centennial Farm staff won the disagreement/miscommunication while we there! Definitely cool to see the animals and plants without huge crowds. The highlights were getting to see the newly born piglets and calves, taking a selfie with a friendly cow, as well as getting a brilliant idea for an old and nonworking wheelbarrow! Having done a number of 10ks, half marathons, and a couple of full marathons, I have stated to friends and family that I can't see myself ever paying for a 5k again because it's just too short of a distance. The OC Fair 5k Fun Run has changed my mind.

This is my favorite 5k that I look forward to every summer in August…read more My early memories are of running through bbq smoke (but not in current years) and the smell of farm animals (every year). The course starts out in the parking lot and makes its way inside the fair for a good distance before ending back at the main gate area. If you're running this race straight through without stopping for the Detours of Fun, you're just not a fun person. These are optional stops at a couple of carnival games where you might win a stuffed toy. The Euro Slide was once a fun detour but now taken off course *sad face*. The last of these detours is the Pacific Amphitheater where you can get your photo taken on stage. It will be posted to download for free but you have to sift through the photos to find on your own. After the run, I usually stay at the fair for the day but there is some wait time before the fair officially opens. What's included: - bib pickup and free parking on event day - in 2019, a tech shirt (moisture wicking fabric) - finisher's medal You also get a ticket to come back to the fair but not many days remain before the fair is over. Since I've participated every year since they started, I have to say I miss how there used to be two 5k's, one on the opening weekend and one at the closing weekend of the fair which came with a Super Pass (season pass for the duration of the fair).

Spent way too long trying different options to get the cyber Monday deal to work. Frustrating…read more Emailed them 3 days ago about and no response. God forbid you buy and have issues. No cs.

I was a DIRTY DIRTY girl today! I also learned what a Dirty Sanchez is (thanks to the large team…read morename in front of our group), then I proceeded to strip down to my birthday suit in the parking lot and get my ass rinsed out - so all in all today was quite an interesting day to say the least. Spring Break at the Lake was crazy! My first and I think I went about it as well as a virgin mud runner could, being the prissy beeotch that I am on occasion - I was a bit scared to totally trash my legs crawling on my knees over the rocks so I did my best to not come out bruised and bleeding - I wore shorts and the scrapes are very minimal but I can see how you can really get severely wrecked on the course and obstacles if you are going balls to the wall out there. I wore a bikini under my shorts and tank and my vibrams which proved to be a pretty solid choice. The mud pits were insane fun but nerve wrecking to me at the same time - having never experienced a mud run I am SO lucky Rich J. was there to hold my hand through almost every single pit - with drop offs in the pits, I was terrified each time we were in one (I guess I didn't want to encounter any injury that would prevent me from my real running and workouts) but at the same time it was an unforgettable fun experience. The polar plunge was crazy freezing - this way out did any ice bath I've ever taken in life - holy shit!!!!! I can't wait to see the pictures as there was no way in hell I was able to get any - I'm pretty sure the Go Pro cams hold up well out here but we didn't have ours with us today and everything else was checked in with bag check (which was well organized) - thank god! We had been there since 9A since the group packets I had paid to be mailed to us never arrived and we had to deal with same day pick up. Timed Teams in the 10A wave seemed to take forever to start - we were 10-30 which didn't start until after 11A. I'm not sure if the goal was to start in waves each minute of the hour but it didn't go off that smoothly and everyone was pushed back a bunch. The finisher medals are pretty sweet! Parking was $10 cash Customer service ended up proving to be completely useless and downright rude in the end when I reached out to them Tuesday before the race to ask why we had never received the shipment I paid to be mailed to our group. Not cool! I wouldn't necessarily recommend this exact mud run due to some of the organizational issues but I'm pretty certain I'd be up for another mud run in the future.

Such a beautifully maintained Park Recreation Area definitely because it is maintained and operated…read morein the ordinance of Orange County very clean very open lots of variety of activities including a separate camping area come here for the day or stay overnight for the camping this place is so large that you might even get lost

This review is for the Scout O Rama event on 11-8-2025 held here and we had a good time, with no…read moreexpectations going in. Kids were able to enjoy some booths with obstacle course, ax throwing, ninja star throwing, play guns, etc. We even went inside the Lucy Lou mine to mine for coal, and explored the archery and BB gun area. Big sprawling area and lots of cabins on site too. Free parking for the event at Santiago Canyon College, as the Outdoor Center is actually located inside the Irvine Regional Park.

