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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2001 |
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When you visit Yester California Adventure, it’s fun to buy souvenirs. How about a gift pack featuring a hand cultivator? Or take home some California wildflower seeds? Perhaps a hardcover of Zen Gardens by Erik Borja? |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2001 Santa Rosa Seed & Supply at Bountiful Valley Farm |
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Santa Rosa Seed & Supply is the main retail store of the Bountiful Valley Farm section within the park’s Golden State district—and possibly the finest gardening store in any theme park, anywhere. |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2002 The octagonal store with red doors |
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The theme here is California agriculture. The octagon-shaped building looks somewhat like a small barn. A rural artist has been at work here, fashioning watering cans into a fountain and arranging an assortment of folk-art bird houses. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2002 Watering can fountain |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2001 Inventive bird houses |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2001 Inside the octagon |
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In addition to gardening tools, you can buy mugs, apparel, books, plush from A Bug’s Life, specialty foods, and even fresh and dried fruit gift packs. |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2001 Well-stocked shelves |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2001 Seeds, gardening tools, and gardeners’ books |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2001 T-shirts, caps, and denim |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2001 Old-time country store barrels |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2001 Overhead light fixture |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2002 Orchid at Santa Rosa Seed & Supply |
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The gardener supplies must be very good. Look at how big an orchid can grow around here. |
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Santa Rosa Seed & Supply was an opening day store at Disney’s California Adventure in 2001. The store had a unique theme, with an assortment of appropriate, carefully chosen goods—not just more of the same things that tend to make their way into too many Disney theme park shops. |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2001 Santa Rosa Seed & Supply’s first—and last—Holiday season |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2003 P.T. Flea Market |
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When Flik’s Fun Fair opened in Fall 2002 and Bountiful Valley Farm became “a bug’s land”, Santa Rosa Seed and Supply became the P.T. Flea Market. |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2003 Still an octagonal store with red doors |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2003 In the tradition of circus posters |
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With the new name came a new merchandise mix. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2008 Disney pins |
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Just what the park needed… another place to buy pins. Right? |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2010 Ready to close forever |
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P.T. Flea Market closed permanently on September 7, 2010 to make way for Cars Land. But the octagonal building would not be demolished. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 Seating for Paradise Garden Grill |
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Even with a budget of more than a billion dollars, the Disney California Adventure redo project looked for opportunities to reuse existing buildings and infrastructure—leaving more resources to be spent where it really mattered. The structure that was Santa Rosa Seed & Supply and then P.T. Flea Market was moved to a different part of Disney California Adventure, where in 2011 it became an enclosed alternative to the outdoor seating at Paradise Garden Grill. That means the octagon is not gone. Have a seat there the next time you want to enjoy your Tortitas de Papa—vegan crispy potato cakes with sautéed spinach, ranchero sauce, golden rice, pickled onion salad, tomato, and vegan “cheese”—in the shade. Just have an alternate plan for where to eat. The octagonal pavilion might be in use for something else. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2017 The place to meet teen princess Elena of Avalor |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2018 The place to meet Pixar Pals, even though Paradise Gardens Park is not part of Pixar Pier |
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Santa Rosa Seed & Supply; P.T. Flea Market; seating pavilion for the Paradise Garden Grill; and a character meet-and-greet. What a versatile structure! |
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Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore took thousands of photos of DCA under construction and during its early years for his now-defunct website, DCA Central. Allen Huffman has provided his library of tens of thousands of Disney park photos to Yesterland from his DisneyFans.com website. © 2014-2021 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks Updated June 4, 2021 |
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