Tarzan's Treehouse is a treetop walk-through attraction at
Hong Kong Disneyland
Hong Kong Disneyland () (local nickname ''HKDL''; also known as HK Disneyland) is a theme park located on reclaimed land in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island. It is located inside the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and it is owned and managed by Hong Ko ...
and formerly at
Disneyland
Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envisio ...
in California. It is based on
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
's 1999 film ''
Tarzan
Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...
''.
Disneyland version
In February 1999, Disneyland closed its version of the
Swiss Family Treehouse
Swiss Family Treehouse is a walk-through attraction featured at several Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, located at Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Park in Disneyland Paris. The walk-through attraction is centered on a giant treehou ...
, and
Imagineers
Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc., commonly referred to as Imagineering, is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construction of Disney theme parks and attra ...
re-themed the attraction to coincide with the soon-to-be released ''Tarzan'' film.
The giant artificial tree received a comprehensive makeover, including 6,000 replacement vinyl leaves, a suspension bridge from a new entrance via a new neighboring tree, and a variety of hands-on interactive features. The tree was 80 feet tall, weighed 150 tons, and contained a total of 300,000 vinyl leaves.
On June 23, 1999, Tarzan's Treehouse opened to park guests, just as Disney's animated ''Tarzan'' premiered in movie theaters. Tributes to the Swiss Family Treehouse were featured in the attraction including the "Mind Thy Head" sign and the "Swisskapolka", which could be heard playing on a vintage
gramophone
A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
.
In November 2019, a wooden plank of the bridge into Tarzan's Treehouse snapped prompting the attraction to close for a short period for repairs.
On September 3, 2021, the attraction closed for refurbishment, and demolition of the bridge and entrance tree began in April 2022. The original tree is planned to re-open with a new name and theme.
In November 2022, it was announced that the treehouse will reopen in 2023 as the Adventureland Treehouse, inspired by
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
's ''
Swiss Family Robinson
''The Swiss Family Robinson'' (German: ''Der Schweizerische Robinson'') is a novel by Johann David Wyss, first published in 1812, about a Swiss family of immigrants whose ship en route to Port Jackson, Australia, goes off course and is shipwr ...
'' (1960).
Hong Kong Disneyland version
When
Hong Kong Disneyland
Hong Kong Disneyland () (local nickname ''HKDL''; also known as HK Disneyland) is a theme park located on reclaimed land in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island. It is located inside the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and it is owned and managed by Hong Ko ...
opened on September 12, 2005, it included Tarzan's Treehouse built on Tarzan's Island. Rafts near
Festival of the Lion King
There have been seven theme park live adaptations of ''The Lion King'' at Disney parks since the animated film ''The Lion King'' was released by Walt Disney Animation Studios in 1994. These have included a parade, two theater-in-the-round shows, ...
are used to ferry passengers to and from the island, which is encircled by the Rivers of Adventure.
This is a similar arrangement to Disneyland's
Tom Sawyer Island
Tom Sawyer Island is an artificial island surrounded by the Rivers of America at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland. It contains structures and caves with references to Mark Twain characters from the novel ''The Adventures of Tom Sa ...
.
Gallery
File:HKDL TARZAN'S TREEHOUSE.jpg, Tarzan's Treehouse at Hong Kong Disneyland
File:Hkdl raft tarzan's tree house.jpg, The raft to Tarzan's Treehouse
Further reading
*
Theme Park Adventure', Special Tarzan's Treehouse issue, 2000.
References
{{Hong Kong Disneyland
Tarzan (franchise)
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts attractions
Disneyland
Hong Kong Disneyland
Adventureland (Disney)
Fictional trees
Fictional houses
Artificial trees
Amusement rides introduced in 1999
Amusement rides introduced in 2005
1999 establishments in California
2021 disestablishments in California
2005 establishments in Hong Kong