Welcome to On Location, a weekly feature spotlighting landmarks and establishments seen on screen that viewers can visit IRL. Whether you’re seeking a fun selfie, breathtaking vistas, or maybe a show-accurate treat, follow along for some bucket list destinations.
ABC’s The Good Doctor ran from 2017 to 2024 for a total of 126 episodes over seven seasons. The titular character, Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore), a surgeon with autism, grows over the series from an atypical resident physician fighting the public perception of his neurodiversity to a respected and successful medical practitioner. His mentor and father figure, Dr. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff), is a key part of his success. Their relationship is the heart of the show.
In The Good Doctor‘s series finale, Season 7 Episode 10, “Goodbye,” that relationship comes to an emotional end as Dr. Murphy must come to terms with the return of Dr. Glassman’s cancer. As part of their co-acceptance of the situation, they ride the carousel Dr. Glassman used to ride with his daughter, Maddie, who died a few years before he met and connected with Shaun.
The C.W. Parker #119 Carousel on The Good Doctor
As the finale drew to its close, the carousel became the unifying element as they flashed forward through time. Shaun rode it alone after Dr. Glassman passed. He rides it with his toddler son and pregnant wife, Lea (Paige Spara), a year or two later. And then, presumably several years after that, they ride it with a daughter they named Maddie.
The Parker #119
The C.W. Parker Carousel used in the finale of The Good Doctor was the 119th carousel built by the C.W. Parker amusement company in Leavenworth, Kansas. As such, it’s known as the Parker #119. Built in 1912 and bought in 1913, it traveled with the Lone Star Circus in Texas until 1915. It was rebuilt and resold over the next 20 years until it arrived in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
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From 1936 to 1989, the C.W. Parker #119 Carousel existed as an attraction at various amusement parks. First, it was Happyland, which became Playland in 1957. The carousel’s pavilion was torn down in 1972, and after that, it became a seasonal ride, packed up every winter and set up outdoors in the summer.
The outdoor elements wore down the colors and details of the ride, its ridership declining as the carousel showed its age. In 1989, the carousel was doomed to be auctioned off, horse by horse. However, a group of residents banded together and raised $350,000 to purchase the carousel and install it in a pavilion at the Burnaby Village Museum. Once purchased in 1990, they organized another fundraising campaign to restore the carousel to its former majesty.
On March 27, 1993, the Burnaby Village Museum officially opened the C.W. Parker Carousel to the public, housed in the newly constructed Don Wrigley Pavilion, named after the president of the “Friends of the Vancouver Carousel Society.”
Ride the Ponies
There are a total of 40 rideable steeds or seats on the C.W. Parker #119 Carousel. Dr. Murphy favors the Gold Heart Chariot, the one remaining chariot of the original two. The other went missing before the carousel landed at the Burnaby Village Museum.
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A 1925 146B Wurlitzer Military band organ plays music as the carousel runs. It is the same model and style that used to accompany the ride at Playland. In. the photo above, it is seen in the far right of the shot.
The Burnaby Village Museum is open seasonally. Summer Season runs from May 3 to September 1, Tuesday through Sunday, 11 am – 4:30 pm. It’s also open on all statutory holidays, Spring Break, and holds special hours throughout the Heritage Christmas event. They run a Haunted Village event the last week of October. Admission is free to the public (except for the Haunted Village), but the carousel rides cost about $3 CAD each or you can buy 13 for the price of 12.
There’s an adorable gift shop adjacent to the carousel pavilion where you can get all sorts of postcards and trinkets to commemorate your visit but the best souvenir by far are the actual tokens they give you to ride the carousel. It’s worth buying the bulk ride option just to keep one of these beauties as a keepsake.
Come for the carousel, stay for all the other cool things the Burnaby Village Museum has to offer. There are 10 acres of heritage buildings, interactive displays, art installations, and historical exhibits exploring the themes of Community, Transportation, Environment, Technology, and People.
All seven seasons of The Good Doctor are streaming at Hulu.
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