Fiesta Carnival—Yes, the Old Amusement Park in Cubao—Is (Re)Opening Sooner Than You Think

Fiesta Carnical—the amusement park located in the heart of Cubao popular in the ‘70s and ‘80s—is making a return in time for this year’s holiday season. Officials of Araneta City (the busy residential and commercial area that used to be called Araneta Center) first announced the comeback of Fiesta Carnival last August and mentioned the possibility of the reopening happening sometime in October. 

But October is almost over and the amusement park has yet to open. Esquire Philippines reached out to representatives of Araneta City and they said the new target date is in the third week of November 2023.

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According to the source, the new Fiesta Carnival, which is located at the site of the old Shopwise supermarket directly across the Araneta Coliseum, was first conceptualized soon after the devastating fire that hit the old bus terminal within Araneta City in February this year. Following the blaze, the old Shopwise supermarket moved inside Gateway 2 Mall, the brand-new wing of the shopping mall built adjacent to the original beside the Coliseum. It was then that officials of Araneta City decided to bring back the beloved carnival attraction in its old spot vacated by Shopwise.

History of Fiesta Carnival

Fiesta Carnival was an indoor amusement park that first opened its doors in the early 1970s, around the same time that the Araneta family started developing the land in Cubao to turn it into a commercial hub in the middle of what was then the very young Quezon City. Many of the familiar landmarks of the old Araneta Center—New Frontier Theater, Ali Mall, Farmer’s Plaza, and of course, the Coliseum itself—were built in succession throughout the decade.

Fiesta Carnival was a popular attraction for many families in the 70s and 80s

Photo by Facebook / Araneta City .

(Another landmark in the area was COD, which became popular because of its holiday display that featured moving dolls and mannequins every Christmas. But not too many people know that COD actually first opened in Avenida in Manila and only moved to the Cubao area in the mid 1960s).

Fiesta Carnival was special because it was an attraction that was for the whole family. Parents took their kids to check out popular amusement park rides included bumper cars, a merry-go-round, Ferris Wheel, and many others. It also featured carnival games, and of course, kiosks and stalls that served snacks and refreshments.

Generations of kids and families flocked to Fiesta Carnival through the years, until bigger and newer amusement parks opened elsewhere like Enchanted Kingdom and Star City. In the late 1990s, Fiesta Carnival was showing its age until Araneta Center management closed it down in the early 2000s to make way for a supermarket that would later be known as Shopwise.

In 2022, however, Araneta City management opened a smaller version of the once iconic amusement park called Mini Fiesta Carnival. It wasn’t quite as big as the original, but there were enough rides and attractions for people looking to spend a leisurely weekend with their kids. They even tried to revive COD’s Christmas display in the same area. 

Araneta City opened a Mini Fiesta Carnival in 2022

Photo by Araneta City website.

This time, however, Araneta City is going all out in bringing back many of the same elements that made the old amusement park so memorable. Officials said the new version of Fiesta Carnival will have rides such as bumper cars, a Ferris wheel, and go-kart, as well as food stalls.

However, don’t expect the rebirth of Fiesta Carnival to las as long as the old one did. According to officials, the site of the carnival will eventually be turned into a mixed-use development, with residential and office buildings (which is probably more lucrative than an amusement park). So, Fiesta Carnival 2.0 will only be around for about a year and a half before it disappears again into the annals of history.

‘Til then, count us in for a bumper car ride.