March 12, 2005
The Enchanted Tiki Room -- Now More the Same than Ever!

On March 12, Disneyland reopened the Enchanted Tiki Room after a lengthy rehab. The opening of the refreshed attraction occurred with little fanfare, but that didn't stop die-hard Tiki fans from lining up at the entrance to Frontierland as much as six hours before park opening (much to the irritation of security personnel).

The rehab, accomplished at an expense estimated to be in the low eight figures, was as extensive as such a thing can possibly be, and with good reason. The Enchanted Tiki Room show building was completely gutted and its contents warehoused, put on eBay, or destroyed. It was then completely recreated from scratch, using archival photographs and the consulting expertise of retired Imagineers, as an exact duplicate of its original self. Every bird, every talking flower, every uncomfortable chair was recreated in vibrant detail. The original "rain" seen outside the Tiki Room's windows was analyzed and synthesized in a Tomorrowland laboratory. Descendents of the original birds whose feathers were used to decorate the animatronic figures were plucked clean. Even the show's controlling software was printed out and re-entered into the memory of duplicate computers with triple-checked accuracy.

The most tricky part of the restoration was gathering together the attraction's original voice talent and having them recreate their parts. Where this was not possible due to death, stubbornness, or not seeing the point, professional mimics were hired. The new soundtrack was computer enhanced where needed to make it nanosecond perfect.

But all of this begs the question of why. Why destroy a beloved attraction only to put it right back where it was? Said a Disneyland spokesperson, "Disneyland needs to keep its rides and attractions fresh without upsetting people who grew up with them. By recreating an attraction, we add decades to its lifespan without alienating any of the Webmasters or bloggers who jump all over us if we so much as repaint a bench. We followed the same course with Space Mountain. It took us three years, but when Space reopens, you won't even know the difference. The only other option is to close something 'temporarily' and then basically 'forget' to reopen it. We did it with the castle walkthrough, and we're doing it with Lincoln. Oh, but don't tell anyone I told you that."

Despite their best intentions, some diehard Enchanted Tiki Room fans will likely still be disappointed. The incredible, show-stopping "Ride of the Valkyries" number, cut from the show more than a decade ago to lessen its run time, has not been restored, and neither has the animatronic crow that once sang a beautiful, mournful "Old Man River." To make up for (or gloss over) this lack, however, Disney has reversed a long-standing policy and will once again allow Tiki Room cast members to carry guns. "I'm glad they're back," said one cast member. "I think we were all tired of the show's initial 'wake the bird up by tapping it with a stick' thing. The guns are so much more satisfying."