Adventureland, October 1967
Here are some fun Adventureland views for you today - with NO Jungle Cruise! They said it couldn't happen.
I always love a good look at a souvenir stand, and here's one full of tropical knickknacks by the bin. Flowers and bananas (always a classic combo) adorn the edge of the thatched hut for a colorful and festive look.
Please ignore the boats from that ride! The quality of this phots is a bit soft, so it's hard to make out what is in the bins other than various seashells (abalone and conch). I need a genuine artificial lei like the ones to the left - I've seen a photo in which you can see a "Disneyland" tag on them, and yet I've never seen one for sale on eBay. They must have sold many thousands over the years.
One interesting detail is the presence of three of the little "tiki babies" that were normally found over in the Enchanted Tiki Room (circled in pink). I confess that my criminal impulses make me wish that I could go back to 1967 so that one of the babies (or all three) might accidentally fall into my stroller. "How did that get in there?". Could they have actually been for sale?
Here is a better look at some of the Tiki babies. Being hand-painted, it seems that no two were alike, even when they were cast from the same mold. Which is cool. I sure would love to have some of these in my collection! When they do show up in an auction, you can be sure that they will fetch thousands of dollars. Imagineer Marc Davis was a collector of Polynesian and Oceanic art, I wonder if he was consulted on the design of these?
Here's a previously-posted photo showing many babies as they descended from the branches of Tangaroa, the father of all Tiki gods and goddesses. "Oh mystic powers, hear my call: from my limbs let new life fall!".
And, for an anticlimax, here's a "just okay" photo of the exit for the Tiki Room (still sponsored by United Airlines at this point).
18 comments:
In the close-up, I wonder what those brown things are to the right of the right-most Tiki Baby? They appear to be gorilla (or monkey) heads made of... what? Coconut shell? Some sort of seed pod? Just a chunk of wood? They'd be great for serving chilled monkey brains!
I can't decide which Tiki baby I like best; they all have their charms. I notice how their feet are all posed in different directions: outward, inward, and straight forward. I don't know what the meaning of that is, but it's probably deliberate.
Thanks for these Adventurous photos, Major.
JB, the Tiki baby on the left has rickets. The one in the middle is pigeon toed. And the one on the right has a case of severe athlete's foot, with bleeding.
I remember when the Tropical Imports stand looked like that, with it's built-in bins. Such a neat little structure. And today, the structure that replaced it is used for stroller parking.
Always loved stopping by the original Tropical Imports stand to look at the various rubber snakes, spiders and shrunken heads when I was young. Never did buy any of it though. Instead, I usually headed over to the Frontierland Rock Shop to buy small animal figurines made of onyx.
Nice set today. Thanks, Major.
Stroller parking, how creative. Do they charge for parking? Makes sense to me. Tiki babies on a string coming out of flowers...so awesome! The Enchanted Tiki Room is very enchanting. Please don't ruin this. Talking about bad "Taboo". Don't make Tarantulas appear, or Greg to almost drown by even TOUCHING this attraction. The little babies look very "Grumpy" if that is a word. If not, I just made it up. I could so rock one of those Leis all day long. My Grandparents went to to Disneyland and all I got was this lousy conch shell. They are cool. Abalone is cooler though. I do have some really big antique shells. They used to "fish" for these things near my house where there is even a beach called "Abalone Cove". Can't do that any more. They used to sell abalone sandwiches at local places. To my parents an abalone shell was an ashtray. Always filled with butts. Tiki Room I guess was owned by Walt, which I didn't know until recently. I wonder if it was staffed by Retlaw peoples only? Please bring back the Tiki Rooms sister: Tahitian Terrace. I can dream. Thanks for the photos this AM Major!
Ah Adventureland. The most atmospheric land of all (in my humble opinion). You just can't help be feel like you were really in tropical...somewhere. Unfortunately (at least as WDW) the land has now been crammed for of buildings and attractions and pretty much looks like you're in a theme park.
