Did I miss something?
Written: Mar 25 '01 (Updated Jun 28 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Upbeat; Colorful
Cons: Limited appeal; People who haven't seen the original won't get the joke
The Bottom Line: Worth an initial viewing, but not something I'd turn into a regular stop.
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| cactus_matt's Full Review: The Enchanted Tiki Room |
Until I saw this ride I never thought that Disney was capable of such self-satire. The Enchanted Tiki Room had been playing the same show for almost thirty years before they decided it wasn't marketable enough to take up so much space. Consequently, they had two choices - either tear it down and make room for a character greeting area OR throw in some recognizable faces. Daringly, they chose the latter.
And then something funny happened. Somewhere along the line, someone decided that they could play on the monotony of the original and make something completely new out of it. It all starts out a bit differently as we see a new preshow where two birds discuss the recent sale of the enchanted Tiki room to Iago and Zazu, respectively the birds from 'Aladdin' and 'The Lion King'.
When you enter and sit down, however, everything seems the same as usual. The host wakes up the parrot Jose, he wakes up everyone else, and they break into their infamous opening number. Then suddenly they're interrupted by the obnoxious voice of Gilbert Gottfried as Iago and Zazu descend from the ceiling.
The disproportionate Iago makes it clear that with him running the place, there won't be any more of the stale old acts that have been going on for so long. He then proceeds to sing a song mocking the outdated animatronics of the older birds. Wow! I haven't them do something like that since Zazu sang 'It's a Small World' in the Lion King movie.
After Iago finishes his act, they mention that it's time for the Tiki gods to do their number. Iago doesn't want to give up the spotlight, though, and one of the formerly subtle Tiki gods emerges from the center of the room and blows him up! The Tiki god was animated very well - it looked as if there could've been a real person inside. Real fluid motion. I can imagine this might have been somewhat scary for the little kids, as I used to get scared during the Tiki gods sequence even before they put that one in the center.
There's maybe one or two really short songs after that, and then the birds ask you to stand up and clap rhythmically so that they get you to leave. Iago, who has since returned with a band-aid on his nose, implores you to get out. Funny, because I thought his intentions were that business be increased.
The whole show seemed to go by really fast - by the time Iago got done spouting his feelings, there wasn't much left. The new songs are more upbeat than the old ones, and disco-type strobe lights flash about during a few of them. Once again, the new animatronics are really well done, they just don't really fit in with the older ones.
I think the biggest problem with this show is that there's really not much to see on a return visit. Even though it's full of all new stuff, the all new stuff gets old a lot quicker than the old stuff did. And Iago is absolutely annoying - his irritating babble might make me reconsider future visits, except to maybe see him get blown up again.
I also wonder about the whole self-satire thing. I got the joke, and most everybody who's been at least a couple times in their life should too. But what about people who've never been? And little kids? I just don't think this attraction will have much place in Disney World with the new generation of visitors. I recommend going to Disneyland where you can still see the original Enchanted Tiki Room and the same old show that's been playing for so long.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
cactus_matt
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Location: Florida
Reviews written: 40
Trusted by: 24 members
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