Post #14896 by Tangaroa on Tue, Nov 26, 2002 3:46 PM

OK - so I thought I'd post some pictures from my collection & give a little info on the few Tikis that could be found at Sea World San Diego....

Sea World was the brainchild of George Millay (along with some frat brothers at UCLA), and opened in 1964 with many unique attractions.

Like most amusement parks that design on a grand scale, the early years found many of the shows & attractions subsidized by corporate sponsorship. The Murata Pearl Japanese Village, Richfield Hydrofoil & Theater Of The Sea (Starkist) were all examples of this.

STARKIST THEATER OF THE SEA

To the best of my knowledge, the Hawaiian Punch Village opened along with the others in 1964. It was housed in a polynesian styled A-frame, with 2 kiosk-like huts out in front.

THE VILLAGE IN 1964

Located directly in front of the Village was a "Dolphin and Whale School" - ostensibly used to train the mammals - but it's size seems to indicate that it was more for show....

The first year, the environment was sparse - but I believe the tikis shown in Sabu's postcard were added around the same time as the Hawaiian Punch band...

Crossing the bridge to the A-frame, you would pass over an alligator pool. The interior of the restaurant featured table service (with the usual fast food items), Hawaiian Punch (naturally), and travel films projected in several locations...

Inside the left kiosk/hut was a unique attraction - the "Hawaiian Punch Village Band" - a animatronic display featuring HP mascot Punchy, Opie (or Oaf), and the various Sea World animals (like Shamu, etc..) all singing a Hawaiian Punch song...

I spoke with designer Wes Cook who created several features of the park in 1997 about the design of the figures. He recalled that (like most projects at Sea World) they had very little money for the figures - so he designed the display, and a young artist was called in to do the sculpting very quickly... This display probably went in around 1966-67.

PUNCHY

OPIE

Of course, the restaurant had many suggestions for mixed drinks featuring Hawaiian Punch!

BACK OF POSTCARD (NOTE TIKI IN BACKGROUND!)

The restaurant portion of the Village remained in operation at least until 1994 (the time of my last visit) - but the Hawaiian Punch & Tiki elements were removed at some point in the early 1980s. As usual, no one I've talked to can tell me what has happened to the props or animatronic figures....

If you guys want, I can do a part two on the adjacent Lagoon Show which featured a tropical theme & one lonely Tiki....

[ Edited by: Tangaroa 2007-12-09 10:33 ]