Enchanted Tiki Room Articles

A tidal wave of Tiki culture surged onto to American shores in late 1950s as restaurants cocktails, movies, TV shows,music and fashion all drew inspiration from the South Seas.In 1963 a Tiki wave splashed into Adventureland with the debut of the Enchanted Tiki Room. As fun and timely as a Tiki theme was at its opening the Tiki rooms real significance was its advancement of audio-animatronic technology.

Inside the Tiki Room the audio animatronic characters sing and move with sophisticated subtly just a few feet over the 200 pairs of watchful eyes the 17-minute show later tightened to 15, showcases 225 moving birds, drumming Tiki figures, chanting Tiki mask and singing blossoms all within an air-conditioned tropical hut where fountains bubble inside a rain storm rages outside and an elaborate Bird mobile descends from the ceiling.

The songs included "Hawaiian War Chant" and the sing-along "Let's All Sing Like The Birdies Sing" Hosting the festivities are Fritz, Jose, Michael and Pierre four wisecracking audio animatronic Macaws of international heritage. The birds themselves still appear incredibly lifelike thanks to their varied movements and real feathers. The lively presentation has brought glowing reviews, especially in his first decades. A 1963 issue of National Geographic called the Tiki Room a tremendous show and gave it over two pages and three big photos.The Tiki Room is actually a scaled-down version of what had been originally planned designers first envisioned a restaurant with an after-dinner bird show, but when the plan proved to be unworkable, the entertainment was expanded to an entire attraction.

Another novelty was the initial ticket pricing guests didn't need the usual "A" to "E" tickets but rather separate 75-cent Tiki Tickets by the mid-60s admission to the hut had changed to an "E" ticket.United Airlines took over sponsorship of the Tiki Room from 1964 to 1973 followed by Dole pineapple from 1976 onward. Dole added a preview show video about pineapples and also began sponsoring the Tiki Juice Bar next door.After years of neglect a major renovation in 2005 upgraded the tiki rooms interior and exteriors.Leota Thomas of Haunted Mansion fame and Harriet Burns were the Imagineers who furred the original Tiki Birds The 4 birds that host the Tiki Room are named: Michael with an Irish accent voiced by Fulton Burley of Golden Horseshoe fame Fritz with a German accent voiced by Thurl Ravenscroft of Haunted Mansion fame Pierre with a French accent voiced by Ernie Newton Jose with a Hispanic accent voiced by Wally Boag of Golden Horseshoe fame Barker Bird is voiced by Wally Boag

From Steve Birnbaum brings you the best of Disneyland 1982: Introduced in 1963, this is the first of the Audio-Animatronics attractions and the precursor of more elaborate renditions (such as "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln"). This 17-minute show functions in a vaguely Polynesian complex at the entrance to Adventureland, next door to the Tahitian Terrace, and is vintage Disney. Yet it's as fresh as ever, with its four emcees (José, Michael, Pierre, and Fritz), its sextet of pastel-plumed, long-eyelashed parrots (Collette, Fifi, Gigi, Josephine, Mimi, and Susette), and its chorus of 54 orchids, 4 carved-wooden tiki poles, 12 tiki drummers, 24 singing masks, 64 bird-of-paradise flowers, 7 birds of paradise, 8 macaws, 12 toucans, 9 fork-tail birds, 6 cockatoos, and several others. The 225 performers all sing and whistle and drum up a tropical storm with such animation that it's hard to resist a smile.

The voice of Michael belongs to Fulton Burley, who plays the Irish tenor/ proprietor at Frontierland's Golden Horseshoe Saloon. José is played by Wally Boag, another long-time Golden Horseshoe star, whose name careful observers have probably noted on the Main Street window above the Carnation Ice Cream Parlor.The music includes "In the Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room," the show's theme song; "The Hawaiian War Chant"; "Let's All Sing"; "Farewell"; and "Aloha to You."

When the ride operator presses the start button he has 18 seconds to tap on Jose the parrot to wake him up.The thunderstorm effect is achieved by streaming water between the windows two panes of glass.

