Some of you may know (or have guessed) that I am a big fan of Walt Disney. I consider Disney the ultimate experience maker. When I go to Disneyland with my family, the first attraction we go to is Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room. Yeah, you heard me, the Tiki Room. I know most people may find this attraction lame or just a place to go when you are tired and need a rest from the hot California sun – but I love the Tiki Room.
You probably didn’t know that the Tiki Room is one of Walt’s favorite. At the time, there was nothing like it – the animatronics were so lifelike and magical (Yeah – I said magical) – from the entrance with the grass hut where you can find a refreshing pineapple beverage to the waiting areas where the tiki idols around the courtyard sing and tell you stories to the actual attractions space and performance.
When the attraction ends and you exit the space, you feel like you were someplace else. And that is the magic of the Tiki Room – to transport you to a place of imagination and wonder. It wraps you in an experience.
Walt insisted that the birds ‘breathe.” Most people would never notice this subtly (I know about it and really have to look hard to see it) – but it is this level of detail that makes this such a great experience. Walt Disney believed that people could feel perfection and that a devotion to detail lets guests know that they’re worth the effort. Now that is inspiring.