West Valley Mall in Tracy.... Where'd the Merry Go Round Go?

West Valley Mall in Tracy opened years ago.

I was one of the silly people waiting outside with child in stroller to be the first in the door to see how the City of Tracy was expanding our shopping experience.

The anchor stores when the mall opened were Target, JC Penny's, Sears and Gottschaulks.

The real attraction for THIS Mother of 5 at the time was the Merry Go Round in the middle of the food court, the FUN Factory and the Children's inside play area.

The Merry Go Round and the Fun Factory were treats my kids earned. Since I had 5 kids at the time ranging in age for 1 - 13 it got expensive. The inside play area with soft sided slides, climby things was a great way for them to blow off energy when it was too cold, hot, rainy outside.

So Imagine my surprise when I got to the Mall today to see the Merry Go Round GONE? SO is the Fun Factory.

Where'd they go? Who takes a Merry Go Round? I guess who ever owns it. Mom's don't bring their kids to the mall to ride the Merry Go Round anymore. It's no longer 75 cents by $3.00 a ride. My kids don't ride the Merry Go Round any more as they are now 14 - 26, but the tradition the memories are abruptly GONE.

The General Growth Management is saying they hope to have a new Merry Go Round in place by spring. We shall see. Perhaps General Growth Properties is trying to change the image and customer base for a more upscale shopping environment. It'll be interesting to see what happens in the next 6 months.

So long FUN, welcome...... sign of the recent depression recession.