Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room

**Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room** is an audio-animatronic musical show at the Disney Parks. It is located in Adventureland at Disneyland and Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, where it was originally called **Tropical Serenade**. It was the first attraction in the Disney Parks to utilize audio animatronics.

## Backstory

The Enchanted Tiki Room is a structure located on an unidentified tropical volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean. The building is enchanted by a large number of Māori deities allowing for many mystical features within its grounds. The area the Tiki Room was located in was known as the *Sunshine Pavilion*, domain of the health god Citrikua.  The birds of the tiki room are sentient and capable of complex human speech, flowers capable of movement and vocal patterns, and animate tiki statues such as singing totems and drummers.

The tiki room serves as a place of celebration and entertainment with its inhabitants putting on shows for guests from across the globe. This celebrations were however known to anger the gods, resulting in storms and volcanic activity. The attraction itself is set sometime between the 1930s and 1960s, amidst the Tiki craze.

## Summary

### Disneyland

Guests enter the queue through the Enchanted Tiki Garden, where the gods and goddesses perform. They tell their stories and what they are best known for, while their statues animate and change. Plaques stand next to them, with a poem of their stories. The deities, in order, are the following:

* Maui - Roped the Sun
* Koro - The Midnight Dancer
* Rongo - God of Agriculture
* Pele - Goddess of Fire and Volcanoes
* Ngendei - The Earth Balancer
* Tangaroa-Ru - Goddess of the East Wind
* Hina Kuluua - Goddess of Rain
* Tangaroa - Father of all Gods and Goddesses

Guests wait in front of the theater for the drums to begin and the doors to open.

When the drums begin, guests enter the theater and take a seat at one of the benches. The cast member gives the safety instructions, before they wake up José, one of four masters of ceremonies. He greets the senorita (regardless of the cast member’s gender), and welcomes the guest to the Tiki Room. He wakes up Michael, who wakes up Pierre, who wakes up Fritz. The rest of the birds wake up, and they sing the song “The Tiki Tiki Tiki Room”, followed by the “Barcarolle” from Jacques Offenbach’s opera Tales of Hoffman.

The Showgirl Birds, a group of white cockatoos, descend from the ceiling in a mobile. Collette, Suzette, Mimi, Gigi, Fifi, and Josephine are present, but José asks about Rosita. They sing the song “Let’s All Sing Like the Birdies Sing”. José joins in, impersonating Bing Crosby, followed by Fritz, impersonating Louis Armstrong, and Pierre, impersonating Maurice Chevalier. All of the birds join in, encouraging the guests to sing along.

The plants join in on the next song, “Hawaiian War Chant”, or "Kāua I Ka Huahuaʻi" - first the flowers, then the tall green plants. The song shifts, when the tiki drummers begin playing a faster beat. The totem poles chant, joined by the flowers. The tempo increases, as the instrumentation grows more intense. The song climaxes when the lights go out and a storm rages outside.

Michael warns that the gods were angered by the celebrating, but that every cloud has a silver lining. Pierre leads into the Finale, involving all of the previous singers. José tells the guests to stand up, because they have a magic trick. Fritz tells them to face the door, so that they can make them all disappear. The guests are ushered out of the theater, with a remix of “Heigh-Ho” from *Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs*.

### Walt Disney World

Guests walk through the queue, stopping before a waterfall and a pillar. The pillar opens, revealing two birds - Claude and Clyde perched upon the idol of one Citrikua, God of Health. They introduce themselves, and recount their journeys through Adventureland, before they found the Tiki Room. Claude tells the tale, while Clyde does the sound effects. Their story is interrupted by gong sound, and a cast member tells them that it’s time for the show. They give instructions to the guests, to wait for the doors to open and for the drums to begin, before they enter the building. After making sure that everyone is ready, they tell them to have a good show.

When the drums begin, guests enter the theater and take a seat at one of the benches. The cast member gives the safety instructions, before they wake up José, one of four masters of ceremonies. He greets the senorita (regardless of the cast member’s gender), and welcomes the guest to the Tiki Room. He wakes up Michael, who wakes up Pierre, who wakes up Fritz. The rest of the birds wake up, and they sing the song “The Tiki Tiki Tiki Room”, followed by the “Barcarolle” from Jacques Offenbach’s opera Tales of Hoffman.