Specs Capacity per hour 928 -- Capacity per show 245 -- Cycle Time 20:00 -- Load Time 3:00 -- Unload Time 3:00 --Show Time 17:00 -- Dispatch Interval 20:00 -- Shows per hour 3

Sponsorship:
Walt Disney (WED): 1963
United Airlines: 1964-1973
Dole: 1976-
Leota Thomas and Harriet Burns were the Imagineers who furred the original Tiki Birds
The 4 birds that host the Tiki Room are named:
Michael (Irish) (Fulton Burley)
Fritz (German) (Thurl Ravenscroft)
Pierre (French) (Ernie Newton)
Jose (Hispanic) (Wally Boag)
Barker Bird (outside) (Wally Boag)

It had originally been planned to have the Tiki Room as a restaurant.

The Tiki Room has a cast of 225: 54 Orchids, four Tiki poles, twelve Tiki drummers, 24 singing masks, seven birds of paradise, eight macaws, twelve toucans, nine forktail birds, six cockatoos and 20 tropical birds.

When the ride operator presses the start button he has 18 seconds to tap on Jose the parrot to wake him up.

The thunderstorm effect is achieved by streaming water between the windows' two panes of glass.

Tiki Room Gods and Goddesses: Maul - Roped the playful sun and brought his people time; Koro - The Midnight Dancer; Tangaroa-Ru - Goddess of the East Wind; Hina Kuluna - Goddess of the Rain; Pele - Goddess of Fire and Volcano; Negendei - The Earth Balancer; Rongo - God of Agriculture; Tongoroa - Father of all Gods and Goddesses

Statistics:
Opening Day: June 23, 1963
Cast: 225 Audio-Animatronic performers, including tropical birds, flowers, Tiki drummers, and Tiki Gods
Length of Show: 15 minutes (formerly 18 minutes)
Technology: Electronically combines and synchronizes voices, music, and sound effects with movements of animated performers in the Enchanted Tiki Room. One inch magnetic tape with 14 channels controls 438 separate actions.

Uti, the Goddess of fishing, and for nearly four decades she towered proudly over the main entryway to the Tiki Room's tropical garden pre-show. Holding a fully functioning gas flame torch and sporting door knocker sized hoop earrings, Uti stood inside an enormous outrigger canoe sheltered beneath a towering A-frame thatched roof. Her torch was turned off in the mid-90's. In the early morning of January 8, 2000, wood rot caused the support poles on Uti's giant A-frame home to collapse against the turnstile and juice bar. The Tiki Room was closed for the day and barricades quickly set up. Uti and her noble perch were then unceremoniously removed. Uti sat behind Pirates of the Caribbean, still bolted onto her canoe. Eventually a cast member pried her loose and took her home while the hand-crafted outrigger was reportedly thrown away. Being one of a kind, there was no mold to reproduce it.

Coordinating the entire nightly show was a daunting task, but Disney came up with a solution. Disney had signed on German rocket scientist Wernher Von Braun, who worked on the Army’s Jupiter ballistic missile and then NASA’s spaceflight programs. It was reportedly this deal that resulted in missile guidance technology in the form of a 14-channel tape recorder using one-inch magnetic tape. The tape recorder provided the complex set of commands that ran the show.

From WED Disneyland Dictionary 1968
Presents beautiful tropical birds, flowers and tiki gods in a tune-filled comedy with completely lifelike movements and humanized voices through the WED-developed "Audio-Animatronics"* system. The presentation is staged in a colorful thatched but setting by 225 "performers." In the entrance garden, tiki gods and goddesses tell exciting legends of the South Seas. The attraction is presented by United Airlines, official airline of Disneyland. Note: The Enchanted Tiki Room has a unique place in entertainment history; it is the first attraction anywhere to utilize fully the "Audio-Animatronics"* system of three-dimensional animation.

