Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar is a

tiki bar A tiki bar is a themed drinking establishment that serves elaborate cocktails, especially rum-based mixed drinks such as the Mai Tai and Zombie cocktails. Tiki bars are aesthetically defined by their tiki culture décor which is based upon a rom ...

located at the Disneyland Hotel in the

Disneyland Resort The Disneyland Resort, commonly known as Disneyland, is an entertainment resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division and is home to two theme parks (Di ...

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

, California, that opened in May 2011. Named one of the top five tiki bars in Los Angeles by LA Weekly, Trader Sam's is one of many tiki bars gaining popularity throughout the United States, and even the world, in what some call tiki's "third wave". It is not to be confused with the

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

tiki bar Trad'r Sam founded in 1937.

Influences and references

Trader Sam's incorporates elements of traditional tiki bars (e.g. glass floats, bamboo, tiki carvings) combined with memorabilia from Disney rides and movies such as

Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise based on the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., a fictional professor of archaeology, that began in 1981 with the film '' Raiders of the Lost Ark''. In 1984, a prequel, '' Th ...

and

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' (french: Vingt mille lieues sous les mers) is a classic science fiction adventure novel by French writer Jules Verne. The novel was originally serialized from March 1869 through June 1870 in Pierre-J ...

. According to Brandon Kleyla, Disney Imagineer and head decorator for Trader Sam's, there are more than 1,600 items decorating the interior. In addition to classic tiki bar details, Trader Sam's contains references to many elements of the Adventureland area of Disneyland. The

Jungle Cruise Jungle Cruise, formally named Jungle River Cruise, is a riverboat amusement ride located in the Adventureland themed section at various Disney theme parks worldwide. The attraction is a simulated riverboat cruise that travels along a waterway ...

ride introduces Trader Sam as the "head salesman" of the Jungle Cruise Navigational Company, which explains all the tiki memorabilia throughout the bar. Also, in keeping with the bar's Jungle Cruise theme, bartenders are all referred to as "Skippers" and one of the drinks is called "Schweitzer Falls", one of the landmarks pointed out in the Jungle Cruise ride. As a nod to the influences of

Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room is an attraction located in Disneyland at the Disneyland Resort and in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, and previously in Tokyo Disneyland at Tokyo Disney Resort. First opened on June 23, 1963 at the Disneyl ...

, there is a drink called "Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Rum" and carved tiki figures with slowly-moving eyes on each end of the bar that are identical to the ones in the Enchanted Tiki Room attraction. The tiki drummers above the bar near the ceiling are also from the Enchanted Tiki Room. References to various Disney franchises featured in the bar include

' bullwhip, a letter from

Short Round This is a list of characters in the Indiana Jones (franchise), ''Indiana Jones'' series. Introduced in ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' Indiana Jones Indiana Jones (character), Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr. (Harrison Ford), the titular chara ...

(a character from Indiana Jones movies), a map of the Temple of the Forbidden Eye from

Indiana Jones Adventure Indiana Jones Adventure is an enhanced motion vehicle dark ride A dark ride or ghost train is an indoor amusement ride on which passengers aboard guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes that typically contain animation, sound, ...

, the voodoo doll from

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' is a 1984 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the second installment in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise, and a prequel to the 1981 film ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'', fea ...

, and the harpoon from

. A few references to the

Adventurers Club The Adventurers Club was a themed nightclub in Pleasure Island at the Walt Disney World Resort. It was styled after a private club for world travelers and explorers and was set in 1937. The walls of the club were covered with artifacts and pho ...

at Walt Disney World in Florida can also be found, such as a postcard from Samantha Sterling (a cabaret singer at the Adventurers Club) and a letter from Pamela Perkins (the club's president) on an Adventurers Club letterhead. Guests can also get a Kungaloosh cocktail, named after the Adventurer's Club official greeting.

Cocktail-triggered animatronics

Trader Sam's uses

animatronics Animatronics refers to mechatronic puppets. They are a modern variant of the automaton and are often used for the portrayal of characters in films and in theme park attractions. It is a multidisciplinary field integrating puppetry, anatomy a ...

, lighting, sound effects, and employee interaction when certain drinks are ordered. They include; tiki carvings with moving eyes that slowly move back and forth, an animated shipwreck in a bottle, erupting volcanoes, and bar stools that sink slowly into the floor. Only specific drinks trigger these responses, such as: * Shipwreck on the Rocks → The ship in a bottle above the bar encounters stormy seas and begins to sink. * Krakatoa Punch → The serene Polynesian scene outside the faux window shows a storm gathering as the volcano begins to erupt. * Shrunken Zombie Head → Certain bar stools will begin lowering toward the floor (Bartenders can also do this independently of drink orders to have fun with customers). * Uh Oa! → The bartender rings a bell, people begin chanting "Uh OA! Uh OA! Uh OA OA OA!" and cast members spray water into the air so that it feels like it's beginning to rain. * Draft Beer → Beer draft handles are carved tiki heads with lighted eyes. When a bartender pulls a draft, tiki drums and chants begin to play. The more drafts that are pulled in succession, the faster the drums and chanting go.

Spin-offs

A second Disney Tiki Bar, called Trader Sam's Grog Grotto, opened in 2015 at

Disney's Polynesian Resort Disney's Polynesian Village Resort (formerly Disney's Polynesian Resort from 1985 to 2014) is a Disney-owned and operated resort located at the Walt Disney World Resort. It began operation on October 1, 1971 as one of Walt Disney World Resort's ...

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, th ...

. During a Halloween event at the Disneyland Trader Sam's, more details were shared about the new location in Florida. While the Anaheim location draws its inspiration from the

Enchanted Tiki Room Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room is an attraction located in Disneyland at the Disneyland Resort and in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, and previously in Tokyo Disneyland at Tokyo Disney Resort. First opened on June 23, 1963 at the Disneyl ...

and

attractions at Disneyland, the Grog Grotto incorporates themes from the classic film

in addition to the aforementioned attractions.

Tiki mugs

The following souvenir tiki mugs are available with certain drinks: * Krakatoa (fogcutter shape) * Uh-Oa bowl * Shrunken Zombie Head * Shipwreck rum barrel

References

External links