The Showgirl Birds, a group of white cockatoos, descend from the ceiling in a mobile. Collette, Suzette, Mimi, Gigi, Fifi, and Josephine are present, but José asks about Rosita. They sing the song “Let’s All Sing Like the Birdies Sing”. José joins in, impersonating Bing Crosby, followed by Fritz, impersonating Louis Armstrong, and Pierre, impersonating Maurice Chevalier. All of the birds join in, encouraging the guests to sing along.

The plants join in on the next song, “Hawaiian War Chant”, or "Kāua I Ka Huahuaʻi" - first the flowers, then the Birds of paradise (the flower kind). The song shifts, when the tiki drummers begin playing a faster beat. The totem poles chant, joined by the flowers. The tempo increases, as the instrumentation grows more intense. The song climaxes when the lights go out and a storm rages outside.

Michael warns that the gods were angered by the celebrating, but that every cloud has a silver lining. Pierre leads into the Finale, involving all of the previous singers. José tells the guests to stand up, because they have a magic trick. Fritz tells them to face the door, so that they can make them all disappear. The guests are ushered out of the theater, with a remix of “Heigh-Ho” from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

## Spin-offs

### Attractions

#### Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar

The Enchanted Tiki Bar at the Disneyland Hotel is named for and includes theming from the Enchanted Tiki Room, the Jungle Cruise. The restaurant is named after Trader Sam, and the Tiki Bar features his old mask from the attraction, sitting in between the drumming tikis.

#### Tropical Hideaway

This Disneyland restaurant themed and adjacent to the Tiki Room was once a hangout spot for the Society of Explorers and Adventurers and dock for the Jungle Navigation Company. There is a wall of oars dedicated to various expeditions members traveled on, including Dr. Albert Falls, Lord Henry Mystic, Captain Mary Oceaneer, and Camellia Falco. Rosita entertains the guests while waiting for a JNC boat to pick her up for her next show.

### Overlays

#### The Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Management

In 1997, Tropical Serenade at the Magic Kingdom closed to make way for The Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Management. The show had been taken over by Iago from *Aladdin* and Zazu from *The Lion King*. Iago wanted to update the show and make it more hip and with it, despite warnings of the wrath of the Tiki gods. After a fire in 2011 that destroyed key animatronics, the show closed and was replaced with the original Enchanted Tiki Room.

#### The Enchanted Tiki Room: Get the Fever!

In 1999, Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room closed at Tokyo Disneyland to make way for The Enchanted Tiki Room: Get the Fever!, an updated version of the original attraction. It was given a new soundtrack, with remixes of pop songs and songs from the Tiki Room, with the theme of a Las Vegas lounge. The show featured new hosts - Danno, Scats, Buddy, and Lava, the first female Tiki bird. The show closed in 2008.

#### The Enchanted Tiki Room: Stitch Presents Aloha e Komo Mai!

In 2008, after the closure of Get the Fever!, a new overlay of the Tiki Room opened, starring Stitch from the Disney film Lilo & Stitch. The show is hosted by the four birds of paradise - Hanoli, Manu, Mahina, and Waha Nui, where they sing Hawaiian-themed songs, including Hawaiian Rollercoaster Ride and Aloha, E komo Mai. The show is interrupted and disrupted by Stitch, pretending to be the Big Kahuna, so that he can be a part of the act.

### Printed-materials

#### Disney Kingdoms

In the Disney Kingdoms continuity, the Enchanted Tiki Room book would introduce modern-day Irish members of the Bullion family in the form of Saoirse Bullion-O'Callaghan and her adventurous father. Feeling neglected her whole life while her father was focused on curating his eccentric collections, she went on a long journey to the Enchanted Tiki Room Island thinking that bringing him one of the island's intelligent macaws would get him to notice her.

#### Tales from Adventureland

In the first entry of the book series, The Keymaster's Quest, the Enchanted Tiki Room is featured as an enchanted bird sanctuary on the Hawaiian island of Molokai constructed by the Menehune. It protects an intelligent group of birds and singing flowers collectively known as the Akamai as well as serving as a hiding place for the key to Kapu's prison. The Tiki God statue garden outside was built by the Jungle Explorers' Society as a security system to frighten superstitious poachers.

