Post #796263 by Tiki Toli on Mon, Jul 15, 2019 5:46 PM

I started seeing the trend change about three and a half years ago when I posted that linked thread above. Swanky really got the tea leaves correct, Sven and Skip also saw a lot of it coming. Reflecting back on it, I think we can look at Disney and Trader Sam's as the reason for the change. Finding Tiki use to be a hunt, you didn't really stumble on to it, and eventually the bread crumbs would lead you to Tiki Central where you would get a proper introduction and education.

That isn't the path people are taking anymore and the new Tiki people know very little or could care less about the history. Every Disney nut out there now knows about Tiki from their exposure to TS. Then the whole Geeki Tiki thing followed that up. Seems to most new people, its all about the mugs and the drinking as long as they are full of sugar. Oh and lets not forget about the Hipster Mixologist take over as well, which is another pet peeve of mine.

What we really need is for Sven to do an updated Book of Tiki with a Disney Chapter to get all those people to buy the book, then maybe we can educate this new batch of Tikiphiles.

Aa far as mug collecting goes, I've been thinning out my collection. Basically if it isn't classic, isn't tied to a place I have visited, or has a significant connection to myself, it's going away. The old Tiki spots didn't have walls covered with mugs and if that's the vibe I'm going for, then why should mine.