Wow, look at all the non-IP specific merchandise! That will NEVER sell. Everything has to be tied to a movie or TV show for anyone to want it. Duh!
The banana décor is...interesting. I tried that in my living room, but the whole thing stunk to high Heaven in a week. And the fruit flies! Don't get me started.
I'm pretty sure those are coconuts which were carved into heads of various sorts. I had one as a kid (though not from Disneyland). Not exactly the most interesting toy. "Oh look, a coconut head. I guess I can put it on a shelf and let it gather dust. Fun!" Of course, that's exactly what I did with a lot of stuff I collected, so I'm probably being too tough on the thing.
I totally don't remember the Tiki Baby part of the show (and I did what I think was the original, in 1973) Still they're pretty cool. And unlike the lowly coconut head, they at least moved.
Thanks, Major!
(and I did SEE what I think was the original...
Wow, yes! Tropical Imports! Best. Shop. Ever. I see the banana vine is in full bloom.
I’m with Ken, I always wanted the rubber snakes, bugs, bats, shrunken heads, and never bought any. Mom said no.
Yes, the brown things are coconuts carved into monkeys, they have eyes made of abalone mother-of-pearl and little wire hippie glasses. Another “ want but never got”. These are still sold, I saw some recently somewhere, and Mrs. G wouldn’t let me buy one.
I’ve seen the tiki babies, but only in the attraction. They never registered with young me, I guess. Major you’re right, these would be nearly priceless today. Surprised the money-grubbers at Disney don’t bring them back. If someone would pay $200 for a toy lightsaber, another someone would pay that for one of these. In fact, 60’s Adventureland seems like a rich vein of nostalgia to mine, lots of rich boomers would be happy to collect memories.
A designer named Jeff Granito comes close, but he mashes up the Haunted Mansion into the Tiki Room, and it’s a little weird. Mrs. G gave me some highball glasses he designed with the Tiki birds on them. Fun stuff.
Our first trip to Hawaii was on United. I only fly United now if no other airline goes to a place.
I have a conch shell and an abalone too. I’m well on the way to having my own tiki room, I wish.
Thanks Major, this is a lot of fun.
JG
Way back when it was one of my favorite spots too. I always bought something there. My parents would say buy it later so you don't have to carry it around all day. But I want it now. There was always Dad to lug our stuff out to the car around noon anyway.
My parents had Abalone ashtrays in our patio too.
I don't remember Tiki Babies for sale, but lucky is the guy who bought one or three back then. You're right Major. They would fetch big bucks.
Thanks Major.
Dr. Goat, let’s buy a couple of those leis and then lose them on Tom Sawyer island…
Lol
JG
JB, I had noticed those coconut-looking things, and even noticed what looked like “eyes”, but the photo just wasn’t clear enough to discern what they were. I just visited somebody who owns a Tiki baby, I was immediately jealous! I’d love to know if those are based on any sort of authentic Oceanic sculptures?
TokyoMagic!, you know it’s time for Tinactin when your feet are actually bleeding. Unless you like socks full of blood. Which I DO. Stroller parking, ugh!!
K. Martinez, do you still have your onyx animal figurines? I’m curious to know if those were made by Native American craftsmen. Maybe you don’t know, all these years later… paperwork tends to get lost.
Bu, it’s such a strange thing to consider that there were strollers at Disneyland for decades, but it wasn’t until the 1980s (or maybe the 1990s?) that strollers became a real problem. What changed? Was it the size of the strollers? Was it due to so many people using strollers as their personal mobile storage pods? I thought that the tiki babies looked fairly cheerful, especially the one in the middle. There was an abalone (or is it abologna?) farm in San Luis Obispo, we visited it a number of years ago, they had tanks full of rushing sea water, with abalones separated by size, from nickel-sized babies to fairly large examples. My sister told me that the place closed because the sea water has become too acidic due to warming temps. Or something like that. I’d love the Tahitian Terrace to come back, but I’m not holding my breath.
