The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014: One Local's Unauthorized, Rapturous and Indispensable Guide to the Happiest Places on Earth (16 page)

Adventureland
feels like the smallest land in the park because, appropriately enough, most of its expansive terrain is hidden behind sinister, if lovely, jungle foliage.  We can easily imagine hidden predators eyeing us from the jungle.  At first glance, the land is simply a winding, mobbed street lined by shops and food stands, terminating at the entrance to
Tarzan’s Treehouse
before merging into
New Orleans Square
and the banks of the
Rivers of America
.

Adventureland
’s color palette is composed of deep greens, rusts, bronzes, and greys, and the whole style is themed to the 1930’s–an adventurous, exotic 1930’s that has been burned into our collective consciousness by countless 1930’s black-and-white adventure movies and 1930’s-set thrillers like the
Indiana Jones
films.

Walt
understood that even the most civilized among us, whether in 1955 or 2014, has somewhere within our basal ganglia the most primitive impulse toward adventure, freedom, and exploration.  However domesticated we are there’s a part of us that yearns to slip into the dense jungle, navigate an uncharted river, plumb the depths of a mysterious temple, or swing with the animal grace of a great ape through the green canopy of ancient trees.  We’re both drawn toward and nervous of the new, the enigmatic, the wild, the unknown.

This tension is delicious.  It pulls
humans forward into discovery after discovery, adventure after adventure, risk after risk.  Yet this tension, this uneasy alliance between the higher brain and the lower, compels us eventually to tame and organize the very wilderness that initially attracted us.  We want to go into the dark cave mouth; we need to paddle around that next bend in the river.  We can’t help ourselves.  We have to know, see, hear, feel, smell, and taste what lies beyond the safe margin of the known world.  Yet once we get there–if we survive–we need to civilize and organize that mysterious lost land–or, at the very least, loot it!

Figures like
Tarzan
, a human who was raised in the African jungles by a tribe of noble apes, or
Indiana Jones
, alternately a respected university professor and a tough-as-nails, make-it-up-as-you-go-along treasure hunter, beautifully embody this tension between the civilized and the primal, the intellectual and the visceral.  As such,
Tarzan
and
Indy
, although later additions to
Adventureland
, are fitting inhabitants of
Walt
’s intriguing land of adventure.

Walt
was an optimist and a pragmatic utopian, so his
Adventureland
, though it has mystery and danger, and elements of magic, death, and greed, is no Conrad-esque heart of darkness.  It’s still a playground, with healthy doses of humor and beauty interwoven with the peril.  But for the Guests of this new millennium, no less than the original Guests of the 1950’s, within this safe space we can let our inner adventurer take the reins.

To enjoy
Adventureland
to its fullest, you need to slow down and appreciate its many scents, flavors, and nuances, and take the time to find the thrilling attractions hidden behind the masses of foliage and the exotic facades.  Listen, not just with your ears but with your gut and your spine and the crackle of the hairs standing up on the back of your neck. 
Adventureland
isn’t a place to be hurried through, but a place to melt into, slowly, letting your primitive brain take the helm.  But keep your wits about you, and, like
Indy
, have a nonchalant quip ready should trouble rear its fearsome head!

Adventureland Attractions

Enchanted Tiki Room

[
FastView:
 
Classic, cool, a piece of
Disneyland
—and
Disney
—history, located right next door to the
Dole Whip
stand.  The first significant display of
Audio-Animatronics.  (
A brief rainstorm might be slightly scary for toddlers.)
]

Located on the left just before you pass under the arch that draws you into
Adventureland
, the
Enchanted Tiki Room
is one of the park’s vintage attractions, having opened in the early 1960’s.

In addition to pr
esenting a
Sherman Brothers
-penned song that for better or for worse will never, never, never, never,
never
leave your memory banks (“in the
Tiki-Tiki-Tiki-Tiki-Tiki Room
!”) this show is historically important because its singing mechanical birds, flowers, and
Tikis
were the first substantive, synchronized example of the
Audio-Animatronic
(
AA
) technology that
Walt Disney
and his
Imagineers
developed.  This technology would later be deployed on a larger and even more thrilling scale in “
it’s a
small world”
and
Pirates of the Caribbean
and
WDW
’s
Hall of Presidents
, among other attractions.

