New mug from Trader Sam's?

I understand your view on tiki being Disneyland's Adventureland, as the Enchanted Tiki Room was one of my early exposures as well, but as I'm sure you know it's important to remember that tiki is comprised of South Pacific cultures and elements - that is to say that there's a LOT of African elements mixed in there - so for those who are only familiar with Disney-tiki, it's easy to fall into "the Disney trap" by calling any mask a tiki mask, idol, carving, etc. But that African element disqualifies a lot of what the general population/lemmings call "tiki."

To muck things up a bit more for us, there is at least one thread here on Tiki Central discussing "jungle-style" tiki. And it has lots of cool pictures.

"The Jungle-style Thread - Pop Culture Iconography of the Dark Continent"
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=34744&forum=1

It looks like Trader Sam's stuff crosses over into that category.

So as what others are calling "tiki mugs" evolve (or devolve) into Marvel, Star Wars, Star Trek, etc. variants, there will still be a group like us who will be around to point out the degradation of the proper "tiki mug." Why don't we write articles for magazines and newspapers? We need to help get the word out about what this stuff really SHOULD be and what it SHOULD NOT be. I have, in the past, written emails to manufacturers who sold "tiki" stuff online that had nothing to do with real tiki, and I asked them to consider stopping their perpetuation of false examples of "tiki."

It makes sense for Trader Sam's to crossover, because it's based on Adventureland, which itself crosses over. The Jungle Cruise is supposed to be the great rivers of Africa, Asia, and South America rolled into one, looked over by the Enchanted Tiki Room, across from which is a bazaar in the North African mold. It's a huge, romantic, tropical, jungle pastiche. The Tiki and the Safari "scenes" are a pretty heavily overlapping Venn diagram.

We've had this discussion a million times, though, haven't we? Each of those circles on the Venn diagram - Tiki and Safari - have their strong nucleus... Their "pure" form of South Pacific romance on the one hand and African romance on the other. The beach and the jungle. The beachcomber and the great white hunter. Tiki masks and tribal masks. We could complicate it even more if we wanted, by adding a third circle for the Caribbean. Another for Latin America. It's around the edges of those circles where it gets fuzzier... They fuzz into each other where they overlap, and fuzz in their own unique ways on their own edges. I like fantasy Tiki or tropical fantasy or whatever you want to call it, replete with mermaids and sea monsters and Jules Verne-style adventure. Disney works well for me. That said, I can feel a strong difference between Adventureland in Disneyland USA and Adventureland in Disneyland Paris... Disneyland Paris' has much more of a European colonial vibe and lacks any Tiki stuff, whereas Disneyland USA's feels more Tiki even through the attempted colonial aesthetics of the Jungle Cruise. It's like the Jungle Cruise takes place on whatever ecologically impossible South Pacific island the Swiss Family Robinson found.

I dunno'... Isn't there enough room for good people to hold down the nucleus of Tiki's purity and for others to jive around the edges, and all have a good time? Honestly, it's not like this was the first shitty mug that Trader Sam's has made. And no one is holding a gun to anyone's head to buy Geeki-Tiki mugs.

Good thoughts and reminders, well stated, Enchanted Tiki Goth.

Isn't an elephant figure with it's trunk down bad luck?

On 2017-11-28 19:28, AceExplorer wrote:
Have not heard....

Nowhere to go but up from here, right? Lol!

On 2017-11-30 21:50, King Bushwich the 33rd wrote:
Isn't an elephant figure with it's trunk down bad luck?

So maybe the mug really is telling us "old people must die" (trunk is down on the big one) but "young people will take over the world" (trunk is up on the little one.)

Finally - we have an entirely new scandal here - to replace the current scandal and the purge of men who haven't been able to keep their zippers up in the workplace!

:drink:

News Story
Disney fans line up early to score holiday Tiki mug

Full text of the article is pasted here - for future reference because these articles eventually expire and go away. I also pasted a couple of the mug photos.

Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar sells this limited first edition Jingle Cruise-themed holiday mug. People waited in line at 3 a.m., according to collector Matthew Morrison of Placentia. It was initially sold at adjoining Tangaroa Terrace for $20 without a drink (only sold the next day with drink for $25 ) on Thurs., Nov. 30. Guests can purchase two of the first edition tiki mugs. The white-boxed mug had to be purchased in order for guests to see what they were getting. The small holiday tiki mug release picture outside the Polynesian-inspired eatery was hard to read. At this time, cast members didn’t know what types of drink will be served. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, Orange County Register/SCNG)

While there is no jingle in the jungle at Disneyland this year, those wanting their “Jingle Cruise” fix had the chance to purchase a souvenir about the holiday version of the famed Jungle Cruise.

Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar at the Disneyland Hotel offered a special 1st Edition Holiday Elephant Tiki Mug for the season.

The ceramic mug looks like a mother elephant and her baby as might be seen while cruising the classic attraction, with the mother elephant sporting a Santa hat on her head and holiday lights draped over her body.

Disney fans, collectors — and those looking to score a quick profit by reselling the mugs — began lining up in the wee hours of the morning, as early as 3 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 30, for a chance to purchase two of the mugs.

The mugs initially sold for $20 beginning at 7 a.m. Thursday inside the Tangaroa Terrace, a casual dining restaurant adjacent to Trader Sam’s at the Disneyland Hotel. Now they sell for $25 and $30 with a drink at Trader Sam’s.

Almost immediately after the mugs went on sale, some were reselling them on eBay with prices listed from $45 to as high as $195.

As of Saturday, there were still mugs available for purchase at the Tangaroa Terrace and Trader Sam’s.

UGH!!! :(

Yeah, but this will pass. We can (hopefully) look forward to better ones in the future. Nowhere to go but up, right? :)

WTF?

I don't like to criticize someone else's work or vision but it looks like something you would buy at the dollar store with lucky bamboo planted in it :lol:

It would be appropriate for Humuhumu's Agrabana Grog
INGREDIENTS
1-1/4 oz Cruzan white rum
3/4 oz Appleton V/X rum
3/4 oz fresh grapefruit juice
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
3/4 oz garam masala syrup
3/4 oz club soda
sprig of mint
Shake the rums, juices and syrup together with ice. Pour into a JINGLE CRUISE MUG, top with club soda, and garnish with a LUCKY BAMBOO SWIZZLE*

Garam Masala Syrup
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
2 tsp garam masala
Make a rich simple syrup by melting the sugar and water together in a small pot over medium-low heat. When the sugar is completely melted, add the garam masala and remove from heat. Once the syrup has cooled, transfer it into a container and store in the refrigerator. Do not strain, shake before using.

*OK, I made some modifications here from the original recipe :wink:

Thought I would copy this over from another forum, from Tom Thordarson:

DISNEY TRADER SAM'S CHRISTMAS ELEPHANT! A true story~~!!!!!!!!!

SO Since I even see reference made to a "well known Tiki Artist" made here by both Disney and others...my obligation to be "silent and on the DL" seems to have been challenged on this DRAMA!! lol SO let me say a few things....or at least lend some sort of level headed attitude on this .

I am not able to divulge details as to what part I took in this product. Most guess fairly quickly...and I can say I am very proud of my contribution. I have a standard of quality in design that have no need to argue. One thing I learned many years ago though, is that there is nothing more deflating and depressing than creating art that gets ...NO response. lol

I think you will hear from the greatest artists and performers in history....say, in their own words, that they would rather bring on great anger...offend many...or appeal to a chosen few rather than create something that is just pushed along without a glance!! lol So....another reason I am VERY proud of "my part" on the Trader Sam's Elephant mug! What a great drama it has stirred and it's "MAGICAL" to watch!!

For those claiming this doesn't belong at "Trader Sams". Well as a former Disney Imagineer and one who has absorbed himself to the point of living in a "fantasy world" most of my days...35 years of Entertainment Design to be exact..I can respectfully, disagree!

One of the "golden rules" at Imagineering we all adhered to is..."Story". Story drives design. Is Trader Sams just a "Tiki Bar"? Well I sure like to feel it is in part...but I can't in any way say ONLY "Tiki Mugs" that look like a "Tiki" are the ONLY fit! Let's see what the original story of this bar to be was, as told by Tom Bricker at Disney...as follows:

"Trader Sam decided to open an Enchanted Tiki Bar where “his expertise in head-shrinking potions grew into an interest in mixology.” Being a very connected man in the import/export business, Sam called on his friends at the Jungle Cruise Navigational Company, to help him decorate the bar. With the artifacts provided by them and his letters and photos from his travels, he managed to thoroughly adorn the walls of Trader Sam’s..."

The story continued...referencing the Jungle Cruise several times..but the point is...Elements of the Jungle cruise like these mugs are definitely a thematic "fit". I see several comments on this Elephant "mug" online where people don't think it belongs in "Trader Sams". This is incorrect!

The design was inspired by the bathing elephants in the Jungle Cruise. Note these, in the mug, (Mom and Baby) are "Indian Elephants"...not African, like Dumbo. Sorry..had to educate a few here!! lol So if you look carefully at the actual drink vessel and look at the expressions and interactions...I can't see how anyone with a decent heart would see this as "stupid" or poorly represented. It' s acute moment any Disney lover would appreciate.

