I guess personally, I was looking at the new design as more of an original piece of art. The figures all emoting their own "Uh-Oh-a" response.

On the one hand people complain about Disney never creating anything original anymore, and then people complain there's no Disney reference in something like this. Can't keep everyone happy I suppose. :wink:

I wanted to add something else to this thought. From the Mahaloween event, I got the strong idea that the design of the mugs from the Shipwreck Barrel on out to now have originated with a design group within Disney products; and Tiki Farm is merely the producer of these. The Designer of the Shrunken Zombie mug was at the event.

Anyone have any deeper knowledge of this process?

[ Edited by: SBJiminyC 2014-11-05 13:00 ]

On 2014-11-05 12:56, SBJiminyC wrote:
Anyone have any deeper knowledge of this process?

Something I myself am curious on too. I can ask around with various people I know, but its a tough one. Tiki Farm produces them for sure but I don't know if they do or don't design any of them. Tim Wollweber did the sculpt of the Shrunken Zombie Head mug, but he doesn't regularly do work for Disney. I wonder if he's buddy-buddy with Tiki Farm so they + Disney took the design via commission or what.

Again, some insight from Tiki Farm would be super helpful but they might be unable to comment due to business relations/privacy agreements. In fact, much of Trader Sam's menu is in thanks to MarkeTeam Inc, a food service and design group that creates original menus and menu designs for various restaurants, groups, etc.

Disney has strict design control of everything (as in complete control freaks)
and lots of privacy agreements to adhere to when doing any business with them.

I have asked Holden (TikiFarm) about the mugs etc. for Trader Sam's
and he can only say he is contractually unable to talk about them.

Doug Horne went through the same hoops, when he did Artwork for Disney
I have other friends who work or have worked for them and they have some tales to tell
unfortunately I am not at liberty to relay those in public.

[ Edited by: closettiki 2014-11-07 10:58 ]

How' much is the new Uh Oa bowl ? With the concoction and without ?

On 2014-11-06 22:23, closettiki wrote:
How' much is the new Uh Oa bowl ? With the concoction and without ?

Its a stinger - $32 w/o the drink and I think like $42 with the drink.

On 2014-11-05 16:10, kkocka wrote:

On 2014-11-05 12:56, SBJiminyC wrote:
Anyone have any deeper knowledge of this process?

Something I myself am curious on too. I can ask around with various people I know, but its a tough one. Tiki Farm produces them for sure but I don't know if they do or don't design any of them. Tim Wollweber did the sculpt of the Shrunken Zombie Head mug, but he doesn't regularly do work for Disney. I wonder if he's buddy-buddy with Tiki Farm so they + Disney took the design via commission or what.

Again, some insight from Tiki Farm would be super helpful but they might be unable to comment due to business relations/privacy agreements. In fact, much of Trader Sam's menu is in thanks to MarkeTeam Inc, a food service and design group that creates original menus and menu designs for various restaurants, groups, etc.

I would imagine it is a pretty standard operation, Company goes to them with desire for mug, if they have an idea but no concept TF starts there. Disney has concept artists to do the sketches, TF translates it to a proof that can work for mass production/survive as drinkware, they sign off and it goes to China for production, shipped back here for final sign off, and there you go.

I know Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily were involved with designing and propping the bar, but what about the mugs? On the Miehana blog, I know there's at least some designs for the swizzle sticks that Sam's uses.

On 2014-11-10 05:10, EPCOTExplorer wrote:
I know Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily were involved with designing and propping the bar, but what about the mugs? On the Miehana blog, I know there's at least some designs for the swizzle sticks that Sam's uses.

They were responsible for some of the elements, mostly those that needed replication like the Wicked Wench and the totem poles. They did do a mug design or two along with the sticks. As usual, there's a few things that haven't seen light from all the work like the Mai Tai mug that's been created but is somewhere up on the shelves of "we'll get around to making it available someday." Such an example are the mugs created for the Enchanted Tiki Room's 50th anniversary which supposedly were created for the Polynesian Resort's 40th celebration that never occurred.

Such is the life of the contractor, never quite sure what they did but at the same time you can't take full credit for work until it releases.

kkocka said:
Such an example are the mugs created for the Enchanted Tiki Room's 50th anniversary which supposedly were created for the Polynesian Resort's 40th celebration that never occurred.

I never knew that. Maybe they'll break it out for the grand re-opening! :wink:

The new Uh Oa bowl looks like it was designed by someone who has never seen a tiki and knows nothing about the Enchanted Tiki Room, Tiki Culture or Polynesian art.

I was initially excited to see a new bowl from across a crowded Trader Sam's room, but when the bartender brought one over to us to inspect my excitement quickly dissipated into disappointment.

Oh well... I don't really have the space for another bowl anyway...

Are there pictures of that unreleased Mai Tai mug for Trader Sam's? First I've heard of it.

None

just got mine yesterday! man, its awesome, drink was a little strong, but the bar keep gave me some extra pineapple juice for the GF!! much better!!!

This seemed like the best thread to bump. New mugs from Trader Sam's have hit. Pics from the Facebook group of the new HippopotoMai-Tai mug (now ceramic instead of glass), Krakatoa mug(new glaze), and Uh-oh bowl (new glaze).

