Post #40487 by PoohBunniesHutch on Mon, Jun 23, 2003 11:59 PM

I know I am not finished with my Trip Reports yet (sorry Miss Cook, I still procrstinate) but I wanted to report on our visit to DL today to celebrate the Tiki Room B-Day. Hubby and I picked up the cake from Costco at about 4 and I told him he needed to high-tail it to the GCH since we were meeting Dana at 5. Despite the traffic and our late start, we got to the hotel a few minutes early and Dana and Brad came out to greet us. They took the cake from us as they needed to walk it in and we agreed to meet up at the Tiki Room. We parked, plenty of spaces, boarded the Handicapped Van (hardly anybody on the trams) and off we went into DL. Hubby stopped to get my SAP and the line was out the door. People were complaining high and low about the bleachers in NOS and the cancellation of Fantasmic! for the week. Oh! Well! We finally found Dana and Brad and had a great time chatting. Dana is a sweetheart and so is Brad. But, especially Dana as she had made arrangements with the Plaza Inn for our little Tiki Room Party. It was such fun getting to know Dana and it was hysterical what Brad went through to get Dana and I to admit our ages. Finally, we both admitted how much older or younger we were than the Tiki Room (don't read that we are a lot older or younger than the Tiki Room, we just used the Tiki Room as a reference point. By the way, she looks even younger than I do- I guess its just Disney in our blood-works better than Botox!

But alas, in Dana's line of work, her pager went off and she had to leave, but not before I presented her with her WWWD pin. Dana very much exemplifies the spirit of Walt Disney in what he desired of his employees and the experiences of his guests. She truly deserved that pin and earns it with every dream she makes come true.

SO, left to our own device, Brad, Larry and I headed off for our Tiki Fix. Now maybe its the glaucoma talking, it certainly wasn't the dole whip or mai tai, but the Tiki Room, she didn't look so bad. Or maybe its just being used to looking in the mirror and ebing used to seeing how bad I look that she didn't look so bad.

It was just being magical I guess. The Tiki Room is an adventure that took you to far off places, where the birds do sing and the flowers croon...And that is what Walt wanted for his guests: to be able to leave their cares, their worries, their trials and tribulations at the gate and be transported to lands of adventure where for a few fleeting moments, they could indeed be transported into another realm.

All too soon, our adventure to the far off tropics where the birds do sing and the flowers croon came to an end and Brad bid his adieu's as he too needed to get back to a very busy office.

Being hungry and not quite time to eat, we stopped off for some popcorn and good old people watching. Actually, today it was quite pleasant since the park was not too swamped. And you could actually hear the music.

But then, the hunger monster got full hold on my fluffy tummy and we headed into the Plaza Inn. First of all, let me say that both Maureen and Stephen went out of their way to make our little party quite a success. I really appreicated their efforts. They had sectioned off one of the conservatory rooms with Pooh Balloons. Then Stephen made sure we all had their new kids meal stickers and the Happy Birthday stickers and he strewn around lollipops for a festive look. I would say that there were at least 20 of us there and they treated us as royally as if we had bought a Disney cake instead of bringing in our own. They even provided Happy Birthday paper plates and forks and Stephen had photocopied some pictures of Early Tiki Room Juice Stand- what a treat and what service. Hubby had the pasta with which he was not too impressed. I have never been impressed with their pasta, but he wouldn't listen. I had the fried chicken-they allowed me all dark meat at no extra charge. The vegetables were great, the potatoes and bisquit went untouched as I was saving my carbs for the cake.

There seemed to be so many of us, but they never hurried us or made us feel out of place. Some had souveniers from the original Tiki Room, lovingly cared for the last 40 years. SOme wore original Tiki ROom uniforms, but most of all, everybody had the Tiki Room spirit. It was so much fun to meet those I had only conversed with through PM and posting and it was truly a magical event. I met Stasia(sp) Martin a 25 year employee who was still going strong with her Disney Spirit-what a treat! Thank you Futura Girl for organizing the RSVP list. And the prototype for the merchandising mug (which must really be seen to be believed in its acuracy and authenticity) was gingerly and most lovingly passed around. Its just amazing to see the devotion of many to this one very special adventure.

Cake Time! We had a 1/2 sheet cake, white with white buttercream frosting and apricot mousse filling (so, it wasn't pineapple, but apricot sure seemed a heck of a lot closer to tropical than vanilla cheesecake or chocolate mousse). The flowers wre done in tropical red, purple, pink, yellow and green-very festive. And the inscription read: Happy Birthday Tiki Room-Thanks for 40 years of Adventure! We all throughly enjoyed the cake, the fellowship and the celebration of our beloved Tiki Room and dang it! I still haven't had a dole whip!