Fly, Spin, Splash, Crash & Chew

The Flik's Fun Fair section of a bug's land at Disney California Adventure is like a spectacular county fair for insects, complete with carnival rides inspired by the stars of Pixar's a bug's life and seemingly cobbled together by the bugs themselves.

Clockwise from the entrance, we first come to Flik's Flyers. Leave it to the inventive Flik to have come up with a contraption that allows average bugs (and us!) to fly. The details here are about as fun as they come, from the straws and No. 2 pencils to the sticks lashed together to form fences. The marquee is my favorite. It's a paper airplane, but I especially love details like the torn edge of the notebook paper, the graphic drawn in pen and the crumpled nose of the plane where it landed hard in the ground.

The ride itself is no less elaborate. Although you may have seen rides similar to this in other parks, it goes to show there's no such thing as "off the shelf" here. Guests fly around in makeshift balloons fashioned from leaves and sticks, with baskets of cookie boxes, packs of raisins and Chinese take-out containers. The center of the mechanism is even dressed out to look like a tub of whipped topping and an aluminum pie plate.

The rides at Flik's Fun Fair are certainly designed to be enjoyed by small children, but adults are missing out if they don't choose to try them out, too. Flik's Flyers is really fun, as is the next attraction around the bend, Francis' Ladybug Boogie. The marquee here is actually an old, cracked 45 RPM record. Those of the generation that would remember such things also get a kick out of the added detail of the plastic insert that allowed 45s to fit on the pin of a 33 RPM player.

Close observers may also notice that "Ladybug Boogie," the title of the ride, is listed as the song on the record, but it's the B side. Step into the queue for the attraction, and you'll find the A side track, entitled "He's No Lady." The ride itself takes guests on a spinning, figure 8 course in little cabs designed to resemble the ride's namesake, Francis.

A leaky garden hose and spigot sticking up in the middle of the land form the centerpiece for Princess Dot's Puddle Park. Fans of the film will recall Princess Dot as a spunky little kid, just the sort who would enjoy splashing around and cooling off in this water play area.

Under the giant umbrella that forms P.T. Flea's big top, guests can ride and speak gibberish along with those acrobatic pill bugs on Tuck and Roll's Drive 'Em Buggies.

A string of Christmas lights illuminates the underside of the umbrella, with crayons and chewed-through leaves pointing drivers in the right direction as a fleet of little bugs crawl, creep and crash their way around the course.

The final attraction in Flik's Fun Fair is Heimlich's Chew Chew Train, inspired by the caterpillar who loves to eat tasty treats. Even the sign for the attraction is tasty: A partially-eaten cupcake on a plastic fork, complete with a little paper decoration of Heimlich himself.

Here, we ride along with Heimlich on his quest for more of his favorite food, candy corns. Along the way, he chomps through an apple and a watermelon, where passengers even get squirted by the juice and can smell the aroma of the melon.

A trip through a box of Casey Jr. Animal Cookies brings even more delicious smells, but at the point of the box Heimlich is also presented with a choice. Signs point the way to either Candy Valley or Brussels Sprouts. Hmmmm. Which way do you think he turns?

Even though the Brussels Sprouts come with "gooey sauce" and are from Eat 'Em Up Yum brand, Heimlich can't resist the temptation of Candy Valley. Sure enough, that where he discovers delicious candy corn, and our journey with him comes to an end.

It's Fun to be a Bug

Ever since Walt's day, Disney Parks leaders and Imagineers have been listening to their guests to help determine what should be added to or changed in the theme parks. One of the early comments from guests at Disney California Adventure was they felt there wasn't as much for young children. The answer came in fall 2002 with the addition of a bug's land.

Inspired by the Pixar film a bug's life, a bug's land grew upon the foundation of original park attractions Bountiful Valley Farm (now gone, although you can revisit it at this link) and "It's Tough to be a Bug," a 3-D spectacular originally created for Disney's Animal Kingdom. In that park, the film is presented in the Tree of Life Theater, under the roots of the massive park icon. Here, guests enter the "back 40," a plot of farmland that hasn't been developed or plowed due to a dry wash that cuts through the property. As we continue along the dry wash, it becomes a canyon, and we find ourselves shrunk to bug-size proportions before entering an underground theater at the base of Ant Island.

The third and newest part of a bug's land is Flik's Fun Fair, a sort of bug carnival. An overturned box of Cowboy Crunchies cereal (a nod to Toy Story; notice Woody's hand holding the cereal spoon) serves as the entrance portal to the fair. This particular package of Cowboy Crunchies apparently came with an "instant win" opportunity to earn a trip to the fair. Not only are we winners, but we also get some fun cut-out-and-color stand up figures of favorite characters from a bug's life!

In Flik's Fun Fair, everything is oversize. Towering above us are 75 giant clovers (one of them even has four leaves). Along with natural landscaping of enormous proportions, they create a sense that we are truly seeing the world from a bug's perspective.