There's also news out of Tiki Oasis this weekend that for the holidays there will be a $50 Jingle Cruise mug with a mother and baby elephant from the Jungle Cruise. With that description and price point I'm thinking it will be a bowl with an elephant wading pool theme with the Christmas decorations.

I am a local. I love Sam's and have collected just about every version of their mugs since they opened; the original shrunken zombie head is still one of my favorite mugs. I'm always interested when they release new editions (and dread trying to fight the crowds and hoarders when they have a limited edition release), but this latest round of mugs leaves me less enthused.

Hippomaitai- I am a fan of matte finish ceramics (love the original Sam's barrel), but the finish on this just looks, well, unfinished. maybe these new ceramic versions just don't photograph welll? every pic I've seen is the same. Do they look better in-person?
And, maybe it's me, but sipping a Mai tai out of ceramic instead of a glass vessel seems to lose something of the spirit of the drink.

Krakatoa- again, maybe these just don't photograph well, but this yellow color is garish. Who decided to use "Canary Puke" and why? Red or orange, I get it. But this color? What is it supposed to be, a sulphur volcano?

UhOa bowl- it's ok as a color, but contextually, I don't get it. The "story" is that it's supposed to be a ceremonial bowl, right? Why change the wood colored glaze? (To sell more, silly! Why do you think they keep changing glazes?)

Anyone know if there's an updated barrel coming too?

The jingle cruise limited edition could be cool, but it's sure to be a hassle to get one. XP

Wish they would get some new swizzles, but not a chance since they are given for free and new mugs = $$$

I love Sam's drinks and endless eye candy but these new glazes seem "off". I guess I just like it when the cash intentions are less obvious and the aesthetic decisions are better made.
Cheers!
:drink:

I agree on the Krakatoa, in fact the day the new ones came out in CA my wife left for FL and she's stopped by to get one of the red ones before they're replaced with the yellow ones.

I don't mind the new Hippomaitai but its nothing special to me. Last year I got one of the glass ones that was mistakenly printed Tambu Lounge instead of Grog Grotto and that was enough for my collection.

I actually like the new Uh-oh bowl, I find both of the glazes to be quite nice.

I'm nonplussed about the new Hippopotamaitai ceramic because of the design. Some friends of mine got me one of the glass ones from Grog Grotto (as an apology for not being able to get a Nautilus on that trip... the third time they went they finally brought one back for me!) and I'm not a super big fan of it either, because it's based on the Polynesian Village Resort mascot, which I don't particularly like. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's too cartoony, and not in a good way. I'm already keen to sell or trade off the glass one, and somehow a ceramic version makes it look even worse.

I like the Uh-Oha bowl in general though. I do wish I could have gotten a 1st ed. one, but I like the hear-no/see-no/speak-no evil design. It's cartoony in a good way, I guess? I'm not exactly chomping at the bit to get a black glaze of it though. I only have so much shelf space as is. Unless one somehow just ends up in my possession, that's probably why I'll pass on the weird yellow Krakatoa one too.

Apparently the Uh-Oha bowl is actually a dark/midnight blue glaze, not black.

My wife is back at Trader Sam's Orlando literally right now and decided to pick up one of the first edition bowls because she likes it better than the new glaze, though I might get one of the new ones when I got at Christmas.

God forbid you give any criticism on Facebook, holy hell you'll get your head cut off! Glad to see a bit more of a balanced assessment here.

I believe the mai tai mug is NOT from Tiki Farm. The bottom only reads "©Disney" and that's it! This is very unlike the rest of the Tiki Farm mugs as we're all well-aware of. My suspicion is that this is made by another company, possibly the same one who made the glass version. This is far too plain for me and almost feels like something more based in Mexican or Central American history. I realize it's the maui tiki face from the Polynesian Village Resort but the plain ol beige communicates that to me. Some faux wood grain and deeper texturing would definitely help.

The Uh Oa is actually a nice look - I prefer mattes but I enjoy this glaze. I think it's different from what most mugs have been at Sam's.

And the yellow Krakatoa...I get why most people don't like it. I'm sort of torn down the middle - I never liked the "nacho cheese" orange of the mugs in the past, though this particular color of yellow doesn't seem to be the right fit. If it were a bit darker or saturated I think I'd be down. I do like the more gray-toned matte majority of the mug as opposed to the browner tone. Still, the only Krakatoa mug I own is the red and gray matte from Grog Grotto in Orlando.

If anybody has a lead on who made the Mai Tai mug that would definitely be helpful!

On 2017-08-26 17:00, finky099 wrote:
I guess I just like it when the cash intentions are less obvious and the aesthetic decisions are better made.

Disney is all about "cash intentions" and the various collectible mugs seems to support that. But, there is very high demand by Disney fans who really enjoy their offerings. My walls and rafters at home go only so high, so I have become much more selective when it comes to buying more mugs. Besides, mugs deprive me of room for my bottles of booze, so... Decision made, lol!

On 2017-08-28 13:44, kkocka wrote:

If anybody has a lead on who made the Mai Tai mug that would definitely be helpful!

I saw one pic with a Made in China sticker on the bottom. So definitely not Tiki Farm.