Tiki Themed Engagement Photos at Disneyland

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Other Tiki Topics and tagged with Disneyland, Enchanted Tiki Room, Photography, Tiki March 14, 2017

Aloha! Why so much radio silence on the blog lately? Over the summer, Mr. Hockey/Baseball popped the question and we spent the last several months planning a wedding… The Tiki Chick is now Mrs. Hockey/Baseball!

To the surprise of many of our friends, we did not have a tiki wedding. (The newlyweds from Modern Tiki Lounge can show you that’s done, though!) However, our fantastic wedding photographers, D. Park Photography, also happen to specialize in engagement photo shoots at Disneyland. So, of course, I couldn’t resist the chance to get some snaps taken at the Enchanted Tiki Room.

The photos gave me the opportunity to wear my tropical floral printed dress from Stop Staring! — it was a print created exclusively for Unique Vintage in Burbank. Pure Beauty by Danielle got me all dolled up for the occasion.

The shoot was back in January, during the wettest winter Southern California had experienced in years. I think it had been raining the whole week leading up to this day, but we lucked out with sunshine!

What’s a visit to the Enchanted Tiki Room without Dole Whip? The mischievous Mr. Hockey dabbed some on my nose! (Thankfully, this was not foreshadowing to any cake smashing to the face at the wedding — it was all very civil.)

It was super crowded that day, but D. Park Photography is very adept at making it look like you’re secluded in your own little world at the Happiest Place on Earth.

I couldn’t have been happier with how the photo shoot turned out. Drexelle and David of D. Park Photography are total pros and utter sweethearts, too! I need to get some of these photos framed to put on display in our home tiki room.

More Tiki Treasures – The “Collecting Disneyland” Auction

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Other Tiki Topics and tagged with Disney, Disneyland, Enchanted Tiki Room, Shag, Tiki March 29, 2016

One of my 2016 goals was to be more timely with my posts — obviously, I’m already slipping — but in the meantime I’ve got some catching up to do. Last February, the Van Eaton Galleries in Sherman Oaks presented “The Story of Disneyland,” a massive auction of Disneyland memorabilia (as covered in a previous blog), and it was so successful that they did it again in November.

The first auction was the stockpile of one person, while “Collecting Disneyland” featured items from more than 20 different collectors. They ranged from souvenirs and ephemera like popcorn boxes to concept art, cast member costumes, Imagineer prototypes and models, attraction posters and even ride vehicles.

Some of the lots were repeats of things we’d seen in the last auction, like these Adventureland Moai salt and pepper shakers.

Among the more oddball items was this prop hand from the Indiana Jones animatronic figure in the final scene of the Indiana Jones Adventure attraction. Its value was estimated at $5,000-$7,000 but it went for $10,000.

I adore most things mid-century so I guess it shouldn’t have been surprising that I was drawn to the items from the 1960s, like this set of condiment jars themed to Pirates of the Caribbean ($2,250).

This 1960s canvas suitcase emblazoned with “I’m Going to Disneyland” ($2,250) was another of my favorite finds. The origin is a bit of a mystery — it’s unclear whether it was ever for sale at the park or of it was part of a store window display or other promotion.

Also towards the top of my wish list would have been this Enchanted Tiki Room shield ($6,500) molded after the ones Rolly Crump designed to surround the “magic fountain.” Apparently, it had been part of a juice stand at The Poly in the 1970s.

More recent items up for auction included “One Enchanted Evening,” an original Shag painting ($15,000) created for the 40th anniversary of Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room in 2003.

What really made this exhibition special were the retired ride vehicles from the PeopleMover, Skyway and Space Mountain housed in a separate room next door. Visitors even had the opportunity to get in and take some photo ops. The PeopleMover vehicles (restored with the help of original designer Bob Gurr) were valued at $200,000-$300,000 but I didn’t see a final sale price, same for the Space Mountain car ($50,000-$60,000). In comparison, the Skyway bucket must have seemed like a bargain to the person who snagged it for $11,500.

Alas, the auction has already come and gone, but you can still purchase the catalog for “Collecting Disneyland: An Exhibition and Auction” on Van Eaton Galleries’ web site for $30 for the softcover book and $95 for the hardcover (also includes the softcover).

Don the Beachcomber featured at “To Live and Dine in L.A.” Menu Exhibit

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Other Tiki Topics and tagged with Don the Beachcomber, Los Angeles, Menus, Restaurants, Tiki, To Live and Dine in LA January 18, 2016

Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt essentially created the concept of what would later be called tiki bars when he opened Don’s Beachcomber Café in Hollywood in the 1930s. Naturally, he’s an important figure in tiki, but it was interesting to see him acknowledged in the overall Los Angeles restaurant scene at the Central Library’s recent exhibit “To Live and Dine in L.A.: Menus from the Collection of the Los Angeles Public Library.”

It was set up so that you could sit down at tables to admire the vintage menus under the glass. Each area corresponded to a theme — cafeteria-style counters for Clifton’s, a round table with a lazy susan stocked with condiments for Chinese restaurants, etc. — but all were painted neon green to provide some continuity.

In the section “Feasts, Balls & Banquets,” we saw some of the collection’s earliest menu specimens, which go as far back as 1875. According to curator Josh Kun, “The banquet tradition extended everywhere, from the SS City of Los Angeles [1930] steamer cruise to Hawaii, where you could feast on poi alongside spiced fig fritters.”

A 1941 menu for Don the Beachcomber was included under “The Menu as Map” as an example to illustrate “…how restaurants subjectively envisioned the borders and limits of the city that surrounded them…(what was on their maps was just as important as what was left off).” This cover draws a connection (literally and figuratively) between Hollywood and the Polynesian islands across the ocean that inspired the restaurant.

Don the Beachcomber was also featured among the restaurant photos plastered on the walls, along with other iconic spots like Bob’s Big Boy, Tail O’ The Pup and The Tamale.

I also spotted the menu for Kelbo’s, a Hawaiian bar-b-q restaurant that was famous for its ribs and eclectic decor. (It shouldn’t be that surprising that a longtime employee of Kelbo’s was part of the family that started dear, departed Bahooka.)

Previously unknown to me was Zamboanga, a nightclub that “tried to represent its vague ‘South Seas’ theme and Philippines namesake by turning its menu [circa 1940s] into a tailless pipe-smoking monkey.” (Tiki Central has a couple interesting threads on this spot with some lovely photos of the bamboo-filled space as well as context for the un-politically correct origin of the name and logo.)

Visitors to the exhibit were encouraged to put together their own “ultimate L.A. menu” to represent the city. Of the dozens up on display, I noticed this one mentioned their ideal appetizers and drinks as fried shrimp, spareribs and a Mai Tai from Don the Beachcomber. What would your ideal L.A. menu be?

The exhibit has already concluded, but you can pick up the companion book To Live and Dine in L.A.: Menus and the Making of the Modern City by Josh Kun.

The Tiki Chick

A California girl chronicling modern tiki culture

Category Archives: Other Tiki Topics

Tiki Themed Engagement Photos at Disneyland

More Tiki Treasures – The “Collecting Disneyland” Auction

Don the Beachcomber featured at “To Live and Dine in L.A.” Menu Exhibit