Question on The Tiki's

I am confused? Did Danny Balsz ever open up and operate The Tiki's amusement park in So. Cal.? In The Book O Tiki, Sven talks about The Tikis on pgs. 107,as having large crowds and opening in the 60's, my Mom swears she has been there, but she thought it was called "The Caves", anyway...then on Svens Video (Tiki Archeology) the narrator talks about "The Tiki's" being built in 1984 and never opened. This is where my problem is, and where my confusion comes from, my Mom says she went around 1976ish...where did she go????? :-?

[ Edited by: DawnTiki on 2002-10-25 13:04 ]

According to my friend Dug Miller - there were two locations. One that operated for years very successfully, then a later location - that I think never opened....
I'm sure Big Bro will post with all the details...!

DawnTiki,
Yes, I talked to Sven about this. The Tikis DID have a location in Monterey Park (I believe). As a matter of fact, when I mentioned this to my wife she said her parents took the family there quite frequently. The video is a little misleading however, Sven swears it wasn't supposed to be.

Great question!

Having seen the vid, I've always been a little confused as to whether it existed or not. I couldn't understand why mugs existed, yet the park didn't open.

It's a terribly unhappy story in the video, but is there a happy ending?

Trader Woody

So, does anyone know what the name of Mr. Balsz club/bar/dinner house that was successful and where it was? And are all the Valcano's and Tikis still on the deserted property? I am sure it's all locked up, but I would love to go see it, maybe take some pictures. Thanks :D

[ Edited by: DawnTiki on 2002-10-25 18:33 ]

I know, I was really mad when in the final edit they left out that info on the two different locations, BOTH called THE TIKIS, probably to symplify. But it made Danny basically look like a crazy guy who never made it.

BOT: (The end of the successful TIKIS in Monterey Park):

"...under pressure from fed-up neighbours, the city council revoked his entertainment license. The Polynesian three ring circus was over,it seemed."

This where I shot all my archeological photos:

"...But Danny Balsz was a driven man. He packed up his Tikis and built them a new home in Lake Elsinore, further south of L.A. There he laboured for years, re-erecting a complete new lava land. Patiently his Tikis stood guard over it, awaiting the grand re-opening. But the times had changed, and the great day never came."

So Sven,

All of the tiki's and such are still there? Does this guy still own the land? I've always wondered about it since seeing in BOT.

Is Mr. Balsz still alive? I wonder if his new Lavaland is still there in Elsinore? Thanks for the info!

DawnTiki,
I believe the second location for The Tikis in Lake Elsinore is now a paintball park and the grounds have been completely de-tikied. Danny Balsz lived there for a couple years out of a trailer because he put every dime into building it. If I'm correct, Danny Balsz has since moved on and is living in Las Vegas.

That's right, Pop, and before he left (got kicked off the property) he toppled the giant Tiki that he is posing next to in my book so his debtors would not have any off it.

The place has no Tikis left, he sold his best stuff to THE SEA nautical store in Long Beach (which in turn went under 2 years ago), and I was lucky to mount an expedition with fellow urban archeologists in time to get some remaining Tikis and lamps.

I am actually involved in a project to shoot a Marlboro Spec commercial there next month, we will get a truckload of Oceanic Arts stuff and try to resurrect the glory of THE TIKIS for a night. A lot of the lava structures are still there, but sadly splattered with paintball gue.

:cry:, what a waste! But thanks for all of the wonderful info, it sounds like Danny's life would make a good book! "Memoirs of King Tiki" :tiki:

[ Edited by: DawnTiki on 2002-10-27 17:45 ]

BigBro - What happened to the giant Tiki he "toppled"...?

It broke to pieces. This is just hear-say, so I assume that the paintball park operators tossed it's remains.

On 2002-10-25 12:24, PolynesianPop wrote:
DawnTiki,
Yes, I talked to Sven about this. The Tikis DID have a location in Monterey Park (I believe). As a matter of fact, when I mentioned this to my wife she said her parents took the family there quite frequently. The video is a little misleading however, Sven swears it wasn't supposed to be.

The video of which you speak, PolyPop--what is it please?

Tiki Archeology

[ Edited by: DawnTiki 2005-10-03 07:04 ]

We lost both :(, the monterey park location is now a public storage place. Doies theDVD have good footage of the older park? One picture is mentioned for the book and some text, but thats it....

On 2005-10-03 06:53, DawnTiki wrote:
Tiki Archeology

Dank U! I don't know how I missed it...

On 2005-10-03 07:30, Nightmaretony wrote:
Does the DVD have good footage of the older park?

Yes

...and a very nice interview with Danny B.

Correction: The Tiki Archeology interview with Danny and all the live footage were shot at the Lake Elsinore "Tikis", the second one, the one that never opened.

In the Book of Tiki, all the photos with dancers in it are of old postcards and brochures from the first "Tikis" in Monterey Park, all others of Tiki statues and remnants are from the SECOND in Lake Elsinore....simply because when I began my research, the first "Tikis" was long gone.

When the first one was around, no one went around photographing all the TIKIS...sheesh, what a WEIRD idea! :)

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2005-10-03 11:08 ]

Oops! Sorry, I missed that they were looking specifically for Monterey Park footage. The intereview with Danny is great wherever it is :P

I'll take both, lead me to your book and DVD, come next paycheck, as in this friday! :)

drove by the paintball park. Front gate closed was old wood, already threw me ghosts of what was, what could have been...

maybe the world can use a tiki haunted house? never been done before :)

[EDIT] Bleah, the 8 ball store wont take my shopping wants! Do you have it on Ebay perhaps?

[ Edited by: Nightmaretony 2005-10-04 07:02 ]

Errr....I was afraid that that might be the next question.
'Fraid you will have to wait a while for the DVD, since the last batch is all sold out, and I am currently marooned on the exotic shores of the Bavarian Alps. No rescue in sight until Christmas either.

But I owe two more copies from doing trade business at the Oasis, so once back, I will get cracking at making more.

And I am certain the remaining landscaping of the Tikis/paintball park would make good haunted house environs!

On 2005-10-04 11:07, bigbrotiki wrote:
Errr....I was afraid that that might be the next question.
'Fraid you will have to wait a while for the DVD, since the last batch is all sold out, and I am currently marooned on the exotic shores of the Bavarian Alps. No rescue in sight until Christmas either.

Oooh, stuck in Barvaria for Octoberfest? How terrible! :P I know you miss everyone here, and everyone here misses you, but there are worse times & places to be stuck in (February in Chicago leaps to mind, as does August in South Texas). Enjoy a nice beer, sing a song or two, laugh for a few minutes and we'll do the same. Let me know when you're doing it & I'll try to coordinate a visit to Karl Strauss' Brewery Gardens for the same time. :)

A while ago I was talking to a friend at work about carving tikis and she asked me if I had ever heard of the "the tiki's" in Monterey Park. She said that she, her husband and some friends decided to check it out one night. All she could remember from the experience was that there was TONS of mediocre food, and tikis everywhere. She said it was over the top of being way over the top - an experience that really stood out as one of a kind. I promply brought in my copy of the BOT and showed her the tiki's section and she was blown away that polynesian pop was this popular.

A few weeks later, she gave me this photocopy:

(damn shutterfly cropping this...is there somewhere else I can upload this so it doesn't cut off the edges?)

She told me that she had made a photocopy of the original paper add for the weekend that she went (she doesn't have the original clipping - I already asked) but she was surprised that she still had this.

I was talking to my father inlaw and they had been to the one in monterey park for some partys for there work said it was realy neat Huge too stage seating inside and out . Man whish I coulda gone .