Skip to content

walt disney

Enchanted Tiki Room Turns 50 This Sunday

linda-walt-disney-tiki-room

It’s hard to believe but Sunday, June 23, will mark the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland. Crowds were wowed by the world’s first Audio-Animatronics show in a place where the birds sing words and flowers croon.

Inspiration for the Tiki Room came from Walt Disney’s earliest days of animated filmmaking, as he looked for a way to animate in three dimensions. He was fascinated by an antique, miniature mechanical songbird that he had purchased in New Orleans and thought if someone could animate this figure a century before, it should be possible to do it using modern technology.

The resulting Audio-Animatronics technology developed for the Enchanted Tiki Room would eventually lead to such iconic Disney theme park attractions as “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln,” “it’s a small world,” Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion and others.

“The Enchanted Tiki Room continues to delight thousands of guests every day, some 50 years after Walt originally introduced us to Jose, Michael, Pierre & Fritz,” said Jon Storbeck, vice president of Disneyland Park. You might enjoy reading about the experiences of one of the attractions original VIP Hostess or The Disney Blog columnist Linda’s experience shadowing Walt Disney on the press preview.Read More »Enchanted Tiki Room Turns 50 This Sunday

Official Disney Fan Club Opens Free Membership Level, Finally

In a much anticipated move, D23, the Official Disney Fan Club has relaunched their website. It now includes more member-exclusive content, but the cost to become a member has been reduced to zero. Paid membership levels with additional benefits will remain. D23: The Official Disney… Read More »Official Disney Fan Club Opens Free Membership Level, Finally

Orlando – The Action Center of Florida, Vintage Film Highlights “Before Disney”

Here’s a great vintage film that captures Orlando, Florida as it was just before Walt Disney World changed it forever. Walt’s vision for an experimental prototype city of tomorrow is discussed starting at 4:45 and there’s actually some excellent vintage footage of Disneyland scattered throughout.… Read More »Orlando – The Action Center of Florida, Vintage Film Highlights “Before Disney”

RetroLand: 1960 Tomorrowland Spaceman and Spacewoman

Construction for Disneyland’s original Tomorrowland didn’t even start until December 1955, that left them just 6 months to pull it all together. If you visited the early incarnation of Disneyland’s Tomorrowland you would have encountered a number of exhibits that were essentially corporate brochures realized… Read More »RetroLand: 1960 Tomorrowland Spaceman and Spacewoman

The Park – Walt and Lillian’s Musical Legacy

WaltDisneyConcertHall

In 1964, the newly-built Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in downtown Los Angeles was opened to much fanfare. It was the city’s crowning achievement, having lacked a modern concert hall for many years. Walt and Lillian Disney donated a wad of money to the project and were to be given a personal tour of the hall prior to dedication. I was the PR person for the park’s new “ambassador”, Miss Disneyland, and as such escorted her to the pre-dedication event. There was a bevy of Music Center execs there, along with the press, to greet Walt and Lillian and the photogenic Miss Disneyland.

The music director at the time was the young, Indian conductor Zubin Mehta. He was known for his fiery passion and diva-like temperament. Only 26 years old at the time, he was already considered a musical boy genius. To complete the picture, he usually dressed all in black. That, together with his swarthy dark complexion, made quite an impressive and dramatic presentation.Read More »The Park – Walt and Lillian’s Musical Legacy

Friday Funnies: Walt’s iPod

Walt Disney really was ahead of his time as evidenced by this Friday Funny: Add your own caption in the comments below.

Disney’s St. Louis Development That Never Was

Todd Pierce at the Disney History Institute has wrapped up his 10-part series on the Saint Louis Riverfront Square development that Walt Disney has proposed building in what he considered his home state of Missouri. The project was to be the net evolution after Disneyland.… Read More »Disney’s St. Louis Development That Never Was

Mysterious Mickey Mouse Cartoon To Feature Walt Disney’s Voice

There’s a Mickey Mouse cartoon scheduled for a world debut at the Annecy Animation Festival on June 11. Disney animation is playing coy saying only that the never-before-seen Walt Disney Animation Studios short will feature Walt Disney’s voice as Mickey Mouse. It is said to… Read More »Mysterious Mickey Mouse Cartoon To Feature Walt Disney’s Voice