FantasyLand, Seekonk

About this Property

#Last Tenant

This property was originally built in 1973 and 1974 as an ice skating rink. A December 1973 story in the Providence Journal about the new complex started this way:

Ever since Bobby Orr burst onto the scene a half-dozen years ago, ice skating rinks have been sprouting like dandelions in the spring around these parts.

Its hard to imagine that a costly sports facility was “in fashion,” but that seems to be the case. The article goes on to say how this state of the art facility included a 140 by 240 foot skating rink, a warming area for skating patrons that featured a 16-foot wide fireplace, and indoor and outdoor tennis courts. The project was the brainchild of Dr. Antone Oliveira and was an investment of $750,000 at the time.

Alas, the fad must have passed because by 1980, the ice skating rink turned into a roller skating rink called “Star Wheels,” capitalizing on the Star Wars and the post-Disco roller skating trend. In May of 1980, Star Wheels promised “The Roller Rink of the Future is Here Now” — “Fantastic Lights, Sound and Action Every Skater Becomes a STAR during our Celestial STAR WHEELS LIGHT SHOW.”

Star Wheels was doing well, and by May of 1990, the owner Ralph Zanfagna and Robert M. Andreoli opened the 36 hole mini-golf course next door to Star Wheels and called it FantasyLand Golf. Zanfagna was vice president and CEO of Recreation Investments, Inc., in Cranston which owned and operated FantasyLand Golf, Star Wheels, and Seekonk Bowling Lanes.¹

They decided to build the course after seeing a similar one in Florida. Their primary motivation was to even out cash flow as revenues from the skating rink and bowling alley fall off during the summer. Castle Park Inc. of Mesa, Ariz., designed and built the course on a field they had owned for years. Andreoli personally financed the $1.2 million cost, Zanfagna says, adding that banks were lukewarm to an “unknown product.” He expected to break even in three to five years.²

In December 1991, it was announced that the “old Star Wheels roller skating rink will reopen in the spring with such features as batting cages and bumper cars, and a host of video games designed to please a young audience.” Zanfagna was starting to convert the old roller rink and diversify the indoor space because “roller rinks have seen better days.”³ According to Jason Allard’s video below, the Star Wheels name was retired and the building became part of FantasyLand at a grand reopening in June of 1993.

FantasyLand continued to have a good run for the next 25+ years. It offered indoor rides for kids, bumper cars, video games, skee ball, air hockey, food and some animatronic entertainment, as well as the outdoor mini-golf. The mini-golf was elaborate. Players would choose one of two 18-hole courses that twisted and turned around large water features and mini architecture creations like a lighthouse, old mill with water wheel, and a castle.

When the pandemic lockdown of 2020 came, however, there was nothing that an enclosed space like FantasyLand could do to remain open and profitable. They could not pay the mortgage or their workers, and no amount of federal support could keep them viable. They closed their doors and auctioned off all of the games and amusements inside by August of 2021.

Videos

Jason Allard once again put together a great video with images and press clippings culled from the internet for a fantastic overview of the history of this place and the spot it held in many a kid’s heart.

And then watch — if you dare — this video of the animatronics music show. If you have memories to share, there is a somewhat dormant Facebook group as well. (Only three members?)

#Current Events

The building and mini-golf course have been abandoned for five years and are looking for a new owner. While all the amusements are gone, the open interior space is available for warehouse-like applications.

#In the News

Fantasyland in Seekonk, closed for good, auctions rides and games

by R.J. Heim
NBC Ten News | August 18, 2021

Everything inside the Fantasyland Entertainment Center in Seekonk is on the virtual auction block right now.

The pandemic was the last straw.

If you’re the highest bidder for each item separately in the virtual online auction, you can have an iconic piece of Seekonk’s Fantasyland. From bumper cars to laser tag, to rides, games, pinball machines, carousel centerpieces, even the Fantasy Ferris Wheel.

Owner Antone Oliveira reminisces about the better days by saying, “Lots of groups that have come in over the years, 100, 200 at a time, filter out into that large building. It’s just great to see people get in there and have a great time.”

Decades in operation, it was a tough decision to make to close the doors for good, for the former dentist that made people’s smiles brighter, that he took to the next level, making kids happy by opening Fantasyland.

“Disappointing because it was something I liked to do,” said Oliveira.

No one saw the pandemic coming when he invested tens of thousands of dollars in the latest games a few years back.

“We were mandated to close. Keeping the building going, we just couldn’t afford it. The mortgage plus all the other rates going up, the taxes, and Massachusetts mandates, we just could not cope with it,” he said.

That’s not all. He’s 86 now, lost his wife to cancer this past spring, and federal grants helped keep the business afloat, but the numbers didn’t add up.

He’s keeping the mini-golf in operation, but after all the stuff is auctioned off inside Fantasyland, the 16 acres of commercial property are up for sale.

Oliveira sold his house; the car is next. He bought an RV and will be heading to be closer to his adult children in Florida soon, a hopefully happier chapter in the life of a man that brought countless others good times in their lives.

“Life goes on, and you have to make the necessary adjustments. I’m optimistic about the future,” said Oliveira.

— Heim, R.J. “Fantasyland in Seekonk, closed for good, auctions rides and games.” NBC Channel 10 News WJAR, 18 August 2021. Accessed 26 July 2025.