Throughout a bug's land, the Imagineers have cleverly designed even the most mundane of theme park staples in a way that makes them blend seamlessly into the story of Flik's Fun Fair. Here, restrooms are built into an overturned box of tissues (a new "sneezy-to-open" box no less!). The Kodak-sponsored Picture Spot (for Shutterbugs, of course) is identified by a sign that looks like a corner of envelope held up by a paperclip. See the postmark? The letter was sent from Anaheim.

In a bug's land, benches are made of used Popsicle sticks, area lighting is provided by fireflies and No. 2 pencils provide fence posts and ground lighting. A juice box turned on its side becomes a stand for selling drinks, and a giant box of churros is peeled open, so we can get to the yummy cinnamon treats inside.

Even The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, added nearby in 2004, works from this angle, as if we bugs were gazing up from the grounds of the Hollywood Tower Hotel.

There's so much to see and appreciate in the design of a bug's land, you could easily spend an hour exploring here... and that doesn't include enjoying the rides. Shrink back with us tomorrow for a look at the attractions the bugs have set up for Flik's Fun Fair.

Flashback: Bountiful Valley Farm

Bountiful Valley Farm, one of the original districts in the Disney California Adventure park, was designed as a nod to California's position as America's top farming state, producer of more than 350 different crops. The Farm was one of the most Epcot-like sections of the park, featuring education-heavy exhibits and little else.

In the photo above, you can make out several elements of Bountiful Valley Farm. The Tractor Yard featured a vintage Caterpillar 10, along with two modern Caterpillar machines. In the background is Farmers Expo, a collection of simple interactive exhibits sheltered under a structure reminiscent of the outlying farm buildings seen in the agricultural areas of the state. Exhibits here ranged from "California Trans-Plants" (about non-native plants which thrived) to "Crops That Flopped" (the story of ten cropped that were introduced but didn't succeed). Others paid tribute to cows, farmers and even bugs.

Bountiful Valley Farm was among my boys' favorite spots during a recent visit to the Disney California Adventure park, if only for the Irrigation Station water play area and the gathering of musical "instruments" comprised of found items from around the farm. We practically had to drag them away from these noisemakers. What can I say? Sometimes, it's the simplest things that appeal most to them... that and the milkshakes from nearby Sam Andreas Shakes.

The Farm also featured planters filled with rows of crops, rotated with the season (some of which can be made out in the top photo, under the statue of Francis the ladybug). Warm season crops included melons, peas and strawberries, while the cold season cycle brought crops such as leaks and lettuce. Flowers on the hillside near the theater for "It's Tough to be a Bug" pay tribute to California's cut flower industry, and the small grove of orange and lemon trees planted along the walkway brings to mind the state's citrus gold.

Bountiful Valley Farm hosted its last Guests yesterday, September 6, 2010. As the Disney California Adventure park transitions from a literal representation of the state to a state of dreams that inspired the many worlds of Disney, niche attractions such as this are bound to fall by the wayside. In time, this area will be marked by a stretch of Route 66 and Radiator Springs, bringing car culture to the park in the form of Carsland.

Where in Disney's World - Friday's Answer

This was probably the trickiest challenge yet this week. For those who guessed the little farmhouse was from The Land at Epcot, it was a nice try. In actuality, it's part of this mural on the back of the theater for "It's Tough to be a Bug" at the Disney California Adventure park. The mural provides a nice backdrop for the Bountiful Valley Farm section of the park. In 2002, Dim and his banner were added with the opening of A Bug's Land nearby.

Check back next week for a closer look at this corner of California.

(Trash) Canned Art

Artistry and craftsmanship are the hallmarks of the Disneyland Resort. Everything is beautifully done, including the trash cans. Take a look at these examples of detailed and hand-painted cans, each a work of art that helps tell the story of the setting in which it's found.

At Disney's California Adventure, we travel from a bug's land with art inspired by the Disney-Pixar film a bug's life to the shores of Paradise Bay and the brightly-colored cans of the Paradise Pier oceanfront park. Near Mulholland Madness, it's the story of California car culture, where road signs and related graphics are most appropriate. Step around the bend into Golden State, and you'll first find yourself in the Grizzly Peak Recreation Area, styled after the National Parks of California. Further still, the area becomes Condor Flats, the Mohave desert headquarters for breakthroughs in aviation with cans inviting you and your fellow pilots to "Drop Your Debris."

Across the esplanade at Disneyland, the cans are more traditionally painted, but no less beautiful. From the filigree of Main Street and Fantasyland to the tropical prints of Adventureland and the refined lines of New Orleans Square, the work on the trash cans throughout Disneyland Park is top notch. It's especially interesting to see how the Jiminy Cricket icon has been worked into designs on recycling bins... completely original designs that complement the adjacent trash cans, but are unique unto themselves.