LA Times review of Flicks

[slaakker]

I guess he didn't like it. Haven't been there myself. If interested, click here

[Darkbeer]

Disney is counting on a new collection of kids' rides to draw more visitors to its troubled California Adventure theme park. Unfortunately, Flik's Fun Fair provides yet another example of the half-baked development that's made the rest of California Adventure so disappointing.

Flik's Fun Fair is made up of four dressed-up kiddie rides in the re-christened A Bug's Land section of California Adventure. (Not to be confused with that other local Bugs land for kids, the one named for Bugs Bunny at Six Flags Magic Mountain.) In fact, Flik's Fun Fair will look mighty familiar to any kid who's spent time at Magic Mountain's Bugs Bunny World or Camp Snoopy at Knott's Berry Farm. Actually, the Sierra-themed Camp Snoopy would fit better within this park's alleged California theme.

There's nothing unique to the Golden State in this land, which serves up Heimlich's Chew Chew Train, a short tram ride through oversize morsels of food; Tuck and Roll's Drive 'Em Buggies, perhaps the world's slowest bumper car ride; Francis' Ladybug Boogie, a spinning teacup-style ride; and Flik's Flyers, a Dumbo-like ride in faux hot-air balloons. There is also a small water play area, where kids can run through and around leaping streams of water.

Well, I think he wasn't the happiest camper.......

Why not have visitors walk through some invention designed to shrink them down to an ant's size, so they can help Flik and his friends save the ant colony? It would have set a whimsical tone for the area and given a visit a sense of story and purpose. It also would have been the type of ingenious detail that the Knott's and Six Flags kiddie lands lack--and that once distinguished Disney parks......

Save your money, and find a great playground instead.

Disney corporate lore says that Walt dreamed up the idea for Disneyland while watching his daughters ride the carousel at Griffith Park. Today, a few steps from that same carousel, stands Shane's Inspiration, a cleverly themed, disabled-accessible playground that has provided my children--and thousands of others--with many more hours of creative, exhausting fun than Flik's Fun Fair ever will. And it doesn't cost a dime.

Perhaps Disney's management should take a walk in Walt's footsteps, and pay a visit sometime.

[Michael]

Gota love the LA Times...

[Darkbeer]

First off, full disclosure...

Robert Niles, the Los Angeles Times staff writer, also runs this site...

http://www.themeparkinsider.com/

and second off, here is a very interesting quote...

Parents should note that the bumper car ride has minimum heights of 42 inches to ride and 48 inches to drive alone. Which should create some awkward moments when 4-year-olds who are tall enough to ride roller coasters such as the Matterhorn and Big Thunder Mountain at Disneyland are told they can't ride the much tamer kiddie bumper-car ride at California Adventure.

So when will Disney increase the height requirements to Big Thunder and the Matterhorn?????:rolleyes:

[thckst]

Well, my 6½ year old son and I were discussing this (FFF/a bug's land) just the other day. We haven't been there yet, will be going this Friday (Oct. 4th) at 5pm for the AP Preview. But we have been keeping an eye on the developement of this area ever since we first heard about it. Even snuck in for a quick look during a CM preview day a couple weeks ago (Thanks to a couple of super-nice CMs we got to walk up to Dots Water thingy and then walk back out).

Anywho, he/we think all the themeing is great (I've showed him pix from MouseInfo, too, of course). But when talking about the rides, the only thing that really interests him is the smells on the Heimlich ride. That and the special pin we will be getting at the preview. He's already been on all the rides. Not at DCA, but at other places. Adventure City (a very small kids-themed amusement park in nearby Stanton, CA) has a Flik's Flyers, though it has a balloon theme. And he likes bumper cars at Knott's and SixFlagsMM (he realizes that the FFF ones are s-l-o-w). And those spinning buckets, I think Adventure City has that. Plus that is a traveling carnival staple. Miniature tram/train rides are a dime a dozen.

The writer of the times article brings up a good point about the lack of something that would distinguish the whole area. The themeing will be the best but what about FFF will make it a unique experience, something Walt always felt was neccessary to make guests feel that they have left their world behind? Hopefully WDI will be allowed to enhance the area to make it something unique and "Disney-worthy".

It does give the little one's something to do. My sincere hope is that it is not TDA's complete solution to address the lack of attractions for young children. At least bring SSL back.

[Darkbeer]

A video is now available at the LA Times link, it is a 2 minute, 45 second video in either RealVideo or QuickTime. It includes an interview with Kathy Mangum of WDI.

The link is located on the right hand side, near the top of the page.

[jeremyh]

Today, a few steps from that same carousel, stands Shane's Inspiration, a cleverly themed, disabled-accessible playground that has provided my children--and thousands of others--with many more hours of creative, exhausting fun than Flik's Fun Fair ever will. And it doesn't cost a dime.

Perhaps Disney's management should take a walk in Walt's footsteps, and pay a visit sometime.

And yet, imagine how bad the review would've been if Disney had just stuck in a plain old playground..

I also don't get the "value" argument, which makes it sound like your price of admission only gets you into FFF. Here I thought it got you admission into the whole park, silly me. :rolleyes:

We visited FFF twice while we were there recently during soft opening. It's a cute land. It'll bring people in at least once, but I'm not so sure about repeat visits. My 3 yr old daughter loved Soarin, GRR, Challenge Trail, Mulholland, the Sunwheel, and the carousel. She dug Tough to be a Bug and doing arts and crafts. She was visibly excited only about the water park in FFF, the rest of it was kind of boring to her. I mean, she liked them but she wasn't clamoring for more. I don't get this whole "there's nothing for my kids" thing in DCA because there was plenty for my daughter. Maybe I'm just fortunate that I've got a tall 3 year old who likes exciting and rough rides, I dunno.

What it might do, though, is bring people in to DCA for the FIRST time, who might like it enough to return. We'd never been to DCA and after all the negative talk, we were surprised by how much we liked it.

[splashtodd]

This just goes to show that you can't please all the people all the time.

The scale may not always be correct or in proportion, but one of the big things for me is that I feel like I'm in a completely different place when I'm in Flik's and think that that is what Disney theme parks should be all about.

Perhaps kids won't completely understand all of the oversized items at first since its not something you come across everyday. When was the last time you walked into a tissue box to use the bathroom? Or stood under the shade of 24 foot tall clover? But these are things that give people a chance to look around and take in the surroundings and details.

[driftwood714]

This just goes to show that you can't please all the people all the time.

The scale may not always be correct or in proportion, but one of the big things for me is that I feel like I'm in a completely different place when I'm in Flik's and think that that is what Disney theme parks should be all about.

Even then, I do see the point about the different sized props... It's a great idea, beautifully themed, but you have a huge sprinker next to these tiny straws and tiny forks.

[splashtodd]

Well, there aren't too many things in life that are smaller than clovers. And I don't think people are interested in another HISTK area where you are walking through huge blades of fiberglass grass.