So the idea we are looking at here is celebrating the "decoration" of the jungle cruise animatronics" as the inspiration and overlay. Things added like lights and the hat...etc. I guarantee yah if this were a 12' high animatronic female jungle cruise elephant and her baby and it looked like this at Christmas no one would be in the least so critical. I wish this moment actually DID exist in the jungle cruise.

SO what I see online is a lot of drama and people jumping in to grab a stone to throw at this "public mockery". Really makes me disappointed in a lot of "Ohana". It's why I participate less and less in the Tiki networks.

So maybe you agree with the above and you just don't like the colors or glaze or something. I think public feedback is wonderful and very valuable. Be specific and comment with some class. But I see a lot of "parrots" on here mimicking and jumping in for a stone to throw who have some really really shitty attitudes! Yah know...I am a fairly well known Artist...in Tiki as well (I feel I need to say that suddenly. lol Maybe to remind myself is all.)

I see a lot of mugs, and "Tiki Creations" made by both large scale companies and everything down to the garage mug maker. Some is not at all my taste or favorite. ! lol I mean...I may think that..but I have a lot of respect for keeping my attitude in line with what the people in the "Tiki Culture" USED to be like. Thank god most of those who make the greatest contributions and impact in Tiki are still this way. They choose to make the energy in a room or situation POSITIVE. They have class an dignity and respect for everyone. Be "kind"....is that a word still understood today? It's understandable to have an opinion..but use more intellect and heart in how you express it. Oh yah..."respect"...that word is slipping off the charts lately

EVERYONE is entitled to like or dislike something. But this is part of something "fun"...and part of a context that is not trying to "fool" you or force you to do anything!! Be a little more "Tiki" and be respectful! If you find yourself being a sort that is popping up on any thread where there is a dust cloud to say something derogatory, go outside and kick phone pole for 2-3 minutes or do a Jerry Lewis impression in the mirror and brush your teeth like I do! My attitude is always much better!

Lastly...mark my words!! 5 years from now, the guy who will get the last laugh is the one who buys these Elephants off you for a buck and is making $500.00 a piece on Ebay!! lol Don't laugh!! Drama and reaction means "collectible"!! I see it happen ALL the time!!!

Yah yaaaah...so the word "Tiki Mug" is becoming a broader term in our English language other than always a literal "Tiki" to drink out of. Accept it! I can't stand when people say they "upped" their dosage of pain pills
instead of "raised". lol That used to make my High School English teacher go into fits!! But it was quickly brought to my attention that words, grammer and many aspects of our language and slang are ALWAYS evolving and changing...and so has the definition of a "Tiki Mug"...like it or not! Accept it!

SO....maybe tell a story next time you pick up one of these elephants. Imagine it 12' tall...with mist and flanked in vines and the roar of a waterfall in the distance. Jungle birds and the smell of the Jungle cruise boat exhaust mixed with a kids churro sitting next to you on the boat!

Instead of being pessimistic and negative....try something else....try being a story teller.

Aloha...and hope to see yah all on the backside of water one day for a cool Libation~~ ~~~THOR

Excuse me, I'll be over here trying to extract my foot from my mouth :( :D

Good information there from Thor, thanks to JasonMa for putting that up. I know my initial reaction to the mug was wrong - I thought too quickly of how "the bean counters" got an opportunity and then ran away with it. Emotion overcame reason.

But 12 to 24 hours later I saw more posts and I thought again about what Trader Sam's really was, and then the light went on. That's when I posted again that this mug DOES fit in Sam's. I'm not sure if I pulled my foot outta my mouth, but I sure hope so. And Thor is right - if the edition size isn't ginormous, these will be very valuable. The mugs depict - as Thor helped make clear - something with a long and beloved history in the Jungle Cruise.

And you know what's really embarrassing for me personally? I once took a fellow co-worker for an in-depth behind-the-scenes tour of the park and one of my stops took us INSIDE the rock with the hidden pneumatic valves and showed him what I knew was the legacy technology that ran the animation for that portion of the ride - the elephant pool. Dang it...

I would still argue (friendly) that the "tiki mug" moniker has become generic for various highly stylized and whimsical drinkware. This caused confusion when Disney introduced this mug as a "tiki" mug. Unfortunately not everyone sees these things the same way we do, so to us it was a big deal. But to everyone else -- "COOL! JUNGLE CRUISE ELEPHANTS!" and that was the end of it.

So glad that Jason posted additional in-depth information. That's going to remain an important and lasting record in Google of what that mug is really about and how and why it came to be.

