Enchanted Tiki Room

[sPaRkLeSpAz]

I loved the Under New Management version! The old version, made new version really creeps me out.... Haha.

 

[ArthurFiggis]

I actually liked the Under New Management version, and I really liked the old version, too. The new hybrid version isn't that great though. For those of you who are glad it's gone, you should thank the Tiki Gods, I suppose. The only reason it reverted was because the Iago animatronic caught fire and it was deemed too expensive to replace.

 

[QueenElinor]

The under new management version was the only one that my family and I had ever experienced until last November. The new version seemed less exciting and fun than the Zazu and Iago version. I think that I almost fell asleep. I will agree with you that the tiki goddess was a little (okay a lot) cheesy, but over all I want the last version of the show back.

I actually did fall asleep. So I guess that sums up my feelings on this show!

 

[#1DopeyFan]

My older 2 kids and I really enjoyed UNM...this most recent trip we took my youngest son, not really paying attention that it was no longer UNM. It. Was. Awful!!!! Youngest DS was bored and the rest of us were like WTH is this?

 

[Indio]

Does anyone else miss the Zazu and Iago version? My family and I saw the new show last November and hated it. I think that we have put in on the do not need to see list for our trip in September.

We loved the Under New Management version. The version they have now is BORING!!

 

[DisneyRegulars]

My older 2 kids and I really enjoyed UNM...this most recent trip we took my youngest son, not really paying attention that it was no longer UNM. It. Was. Awful!!!! Youngest DS was bored and the rest of us were like WTH is this?

This happened to us too!I kept waiting and waiting for the management to show up and they never did. I missed them so much. I will try again though, maybe I'll enjoy it if I'm not expecting the management to come.

 

[disneyworld1977]

I like the old not new version. But I would have loved to see the UNM version, since I have the song on my Disney Parks CD. We were kinda mad the time we had went and they changed it.

 

[#1DopeyFan]

This happened to us too!I kept waiting and waiting for the management to show up and they never did. I missed them so much. I will try again though, maybe I'll enjoy it if I'm not expecting the management to come.

You're better then us...I don't know that we will EVER do it or Captain EO again.

 

[DaisyNY]

Husband loves this attraction...managed to bypass it last few times we were there because he was home working...Newest show which we saw last week was BLAH!!! Miss the parrots from Aladin and Lion King movies...really quite dull...No line of course during the busiest of seasons???

 

[Eeyore's Wife]

I am so thankful that the current version has replaced the yapping/screaming UNM version. I had sworn off the Tiki Room for years, but have been back many many times since they "fixed" the experience after the fire.

I miss the dancing multi-colored fountain from Old, but it is once again a sweet experience.

 

[disney1990]

No. I do not miss Iago screeching at me for 15 minutes.

This is exactly how DH and I feel.

 

[Magical Kingdoms]

The Iago and Zazu version of the show was the one playing every time we visited. The first few times it was cute, but it eventually became annoying.

I haven't seen the new/old version yet but would like to give it a go, as I do like a lot of the classics like CoP and etc. As long as Iago is gone I'll be fine. He drives me crazy.

 

[mrjef]

I loved the Under New Management version! The old version, made new version really creeps me out.... Haha.

I might have been creeped out if I hadn't fallen asleep so quickly!!

 

[kmarie99]

The UNM version was Horrible and that is 20 mins I will NEVER get back.

So very glad that it 'accidentally' caught fire

 

[Seeker615]

I saw both versions and honestly did not care for either. I saw the original way back in the day and then the new management version when we took the our kids.

I will say I preferred the Under New Management one better just because I know the characters.

Last time I was at MK I just skipped it.

 

[Robo]

I saw both versions and honestly did not care for either. I saw the original way back in the day and then the new management version when we took the our kids.

I will say I preferred the Under New Management one better just because I know the characters.

Last time I was at MK I just skipped it.

Yup.
Sad to say that no matter what Disney tries with the Tiki Room in Florida, it has just failed to become a hit with nearly as many guests as it's DLR counterpart in Anaheim.

 

[stew4407]

I have never been. When we went in 2010 it was closed. Worth doing? A good break from the heat?

 

[Robo]

I have never been. When we went in 2010 it was closed. Worth doing? A good break from the heat?

Nearly everything is worth doing at least once, and yes, it is air conditioned.

History:

The Enchanted Tiki Room was the very first AudioAnimatronics attraction ever built. (It premiered at Disneyland.)

Walt Disney himself had earlier designed and crafted a small mechanical dancing man puppet theater, but it was too complex to build full-scale.

So, Walt and his Imagineeers came up with the idea of building mechanical BIRDS as they are simpler to design and operate.
Mechanical birds had been built for many generations by European and Asian craftsmen with "clock-work" mechanisms, but the new AudioAnimatronic Disney design was truly "cutting-edge technology" at that time (early 1960's).

Disney's staff wrote a whole musical show around their new bird designs, and the Tiki Room presentation was born.

They set it all up in one of the Disney (movie) Studios and (after adding a lot of additional special effects that rounded-out simple bird-stars) they built the final showcase for the attraction at Disneyland, set everything up inside it and the show debuted in 1963 (wow!)
The Enchanted Tiki Room was a HUGE success with guests for many years.
And, naturally, when WDW's MK was built, another Tiki Room was included in the plans.

But, as with anything based on "cutting-edge technology"... the Tiki Room was soon upstaged by newer, more complex and amazing animatronic attractions.
The songs chosen for the show were becoming too out-dated ("Let's All Sing Like the Birdies Sing", even in 1963, was not exactly the "pop anthem of a new generation").

The simple ideas of "birds twittering" and audience "sing-along" songs became "quaint" and SLOW as audiences became more accustomed to bigger "thrills" at other newer attractions.

The Tiki Room inhabitants were playing to fewer and fewer folks in the seats below.
And many times I was witness to a "mass exodus" of folks just getting up mid-show and finding the exit.

So the Imagineers decided it might help matters to "update" the show by adding "name" characters (from recent films) and by making music choices that had an appeal to the audiences that were currently Disney's guests.

And I personally applauded this "newer" version of the show.
The writers clearly had a love and respect for the original version (as there many references to it, and actual RECORDINGS from the original still included.)

I will also say that since the new "Under New Management" show began, I have seen far fewer guests get up and "walk out" during the show than I had been seeing for many years prior to the update.

There are some who didn't like the UNM version of the show and wanted it restored to the original version.
And, I do think that old show (now the current version) was/is like a "peek into the past" (with Walt and his crew), but I think the way it was/is headed... playing to fewer and fewer guests... it could simply be REMOVED... and that would be a shame.

 

[stew4407]

Thanks for the info, Robo. Your posts are an excellent and full of good information!

 

[Rhongepooh]

Does anyone else miss the Zazu and Iago version? My family and I saw the new show last November and hated it. I think that we have put in on the do not need to see list for our trip in September.

Me! Me! Me!! But then again. . . .I ALSO like the current Journey into Imagination. . . so I'm not the best to judge I guess!