Japanese Village and Deer Park
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Japanese Village and Deer Park
OR:
Japanese Village and Deer Park on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

The Japanese Village and Deer Park is a defunct amusement park formerly located in
Buena Park, California Buena Park (''Buena'', Spanish for "Good") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census its population was 84,034. It is the location of several tourist attractions, namely Knott's Berry Farm. It is about 12 mi ...
.


History

The park first opened in 1967 at 6122 Knott Ave. It was a Japanese-themed amusement park that featured shows and traditional Japanese buildings in an environment where deer roamed free (inspired by Nara Park). Its gate featured a
torii A is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred. The presence of a ''torii'' at the entrance is usually the simple ...
. Two episodes of the CBS-TV detective drama '' Mannix'', "Overkill" (1971, Season 4 episode 24) and "Enter Tami Okada" (1974, Season 8 episode 8), filmed extensive sequences at the park. Various exhibits and animals can be seen in both. The second featured a trainer riding two dolphins in tandem. The park closed in 1975, five years after it was sold to Great Southwest Co., a subsidiary of
Six Flags Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park corporation, headquartered in Arlington, Texas. It has properties in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Six Flags owns the most theme parks and waterparks combined of any a ...
. Facing mounting red ink, the owners began giving the deer lethal injections, claiming they had tuberculosis. Almost 200 were euthanized before authorities ended the practice.


List of attractions

*Koi ponds *Japanese Garden *Classic Tea House *The Dove Pavilion *Dolphin feeding *Home of the Fuji Folk *Pearl divers


Enchanted Village

After the park closed, a second amusement park, ''Enchanted Village'', opened on the site on June 18, 1976.Article about opening of Enchanted Village
/ref> Animal trainer
Ralph Helfer Ralph Helfer (born April 9, 1931 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American animal behaviorist, creator of Marine World/Africa USA, and author of books about animals. He was born in Chicago and had one sister, Sally. In 1942, his mother left her husband ...
was a partner and served as chair. It was, for a time, home to Oliver the "human" chimpanzee. Prior to its closure, its signature stunt and animal show was changed to incorporate themes and story lines from the 1977 film '' The Island of Dr. Moreau''. ''Enchanted Village'' can be seen briefly in the 1977 film ''
Curse of the Black Widow ''Curse of the Black Widow'' is a 1977 American made-for-television horror film directed by Dan Curtis and starring Tony Franciosa, Donna Mills, Patty Duke, Vic Morrow and June Allyson. It originally aired on ABC on September 16, 1977 and wa ...
.'' The park was South Pacific-Tiki themed, and featured trained animal shows (Helfer's influence), a traditional-styled Polynesian show, and a few ride attractions. The park closed in fall 1977.


Current use

The area has been developed into a business park; nothing remains of the ponds and locations except George Bellis Park.


References

Landmarks in California Buildings and structures in Orange County, California Defunct amusement parks in California History of Orange County, California 1975 disestablishments in California 1967 establishments in California Buena Park, California {{Amusement-park-stub