Always Dream Play Park

It is a small park but the design makes it impossible to see the entire play area from one spot. There are large plants and tables that make keeping an eye on younger kids a little tough.

This park is ok. I think there is a lot of wasted space where instead there could have been more play-​structures. There is only one slide and a long path that leads to this slide. It is very difficult for a parent with 2 or more kids to keep track of the kids playing around here. Really request the authorities to add new play structures and make a more nestled area.

I have read SO much about how wonderful this park is and yes it is good but not amazing at all.
We came here on. Saturday afternoon, wasn’t packed at all…
The water feature isn’t working, which I completely understand because of the drought.
Park is pretty small compared to what the website shows.
I like the fact that the whole park has the foam ground so I’m not as worried if my daughter falls. And the sand box is great.
The park has a really funky smell to it and not much shade.
The park need some good renovations and upgrades.
Every park has its positive and negative… I prefer the Magical Bridge in Palo alto…

I came here in the afternoon, with my 2 year old. It was a little packed, but I like the sand box area and its a great park for toddlers and the younger crowd. Less crowded than the main playgrounds at Lake Elizabeth. I am going back, but this time, earlier in the day :)

This little hidden park is so cute and awesome! One of my son’s favorite little playground in Fremont. There are not many big kids so the park is little kid friendly.
There’s a little sand box, a fee swings, some big cemented balls, and a pretty tall netted coned merry go round. The merry go round is the biggest attraction and all the kids enjoy playing on it.
Parts of the playground is padded so even when the kids fall, their knees are ok.
I highly suggest this park to all little kids.

Love this park! It’s always clean and full of fun friendly families.

Finally found a park that my almost 2 year old son can play at. The foam ground makes me feel better if he runs around and falls. Theres also a sandbox for kids to play in. We brought our own shovel and pail but it seems like there is a small collection that have been left there from other kids. The park is nice and clean with lots of seating area. Theres also a slide that is lower to the ground at the end so when my son slides down he doesn’t just go off the end. Theres also a spinning pyramid however big kids tend to always take over and spin it fast so the smaller kids can fly off or fall. As I parent you just have to regulate on the bigger older kids. However it seems like the parents of the bigger kids had them calm down or slow down for the smaller kids. Theres also two sets of swings. One for infants where you slip the child in and the bigger kid swing with the regular swings with 2 big seat swings. Overall its a nice park and a fun place to take toddlers. Come out and bbq or back a lunch and let your toddlers burn off all that energy before nap time or after!

For parks, this pleasantly surpassed my expectations.
If you think of Lake Elizabeth, the first thing one may think about is all the geese poop. Avoiding geese poop in Lake Elizabeth is like avoiding sand at the beach. It’s nearly impossible. Thinking of wearing those flip flops on a sunny day to Lake Elizabeth? Better think twice before you have wads of geese poop stuck in your toes.
I’ve been to Lake Elizabeth for years for baby showers, children’s birthday parties, and just because. However, this was the first time I’ve been near the Always Dream Play Park, and I can say, it gives me a whole new outlook on having a party at Lake Elizabeth. I mean, where is the geese poop?! Not that I looked hard, but luckily, there was not much in the area. It felt like a nice clean park, and sitting on the grass without worrying about where my hands were sinking into.
The restrooms were super close to the park, and parking was ample in the area. If you’re heading in on a weekend, and looking for a picnic spot, be sure to reserve it ahead of time. It was super crowded with small picnics taking place everywhere. If you’re looking for a large open field to play, this is your spot.
If you’re going to bring your dog make sure to have them all on leash. The dog park is right around the corner, but this area brings in a boat load of dogs, of all sizes. So be weary and keep an eye out for that one off leash dog that happens everywhere.
All in all, definitely the spot to be in Lake Elizabeth. You even get a small canopy cover over your picnic area. And no geese poop? WIN!

There are swings for little ones and big ones as well
Rope one to play and place to sit great place for kids. At this park kids will definitely enjoy and will have fun

I really like this park. It’s a great size for toddlers, but definitely too small for older kids.
One of the biggest issues I have with older kids here is the spinning pyramid. Older kids love to spin this thing as fast as they can, so if younger kids are on it or nearby, it can get very dangerous. So if your little one is as attracted to spinny things as much as mine is, then I don’t recommend staying here for long if there are older kids running about.
There are also swings and a sand pit. My son likes to go down the slide. Another issue I have with this park is you can’t see the entire park in one spot because there are little hills and valleys, so you definitely have to follow your kid around unless you trust them to behave (which they almost never do unsupervised) or allow them to exhibit bad behavior, which sets a bad example for younger kids.
All in all, on a nice day when it isn’t too crowded, this is a great option for toddlers and even crawlers. There are plenty of benches and even tables if you want to have a small picnic and make an afternoon out of it. It looks like they recently renovated the area around the park and added more picnic benches and even some BBQ pits.
Restrooms are kind of a walk away, but there’s plenty of parking and the lot is close to the park.

We love this park. It’s terrific for the little kids who would get overlooked or trampled at the big kid park. There are only two infant swings but the wait is never too long. There are a handful of regular swings, a slide, and a sand lot as well.
It’s part of the larger Central Park and Lake Elizabeth area so there is a ton for the whole family to do. It gets CRAZY busy in the afternoons which can be a good (meet other parents and socialize the kiddos) or a bad (you’ll never get your babe on a swing! EVAR) thing.
Surrounding area is gated off and may be under renovation.

