Playground and waterpark manufacturer SCS Interactive Incorporated developed the
concept of the Foam Factory in the 1990's as an indoor attraction for
parks and family entertainment centers. The concept was an enclosed
playground filled with interactive elements on multiple levels including
thousands of foam balls that could be shot, thrown and poured through a
variety of devices.
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Added in 1999 as part
of the brand new Looney Tunes Seaport, the Bugs Bunny Fun Factory was
one of the more unique attractions added as part of the War on Lines.
Six Flags added similar fun factory attractions at many of their theme
parks as they upgraded their children's areas and introduced the Looney
Tunes characters in newly branded Six Flags parks nationwide.
The colorful multi-level play area was given a nautical theme to
match the seaport surroundings of the new children's area. Inside,
a central lighthouse
structure was the focal point and throughout the attraction were air
powered guns, canons, vacuums, and even a stove that shot, slurped and
otherwise moved the thousands of balls. |
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The Fun Factory offered a shady
spot on warm days, though it was often hot inside between the sun on the
roof and the heat generated by the air pumps. On rainy days families
often sought refuge inside where kids could be entertained no matter
what the weather was doing. |
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The Fun Factory featured a wide
array of whimsical and colorful theme elements. The figures, signs and
other pieces served as targets for the guests, though the most popular
targets were always other guests. |
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Throughout the Fun Factory there
were elements that would periodically spray or dump the foam balls in
large quantities. A rowboat with Elmer Fudd would periodically tip
over and pour all the balls accumulated through the vacuum tubes. The
central lighthouse would similarly periodically erupt, spraying hundreds
of balls in all directions. |
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Children loved playing throughout
the Fun Factory whether with the foam balls or climbing on the indoor
climb structures and sliding down the slides. The foam balls were
quite often found some distance from the Fun Factory building, often
being carried away by the young guests. |
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The Fun Factory was
fairly elaborately themed, with decorative elements adorning the outside
of the building. One of the things that seemed like an strange choice was the
inclusion of a large queue area that was originally designed to be a
shaded area. It seemed like an odd thing to have a queue for an
attraction that had such high capacity and rarely would be so full of
guests that they would have to turn people away or hold them outside. In
later years the queue bars were removed. |
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The slides on the outside of the
structure seemed like a good idea until they began to bake in the hot
summer sun. As a result the slide on the unshaded side of the building
was permanently blocked off. |
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While the Fun Factory
was a popular attraction, it suffered several drawbacks. The biggest was
the maintenance required to keep all of the elements working. The
constant wear and tear along with the exposure to weather took their
toll. That along with the manufacturer having financial difficulties meant that
upkeep options were limited. Lastly, another issue was keeping out older
siblings
who would take over the guns and other equipment, keeping the young
children it was designed for out of the action. |
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After fourteen seasons the Fun
Factory was removed from the park prior to the 2013 season to make way for the
installation of the kiddie train ride that had been in the Golden Kingdom. |
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