This is one of the most bizarre areas ever to appear in a Disney park. Not because of its theme just in the way its been put together. There is a tremendous amount of detail and wit thats been stapled to really cheesy shopping mall rides. Its really hard to come to a opinion about this Frankenstein.
The area itself is very small and wedged in between several large building it will forever by in the shadow of the Tower when its completed (a really interesting background for a kiddie area). Theyve spent a tremendous amount on plants and shading. The rides themselves really were designed for shopping malls (and, also according to rumor, really were purchased through a catalog). They are good kiddie rides with nothing to extreme for the toddler set; and also having absolutely no interest to anyone beyond the toddler set. But it will be interesting to see what happens when the first group of teenagers shows up to ride the bumper cars.
My overall impression is that this area is very defensive. It was designed point by point against what people dont like about California Adventure but has no ideas or ambitions of its own. The typical complaints about DCA are that it lacks kids attractions, its not detailed enough and theres a lack of shade. Each one of those concerns has been met just like someone went down each bullet point in a slide presentation. Anything that didnt fit neatly into a checkbox (like whimsy or wow) was eliminated.
On the whole, however, I think this is still a good move towards taking the first steps in fixing DCA. This is the only area in the park that has a real theme to it (as opposed to just a decorating scheme). Its also a bugle call that the entire California theme has been entirely trashed (so they might as well get on with the make-overs). On its own, Fliks wont improve DCA, but its a hint of what could happen.
P.S. The area is somewhat like the Little Mermaid's Lagoon at DisneySea but the two areas are vastly different in scope. The Lagoon not only has more (and higher end rides), but it also features a live action show (with the performers floating over the heads of the audience), exploration tunnels, retail and themeing about 100 times the scale of Flik's. The entire experience is very much different.
P.S.S. To see how Disney is dismantling Tom Sawyers Island the original childrens play area go to
http://www.mouseplanet.com/david/tomsawyer.htm .