Stu29573, Frontierland was pretty atmospheric too, but the sheer size of that land might have diluted the effect. Adventureland was always so relatively small and intimate, and the jungle of the Jungle Cruise was right there. Funny how looking like “you’re in a theme park” is a pejorative! But there was a time when the themes were important, they wanted you to believe that you were on a turn-of-the-century Main Street, or in an 1880s Frontier, or a 1914 Jungle outpost. When I say, “Oh look, a coconut head”, I am usually referring to a person standing nearby. You still see the Tiki babies in the Tiki Room to this day.
stu29573, don’t believe everything you see!
JG, I remember having a big rubber snake when I was a kid, but I don’t think we bought it at Disneyland. Remember when some of those rubber toys would get oily and then dust and lint would stick to them? “Eyes made of abalone mother-of-pearl and little wire hippie glasses”, wow! They did make Tiki babies for sale, possibly some of those amazing Kevin Kidney/Jody Daily pieces of merchandise. Even THOSE go for a lot these days, they were beautifully made. It’s so funny how the idea of an expensive light saber does nothing for me, I guess I am just the wrong age group or something. A mashup of the Haunted Mansion and the Tiki Room is pretty ingenious, I love it! Funny how United Airlines used to be one of the best, and now it is awful.
DrGoat, that was pretty nice of your Dad to haul your merch out to the car at noon, that’s quite a trek! I was once with a girl who forgot her sweater, so we finally had to go back to the car, and I swear that whole trip out to the car and back took almost an hour. I used to find chunks of abalone shells on the beach in San Luis Obispo (I still have a couple of nice pieces in my car!), but now there are so many people up there that the beaches are picked over before I ever have a chance.
JG, I assume that those are the same sorts of leis that were given to guests at the Tahitian Terrace. They had “Disneyland” labels on them, I have NEVER seen one on the collector’s market. Think of the thousands and thousands that must have been sold!
https://jeffgranitodesigns.com/
https://www.sonomarepurpose.com/listing/886873426/vintage-hawaiian-carved-coconut-luau
Major, there is a new Tiki Bar in Paso Robles.
https://www.canetikiroom.com/
We should go there some time.
JG
I loved shopping at the Adventureland shops, and still have a few items from years ago...rubber snake, rubber gorilla, coconut carved into an Indian head (my dad purchased that in WDW in 1972), abalone shells, carved onyx animals, tiny glass animals...
I don't have any tiki babies, but sure wish I did.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Tokyo!, yeah, the one on the right does look like an athlete; he's wearing a jock strap.
Thanks, Stu, for the (possible) explanation of the carved heads. I zoomed waaaay in, and the sign on that bin says "Dust Gatherers $5 (plus tax)".
Thanks, JG, for actually verifying the carved heads.
Oh, so THAT'S how those leis got flung into the TSI tree!
Major, "My abalone has a first name, it's O-s-c-a-r. My abalone has a second name..." Well, you get the idea. (I'll let Melissa do her thing.)
JG, those Hitchhiking Tikis are instantly recognizable, and cute, but still a little weird. Ditto, the carved monkey.
I love the bamboo ceiling in that Tiki Lounge.
Wow, Sue. You have quite a haul of merch; Impressive!
Sue, you really do have a haul of stuff from Adventureland. All I managed to hang onto is a rubber shrunken head that has seen much better days. I wish I had bought more stuff on our latest trips.
JG, Didn't lose my leis, but I lost my little western wallet on the island way back when. Luckily, my Dad went looking and ran into the guy that had found it. He was going to bring it to lost and found, but Dad saved him the trip.
Dad did have a long trip to the car and back, but I think he enjoyed it because he never complained.
