Happy Snapper Tiki Bar, Debary, Florida??
anyone been there or heard of it? im in florida for the winter and just saw a sign for it today while out driving, its apparently just down the road a bit so was wondering if its worth checking out. or if anyone knows the area around Deland and Sanford if there is anything else i should check out while here?

whoa- my parents actually lived in DeBary for several years. I can't think of anything nightlife to do there at all, we always went east to Daytona Beach or west to Orlando...

had to google the "tiki bar" you referenced- that's a marina bar at the river, there was no "tiki bar" there when I used to visit, it's probably Flori-tiki, not trader vic/donn beach tiki... they probably have some good local grub though

If you want to canoe the river, or go fishing, then you're in the right place. you're close to Blue Springs, where you should be able to see Manatee at this time of year. you're close to DeLand, with some interesting antique shops, little bars, and southern restaurants. Sanford has a decent zoo.

you didnt mention where you're from, or what you'd like to do, but i'd recommend heading to Daytona or you could go north on I95 to St Augustine/Flagler Beach.

or maybe just head west on I4 to Orlando for the theme parks, there's been some discussion here at TikiCentral re this bar called Trader Sam's at "Walt Disney World..."

[ Edited by: thePorpoise 2015-12-07 21:36 ]

A few of us here on Tiki Central like to go to the German restaurant in downtown Sanford for the beer, food, and fun. Look up Hollerbach's Willow Tree Café. In past years it's been rated one of the top 10 in the United States.

They offer good German beers, and they serve it ice cold in every size all the way up to a HUGE 3 LITER VESSEL which must be shared by a group at the same table without setting it down until it is completely empty. 1-liter and 2-liter boots are also available and make great photo opportunities.

Yes, the zoo is also pretty good, but don't miss the awesome Zoomair zip lines running through the front portion of the property in the tree canopy.

Sure, this stuff isn't tiki. But if you don't find tiki, go here and you will have a good time. I'm looking for a way to sneak or plant some permanent tiki into the place, just so one of our fave things is also present amid all the other décor. Anyone want to carve a tiki wearing Lederhosen and hoisting a beer so we can approach Theo Hollerbach, the owner??

Website:
http://www.swamphousegrill.com/

Yeah, not Poly-Tiki, but Flori-tiki. If you got your heart set on Poly-tiki, it'd be a letdown, but looks to be a pretty cool place none the less. If I was in the neighborhood, I'd check them out, but then I live in Florida and came across Tiki Central while looking for Flori-tiki. Learned to love the Poly stuff, but still dig the Florida stuff also.....YMMV.

howlinowl

Yeah, if you are in Florida, you just have to assume that a "tiki" bar isn't what you think it would be. If you let us know where you are staying, I'm sure we can send you to some cool places in your neighborhood.

thanks for the replies, im from Indiana, came down with my mother so she didnt make the drive alone and staying with my uncle probably till the end of march. came down last year for 2 months but mostly just sat around the house being bored. drove by the zoo on the way to my uncles boat the other day to got fishing but didnt stop. so here i am 43 years young and stuck in a house with a couple "old people" lol. plus i dont drive so makes it hard to get out and about and do much without having to get a ride and not knowing where to go doesnt help. i have a nice tiki i carved last year when i was here so i thought if i go to the happy snapper since it says tiki bar on their billboard and if the dont have much tiki stuff around i might ask the manager or owner if they might want to buy it lol. but anyway, thanks for the replies might have to check out that bar in sanford some day might run into some tik centralites

If you have not investigated the local natural resources you are missing out. The springs and rivers around you are world-class.

On 2015-12-09 07:53, AlohaStation wrote:
If you have not investigated the local natural resources you are missing out. The springs and rivers around you are world-class.

I'll second that recommendation! There is a vast floater's paradise to be found here...

drove by it as long as we found the right place, the billboard close to my uncles house said happy snapper,but the front of the building said the swamp house grill and tiki bar. for those that may want to find it turn off 17-92 onto highland road by the win dixie about 3 miles down till it ends at the marina. not tried it yet by will sometime before we leave.

I worked for a local beer distributor and this was one of my accounts. The "tiki" bar is downstairs. It never came across as tiki in any way when I was there. The place is a good one for beer and food but I wouldn't consider it tiki.

Check this place out in Daytona Beach though:

http://myohanaluau.com/

[ Edited by: BeerBuddha 2016-01-01 19:30 ]

On 2016-01-01 19:26, BeerBuddha wrote:
I worked for a local beer distributor and this was one of my accounts. The "tiki" bar is downstairs. It never came across as tiki in any way when I was there. The place is a good one for beer and food but I wouldn't consider it tiki.

Check this place out in Daytona Beach though:

http://myohanaluau.com/

[ Edited by: BeerBuddha 2016-01-01 19:30 ]

that Hawaiian place looks fun! 40 bucks for island food, that better include the bar fine for one of the luau girls!