Name:Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar & Tangaroa Terrace
Type:bar
Street:1150 Magic Way
City:Anaheim
State:CA
Zip:
country:USA
Phone:(714) 778-6600
Status:operational

Description:
From the OC Weekly, Thursday, Jun 30 2011
For those of you who aren't able to get the Weekly, here is the article:

Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar Has a Tiki Track of Mind
The food at the Disneyland Hotel's new Polynesian-themed bar and eatery is beside the point
By EDWIN GOEI Thursday, Jun 30 2011

Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar at the Disneyland Hotel is a full-circle distillation of everything that came before it, descended from the kitschy Polynesian-themed tiki bars pioneered by Donn Beach in the 1930s (yes, the name behind Don the Beachcomber) and Walt Disney's own Tiki Room. The bar has totems with roving animatronic eyes and walls covered with tropical trinkets. At random moments, the lights darken and the room rumbles as if a storm cloud had settled atop the structure. Then comes the rain, a downpour projected onto the walls while the thunder claps. This, you realize quickly, is not just a tiki bar, but a bona-fide new Disney attraction.
One tall drink!

Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar & Tangaroa Terrace at Disneyland Hotel. Trader Sam's open daily, 9 a.m.-1:30 a.m.; Tangaroa Terrace open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Dinner and drinks for two, $40-$60. Full bar. Parking is free for three hours at the Downtown Disney lot; neither restaurant offers validation if you park at the Disneyland Hotel lot.

A volcano erupts, a pirate ship in a bottle sinks, and at least a few bar stools lower unexpectedly as if you sat in quicksand. Each effect is triggered when someone orders a specific drink. Which drink? Well, it's easy to figure out, as they have such fanciful names as Shipwreck On the Rocks. But interactive Easter eggs of this kind are best discovered on your own. At least one drink glows red from an LED-lit ice cube; another is served in an oversized ashtray in which alcohol-soaked sugar cubes are set aflame and straws are inserted through the sides for two or more people to share. If you order the potent-like-cough-syrup HippopotoMai-Tai, an upgrade fee lets you take home the totem-head glass as a souvenir. I can also tell you that if you order the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Rum, a creamy version of piña colada sprinkled with cinnamon, it's required that you recite all the "tikis." I didn't, and the waitress shook her head disapprovingly. "Nope, can't let you have it," she said. "You missed two tikis." We all laughed. Then I complied by singing the order (it's the easiest way), and we all laughed some more.

As with most things inside the Disney fold, the cuisine is almost beside the point. Disney may be an innovator of rides and theming, but it follows the model set by quick-serve chains when it comes to food, resorting to easily and consistently reproduced items served to thousands. Trader Sam's menu of pupus is no exception, with a level of execution on par with Elephant Bar or Chili's. They've got a wasabi-and-yuzu-dressed ahi tuna poke and avocado presented in the usual cylindrical shape of a ring mold; as you scoop a few silken cubes of fish onto yet another wonton chip, you'll think to yourself how often you've had the dish before and how this one is just as luscious as any of those.

Most barflies will gravitate toward the bento box with a sampler of four items. The syrupy glaze that coats the notably well-fried chicken wings makes the meat dangerously close to cloying, but it's better than the bite-sized pork short ribs, which are dry despite being on the bone and shellacked in a tamarind-based barbecue sauce. The third and fourth bento-box compartments hold a flat papaya slaw and panko-breaded green beans owing a debt of flavor to the spicy sriracha aioli dip. For more substantial bites, chicken lettuce cups feature a bigger-than-typical mince of the meat, but it'll likely be the soggiest rendition you'll encounter of something that's supposed to sizzle. Far better is the kalua pork flatbread, a dead ringer for barbecued-chicken pizza, if you can excuse the lifeless cardboard texture of a crust so thin it could be lavash.

