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The New Zealand Herald
The New Zealand Herald
Travel

Goodbye Fred Flintstone as Bedrock Arizona theme park hits rock bottom

The home town of the cartoon cavemen will soon be history.

According to USA Today, the Arizona roadside attraction is closing to visitors from this year.

The attraction was set up in the 70s as a theme park celebrating the Hanna Barbera cartoon The Flintstones, and its a perfect archaeological specemin of faux-neolithic Americana.

Located a stone's throw away from the Grand Canyon in the arid Arizona desert, it had a cartoonish prehistoric charm.

However the attraction is a long time past its best.

In January Lind Speckles, who set up the park with her late husband, Frank, sold the park to a property developer Troy Morris, according to local radio station KJZZ.

Kind of sad: The closure of the catoon-themed cheesy tourist trap has been met with mixed feelings. Photo / TripAdvisor

The ravages of time had not been kind to Bedrock. While it is soon closing for the last time, it has been continually up for sale since 2015.

It had been built to capitalise on huge amounts of traffic heading for the Grand Canyon.

Luring in tourists with cartoonish colour schemes and buildings, the giant Fred Flintstone is now something of a 'white Mammoth'.

The attractions included a ride through volcano and restaurant serving Bronto Burgers, this was a true relic of another age.

TripAdvisor comments describe it as "Poorly maintained and kind of sad" and "a little run down."

However the majority of visitors will be sad to see it go.

Bedrock Arizona: Located a stone's throw away from the Grand Canyon. Photo / TripAdvisor

One visitor with 'mixed feelings' about the attractions closure wrote a long entry about their final return visit.

"This crumbling gem is among fading attractions that in today's day and age would never be built," noted another, "and when these places are gone they will be gone forever."

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