Dispensa's Kiddie Kingdom & Castle of Toys was a combination toy store and kiddie amusement park in the Chicago suburb of Elmhurst, Illinois. It was located at the intersection of Routes 83 and 38 (Roosevelt Road) which is in the suburb of Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois.
The Dispensa family operated a portable carnival business in the Chicago western suburbs before settling down to open a toy store, "Dispensa's Castle of Toys" in 1967. The kiddie amusement park, "Kiddie Kingdom," followed in 1975 when the Dispensa family opened a small amusement area next to the toy store when they decided to retire from the mobile carnival business.
They set up many of the carnival rides and offered family fun at a low cost. In the beginning, the tickets cost 6-rides for $1.
The Kiddie Kingdom featured scaled-down rides designed for children under 12 years old. "Kiddie Parks" were a new innovation during the baby-boom years of the 1950s and 1960s, and remained popular well into the 1970s. Kiddie Kingdom had, among other rides, an antique German carousel and a miniature train that circled the five-acre grounds.
The park was in operation until 1984 when along with Dispensa's Castle of Toys, they sold the land. There were no family members interested in taking over the businesses and the offer was quite good. At that time, the property was sold and the rides and attractions were auctioned off by Norton Auctioneers of Michigan Inc.
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The property was developed by the firm of Miglin-Beitler, and is now the home of the Oakbrook Terrace Tower. The only thing remaining from the Dispensa empire is a street leading to the Oakbrook Terrace Tower, which the developers kindly named "Castle Drive."
ADDITIONAL READING: Complete History of the Dispensa Carnivals, Castle of Toys and Kiddie Kingdom.