I was worried exiting the freeway at 7:00 am, the parking lot looked crowded and the exit ramp had…read morea long line. I still had to pick up my race bib for the 8:00 start. No worries though. Nice race t-shirts, lots of people. Fun race I did better than I expected, I wasn't able to train the last couple of weeks. The course goes through a bubble zone and inside the stadium concourse then onto the field! Water and fruit are at the finish line and lots of game booths! Very nice race!

2021 was the 2nd time to do this one for me. I think they…read morejust held it virtually last year due to covid. The participation was smaller than in the past, and so it was easy to distance ourselves during the run. It was around the time when things just started opening up again. We did it with a group of 4, with one of the group having finished chemo so we just walked it. After running dozens of 5ks to marathons and always with an eye on my personal time, I wasn't so sure about walking it but of course it had special meaning. Walking it is fine as the participants range from serious to walkers. This year, instead of finishing around the warning track in the outfield, we ran right by the dugouts so it was great. All the volunteers were friendly and it was nice going into the entrance of Angels stadium to use the restrooms and check out the team store before and after the run. The tech shirts were nice this year. We'll be back!

I brought my son here for a play date. Right away I could tell the place was organized and clean…read more Checking in was very easy and the employee was friendly. My son absolutely loved the water play area. He spent the majority of the time playing with the bubble water. I absolutely recommend for littles!

Came here for the first time with my 6 and 8yo boys. I feel like the sweet spot for this place is…read more4-6yo. As others have commented, it is a small space. The tiny foyer has cubbies for shoes, but no bench to sit on to take on/off shoes. There isn't much seating for the parents/caregivers and the blue and red fuzzy paper-clip-looking benches aren't comfortable at all. The place looked and felt clean. The boys enjoyed the water area the most and the climbing web. There's a giant inflatable gummy bear near the climbing web, which takes up a good amount of space but the kids aren't really able to play with it so not sure why it's there. It's good to check out at least once or if your kiddos are younger, good for repeat visits.

I have mixed feelings about this race. I mean, I felt they cut back this year because:…read more1) You don't really see any characters along the race 2) Fees for the race are high as usual 3) Goody box and goodie bag is nothing beyond ordinary. That said, it's still Disney and they do a good job controlling the crowds. The medal for the 10K and the Half and of course the Pixie challenge is pretty awesome, just not $300+ awesome. You get a two tech tees and a bright yellow shirt if you do all three. The route is okay, you get about little over 2 miles of Disney and enough of the outside area. As for volunteers this year, Disney hired people from temp agencies because volunteers were no shows on previous years and spectrum sports (SS) were running the race. So I would focus your attention with SS in terms of race related issues (if you have one) rather than Disney. This race really should be cheaper for So. Cal Residents, just my two cents.

Of all the Disney races I've done, this one was just ok. It's well organized for sure. The…read moreRunDisney expo was the usual cluster it usually is, but at least it was open until 8 pm on Thursday and Friday. The 5K was held on Friday morning, the 10K held on Saturday, and the half was on Sunday. The route is different from the Disneyland 10K that I've done before. The photo ops were with all the fairies other than Tinkerbell which was a tad disappointing. I'm not sure if she came out at a different time but I didn't see her. It didn't matter because a lot of the runners dressed up as fairies or other Disney characters. I saw Hook, Peter Pan, Wendy, Aladdin, Belle, and Hades running on the course. The finisher's expo was disappointing in that they only offered Powerade, Dasani water, and bananas. That's it. Usually, there are food boxes stuffed with a Cliff bar, Craisins (another sponsor), crackers, cheese, and other goodies. This time around, nothing but bananas. I'm not sure if the boxes were misplaced, stolen, or what but for as much money as we pay to run these races, the least they could do for us at the end is to give us more food. The finishers' medal was cool though. It has all the fairies from Pixie Hollow on it surrounding the words Tinkerbell 10K along with the date. Now with more RunDisney races being offered throughout the year (Star Wars, Tinkerbell, Disneyland, Avengers) in California, I'll probably run the other ones before considering signing up for this one again.