Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room opened on June 23, 1963 and was the first attraction to feature Audio-Animatronics, a WED Enterprises patented invention. The attraction's first commercial sponsor was United Airlines but sponsorship soon passed over to Hawaii's Dole Food Company who remains the sponsor to the present day. Dole also provides the unique Dole Whip soft-serve frozen dessert sold at a snack bar near the entrance.The show was originally going to be a restaurant featuring Audio-Animatronic birds serenading guests as they ate and drank. The "magic fountain" at the room's center was originally planned as a coffee station and the restaurant would have shared its kitchen with the now-defunct Tahitian Terrace.While waiting outside in a lanai area for the show to start, visitors are serenaded by Hawaiian music which at one time included that of Martin Denny. Hawaiian gods are represented as well around the perimeter of the lanai and each has a story to tell via Audio-AnimatronicsThe attraction opened in an era when all things Polynesian were popular and was an immediate hit. It houses a Hawaiian-themed musical show "hosted" by four lifelike macaws whose plumage matches their implied countries of origin. "José" is red, white and green and speaks with a Mexican accent, voiced by Wally Boag; "Michael" is white and green with an Irish brogue, voiced by Fulton Burley; "Pierre" is red, white, blue and has a French accent courtesy of the voice talents of Ernie Newton while red, black and white "Fritz" has a German accent courtesy of the voice talents of Thurl Ravenscroft. The presentation features a "cast" of over 150 talking, singing and dancing birds, flowers, the aforementioned magic fountain, tiki drummers and tiki totem poles that perform the attraction's signature tunes, "In The Tiki Room" by the Sherman Brothers and "Let's All Sing Like the Birdies Sing." The finale has every Audio-Animatronic figure performing a rousing version of "Hawaiian War Chant."
This profile was edited with Skize Editor
..