## Connections

### Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

A bird-cage within the Tumbleweed headquarters of the Big Thunder Mining Company reads, "Rosita" while being empty. Additionally there are oars for both Barnabas T. Bullion and Jason Chandler in the Tropical Hideaway.

### Disney films

* **Aladdin**:
* **The Jungle Book**: In the overlay *The Enchanted Tiki Room: Get the Fever* the tiki birds sing a cover of, "I wanna be like you" from the Jungle Cruise film.
* **The Lion King**:
* **Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs**:

### Jungle Cruise

Claude and Clyde describe their journeys on the Jungle Cruise in the pre-show at the Magic Kingdom. They describe scenes from the attraction, with encounters with elephants, crocodiles, and snakes. They traveled through the Jungle Cruise to get to the Sunshine Pavilion and the Tiki Room. Additionally, in Disneyland's Jungle Cruise Rosita can be seen towards the end of the ride on a Jungle Navigation Company dock.

#### Skipper Canteen

Pinned to a board in the Skipper Canteen is a letter addressed to Rosita in the Enchanted Tiki Room. However the letter is marked to be returned to sender due to Rosita being absent from the Tiki Room. In addition to this are several books alluding to the Tiki Room such as *Birds of Song* by Tiki Kiki Serbano, a character from Disneyland's Adventure Trading Company event, *Songs of the Tiki Bird* by Prof. Boag. An allusion to the Enchanted Tiki Room and performer Wally Boag who played José in the attraction, *Tiki, Tiki, Tikis of the South Pacific* by B. Baker. This once again references the Tiki Room and musician, Buddy Baker and *Crooning Flowers* by Sherman and Sherman which alludes to the Tiki Room in addition to the Sherman Brothers who composed much of the soundtrack for the attraction. Also in the *Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen* is a book titled, "A New Way to Manage Birds" by the, "I & Z Management Publications.

#### Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto

Uh-Oa, the Goddess of Destruction from The Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Management sits on a wall and comes to life when the drink named after her is ordered at Grog Grotto. The same drink is served at the Tiki Bar.

#### Tropical Hideaway

Rosita at The Tropical Hideaway is waiting for a boat from the Jungle Navigation Company to start her solo career.

#### Tropical Imports

This Disneyland dining-service has one of the Tiki Room's tiki drummers amongst its cargo.

### Mystic Manor

Mystic Manor's Tribal Arts room is designed as a dark twist on the Tiki Room and contains a figure identical to the middle Tiki drummers.

### Tarzan

In the Adventure Trading Company the Daily Gnus newspaper reported on Tarzan's Treehouse and asked José for a comment on it.

#### Professor Porter’s Trading Post

Professor Porter’s Trading Post is themed to being a jungle trading post operated by Prof. Archimedes Q. Porter from Tarzan. The tiki drummers and gods from the Enchanted Tiki Room are among the items in Porter's possession.

## Cast

### Tiki Birds

* José/Barker Parrot - Wally Boag
* Michael - Fulton Burley
* Pierre - Ernie Newton
* Fritz - Thurl Ravenscroft
* Claude - Sebastian Cabot
* Clyde Birdbrain - Dallas McKennon

### Tiki Gods

* Maui/Koro/Rongo/Ngendei - Ernest Tavares
* Tangaroa-Ru/Pele - Ginny Tyler
* Hina Kuluua - Annie Essex
* Tangaroa - Thurl Ravenscroft

## Songs

* "The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room" - Music and Lyrics by Richard and Robert Sherman
* "Barcarolle" - Music by Jacques Offenbach
* "Let's All Sing Like the Birdies Sing" - Music by Robert Hargreaves, Stanley J. Damerell, and Tolchard Evans, Lyrics by Richard and Robert Sherman
* "Hawaiian War Chant" - Music and Lyrics by Leleiohoku II, Arranged by Ralph Freed and Johnny Noble
* "Farewell and Aloha"
* "Heigh-Ho" - Music by Frank Churchill, Lyrics by Larry Morey

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 This song was removed from the show at both Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom.
2. ↑ https://jungleskipper.com/sea/attractions/skipper-canteen#&gid=1&pid=right-bookshelf-top-shelf-c23