So looking back I am both happy and sad -- happy that the mug fits well into the context of Trader Sam's, and sad that I was so quick to judge and did so badly. To quote someone very famous, "Doh!"

For me, at least initially, regarding this mug it is not an issue of whether or not this is a "tiki" mug or if it fits into the Sam's theme. I cannot even get to those discussions because it is such a poorly executed mug.

What happened there? Did the elephant get into a front end collision? The picture above and others I have seen don't look that great. I understand that pictures sometimes do not do justice but in this case I don't think seeing this in person would change my mind. Maybe I am wrong but there are so many other people, "tiki" or not, that are producing mugs that are putting out a better quality product. This is just so schlock.

Jefe, this is my line of thinking, too. No offense to Thor and whatever his specific involvement with this mug was, but I still think this just looks sloppy. I truly had a difficult time discerning that there was an elephant here (let alone two). I’m no ceramic artist and couldn’t have done better, but surely Disney has the resources to figure it out. What’s worse is if this was intentionally kitschy in a ironic/meta/hipster kind of way; that doesn’t really help tiki culture anymore than getting into nasty, bitter arguments about what is “authentically” tiki (which, for the record, I don’t think is happening here on this thread). Just because the mug will be collectible, make some people money, and is creating “drama,” doesn’t mean it’s a great mug.

There are two different debates around this mug:

1. What is "real" Tiki?

2. Is this a good mug?

Thor mainly seemed to be responding to the circus around the first question, which is fine. I don't have a problem at all considering this a Tiki mug, for reasons I've already articulated. But people are perfectly entitled to their views on the question of whether this is a good mug.

Two notes. First the edition size is rumored to be 9000, based on the shipping info on the boxes that people saw. (Box labels say contains X amount and box number Y of Z boxes). Second, many reports of people saying the mug looks much better in person. Mine hasn't arrived yet so I can't vouch for that statement.

No amount of explanation will help. An UGLY mug is an UGLY mug.

Sorry!

I still side with the "bad mug" argument. I know Thor is Tiki Royalty, and I've never spoken to him so I certainly have nothing against him, but I just see this whole thing of a holiday mug as a missed opportunity to skew a bit more Tiki (I understand that it heavily skews Adventureland as a whole which includes African elements) and less Attraction.

I'd have preferred to see a mug released FOR Christmas time rather than a Christmastime mug. Throwing a Santa hat on something almost instantly kills my desire for said object (again, that's my personal take) and limits the likelihood of my using said object. Even then, the first thing you're likely to see at Sam's during the holiday celebration is a giant Koro tiki with a Santa Hat on, so there's an idea that could fly as it's recognizable both in the Parks and inside Sam's. It's a mug exclusive to Anaheim and a tiki/prop that's also exclusive to Anaheim. Another idea could be a Krakatoa mug variant that is based off the bar's tropical snowstorm effect - that's one I'm surprised I like so much, it checks the box on Christmas and Sam's, and wouldn't be mistaken for something generic Disney or something unrelated to Disney ("cookie jar" is a word I've heard several times).

Then again, in the creative/art/design world, sometimes you just have to do the job the best you can because that's what you're getting paid to do. Thor hasn't shared whether it was his concept, or simply sculpted the mug. In addition, somebody else (I have a hunch who) was responsible for the paint/finish job. Much like the US not qualifiying for the World Cup, this can't be pinned on one person alone. My big thing is just conceptually something different could have been done. I think this appeals to those not very into Tiki and more into Disney. I've read a lot of "my mom loves elephants" or "i collect everything elephant."

Lastly, for those who don't like it, take the route I traveled: don't buy it. Then again, I'm not a huge mug collector anyway, and taught myself self control about not needing to be a completionist.

Follow me on Instagram
http://www.instagram.com/keithkocka

[ Edited by: kkocka 2017-12-05 11:19 ]

I received my mug last night and its not that much better in person. Its cute and will fit my wife but its not amazing. The real mistake is the glaze, int he areas where its lighter you can tell it would be a better mug with a better, lighter, glaze.

This year's Halloween mugs are hitting. Grog Grotto (FL) released their's last week and is approaching the end of their supply, Enchanted Tiki Bar (CA) will start selling their's tomorrow. They both have the same mug with one key difference. The mug s based on the Hatbox Ghost in the Haunted Mansion. The effect in the mansion is that the ghost's head/face changes from on top its body to inside the hatbox its holding. The FL mug has the face in the hatbox while the CA mug will have the face on the body. Here's a pic I found online of the FL one.

This is pretty cool, and way better than that elephant mug. I like Florida's version better and would get one for myself if I could. But... IT'S NOT TIKI!!!!!!