The
Tiki Room
is a sort of time capsule, an example not only of early
Disney AA
technology but also of the sweeping
Tiki
craze of the 1950’s and 1960’s.  Returning World War II veterans who’d served in the Pacific had brought South Seas culture back with them, and it spread like wildfire across the U.S. in the following decades.  Buttoned-up America–especially Southern Californians–found exotic escape in Polynesian-themed architecture, luaus, Scorpion bowls, loud Hawaiian shirts, and South Seas-themed eateries like the Trader Vic restaurants, and Clifton’s Pacific Seas Cafeteria in downtown Los Angeles.

Originally
Walt
wanted the
Tiki Room
to be a restaurant as well as a show, but it soon became clear there were space and capacity issues that made that concept unfeasible. The
Tiki Room
therefore opened as a show only; however, a
Tiki
restaurant, the
Tahitian Terrace
, was built adjacent to the attraction.  The restaurant opened, in fact, before the attraction did, helping to build the theme and the anticipation.

For more than 30 years, from 1962 to 199
3,
Disneyland
’s
Tahitian Terrace
restaurant, located next door to the
Tiki Room
, provided South Seas escapism, including Polynesian dances and music, fire walks, shrimp tempura, teriyaki steak, jasmine tea, and non-alcoholic planters punch.

In 1993 the thatched
glory of the
Tahitian Terrace
was transformed into the Arabian splendor of the (now-defunct)
Aladdin’s Oasis
, but the
Enchanted Tiki Room
attraction continues to preserve the classic
Tiki
theme for new generations of Guests.

There’s a pre-show as you wait in the
Enchanted Tiki Room
’s courtyard, and an adjacent
Tiki Juice Bar
offers refreshing fruit treats while you wait.  Should you or your little ones need a rest room, but not want to lose your place in the group of waiting Guests, there are rest rooms in the waiting area as you climb the steps leading to the
Tiki Room
.

Why does this attraction have its own rest rooms? 
Remember—it was originally going to be a restaurant as well as a show.

The
Tiki Room
show lasts about 15 minutes and is genuinely entertaining.  A Cast Member (and if he or she is a ham, that adds to the fun) wakes lead macaw
José
, and
José
and his three fine-feathered pals engage in pleasantly corny, good-natured banter that would’ve been at home on a family vaudeville stage back-in-the-day.  (Do you or your little one want to be the one to “wake”
José
?  Ask the Cast Member on duty when you enter the
Tiki Room
.)

José
and his buddies sing the iconic “
Tiki Room
” song that explains the attraction’s premise, and then introduce a flock of female birds, a forest of exotic flowers, and a bevy of fierce, drumming and singing wooden
Tiki
gods.  Each group has their own musical number, synched to the movement of their mouths, as well as light and water effects.  On the whole, it’s impressive.

The macaws provide f
iller and patter between musical numbers.  A sudden, violent-sounding thunder storm, which might startle infants and toddlers, alerts Guests that the end of the show is nigh, and then the entire
AA
cast engages in a rousing finale, and none too subtly throws the Guests out!

If you want to
immerse yourself in an important piece of
Disney
history, or get out of the rain or the heat for about 15 minutes, this show’s for you.

It opened in the summer of 1963
, and although some see it as important only because it was a step on the path to amazing
AA
developments of later years, the
AA
and mechanical effects of the
Tiki Room
are quite entertaining in their own right.

Even in this digital age, there are plenty of
Tiki Room
fans.  Guest throng the
Tiki Room
courtyard, waiting for the next show. 
Tiki
shirts and merchandise fly off the shelves at
Adventureland
shops.  And
Disneyland
presented a lovely, well-curated
Tiki Room
exhibit at the
Disney Gallery
on
Main Street
in late summer/early fall 2013.