In the 1970's required a "E" ticket

From Steve Birnbaum brings you the best of Disneyland 1982:
Introduced in 1963, this is the first of the Audio-Animatronics attractions and the precursor of more elaborate renditions (such as "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln"). This 17-minute show functions in a vaguely Polynesian complex at the entrance to Adventureland, next door to the Tahitian Terrace, and is vintage Disney. Yet it's as fresh as ever, with its four emcees (José, Michael, Pierre, and Fritz), its sextet of pastel-plumed, long-eyelashed parrots (Collette, Fifi, Gigi, Josephine, Mimi, and Susette), and its chorus of 54 orchids, 4 carved-wooden tiki poles, 12 tiki drummers, 24 singing masks, 64 bird-of-paradise flowers, 7 birds of paradise, 8 macaws, 12 toucans, 9 fork-tail birds, 6 cockatoos, and several others. The 225 performers all sing and whistle and drum up a tropical storm with such animation that it's hard to resist a smile. The voice of Michael belongs to Fulton Burley, who plays the Irish tenor/ proprietor at Frontierland's Golden Horseshoe Saloon. José is played by Wally Boag, another long time Golden Horseshoe star, whose name careful observers have probably noted on the Main Street window above the Carnation Ice Cream Parlor. The music includes a special arrangement of the "Bar- carole" from Jacques Offenbach's opera Tales of Hoffman; "In the Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room," the show's theme song; "The Hawaiian War Chant"; "Let's All Sing"; "Farewell"; and "Aloha to You." Presented by Dole Pineapple.

Cast Member: I'd like to welcome you to Walt Disney's Enchanted Room presented by our friends at Dole Pineapple. Now it's time to introduce you to the star of the show Jose wake up.

Jose: Awww Buenos Dias seniorita, my ciestas are getting shorter and shorter. Oh look at all the people. Welcome to Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room. Hey Michael me amigo, pay attention it’s show time.

Michael: So it is and what darlin’ people I have sittin’ under me. Pierre you rascal you, let’s put on the show.

Pierre: Mounna me (please excuse spelling) I am always ready as you say to put on the show wwhht whoo (whistle) pardon madam that whistle was for my good friend Fritz.

Fritz: Ack toleba, I almost fell out of my number perch. Glad to see you all aboard ashow or hehe wherever you are. My goodness you’re all staring at us. We better start the show rolling.

Michael: Wait, wait we forgot to wake up the glee club.

Birds start chirping and the room fills with the sound of singing birds.

Jose: Ole, ole it’s show time.

All birds: In the tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki room. In the tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki room

Jose: All the birds sing words

Michael: And the flowers croon, in the tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki room.

Jose: Welcome to our tropical hideaway, you lucky people you. If we weren’t in the show starting right away we’d be in the audience too. Altogether

All birds: In the tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki room. In the tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki room.

Jose: All the birds sing words

Michael: And the flowers croon, in the tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki room.

Fritz: I sing so beautiful, I should sing solo.

Jose: You’re singing so low we can’t hear you.

Pierre: My voice might not be so marvelous, but my profile is out of this world.

Michael: Yea ho, but the trouble is it’s not far enough out of this world. Isn’t that right Herr Smith.

Fritz: Whoo, whoo I see Smith has no hair.

Jose: Me amigos stop the clucking, you sound like a bunch of old hens. There’s a lot of birds waiting to go on. For instance

Michael: The boy’s in the back are called macaws.

Jose: Because of their claws?

Michael: No because they macaws, and our fine feathered friend is a jolly toucan, and two can sound better than one toucan can.

Bird chirping

Jose: The bird of paradise is an elegant bird. It likes to be seen, and it loves to be heard. Most little birdies will fly away but the Tiki Room birds are here everyday.

All birds: In the tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki room. In the tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki room

Jose: All the birds sing words

Michael: And the flowers croon

All birds: In the tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki room.

Jose: Our magnificent production is yet to come, so strum the guitar, and beat the drum. We’ve been a hit and we know you adore us so come on and join us in another chorus.

All birds: In the tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki room. In the tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki room.

Michael: A little softer

All birds: All the birds sing words and the flowers croon in the tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki room.

Michael: A little louder

All birds: In the tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki room. In the tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki room. All the birds sing words and the flowers croon in the tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki room.