If it's a full meal you want, you have to leave Trader Sam's and walk over to Tangaroa Terrace. At this boring-by-comparison, no-frills quick-service restaurant and cafeteria next door, the most exciting feature is the touch-screen kiosks that send your orders to the kitchen, thereby eliminating waiters. But maybe the Mouse could've shifted some of the money saved from not hiring cast members toward the food instead of gizmos. A miso-glazed salmon was encased in an unidentifiable but strange cocoon too soggy to be tempura, deep-fried and served with a viscous, sugary, white liquid that's more melted cake frosting than any known variant of miso. The burger meat retained the shape of its original machine-formed frozen patty; the fried, breaded fish sticks and the chicken katsu were indistinguishable. Stay away from Tangaroa Terrace; instead, rush back to the bar for another drink that makes the room and your spirit come alive again.

This review appeared in print as "A Tiki Track of Mind: The food at the Disneyland Hotel's new Polynesian-themed bar and eatery is beside the point."

By the way, the article featured the The Hula Girls'cover model, Miss Dinah DeRosa.

Very Cool, congratz to Dinah ! (and you too Spike :)

Thanks,Spike, for making an entry for the place under locating tiki. About time someone did. I think the experts have determined that Trader Sams is a legit location and not some wannabee poseur. So here is the ...

Official Trader Sams at Disneyland Hotel page
and a blog authored by an artist who has the respect from everybody here a Tiki Central...
Kevin Kidney Blogspot

And those are great photos of Dinah in that article.

[->>King Bushwich 33rd

Article about the place with lots of back stories, details, inverviews, opionions and things...
Themepark Adventure: Trader Sams

Nice write up and photo gallery from the LA Weekly:

http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/2011/08/trader_sams_enchanted_tiki_bar_disneyland.php

[ Edited by: KING BUSHWICH THE 33RD 2014-02-05 08:10 ]

Another Article/Blog about Trader Sam's

Samsland: Trader Sam's

Here's a short video showing Trader Sams. It's on the Disney web site.

http://disney.go.com/videos/?channel=1293072&content=1938555

The design element continues into the ladies room. I'm assuming the mens room looks the same.

sconce

door handle

I just went to Trader Sam's for the first time this afternoon. Really enjoyed the place the drinks were good and the service was good. We had the fish tacos and they were very tasty. They were playing old Hawaiian Christmas music mixed in with some exotica which set a very nice mood for the place. I would go back any time.

Is it just me or does the ceiling need something more ...??

Would be nice to see a Bamboo (pvc) drop grid with some lashing.

The walls are packed with stuff then it's just blank up there.

If you agree let them know.

Was at Trader Sam's last night and watched in awe as Bernardo prepared eight "Krakatoa's". My wife CeCe captured the moment with her Iphone's camera.

[ Edited by: nui 'umi 'umi 2013-03-25 22:39 ]

Some of my favorite things at Trader Sam's are outside.

These two tikis are next door in front of Tangaroo Terrace:

The doors to Trader Sam's has some great referrence material for carving:

On 2013-03-26 08:06, MaukaHale wrote:
Some of my favorite things at Trader Sam's are outside.

The doors to Trader Sam's has some great referrence material for carving:

I think Danny Gallrdo (Tiki Disablo) carved those. Nice!

I agree with Bamboo Ben, the ceiling leaves a lot to be desired. In fact, although the place is great, it's not off the hook great. I was a little disappointed, however had it not been at Disneyland, I would not have had my expectations so high either.

Regarding the ceiling, it's funny, but it is often the most overlooked part of any Tiki build and it really does make or break a room.

On 2013-03-26 10:22, nui 'umi 'umi wrote:

On 2013-03-26 08:06, MaukaHale wrote:
Some of my favorite things at Trader Sam's are outside.

The doors to Trader Sam's has some great referrence material for carving:

I think Danny Gallrdo (Tiki Disablo) carved those. Nice!

They were done by Leroy Schmaltz of Oceanic Arts.

Mahalo J B. Leroy is amazing.