But i
f you have easily bored teens in your party, or don’t give a hoot about
Disney
history (although shame on you if you don’t!) you can safely skip this one in favor of
Adventureland
’s more pulse-pounding offerings. 
Did You Know?
  The mechanical macaws who lead the show are named
Josѐ
,
Pierre
,
Fritz
, and
Michael
.  The singing female birds all have French names like
Fifi
,
Gigi
,
Josephine
, and
Suzette
–appropriate for songbird
chanteuses
.
Did You Also Know?
  A thorough 2004 refurbishment, including replacing the
AA’
s internal components and refreshing the show’s lighting and technology, restored the
Tiki Room
to its original,
magical
glory.
Did You Also Know?
  The
Enchanted Tiki Room
was one of
Walt
’s pet projects and was actually built, owned, and operated by his own company,
WED
, from its opening in the summer of 1963 until 1965, when
Walt Disney
Productions
purchased
WED
.  That meant that from 1963 to 1965, Guests had to pay an extra 75 cents entrance fee to enjoy the
Tiki Room
’s enchantment.
FastPass:
  No, but you’ll never have to wait longer than the length of the previous show. 
Kid’s Eye View:
  I liked it, but it is crowded, and since you have to sit for a while, don’t do it after riding a ride like
Splash Mountain
that gets you all wet.

Indiana Jones Adventure
(FP) (S) 
Must be 46” or 107 cm tall to ride.

[
FastView:
 
Experience your own
Indiana Jones
adventure, complete with bubbling lava, skeletons, and snakes (“Why does it have to be snakes?”).  A 2013 refurb made this amazing attraction even more thrilling.  A must-ride attraction if you can handle the jolt.
]

Unless you are prone to motion sickness, are pregnant, have a bad back, or have a heart condition, you must, must,
must
experience the
Indiana Jones Adventure
.

This is one of the premier
e
E-Ticket
attractions at
Disneyland
, and therefore has one of the longest lines in the park.  However, it’s well worth the wait (typically 30 – 60 minutes) and the queue, designed like a 1930’s archeological camp, entertains and intrigues while you pass the time.  Look for plenty of
Indiana Jones/George Lucas
references.  But if you prefer not to wait, get a
FastPass
or make this your first ride when the park opens and lines are shortest.

Based on the popular and exciting
Indiana Jones
movies, this fast-paced experience, which opened in 1995, has its own original story that meshes seamlessly with the
Indy
mythology.  It’s 1936 in the
Lost Delta
of India, and
Indy
has uncovered the
Lost Temple of the Forbidden Eye
, dedicated to the cult of
Mara
.  Tourists are being admitted–but some of them are disappearing!

The time and setting fit nicely into the
Indy
mythology. 
Dr. Jones
was in India in 1935 for the
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
adventure.  When the film ends, he’s headed to Delhi.  It makes sense, then that in 1936 he’d be exploring a temple in India’s
Lost Delta
–although, didn’t he get enough of dangerous, mysterious temples at the
Temple of Doom
?  The
Lost Delta
action unfolds just prior to
Indy
’s trip to South America, and just prior to his seeking a certain lost ark, adventures that also unfold in 1936.

Like
Star Tours
, this attraction is the result of collaboration between
George Lucas
and his team, and the
Disney Imagineers
. 
Lucas
is creator, writer, and exec producer for the wildly successful
Indiana Jones
films, which he crafts with fellow visionary and director
Steven Spielberg
.  Like
Lucas
,
Spielberg
is known for blockbuster entertainment with its roots in the old movie serials. 
Lucas
crafted the
Star Wars
universe. 
Spielberg
gave us spectaculars like “Jaws” and “E.T.” and sweeping human dramas such as “The Color Purple” and “Schindler’s List.”

P
artnerships between
Lucas
and
Walt Disney Imagineering
seem destined to succeed. 
Star Tours
was a resounding success when it opened in
Tomorrowland
in 1987.  A northern California native,
Lucas
was born in Modesto.  He was one of the millions of kids who visited
Disneyland
in the 1950’s; it opened shortly after his eleventh birthday.  Like
Walt
,
Lucas
is a “world-builder” with a limitless imagination, helming a vast entertainment enterprise dedicated to entertaining millions around the globe. 
Lucas
has elements of
Walt
in his nature, the vision, the pursuit of excellence, and the dedication to crafting and then
plussing
dazzling stories.  Hence, it was no surprise when, on October 30, 2012,
Disney
announced its acquisition of
Lucasfilm
, including
Industrial Light and Magic
,
Skywalker Sound
, and the
Star Wars
franchise.  Beginning with
Star Wars 7
, to be released in 2015,
Disney
plans to release a new
Star Wars
feature every two to three years.