The Story Behind Disneyland’s Enchanted Tiki Bar, Trader Sam’s
How did a kooky testament to the Tiki Bars of the 1950’s and 1960’s end up in two of Disney’s most revered resorts after being originally planned for Walt Disney’s Gleaming city of the Future — EPCOT?
Trader Sam would be a living legend in the cocktail world — that is if he were live and not merely an animatronic at the end of the World Famous Jungle Cruise. The bar that owes him a namesake is actually what’s responsible for the endless notoriety of Trader Sam’s, a special effect cocktail haven whose two locations both stake claims as Disney’s only Imagineering designed bars in the U.S.
Located first in the Disneyland Resort within the mid-century edifices of the Disneyland Hotel and now as a recent addition to Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, Trader Sam’s is not your average tiki bar. Some may say, these intimate locations serve up more fun than the God’s will tolerate.
What makes these bars so special? There’s no other way to say it — Trader Sam’s could be just yards away inside Disneyland. It offers just as much of a themed environment and fun as the Tiki Room or the Jungle Cruise — without the price of admission.
