Enchanted Tiki Room Under New Management
Opened: Originally opened October 1, 1971 and reopened “Under New Management” April 5, 1998
Location: Adventureland
Extra Magic Hours: No
FASTPASS: No
Type: Animatronic theater show
Similar To: Country Bear Jamboree
Requirements: None
Scary Factor: Low. There is a short scene with lightning, thunder, and momentary darkness, but it shouldn’t overwhelm most kids. If your child is easily frightened then this may be another to skip, but everyone over the age of six or so should be fine.
What to Expect: The Enchanted Tiki Room is another animatronics theater show. This time, the main characters are Zazu from The Lion King and Iago from Aladdin. The theater is air-conditioned, but the seats are uncomfortable and have no back, which makes this much more uncomfortable than The Hall of Presidents or other similar theater shows. Also be aware that most of the show goes on above you, so you’ll need to be looking up if you want to see what’s going on. The show is mostly a musical with prerecorded audio and some jokes and filler narrative to piece together the story of the two birds trying to run a successful theater show.
When To Go: Visit in the mid-afternoon, before or after the Pirates of the Caribbean (depending on the line for Pirates). The show is air-conditioned and relaxed, which makes it a good place to get out of the heat and away from the crowds.
Expect to Wait: This isn’t a popular attraction so waits shouldn’t exceed 20 minutes. Most likely, you’ll just have to wait for the previous show to end before being let into the theater.
Length: 10 minutes
Rating: 4/10
The Original: Whenever Disney changes anything, they get hundreds, if not thousands of letters begging the company to keep things the way they were. The same thing happened with the Enchanted Tiki Room. The original attraction was a carbon copy of Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland, which opened in 1963 and marked their first use of audio-animatronics. Disney went ahead with the renovation in September of 1997 and reopened the show “under new management” eight months later. To this day you’ll hear complaints about how the “new show” pales in comparison to the original.
Commentary: If you enjoy Gilbert Gottfried, the voice of Iago, you’ll enjoy this attraction much more than someone who doesn’t. It’s not necessarily “bad,” but it certainly isn’t an attraction in the same league as most of the other rides at the Magic Kingdom. It also isn’t as comfortable. If you’ve never seen it and have extra time or need something to tide you over while you wait for your Jungle Cruise FASTPASS time, then this is a decent diversion. Otherwise, I wouldn’t make a point of getting here if you’re in a time crunch and don’t enjoy dated audio-animatronics shows.