| Footrot Flats Fun Park | |
| Location: | Te Atatū Peninsula, West Auckland, New Zealand |
| Opening Date: | 1982 |
| Closing Date: | 1989 |
| Area Ha: | 15.5 |
| Owner: | John St Clair Brown |
Footrot Flats Fun Park was a theme park in Te Atatū Peninsula, West Auckland, New Zealand. Opening in 1982 as Leisureland, the park rebranded to be themed around the Murray Ball cartoon Footrot Flats in 1984. During the 1980s, it was the largest theme park in New Zealand. In its final year of operation, the park rebranded as Something Different Fun Park, before closing in 1989.
The land where the park was opened was originally purchased by the Auckland Harbour Board in the 1950s, who intended to construct a new Auckland port at the location.[1]
The park opened as Leisureland in 1982. After the popularity of the animated film (1986), the park's management secured a licensing deal with cartoonist Murray Ball, and rebranded as a Footrot Flats-themed location, where actors would walk around the park dressed as the characters from the cartoon.[2] During the park's heyday, the Footrot Flats Fun Park competed with Rainbow's End, a theme park which still exists in Manukau, South Auckland.[2]
In the late 1980s, the theme park came across financial difficulties, especially after the 1987 stock market crash. Diminishing returns, increasing cost of rent from the council, and a lack of public transport access to the park were all factors which led to the park's demise.[2] In 1988, Safari Land, a theme park and zoo in Massey, closed and merged with the Footrot Flats Fun Park.[3] This led Safari Land's animals, including lions, tigers and monkeys, to be rehoused at the site.[4] In the same year, the park rebranded as the Something Different Fun Park, and stopped operating in early 1989.[2] The park was formally closed by the Waitakere City Council in 1991.[5]
In May 1992, the council relaunched the venture as Adventure Park West, featuring a wider range of attractions, such as a farm park, circus, botanical garden and children's zoo.[4]
A range of rides and attractions were a part of the fun park, including:[2]