Major: for Disneyland’s enchanted tiki room 50th 5 of the 6 Baby Tiki designs were sold as miniature reproductions for 20 or 25 dollars each. These were highly accurate copies. They even included straw skirts or real shell necklaces where appropriate. A full size tiki baby was also sold for 125.00. Addition full size tiki babies were planed but a changed in merchandise management stopped this. These are technically called “new life” tikis.
I’m not sure if Disney ever sold the actual full size tiki babies , but mid size copies were sold in the 60’s made from a composition like material and these were very well painted.
Today the baby to tikis are not only revealed in the tiki garden preshow , but hang from the eves of the tiki room building exterior and can be seen in the Giant tiki totem pole sculpture at the start of the adventureland bridge right at the original Dole Whip stand.
Dr. Goat, glad you got your wallet back.
Your dad sounds a lot like mine, he would have carried things back to the car too. I did a similar thing not too long ago. Runs in the family I guess.
JG
JG, thanks for those links! There’s that coconut monkey, it’s cuter than I expected. If you and I are ever in the San Luis Obispo area at the same time (it almost happened once!), I’d be happy to meet you at Cane Tiki Room!
Lou and Sue, like you, I was SO drawn to those bins full of skulls, snakes, rubber spears, seashells, and other “Adventureland” stuff. I’m trying to think of what specific items I have in my collection from that land, and… there isn’t much. But I loved it back then!
JB, these might have been designed by Rolly Crump, who is famous for his quirky sense of humor, so maybe the jock strap thing was purposeful. Too bad Oscar Mayer never sponsored the Tiki Room, they could have used that song. I love Tiki decor so much, I truly would love to have an over-the-top Tiki-themed room (or mansion wing)!
DrGoat, now I wonder what else Sue has! I’m all about Disneyland collectibles. I’m jealous of your shrunken head - there was somebody on eBay who was selling actual vintage rubber shrunken heads in their original packages, but this person slaps fake Disneyland price tags on everything he sells in an attempt to make a lot more money. I almost fell for it when I first saw his stuff a few years ago!
Mike Cozart, as a rule I don’t buy new Disneyland collectibles, though I do have a few items. The 50th anniversary Monorail model, the Nautilus model, and a Hatbox Ghost “Big Fig”. But I would have been tempted to buy those Baby Tikis if I’d seen them! The only thing that worries me about things like those is that they are too easy to pass off as genuine “vintage” items to those who are not knowledgeable. It used to make me mad that D23 would make repros of classic Disneyland paper items, but (at first) did not clearly mark them as repros. So they put out entire sets of those “concept postcards”, and there is NOTHING to indicate that they are not the originals. Folks who know can see the differences, but I wonder how many have been purchased under the assumption that they were buying actual 1955 cards?
JG, ha ha, I’m not sure MY dad would have ever done that!
Major: that was a problem with the first full-size attraction poster reproductions. They had no modern markings on them . Just the original Walt Disney Productions markings as they appeared on the poster reprint itself. Any attraction poster collector or anyone who ever took an art class could tell it was a reproduction ……. OUT OF A FRAME…….. however framed it is very difficult to tell …..if not impossible on some. And to someone without any printing or art knowledge would easily be fooled. Later released feature the original copyright …. AND an additional Disney Company marking elsewhere on the poster.
But there’s someone on eBay and through some auction houses selling some kind of attraction poster reproduction they claim is a rare WDI printed poster on tyvek: firsts of all only certain 1970’s screen printed tyvek posters were printed during the 70’s and 80’s. And these are supposedly printed in the 90’s …. But something is fishy. I’m sorry but WDI would not have spent money printing posters up of the Columbia and Jungle River ..or Stage-Coach-pack mules. Ironically all these “rare WDI tyvek” printed full-size posters ….. but they all happen to be the same titles that are released by the Disney Gallery … I think somebody is scanning these full-size reproductions …. And is somehow printing their own. Whatever they are … they were NOT printed by WDI for use at the parks .
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