On 2013-03-26 13:18, Longboard wrote:
I agree with Bamboo Ben, the ceiling leaves a lot to be desired. In fact, although the place is great, it's not off the hook great. I was a little disappointed, however had it not been at Disneyland, I would not have had my expectations so high either.

Regarding the ceiling, it's funny, but it is often the most overlooked part of any Tiki build and it really does make or break a room.

The answer I got was "it's plain do to it's easier to clean" and they shoot water up there for a drink.

They could at least do a grid pattern with plastic bamboo and plastic lashing for some depth and still be able to keep it clean.

Just my 2 cents...

Here is some concept art for swizzle sticks by Jody Daily for Trader Sam's:

The one one the right is for a HippopotoMai-Tai

I wish they would have produced the swizzle sticks for the Piranha Pool on the left.

HippopotoMai-Tai.

That's the best thing I've heard all day.

The thread needs more photos. Here's 2.

kevin

Heard chatter last night between bartender and Cast Member that they are in the planning stages of opening a Trader Sam's in Florida at Disneyworld.

Yes, there was a bit of chatter on Facebook about another, larger, Trader Sam's opening up in Downtown Disney in Orlando.
There is also this TC discussion.
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=44996&forum=1&17

Here's a picture of a picture in the Trader Sam's in Anaheim.

Here are my pictures. I went there with a friend and we both liked the decor, the food and the drinks.

Some recent pics from Trader Sam's from 2/1/2014...

Might be old news. The “new” drink menu has a couple of new drinks including a non alcoholic beverage served in the Dole/Disney Tiki “sipper” . This sipper is almost identical to the original. Don’t know anymore than that.
Cheers

A new Trader Sam's video:

http://youtu.be/_Yp23IyE4pA

Trader Sams is still one of my fav tiki bars! there is so much cool stuff to see inside, and as a huge fan of the Jungle Cruise, Im always finding new stuff in there that I can do in my bar!!

Here's a fun article with the Head Decorator at Trader Sam's, Brandon Kleyla: http://www.endorexpress.net/special-features/trader-sam’s-enchanted-tiki-bar/

Did you find this link from WDW Magic? :P

I didn't even know what WDW Magic was, had to Google it. :) I was doing a search to see if there was a store somewhere selling the Uh Oa bowl, and found this article instead.

Related question: Why doesn't Disney sell all of their wares through their official stores? I shouldn't have to pay $80 on eBay for this! Grumble grumble.

On 2014-05-07 10:08, TikiTacky wrote:
I didn't even know what WDW Magic was, had to Google it. :) I was doing a search to see if there was a store somewhere selling the Uh Oa bowl, and found this article instead.

Related question: Why doesn't Disney sell all of their wares through their official stores? I shouldn't have to pay $80 on eBay for this! Grumble grumble.

Maybe because they want you to spend even more money by having to make a special trip to Orlando or Anaheim.
They have special items only sold on their cruise ships, Club 33, various resorts, D23 members, etc, etc...

If I'm too cheap to pay $80 for a tiki bowl, I'm definitely too cheap to pay to go to Disneylandworld! :wink:

New items on menu and new drinks

Disney Park Blog: Tangaroa Terrace Menu Gets Makeover, Plus Three New Drinks at Trader Sam’s

Yeah this was cross-discussed in General Tiki/http://www.tikicentral.com/viewforum.php?forum=1&121568. Passionate Python (aka Sidewinder's Fang), Murky Mojito, and Polynesian Punch (replaces Jungle River Sunset, comes in the Enchanted Tiki Room sipper), plus new food items, have been around since about April 6th. Funny that Parks Blogs either lagged in their promotion, or scrambled and figured they should say something.

It seems like our Disney/Trader Sam's discussions are all over these forums, often cross-discussing the same topics in all of these. Would be nice if we could make A threat for all of these.

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

[ Edited by: kkocka 2014-05-29 11:40 ]