On 2018-10-18 19:16, Hamo wrote:
This is pretty cool, and way better than that elephant mug. I like Florida's version better and would get one for myself if I could. But... IT'S NOT TIKI!!!!!!

All respect to Thor and his broad spectrum of work, but even after his explanation on the "elephant crisis of 2017" I wasn't sold. I believe something stronger could have been produced. Regarding the latest addition to Haunted Mansion "tiki" I tend to agree: it's not tiki! But the draw of it of course is that it's Haunted Mansion, which is partly why I own it. In general I like the sculpt, but I'm fully aware it isn't tiki. You could pin it in the same category as the Geeky Tiki or Mondo "tiki" mugs which I'm quite outspoken on regarding how much I hate them. There's very little actual tiki to them, if any.

I'd prefer to see some original designs that are tiki-influenced and less Disney-influenced. We all know that Kevin and Jody had a great grasp of Adventureland tiki as their concepts show. I do know there are possibly some new mugs coming down the line but can't speak as to their appearances.

I (well, my wife) has managed to acquire one of the new Halloween mugs from each coast so we'll be adding them to our collection. I agree they aren't tiki and found the prior Hitchhiking Ghost Halloween mug more in line with the tiki idea.

Apparently Disneyland's Trader Sam's will be getting a new Kraken Bowl soon. That's the only rumored new mug, though they'll be getting new editions of their current mugs (so different glazes).

On 2018-10-22 12:33, JasonMa wrote:
Apparently Disneyland's Trader Sam's will be getting a new Kraken Bowl soon. That's the only rumored new mug, though they'll be getting new editions of their current mugs (so different glazes).

Looks like the mugs have arrived:

https://www.micechat.com/216921-disneyland-resort-valentine-day-update-tangaroa-terrace-reopens-as-a-bar/

That one on the left is also a new mug. The rest are just, as previously stated, new glazes (the one on the right isn't new but its the newest of the existing bunch, from a few months ago, its glaze wasn't updated). Grog Grotto also has a new glaze for its Zombie.

[ Edited by: JasonMa 2019-02-17 17:03 ]

Worth mentioning that the Shrunken Zombie Head and Krakatoa Punch are resculpts. It was inevitable as every new glaze resulted in a smaller and smaller mug.

Keith, could you expound on the resculpts statement? I'm not sure I follow.

On 2019-02-19 20:42, kevincrossman wrote:
Keith, could you expound on the resculpts statement? I'm not sure I follow.

They pour a mug and resculpt that, and by resculpt that means adding back detail that is lost as the mold wears or changing the shape, and then making a new mold from that. That is far easier to do compared with starting a brand new sculpt of the same thing because you already have the image/shape there, you just have to fine tune it.

Now clay shrinks as it dries, figures vary depending on the type of clay, but usually you hear up to about 10%, so because the resculpt is done from a mug that was poured from one mold and then a new mold is made from that, the mugs poured from the new mold will be about 10% smaller than the previous mold.

I hope i explained that clearly. It's kinda like making a copy of a copy of a copy of something but instead of the quality decreasing, with clay its getting smaller.

And clay is acidic so it wears away the plaster after a while. You can usually get 30 or so mugs from a mold before you start having to carve the detail back into each mug as it comes out of the mold. Guys like Tiki Diablo and Eekum Bookum, who make mugs in runs of 300, will make about 10 molds or more of one particular design. This not only makes things faster because you pour 30 times (30 pours x 10 molds = 300 mugs) instead of 300 times, you are at that 30 number where the mold starts losing detail so you are not spending time recarving each mug.

I'd love to know how many molds they make when mugs are made in China in there 1000's, but that's the perfect example of how you can compare the same mug from when its first released to the same design a few months later after a few thousand have been made and you'll see the older mug is a lot more 'crisp' in regards to the fine details.

The last time I was there, the Zombie mug wasn't available, so hopefully I can get one in April, along with the new Tangaroa Cooler mug. And I wouldn't mind the Uh Oha bowl, but it's a solo trip, so if anybody wants show up and join me....

On 2019-02-20 21:56, Hamo wrote:
but it's a solo trip, so if anybody wants show up and join me....

(Insider tip that you didn't get from me, but you can try asking your bartender your situation and with luck they'll split the group drink into one solo drink at a time. Just don't gloat about it!)

On 2019-02-25 11:13, kkocka wrote:

(Insider tip that you didn't get from me, but you can try asking your bartender your situation and with luck they'll split the group drink into one solo drink at a time. Just don't gloat about it!)

Thanks for the tip, Keith; Ramon hooked me up just like you said.