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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2004 |
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The folks who run Disney think that children aren’t small enough. They should be the size of bugs. Think how fun that would be. |
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At Yester Studios, there’s “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” Movie Set Adventure, based on the Disney feature Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989). Here at Yester California Adventure, there’s Flik’s Fun Fair, themed around the Disney-Pixar feature a bug’s life (1998). |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2004 Sponsor sign |
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Flik’s Fun Fair has four rides primarily for children, a water-play area, restrooms, and a few places to get snacks. But this land-within-a-land is also an attraction itself, full of inventive touches. Flik the inventive ant has teamed up with other bugs to build an amusement park using found objects discarded by humans—food containers, paper clips, stained Popsicle sticks, pencils, flex straws, an umbrella, and whatever else they could find. |
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Photo by Tony “WideBearAZ” Moore, 2003 Entrance through a Cowboy Crunchies cereal box |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2004 Cereal box cut-outs |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2008 Princess Atta |
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The main entrance to Flik’s Fun Fair is through a decomposing cereal box. Do you remember Cowboy Crunchies (“sugar frosted and double dipped in chocolate”) from Toy Story 2 and Woody’s Roundup in Yester Frontierland? You’re a winner! There are ”prizes” printed inside the box. Too bad you’re too small to cut them out. |
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Photo by Tony “WideBearAZ” Moore, 2003 Inside Flik’s Fun Fair |
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When you get inside, giant clovers provide shade—and remind you that you’re really small. One of them is a four-leaf clover. There are five attractions. There’s a detailed Yesterland article, with plenty of pictures, about each of them. The links are repeated at the end of this article. So here’s just a quick summary. Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train is a short ride through partially eaten food, narrated by Heimlich himself. Tuck and Roll’s Drive ’Em Buggies is a bumper car ride—or, more accurately, a bumper Hungarian pill bug ride. Flik’s Flyers is a spinner ride with eight single-portion food containers flying in a circle. Francis’ Ladybug Boogie is a mild teacup ride, with feisty ladybugs instead of teacups. Princess Dot Puddle Park lets children (and adults too) cool off in sprinkler water, as if they’re overheated bugs. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2015 Restrooms |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2015 Bug-eaten, bug-antenna restroom signs |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2008 Vintage aluminum can pull tab |
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The restrooms are particularly clever. The discarded tissue box is also where you’ll find pay phones and drinking fountains. |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2005 Kodak “Picture Spot for Shutterbugs” |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2003 Juice box with juice box straws |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2015 Peeled-open box of churros |
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Photo by Tony “WideBearAZ” Moore, 2003 Popsicle stick bench |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2005 Lighting |
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And how would Flik light up his amusement park when the sun goes down? With lightning bugs, of course. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2009 Four-leaf clover |
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Did you find the four-leaf clover? |
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Flik’s Fun Fair opened at Disney’s California Adventure (now Disney California Adventure) on October 7, 2002. A criticism of Flik’s Fun Fair was that its rides were aimed entirely at children—even though Walt Disney had described how sitting on a park bench while his daughters rode Los Angeles’ Griffith Park Carousel had inspired him: “I felt there should be something built… some kind of an amusement enterprise… where the parents and the children could have fun together.” Michael Eisner, who was the CEO of Disney when Flik’s Fun Fair opened, had a different take on what Walt Disney strove to achieve. According to the Los Angeles Times, Orange County Edition (“Disney Hopes Bugs Are Just the Ticket for Lagging Attendance,” by Scott Martelle, Oct. 8, 2002): Eisner and other Disney officials stressed that the new Flik’s Fun Fair embraces the best traditions of founder Walt Disney by designing amusements that bring young visitors in touch with themes and characters from wide-release Disney movies. While a staple at other Disney theme parks, that indelible Disney tattoo had been missing from California Adventure, which re-creates myriad elements of California, from Monterey Bay wharves to the gardens of the Central Valley—“not very Disneyish,” said one parent. The new attraction changes that. Although the rides at Flik’s Fun Fair were clearly for children, adults could go on them with their children—or even without children—and still enjoy the details. |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2016 Billboard in Cars Land |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2017 Entrance from Cars Land |
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In addition to the cereal box entrance within “a bug’s land,” Flik’s Fun Fair also had an entrance adjacent to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. When Cars Land opened June 15, 2012, Flik’s Fun Fair gained a third entrance. Over the course of almost 16 years of operation, Flik’s Fun Fair did not change much. Kodak dropped its sponsorship. The subtropical landscaping grew more lush. Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, which had always loomed above, became Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! in 2017—portending Marvel completely displacing the bugs in the years that followed. |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2018 Construction wall in 2018 |
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Flik’s Fun Fair closed permanently September 4, 2018, along with the rest of “a bug’s land.” Its replacement would be something far more grand: Avengers Campus, an entire land bringing the highly popular Marvel Cinematic Universe to the life. |
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Artist Concept Only © Disney © Marvel 2020 Concept art for Avengers Campus |
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Photo credit: Christian Thompson/Disneyland Resort © Disney © Marvel 2021 Avengers Campus, prior to its opening on June 4, 2021 |
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Avengers Campus was supposed to open on July 18, 2020. With the 13-month closing of Disneyland due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the date changed to June 4, 2021. Should it now be said that Avengers Campus embraces the best traditions of founder Walt Disney by designing amusements that bring all visitors in touch with themes and characters from wide-release Marvel movies? |
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To visit each of the attractions at Flik’s Fun Fair, use the following Yesterland links: |
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Click here to post comments at MiceChat about this article.
© 2021 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks Updated June 4, 2021 |
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