Imagineer Rolly Crump Looks Back on Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room on Its 50th Anniversary

Disney Legend Rolly Crump remembers the day Walt Disney asked him and fellow Imagineers to create a restaurant with a Tahitian décor. Rolly sculpted Tiki gods, while other Imagineers created birds that chatted. That was the birth of the new Audio-Animatronic technology. Their hard work and creativity was so over-the-top entertaining that instead of a restaurant, Walt made it an attraction – Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room! We were fortunate enough to visit Rolly at his home recently, where he took us on a trip down memory lane, back to 1963 — back to the drawing board with Walt Disney. Enjoy!

 
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Comments

  • I was first in line this past Sunday, June 23rd,the official 50th anniversary of the tiki room, and also our 39th wedding anniversary.It was great sitting with Jose and company on their first performance of the day!

  • I was so in awe even though I have seen it before but it had been 25 years since I was there before last April in WDW. I was having my 60th birthday while there but I might as well be 6 when sitting in the attraction looking all around seeing which bird was singing. I hope they never remove this as it is history!

  • Rolly still rocks after..how many years? Tiki living good for you!

  • Rolly is awesome… and the Tiki Room is the BEST! My favorite attraction since I was a kid, and it still is today. Happy Birthday Tiki Room : )

  • Fantastic video.

    One amazing thing to do is to go into the Tiki room and look at it as if you were in 1963. Remember, the concept of audio animatronics was pretty much unheard of before then. So go from NOTHING to the Tiki Room. Now look at one simple birds and count the number of different movements it has then multiply it by ever item you see in that room. Still impressive in 2013!

  • Great video! It’s always cool to go back and learn about how things were done in the past when Walt was around.

  • Great video!

  • Rolly is such an amazing guy, and has quite a story to tell! The Enchanted Tiki Room has always been one of my favorite attractions, and it’s amazing how they pulled it off.

    Is that his book I spied in the background of his room? It’s fantastic!

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