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Photo by Ian Parkinson, 2001 Condor Flats runway |
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You’re walking down the Condor Flats runway at Yester California Adventure. This high-desert airfield is “dedicated to the wonder and ingenuity that helped spawn California’s legendary aviation industry.” |
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According to the backstory, the airfield attracted brilliant aircraft designers and highly skilled test pilots to the flat, arid, wide-open Southern California location. Their workshop was a small corrugated steel hangar with a simple control tower. From the early days of human flight to the dawn of the space age, it was the birthplace of countless aeronautical innovations. As their work transitioned to rocketry and supersonic flight, the team outgrew the modest structure. Its replacement was a larger hangar built nearby, which served as the new headquarters and rocket test center. The old hangar became a motor pool facility with gasoline pumps, but the team at Condor Flats never lost sight of the aviation history that had been made there. |
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Photo by Ian Parkinson, 2001 Historic workshop, according to the backstory |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2010 Newer sign on an older structure |
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You’ve reached a modest corrugated steel souvenir shop called Fly ’n’ Buy. Beneath its sign, you can make out an older sign identifying it as the motor pool. Could this be the historic heart of Condor Flats? Yes! It’s the old hangar. The proprietor of Fly ’n’ Buy is a retired test pilot. He operates Condor Flats Scenic Air Tours and sells all sorts of souvenirs related to aviation from tire racks and other service station fixtures. He has two gasoline pumps out front. The tower is still there. By the way, the rocket test center became Taste Pilots’ Grill. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2001 Condor Flats Roadrunner |
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When he was a test pilot, the proprietor liked flying fast. He also likes driving fast. Fly ’n’ Buy is the home of the Condo Flats Racing Team. His pride and joy—the Condor Flats Roadrunner race car—is on a lift in the center of the store. |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2001 Condor Flats Racing Team beer mugs |
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Fly ’n’ Buy sells beer mugs featuring the Bell X-1 that’s at Taste Pilots’ Grill and Condor Flats Roadrunner that’s here. You should buy one to support the racing team. |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2001 Aviator bomber jacket |
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If you want to look cool as you walk through Condor Flats, you could buy a leather aviator bomber jacket at Fly ’n’ Buy. It has patches on the chest and arms for such Yester California Adventure attractions as Paradise Pier, Hollywood Pictures Backlot, and Bountiful Valley Farm. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2002 Fly ’n’ Buy Souvenirs at night |
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The custom sign with the airplane art lights up at night. The proprietor spared no expense on this. Will the next owner of this business festoon the old hangar with such a lavish sign? |
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Fly ’n’ Buy was an opening day shop when Disney’s California Adventure had its grand opening on February 8, 2001. The shop’s theme—combining service station fixtures, a race car, and an aviation setting—was odd, but fun. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2010 Mater and Lightning McQueen |
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After the success of the 2006 Disney-Pixar movie Cars, the Disneyland Resort needed a place for meet-and-greets and merchandise for that movie. With its service station theme and adjacent open space, Fly ’n’ Buy was the perfect location. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2010 Cars merchandise |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2010 More Cars merchandise |
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Fly ’n’ Buy essentially became the Cars store, but kept its original name. Undoubtedly, there was far more demand for Cars toys than for the original avation-themed assortment. Cars Land, the new land entirely based on Cars, would not open until June 15, 2012. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 Minnie’s Fly Girls |
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During most of 2012 and 2013, a small stage near the Fly ’n’ Buy tower was home to a stage show, Minnie’s Fly Girls. Minnie Mouse, three flight attendants, and an airline mechanic danced to Frank Sinatra’s “Come Fly With Me,” Nat King Cole’s “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” and two Disney songs to drum up business for Minnie’s Charter Airline. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2001 “It’s the best… No Fuelin’!” |
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The pumps at Fly ’n’ Buy originally featured a fictional gasoline brand, Condor Gas. Two and a half years before Disney’s California Adventure opened, the Disneyland Resort had announced a 13-year marketing agreement with Chevron Corporation. The Fantasyland Autopia and Tomorrowland Autopia were combined to become the Autopia, presented by Chevron. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2007 Vintage-look Chevron sign atop the gas pumps |
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Someone must have noticed that Fly ’n’ Buy was promoting a gasoline other than Chevron, albeit not a real brand—or at least that Fly ’n’ Buy offered another opportunity to promote Chevron. The old pumps switched to Chevron, initially with aged Chevron logos. Apparently, the rusty, faded look did not project the right image, so, in 2007, two shiny new 1930s-style pumps with pristine Chevron graphics replaced the old ones. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 The return of Condor Gas logos, but on the newer Chevron pumps |
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When the marketing agreement with Chevron ended, Condor Gas returned. A much bigger change was on the horizon. Fly ’n’ Buy Souvenirs—and the rest of Condor Flats—closed January 7, 2015 for re-theming. Condor Flats had never been convincing. It didn’t read as the wide-open spaces of the California high desert. Despite some cacti and rocks, the tight space at the foot of Grizzly Peak seemed more like a mountain valley. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2017 No longer Fly ’n’ Buy Souvenirs |
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The former Fly ’n’ Buy Souvenirs reopened May 15, 2015 as Humphrey’s Service & Supplies. Condor Flats had become Grizzly Peak Airfield, continuing the Sierra Nevada Mountains theme of its longtime neighbor, Grizzly Peak, and becoming part of that land. The re-theming involved reusing existing structures with new landscaping, new signs, updated interiors, some pavement work, and lots of green paint. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2015 Painted sign for Humphrey’s Service & Supplies |
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The name is a reference to Humphrey the Bear, who was featured in several Disney animated shorts during the 1950s. The ursine name is fitting, considering it’s part of Grizzly Peak. Although there’s still an airfield tie-in—complete with the old red checkerboard control tower—Humphrey’s has nothing to do with California’s aviation pioneers. The old backstory is gone. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2015 1960 Rambler Super Cross Country |
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Humphrey’s is a mountain gas station and general store serving Grizzly Peak vacationers, with a special welcome for campers. Where Mater and Lightning McQueen used to hang out, Dad has parked a family station wagon. Perhaps he, Mom, and the kids have run inside for such “bear necessities” as snacks, soft drinks, and a local souvenir. Or maybe they’re just using the adjacent restrooms. |
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© 2022 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks Updated February 18, 2022 |
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