Jose: Let’s give the little birdies a great big hand.

Pierre: Ye Applaud, applaud.

Michael: Ahh, you down there with both hands.

Jose: And now senours and senouritas please place yours eyes to the center. Of the room that is. We present the Enchanted Fountain.

Fritz: Ack, yeah. And the wundeba bird mobile. It has birds on it and it goes round and round. That’s why they call it a bird mobile.

Michael: Look, here come the girls.

Pierre: Madam, and Masseur introducing the lovely ladies of France-swaa just like the ? with only feathers. Colette, Paulette, Suzette, Mimi, Gigi, Fifi.

Jose: I wonder what happened to Roseate.

Girl birds: Let’s all sing like the birdies sing. Tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet. Let’s all sing like the birdies sing. Sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet. Let’s all warble like nightingales. Give your throat a treat. Take your time from the birds, now you all know the words. Tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet.

Jose: Let’s a sing like the birdies sing. Bubbabo, bubbabo, bubo.

Michael: Let’s all sing like the birdies sing. Tweet, tweet, my that bird sings sweetly.

Pierre: Let’s all warble like nightingales. Ahhh magnificent. Take your time from the birds, now you all know the words, sing that all sweet song.

Jose: Now we want you people down there, to sing along with us birds up here. Altogether now, let’s all sing like the birdies sing.

Everyone: Let’s all sing like the birdies sing.

Jose: Tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet.

Everyone: Tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet.

Jose: Let’s all sing like the birdies sing.

Everyone: Let’s all sing like the birdies sing.

Jose: Sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet.

Everyone: Sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet.

Jose: Let’s all warble like nightingales.

Everyone: Let’s all warble like nightingales.

Jose: Give your throat a treat.

Everyone: Give your throat a treat.

Jose: Take your time from the birds.

Everyone: Take your time from the birds, now you all know the words tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet.

Jose: Everybody whistle.

Whistle the song.

Jose: Ah ha. Applause, applause that so good.

Fritz: Wundeba, wundeba. Give yourself a hand.

Pierre: Ahh that was magnificent.

Jose: C, no one laid an egg but me.

Michael: And now ladies and gentlemen we have something really big for you.

Fritz: Yeah, the birds stand still, or the Tiki Room flies away.

Pierre: Muname, quit talking while I’m interrupting. Ladies and gentlemen now direct from the islands we present a musical luau.

Flowers lower from where they are hung and start singing.

Pierre: Ack someone has stolen my tunder.

Jose: I think someone has left the shower running.

Fritz: Be careful me fine friends. The gods have been angered by all the celebratin'. But me buckos, every cloud has a silver lining.

Pierre: Msieur and Madamme, it's time to say oduer, but we hope you will always remember the amazing things wich happened here in Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room.

Birds: The birdies had their fling.(birdies chirp and sing) You heard the flowers sing.

Flowers: Ta hua ee la ee la

Birds: Tiki's play the drums. (Drums play) Hear them do the chant. (They chant) Farewell and aloha to you.

Jose: Ole', ole', applause, let's give the birds a standing ovation, applause, up, up down there, applause, everybody stand up down there on your feet ole'.

Michael: And now as long as you're all standin'.

Jose: We have a wonderful magic trick for you.

Fritz: Yeah, a wundeba trick. Everybody face the door. And the trick is, we gonna make you all disappear.

Entire Tiki Room:

Heigh Ho, heigh ho, it's out the door you go. We hope you've all enjoyed the show heigh ho, heigh ho, heigh ho, heigh ho, heigh ho, keep marching in a row. Don't stop to look or read a book heigh ho, heigh ho, heigh ho, heigh ho, heigh ho, just kick your feet and go. You sing this song, you march along, heigh ho, heigh ho, heigh ho, Heigh ho, heigh ho, step lively not so slow. Come back again we'll see you then, heigh ho, heigh ho, heigh ho, Heigh ho, heigh ho make room for our next show. There's folks outside go take a ride heigh ho, heigh ho, heigh ho, heigh ho, Heigh ho, it's out the door you go. We hope you've all enjoyed the show heigh ho, heigh ho.