Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room

Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room, which has also been known as Tropical Serenade, has entertained millions since the Sunshine Pavilion first opened its doors on October 1, 1971 in Magic Kingdom Park. In 1998, following substantial refurbishment, it re-launched as The Enchanted Tiki Room-Under New Management, with 2 famous birds-Iago from Disney's Aladdin and Zazu from Disney's The Lion King-taking control to spruce up the show.

Now, the "new management" has been let go and the future of the Adventureland landmark is in the wings and wit of Jose, Fritz, Michael and Pierre-four crooning parrot hosts who ushered in sophisticated Audio-Animatronics technology at Disneyland Park in 1963 at The Enchanted Tiki Room.

Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room at Walt Disney World Resort pays tribute to the original Disneyland show, maintaining the original intent created by Walt Disney and his original team of Imagineers. At the same time, it features some modern technology-a state-of-the-art show-control system, remastered audio, and a new versatile and energy-efficient lighting system.

This lively revue showcases a colorful menagerie of flowers, tikis and 200 performing Audio-Animatronic birds. Take a seat in a cool tropical pavilion, sit back and watch these enchanted performers assemble along the ceiling of the circular theater. As the lights go down, the birds spring into action with a melodic musical performance. After all these years, this unique show still offers magical touches and delightful surprises. Even the audience gets into the act, joining in during the ditty "Let's All Sing Like the Birdies Sing."

Before you enter the Tiki Room, you're treated to a few minutes of introduction. Unfortunately, you have to stand during their shtick, but eventually the theater doors will open. Inside the dark and cool theater, you're seated on long, backless benches, with all the animatronic birds perched above.

The finale has every Audio-Animatronic figure performing a rousing version of "Hawaiian War Chant". The choice of exit music is somewhat unusual, namely an arrangement of "Heigh-Ho" from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs with lyrics thanking guests for watching the show and hurrying them to the exit.

Touring Tips

• The theater is quite dark at times, which may frighten some small children. Some children may find some scenes a bit scary or intense.
• This is really a very pleasant show geared to entertain all ages, but some young children may be afraid of the deeply chanting tiki gods. The lights are dimmed during this portion of the show, and the lightning bolt can be quite loud.

Facts

• The Walt Disney World version of the Tiki Room, called "Tropical Serenade," debuted October 1, 1971, and was originally sponsored by the Florida Citrus Growers.
• The original "Enchanted Tiki Room" debuted at Disneyland in California on June 23, 1963, and was the first attraction to use Audio-Animatronics technology.
• The original plan for the Tiki Room was to have it as a Disney restaurant, not an attraction.
• The show closed in 1997, then reopened in 1998, as "The Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Management."
• The show features a cast of more than 300 talking, singing and dancing birds, flowers, tiki drummers and totem poles that perform the attraction's signature tunes, "The Tiki Tiki Tiki Room" by the Sherman Brothers and "Let's All Sing Like the Birdies Sing".

History

The attraction opened on June 23, 1963 and was the first to feature Audio-Animatronics, a WED Enterprises patented invention. The attraction was sponsored by United Airlines for its first 12 years; in 1976, sponsorship passed over to Hawaii's Dole Food Company, which remains the sponsor to the present day. Dole also provides the unique Dole Whip soft-serve frozen dessert sold at a snack bar near the entrance.

The show was originally going to be a restaurant featuring Audio-Animatronic birds serenading guests as they ate and drank. The "magic fountain" at the room's center was originally planned as a coffee station (there is still a storage compartment within the base of the fountain) and the restaurant would have shared its kitchen with the now-defunct Tahitian Terrace in Adventureland and the Plaza Pavilion restaurant at the corner of Main Street, U.S.A. since all three are actually part of the same building. Since ownership of the attraction was separate from the rest of the park, a nominal admission charge of $0.75 was levied. Since computers have played a central role in the attraction since its inception, Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room was also Disneyland's first fully air-conditioned building.

The attraction opened in an era when all things Polynesian were popular and was an immediate hit. It houses a Hawaiian-themed musical show "hosted" by four lifelike macaws whose plumage matches their implied countries of origin. "Jose" is red, white and green and speaks with a Mexican accent, voiced by Wally Boag; "Michael" is white and green with an Irish brogue, voiced by Fulton Burley; "Pierre" is blue, white and red, and has a French accent courtesy of the voice talents of Ernie Newton while red, black and white "Fritz" has a German accent provided by Thurl Ravenscroft, who also voices Maori god Tangaroa near the attraction's entrance.

The main birds have changed color over the years. In 1965, the four host birds had almost identical plumage of white, green, yellow and blue. The four macaws as well as all the other birds are plumed with real feathers with the exception of chest plumage. The chests are covered in custom-woven cashmere which allows the figures to "breathe" in a lifelike manner. The choice came quite by accident; in a planning meeting, Harriet Burns noticed a cashmere sweater that Walt Disney was wearing which moved at the elbows exactly the way the engineers envisioned.

A virtually identical copy of the show, called Tropical Serenade, was installed at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom when that park opened in 1971. Although accompanied by a new pre-show, the main show was the same. Tropical Serenade was replaced in 1998 with The Enchanted Tiki Room (Under New Management), featuring Iago and Zazu from Aladdin and The Lion King, respectively.

On January 12, 2011, a small fire broke out in the attic of the attraction. The Iago audio-animatronic figure was severely damaged in the blaze. It was announced at Disney's D23 Destination D: Walt Disney World 40th Anniversary Conference that the attraction would be refurbished and returned to the original show format. The attraction re-opened on August 15, 2011 as Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room.

Hidden Mickeys

• There are a few weak Mickeys on the doors entering the Enchanted Tiki Room (one in feathers on a bird and another in the center of a flower), but they might not count as some of the circles are not touching. The wooden doors to the Tiki Room are elaborately carved with all sorts of designs. If you look carefully, you will see three perfect circles forming the head and ears of Mickey Mouse. They are in a few areas on the doors.
• There is a hidden Mickey on Ilago's first perch. It is just underneath the Tiki God carved on the front, with two red jewels as the ears. The Mickey located on Iago's perch was added after the first week of public performances. The Mickey on Iago's perch may not be there when you visit, though, as it is designed to be removed and occasionally our repair technicians forget to replace it after working on Iago.
• There are two hidden Mickeys on the actual bird perches. The first is to the left when you first walk into the theatre. It is the last bird on the left side and the Mickey is on the bottom right side under the bird. The second is on the right as you exit the theatre, the last bird on the right side. The Mickey is part of the perch on the lower right under the bird. Same location as the first Mickey. The two located on the perches were just recently placed there by Walt Disney Imagineering. In the new and improved "Enchanted Tiki Room", one of the perches a bird is on, has a hidden Mickey in wicker, tied to the bottom.