The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014: One Local's Unauthorized, Rapturous and Indispensable Guide to the Happiest Places on Earth (133 page)

The
attraction has two trains and both are sculpted in the image of
Heimlich
.  The front of each train is
Heimlich
’s head and torso.  He’s rosy-cheeked and clutches a partially consumed candy corn in his stubby, T-Rex-like hands.  The rest of the train is
Heimlich
’s long caterpillar form, painted in his signature colors of blue and green and divided into cars that seat two Guests each.

The line is usually short.  When you reach the loading zone, a Cast Member will ask the number of Guests in your group and then direct you to stand in front of a numbered gate (or multiple numbered gates if there are more than two people in your party).  As always, and especially if you have little ones with you, follow all safety instructions and when the gate swings open board carefully.  Secure the safety belts; a Cast Member will check that everyone is restrained before the train leave
s the platform.

Some Guests balk at fastening seat belts
or latching doors on the milder
Disneyland
and
DCA
attractions.  It seems like an unnecessary hassle.  Cast Members will insist, however, and with good reason.  Almost every serious accident at
Disneyland
was the result of safety restraints or doors that weren’t secured.  Accidents can happen at
any
speed.

Once all Guests are secured, the
Heimlich
train rolls forward at a brisk but by no means rapid pace. 
Heimlich
narrates the one-and-a-half-minute journey, enlivening his descriptions of landscapes and landmarks with endearingly corny jokes.

Heimlich
’s narration is a large part of this attraction’s charm. 
Joe Ranft
, the
Pixar
animator who so exuberantly voiced
Heimlich
in
A Bug’s Life
, reprises his role for this attraction.

If you and your party are foodies, you’ll particularly like this journey.  Your route winds past oversize flowers, fruits, vegetables
, and even baked goods, in some cases driving right through the foods.  The towering landscape envelopes Guests; you feel like a gnat-sized passenger on
Heimlich
’s back.

As if the whimsy of chugging through a gargantuan slice of watermelon w
asn’t enough, you can actually
smell
the mouthwatering scent of watermelon as you breeze through it.  The box of animal crackers that you travel through smells of vanilla cookies–always a soothing scent–and a gigantic gnawed apple exudes an apple fragrance as you pass.

The best
Disney
attractions succeed because they transport Guests, however briefly, to an unusual and engaging setting, and
Heimlich
’s journey certainly does that. 
Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train
and
Flik’s Flyers
are not-to-be-missed attractions at
Flik’s Fun Fair
. 
Did You Know?
 
Joe Ranft
, who voiced
Heimlich
in
A Bug’s Life
, was a talented
Disney-Pixar
animator, story developer, and voice actor who worked on all of the
Disney-Pixar
films through
Cars
.  He was a true Californian, born in Pasadena and raised in Whittier, and studied at the
California Institute of the Arts
(or
CalArts
) in Valencia. 
CalArts
was founded by
Walt
and
Roy Disney
in 1961, with a focus on promoting collaboration and cross-pollination among artistic disciplines.  Besides
Heimlich
,
Ranft
’s most beloved voice work was probably for
Wheezy
, the adorable little
Toy Story 2
asthmatic penguin toy with a lisp.  Tragically and ironically
Ranft
,
Cars
’ Head of Story and Co-Director, passed following a car accident in 2005.  Luckily for us, his art and voice can live on forever. 
FastPass:
  No.  Like all
Flik’s Fun Fair
attractions, the
Chew Chew Train
isn’t connected to the park
FastPass
system. 
Kid’s Eye View:
I love
Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train
because it’s really cute.  You can smell the foods and see where
Heimlich
’s been eating them.

Princess Dot Puddle Park

[
FastView:
 
One of the park’s remaining water play areas, it’s a great place for kids to splash and cool off.
]

What with the
Grizzly River Run
flume attraction,
World of Color
’s spraying fountains, and
Princess Dot Puddle Park
, some Guests might start to get the idea that
DCA
is engaged in a vast conspiracy to permanently drench their kids and make the family run out of every pair of dry socks they packed for their
Disneyland
Resort
trip!

Take note when you’re planning your
DCA
day:  All of these attractions are capable of completely soaking your child (and you) from head to toe.  You might want to schedule these attractions near the end of the day when you’re heading home or back to your hotel.

You don’t want to stagger them throughout the day, as they’ll result in multiple trips to your locker, car
, or hotel room for extra socks and even extra clothes.  If you didn’t bring extra socks or clothes, that’ll mean trips to park stores like
Elias & Co.
,
Rushin’ River Outfitters
, or
Gone Hollywood
to buy new clothes–and who needs unexpected clothing expenses during their vacation?

Although
children are usually wild to play in these water attractions, once they’re soaked, they often feel uncomfortable (especially if it’s a chilly day).  Until they’ve donned dry duds, nothing else on the itinerary can go forward.  But take heart, parents and guardians.  Plan properly in advance and you can let your children exult in the watery splendor of
Grizzly River Run
or
Princess Dot Puddle Park
without a care in the world.  As long as you save these activities until the end of the day’s visit, and/or have extra clothing and footwear in your locker, your pack, your car, or the hotel room, all will be A-OK.

