Guests visiting Disneyland on July 23, 1963 were about to see a revolution, whether they knew it or not.
They entered a small theater decorated with topical plants, with colorful birds sitting on perches above. Suddenly, the birds came to life, not only moving, but talking, singing, and telling jokes. As the show went on, the plants -- and even the columns decorated with faces -- joined in on the act, with the entire room coming to life in an upbeat, exotic experience like nothing the world had ever seen.
It was delightful, and immediately popular, but it was also incredibly important. Those guests in the Enchanted Tiki Room on its opening day were seeing the first example of Audio Animatronic technology. What started with birds singing words has stretched to become the signature tech driving Disney theme park attractions and injecting life into their show scenes.
That influence, and its significance on the industry, is a lot of what puts the Tropical Serenade so high on this list. I'm defining greatness not only in terms of "how much fun is this to do today," but also in terms of significance of legacy, and impressiveness of achievement. Very, very few attractions boast a bigger accomplishment in those second two aspects than the birds of the Tiki Room.
It feels fairly quaint now, but in the early era of the parks, the idea of a lifelike creature that moved and breathed seemed impossible, let alone its beak being perfectly synchronized to speech. You cannot take for granted how incredible an entertainment breakthrough this was, and it was done so naturally.
Of course, this is a Walt Disney World list, so some originality points are lost on this version of the Tiki Room, opening eight years later -- and after several more quantum leaps in AA tech -- but when Jose, Fritz, Michael, and Pierre went to Florida, WDI took advantage of the space allowed them and built a major location to highlight their now-legendary show.
To begin with, the Sunshine Pavilion is not built just as a location for a show; like one of the EPCOT Center pavilions to come in the following decade, it was an entire location to itself that also happened to feature an attraction. Its massive, beautiful pagoda serves as the icon for Adventureland, and waterfalls and babbling brook are central to the ambience of the land. A lot of early Walt Disney World was also meant to highlight the great state it was built in, and the Sunshine Pavilion was no different, partnering with the Florida Citrus Growers to highlight the amazing fruit of Florida. The Sunshine Tree Terrace at the exit was a quick service location, but one that was practically a part of the attraction (and also Citrus Swirls are the best snack and you can fight me if you like). Here, the building was just as important as the show, and that remains the case still. There's a reason this wasn't the Enchanted Tiki Room. The Tiki Room was a room inside the pavilion, but the pavilion was the highlight, and the show inside it, the Tropical Serenade, was a featured detail.
The Tiki Room itself, too, was given a ton of improvements from the California original. It was larger, with more comfortable seating, more animation, and more detail. Beautiful Claude Coates animated backgrounds create depth outside the windows, and the whole room just exudes atmosphere and beauty. It was a perfect example of taking something that worked already and just making it even better.
And that show still just remains impossibly fun; history and larger importance isn't the only thing going for the Serenade. The songs written by the Sherman Brothers are infectious and memorable, the humor remains charming, and while lifelike robot birds have stopped being amazing they are still pretty cool to watch. With its colors and and ambience and tropical sounds, it's a very zen experience in the middle of a busy park.
Consider, also, how expertly paced the show is as the theater comes to life one element at a time. This, I argue, is what really makes it special, but it isn't so much something you think about as you are subconsciously aware of it as it happens. We start with a Cast Member introducing us to the master of ceremonies, who, to our delight, ends up being a parrot. One by one, we are introduced to three more parrots to help with the show, then an entire room of birds join in to introduce the show. That should be enough, but after that the flower beds in the ceiling lower, and the flowers start singing. Their song then wakes up the tikis in the rafters, who until now just seemed like decoration, and the totem poles around the room, which until now just seemed like structural support. All of that causes the critical mass shut down of the entire thing. It's honestly exceptionally well executed, as you are surprised over and over again through the length of the presentation.
We're speaking mostly of the original show for what it represented in its moment in time, but I might actually make the argument that the remade and renamed 2011 show -- Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room -- is a better product, at least for a modern WDW audience. It may be lacking a fountain, but extended sing-a-long segments probably don't have the success they once did -- or still do in Disneyland with frequent returning guests fascinated by its history. So the zippier, truncated show that avoids potential awkwardness is probably a welcome restructure. Its mere existence is a blessing, anyhow.
For all these reasons, the Tiki Room is just part of the DNA of the Magic Kingdom. The flagship song -- still outrageously charming and catchy all these years later -- belongs on every musical collection. The tropical setting and the humorous Audio Animatronics are a central element of Adventureland. It's an all-ages piece of magic that never stops being a joy.
While you take in that amazing music, and that chill pacific ambience, just remember: you're also partaking in an incredibly important piece of history.
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