One of the most enjoyably memorable experiences of my life occurred when I was but a tike. Much about the adventures I had as a four year old kid on a family vacation to Disney World in Orlando, Florida remains as crystal clear in my mind as events that happened last week. The ride into the park on the Monorail, Adventureland, the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse – everything there blew my little boy mind in a big way! In particular, the Haunted Mansion scared the living daylights out of me as nothing has since – I loved it! And as the name of this blog might suggest, the Enchanted Tiki Room made a most lasting impression!
Back then, a trip to Florida meant Mom and Dad waking my sis and me in the middle of the night for a several hours drive from our north Georgia home. These days living on the other side of the Atlantic, I’m happy to report there are plenty of cheap flights to Orlando and elsewhere in Florida. I could do with a sunny dose of orange-flavoured, mouse-eared kitsch right about now. Who’s up for some Mickey Mouse action in FLA?
West V East. I was pretty young when Disney World opened and even though I lived nearly 800 miles north of Disneyland and had never been there Disney World seemed like a fake. It felt like someone had made a new holiday in March and claimed it was just like Christmas.
Over the decades I have grudgingly accepted Disney World’s legitimacy but in the back of my head it still feels like the lesser of two Happiest Places on Earth.
Well, California might as well have been Oz for me as a kid. Didn’t seem real. I had an aunt that lived in Santa Ana. She made it seem like a dream.
The Disney World vacation was also notable being the same trip when I visited Gatorland. Whoa! That place blew me away – even walking through the giant agape gator mouth entrance scared the heck out of me.
Sadly, the Tiki Room in Florida has been drastically changed to include several of the birds from Disney movies and now includes reggae and pop music. I went for the first time three years ago, and it hurt my heart to watch the travesty that they’ve made of my beloved Enchanted Tiki Room. If it’s the Tiki Room that you crave, I’d stick to California!
I love it when my tiki peeps post comments on my blog!
Yeah, I’d read about the changes to Disney World’s Tiki Room. I guess it was inevitable.
The one at Disney Land is still original?
Thanks for the tip, Jen!
Chris
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Cool, just posted a blog on the Disney Wonder cruise ship!