Some might wonder why, with the
Irrigation Station
so close by,
Flik’s Fun Fair
included another watery attraction like
Princess Dot’s Puddle Park
, but now that the
Irrigation Station
has been demolished to make way for
Cars Land
that’s a moot point.  And as catnip draws cats, water draws kids, so although both attractions were within a two-minute walk of each other, both were often crowded.

If you weren’t a parent
(or kid) during the late 1990’s, you might not know who
Princess Dot
is.  In the
Disney-Pixar
film
A Bug’s Life
,
Princess Dot
is the younger ant princess.  Her older sister
Princess Atta
, voiced by
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
, is the heiress apparent to the colony’s throne.  As her name suggests,
Dot
is small, but she’s adventurous and capable.  Although she’s not a lead character, she figures prominently in the film’s plot, both as a kid who needs to be rescued, and later as an effective young heroine.

Princess Dot Puddle Park
occupies the center of
Flik’s Fun Fair
, southeast of the rest rooms and north of
Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train
.  It’s a compact water complex dominated by a towering faucet handle, a giant leaky garden hose, and a gargantuan spray faucet head.  Kids dance about, splashed by water dripping from above and sprinklers shooting up unexpectedly from the ground.  The surprise, as much as the water, delights young Guests.

For most kids, particularly on a hot So
uthern California day,
Princess Dot Puddle Park
is a little patch of paradise.  Parents and guardians can hang back along the fence, taking photos or videos for the digital family memory boxes and FaceBook sites, or calling encouragement to more timid toddlers (or rummaging through their pack for that extra pair of socks and tennies). 
Did You Know?
  In
A Bug’s Life
,
Princess Dot
is voiced by
Hayden Panettiere
, a young actress who began her show business career while still an infant.  As a child actress she appeared in daytime dramas “One Live to Live” and “Guiding Light”.  Film and sitcom roles followed, including a notable 2003 to 2005 role on “Malcolm in the Middle.”  In 2005 she played a reluctant ice skater in
Disney
’s
Ice Princess
. For several years
Panettiere
was perhaps best known as indestructible former cheerleader Claire Bennet on NBC’s “Heroes.” She now entertains
ABC
audiences as a costar in the country music soap
Nashville
.
FastPass:
No.  This self-guided attraction has no queue.  Guests enjoy it at their own pace. 
Kid’s Eye View:
  It looks fun but a little weird.

Tuck and Roll’s Drive ‘Em Buggies
 
Must be 36” or 91 cm tall to ride.

[
FastView:
 
Good old-fashioned dodgem fun with a
bug’s life
twist!
]

Anyone who saw
A Bug’s Life
knows there were many wonderful, unique bug characters throughout the production, but
Tuck
and
Roll
are two that really stood out.  Their entertaining strangeness and kinetic quality provided rich material from which to craft a
Flik’s Fun Fair
attraction.

Tuck
and
Roll
are twins, two pill bugs that are nearly identical, except that
Tuck
has a mono-brow whereas
Roll
has two separate eyebrows.  They’re acrobats in
P.T. Flea
’s circus and are always in motion, whether being shot out of cannons or engaging in other daring antics.

Although described as Hungarian, they speak a delightfully cranky, indecipherable nonsense language.  But one doesn’t need to understand their gibberish to realize that the boys are usually either irritated and out of temper, or delighted with in-jokes that are totally incomprehensible to the rest of us
, but hilarious nonetheless.

Appropriately enough, their attraction combines motion and attitude.  It’s a bumper car attraction,
Disney
style.  You’ll find it in the southeastern corner of
Flik’s Fun Fair
under a giant striped umbrella.

Guest
s queue around the railing of the bumper car rink.  Take note before joining the line:  Your child must be 36 inches or 91 centimeters tall to ride.  A height gauge near the queue entrance lets you and Cast Members determine if your little one is tall enough.  It’s not advisable for pregnant women or Guests with neck or back problems or motion sickness to ride.

This is a popular
Fun Fair
attraction, but it’s tucked well away from the fair entrance, so lines are often short, especially on weekdays and off season.  You shouldn’t have to wait long for your ride.  Cast Members count off enough parties to fill the bumper cars and tell you where to stand to await boarding.  (As always, even though this is a relatively mild kid’s ride, please follow all safety instructions.)

When it’s time to board, the entrance gate will open and you and your party will step onto the rink.  There’s a general press as everyone tries to nab the bumper car of their choice.  Each car is sculpted like
Tuck
or
Roll
, and, in the grand tradition of bumper cars, some seem to move faster than others, and some seem to splutter and stall.  While in line, you and your group can scope out the car that looks best to you and try to claim it during boarding.  If someone else gets to it first, find the next unoccupied vehicle.