Trader Sams ... open for business.

Back at the start of May I posted about the imminent opening of Trader Sams at Disneyland. Well the question is, is it any good?

Well what better place to find out than check Critiki . Well it would appear that its well worth the visit, scoring an average of 9.4. Whilst the decor is grabbing the headlines it is disappointing to see that its lowest scores come when reviewer score the drink quality, drink selection and food... all key elements of a quality Tiki Bar. The Critiki review states...

"Trader Sam's is named for the "head" salesman from the Jungle Cruise ride at Disneyland, and the decor is a mix of influence from that ride and the Enchanted Tiki Room, with a little of Walt Disney World's Adventurer's Club thrown in for good measure. Top-notch Disney designers Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily were able to work on some of the decor. There are reports of some interactive elements at the bar.

The early word is that the drink quality is higher than one might expect, with syrups from Portland's Trader Tiki in use. If you like the punny performance given by the Jungle Cruise skippers, you'll love the drink names: "HippopotoMaiTai", "Schweitzer Falls" and "Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Rum" are some of the cleverly-named cocktails."

To mark the opening Richard at the Designerland Blog has created and shared a rather nice unofficial Trader Sam's Soundtrack. Get over there and check it out...

The Tiki Bus @ The Shady Dell ...

Here on the Secret Island I'm slowly being pushed out ... once our primitive hut was our domain. Mrs. Tiki Sasquatch my beautiful wahine and I would kick back, drink cocktails from coconuts watching the waves wash on the shore. Four years and two savages later our lives have become a little less relaxed and a whole heap more exciting.

The savages (as beautiful and adorable they might be!) come with their own flotsam and jetsam which has slowly filled the hut to the point where the now fabled tiki bar might need to go for what the wahine describes as a rumpus! I could kick up a fuss but what's the point! ;0)

That leaves me with the problem of what to do with the bar, the grog and all the tiki goodies collected since the Tiki Bug took over! There seem to be only two options

1, Leave the island never to return and move to the Shady Dell, Bisbee, Arisona, USA
2, Use the Dell as inspiration and do something similar outside!

The Shady Dell’s epic journey began in 1927 as a place to provide trailer and camping spaces to weary travelers along Highway 80, which stretched from Savannah, Georgia to San Diego, California. Like its more famous brother Route 66, Highway 80 was a center of travel, exploration and family getaways in the early portions of the 20th century. Today, the park is a nice mix of practicality and vintage fun-seeking. Their sleek collection of vintage travel trailers are all perfectly restored to combine mid-century Americana kitsch with the comforts of home in a way that only the 1950s were capable of.

My obvious favourite is the Tiki Bus where you and two friends can spend a night in this 1947 Airporter bus that has been transformed into a “Polynesian Palace”, complete with your own hand carved outrigger bar. After a night of Mai Tai’s you can stagger inside and pay homage to the resident Tiki God!

The search for Tiki-able Tin begins ...

The Careless Navigator ...

Despite it's location in the Southern Ocean and proximity to some tropical island paradises Tiki Kulture really hasn't taken off in Australia. There are a sprinkling of Tiki Bars across this huge continent which make the arrangements for a bar crawl complex. There are however signs that this is about to change, mug makers are moulding and carvers are busy carving and sharing their expertise. Today I returned from a two day Tiki Beat carving workshop with Marcus Thorn in Sydney... more on that next time.

Websites and blogs play an essential role in the sharing of Tiki finds, experiences, music and art with others across this sun baked land. The Careless Navigator is an Australian based portal that does just that. It is designed as a "dedicated online resource for all of you interested in Polynesian Pop and Tiki across Australia and an opportunity for all of us Australia wide to connect and share discoveries from across the planet."

There you will find Hidden Treasures (...well hidden in Australia I can tell you!) as well as some Adventures in Paradise. There is also a Ship's Store where you can pick up goodies such as prints and posters. There you will also find details of the the HAWAII HOME MOVIES DVD put together by the Careless Navigator himself. Its a selection of standard 8mm, super 8mm and 16mm films from 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s…taken by travelers/tourists to Hawaii from all over the world. He is currently working on the second DVD which will feature the excellent “Aloha Amor” from Tiki Joe's Ocean. In this special preview clip we see the Coco Palms resort in all its almost technicolor glory!



A trip to the Careless Navigator would be anything but careless... set your course carefully and take a look!