16 May 2011 by Debra Peterson Disney Travel Examiner.
At Sunday's Destination D event held at Walt Disney World Resort, Walt Disney Imagineering announced to attendees a much-anticipated change to the Magic Kingdom. Disney will bring the Enchanted Tiki Room to Adventureland.
The attraction was an original attraction for Magic Kingdom when it opened in 1971, and based on Disneyland’s 1963 Enchanted Tiki Room.Then called The Tropical Serenade, the attraction was updated to Enchanted Tiki Room – Under New Management (UNM) in 1998. Both attractions feature Audio-Animatronic birds – José, Pierre, Fritz, and Michael – and tropical flowers and plants in a musical show.
UNM added an ironically humorous overlay to the more gently amusing attraction, a change in tone marked by the addition of Iago from “Aladdin” and Zazu from “The Lion King.” In recent years UNM has not proved popular with guests, and a segment of Disney fans have long voiced a desire that the attraction be restored to its original state.
UNM was closed after being damaged in a fire in January 2011. One of the Iago Audio-Animatronics was damaged in that fire.
The attraction’s re-opening date had been pushed back several times, causing the online Disney fan community to speculate Disney intended to restore the Enchanted Tiki Room to its original state in time for Walt Disney World’s 40th anniversary.
On Sunday, those rumors proved true when WDI acknowledged the return of Enchanted Tiki Room at Destination D, the D23 event organized as a retrospective and celebration of 40 years of Walt Disney World Resort. The change was explicitly characterized as both being part of the 40th anniversary and something Disney was aware would please event attendees, who represent devoted Disney fans.
The announcement was met with applause from Destination D guests, who quickly spread the word to the online community through Twitter and Facebook updates.
No firm date for the re-opening of the Enchanted Tiki Room has yet been set. No details were revealed at Destination D, but the Enchanted Tiki Room is said to be reminiscent of the original attraction.
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