Cute little play structure area for young children. My kids love the water spray mist (but it’s not always on) the small sand area is cute and quaint. It’s close to the parking lot so it’s easy to load and unload.
They’re currently assuming more to this park with more kids picnic areas and playstructures — looking forward to that!

Nice play area with many options for kids to play. My son loves this place and luckily it’s very close to my place.

Fantastic park. I only wish we lived closer so we could frequent more often. I went during non peak hours (an early Sunday morning) and it was just fine. The swings and sand pit are the best part.

Like many of the Unilocalers have said, avoid this park on the busy, peak hours — weekends and afternoons. It’s a little chaotic. We’ve come here twice and although it’s a newer park with padded grounds, hills, a small sandbox, there is only one slide and 2 toddler swings. The slide can get overrun with the bigger kids. My little one loves running around this area, however, she does get bummed out when the swings are constantly preoccupied. I would say this park is great if you can come during the non-​peak hours.

Good park. It has lots of shade, which is a huge plus. There is a sand box (shaded) and a water spout the kids can activate. The park has bathrooms, though they are not located very close to this play area. There is a small hill the kids can climb which has shade and a mister on top.
My only complaint is that there are several ways, such as behind the hill, where your children can get out of sight. This is problematic if you have more than one small child with you.

Great park for toddlers. It has a cushy ground, a section for sandplay. They have two sets of swings, slide, this great big spinny spider web thing that kids can climb. this structure makes me nervous though. Umbrellas offer shade, picnic tables and lots of grass to set up a picnic. Bathrooms are also available, just a little further out. Overall, I enjoy taking my two girls to this park.

Always Dream is a great park for new walkers and toddlers. We stay away during the weekends and late afternoons when it becomes overrun with bigger children, who knock the little ones around. We love to come here early in the morning, and usually have the place mostly to ourselves until around 10 am, when the other moms/​nannies show up with their toddlers.
There is a big, semi-​enclosed sand area, which has running water in the warmer weather. There is a ramp going up to the slide, a tunnel under this ramp, several shaded areas with tables and benches, some big kid swings, chair swings, and baby swings, a hill with a water mister (in warmer weather) at the top, 3 drums for music, 2 twirly/​dizzy things, and a rope-​enclosed merry-​go-​round type thing. There are some small hills and cement balls with texture for exploring. The ground is rubber, cement, and fake grass. Our children really love this park.
Two wishes: One is that I wish it was enclosed. For a space that’s supposed to be designed for small children and children with disabilities, it would allow the parents to relax a bit more if you knew your child couldn’t escape into the close (free) parking lot or big fields. With a 1 and 2 year old, both running, an enclosed area gives me a minute to get one strapped down in the stroller if the other makes a break for it. Also, even though it’s not that big of an area, because of design of the park it’s hard to see all parts of this playground from any given spot making it more difficult to keep an eye on more than one child. My second wish is that the bathrooms are a little closer. They aren’t that far, but again, this park was designed for toddlers and special needs kids, who give you about a 30 second warning that they have to use the bathroom.

Though this park is bit far but still I bring my kid to this park whenever I have chance. Best thing about this park are
— Not too big which makes keeping eyes on kids much easier.
— Shaded areas which protects from Sun and little Showers.
— It has plenty to offer for toddlers from swing/​sandarea/​slides
— Closer to Central Fremont area and library
Now some areas which are not that bad but would have been best
— Restrooms are far from the playing area.
— You will have tough time for finding closer parking during nice sunny day in summer. More kids means little more waiting period for swings.

Here I am in the ‘burbs.
We have hills and green grass and strip malls and chirping birds and FREE parking. I live a mere 2 blocks from BART and there is a family farm across the street from our home. I find that I drive everywhere now, as opposed to walking and taking the bus. A far cry from my idealistic days of SF city living.
Again, here I am in the ‘burbs. I am married with a baby and a cat.
But I don’t mean to imply that any of that is bad, mind you. It actually kind of rocks.
In addition to all of the aforementioned, let me mention that we happen to live 2 big, giant, suburban blocks away from the Always Dream Play Park over at Lake Elizabeth/​Central Park, a lovely new contribution from hometown Olympian, Kristi Yamaguchi’s foundation of the same name.
It’s the perfect walk from our place (we opt for the stroller in lieu of the SUV) and the layout is perfect for babies and toddlers, as well as older kids. The little one and I (and the baby-​nanny) have logged many hours since it’s opening January 2010.
The J-​man cruises around on padded ground, giggles and chats on baby swings, and discovered total confusion over sand on his feet in the sand box. (Fortunately, there’s a nice little fountain we could dangle his feet into to remove the weird new stuff from his little toes.) He’s even had some fun socializing with other cruisers and crawlers.
In addition to the baby stuff, there are bigger swings, a cool merry-​go-​round, and a slide fit for bigger kids.
The only down side that I’ve experienced has been the bigger kids carelessly tromping through the area designated for babies, so beware of leaping grade & middle schoolers, especially on holidays and weekends.
Another downside is random Cheerio’s on the ground. Funny how something so seemingly benign could make a sunny day in the park meltdown city! The J-​man was denied his find of his new fave snack and his newest emotion, the mega-​tantrum, was unleashed.
Ahhh, nothing like a day in the park. :)