Redondo Grog Grotto

Hey all,

First post on here. I recently moved to a new place in Redondo Beach, CA and decided to turn my downstairs area into a tiki room. The majority of my art/memorabilia is from Disney (hence the name). I grew up in Orlando and got to visit the Polynesian Hotel there a lot and always loved the Enchanted Tiki Room. And now that I'm out here love visiting Trader Sam's.

Anyway, got a ways to go but started the work at the most obvious place - the bar. Still need to add some things but here's where I'm at so far. The plan is to expand it all the way around my downstairs living room (which has wood so it should fit in nicely).

Here's the before:

And now. The bamboo is from Oceanic Arts. I attached it with a staple gun. Then cut the poles to sort of "frame" it in. (You'll notice some spots open on the top area. Few things I need to get framed and am waiting for that were ordered online that will go there).

Picked up the lantern at Oceanic Arts as well. The little trinkets are "jujus" sold in Adventureland at Disneyland during an event they were doing. And then menu is on loan from a certain Tiki Bar.

The Orange Bird!

Got the bell from Amazon.

Oar is from Oceanic Arts.

Have a few more of these to hang - this is a letter from the Adventurers Club before it closed Pleasure Island of Walt Disney World (my username is a nod to there for those of you who haven't heard of it). It was an awesome comedy club and many of the props can be found in Trader Sam's today along with some fun references. The bamboo frame is from Oceanic Arts.

This is a print of a piece Shag did of the Tiki Room (I just printed it on photo paper). The frame is from Oceanic Arts.

The piece on the left I got form the Wonderground Gallery at Downtown Disney. Love the colors. The Tiki Room plaque is made of wood - a commemorative ticket for the attraction's 50th anniversary. And below the plush keychain is of Shiriki Utundu (the Tiki Idol from Tokyo DisneySEA's Tower of Terror).

Also on the bar itself - bamboo placemats with bamboo plates from Adventureland. The glass in the middle is the Uh-Oa from Trader Sam's.

And to the far right of the bar I have a photo of my first visit to Trader Sam's with some buddies when I was working at Disneyland (2012). Got the frame from Michael's. The two Japanese fishing balls I got from Oceanic Arts. And the basket is just from Target (more for actual use than display).

Still need a frame and to hang these two prints. They're from special events - the left from Trader Sam's Mahalloween last year and the right to commemorate the anniversary of Tahitian Terrace (formerly in Adventureland next to the Tiki Room)

Obviously I've done the most work to the bar area so far, but I have started a bit in other parts of the room. This is the TV console area where i put more bamboo.

From left to right on the wall - "The Bird Call" was a fake magazine that came with it's corresponding Juju from Adventureland. In the middle are four photos - from left to right one of Tahitian Terrace, Walt with Jose in the Tiki Room, a map of the Jungle Cruise and a vintage poster of the Jungle Cruise. Far right in the gallery frame are four coasters - from Jock Lindsey's bar in Downtown Disney. These are nods to Indiana Jones and Star Wars.

Below on opposite sides of the tv you can see two of my favorite pieces - statues of Uti and Pele by Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily.

And now for the long shelf that runs above my tv and bookshelves. This is where the rest of my collection is living for the time being. Once I cover the rest of the room in bamboo paneling I'll put some behind here and hopefully some sort of additional lighting.

From left to right: Indiana Jones Vinylmation, Uti Bowl LE of 500 (one also lives in Trader Sam's), Indiana Jones Crate, Mug from Jock Lindsey's, Indiana Jones Truck, Temple of the Forbidden Eye Statue, Baby Tiki, (behind) Tiki Shot Glasses from Trader Sam's Grog Grotto in Orlando, Disneyland Castle (copper - goes well color-wise).

From where I left off - 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Diver Vinylmation, Nautilus Submarine Mug from Trader Sam's Grog Grotto, Pearl Cup from Trader Sam's Grog Grotto, (behind) copy of 20,000 Leagues book, Polynesian Tiki Statue from Polynesian Villages (probably my favorite Tiki of all), Moose Mug from the Adventurers Club, Trader Sam's Lapel pin, Shiriki Utundu figure, "Invader" figure from the Twilight Zone (I know that's a little stretch but he's in the Tower of Terror), Trader Sam's Barrel Mug (and behind - Trader Sam's drink menu and Paradise Fall's jar (from Up).

Krakatoa Mug (my first mug from Trader Sam's), Shrunken Zombie Head Mug, Krakatoa Mug (2nd Edition with Lava), (behind) Grunkle Stan bobblehead from Gravity Falls, Tahitian Terrace Mug, Aulani Menehune Vinylmation, Jack Skellington Mahallowen Mug, (behind) Jose statue from the Tiki Room), Tiki Room figure, another Aulan tikii Vinylmation (behind - Tiki Room Rongo Bowl), and Polynesian Punch Tiki Sipper from Trader Sam's.

Shameless plug, you may have noticed some square photos on the wall - these are pictures I took at Disney of Vinylmation characters in front of their respective attractions. If you're into that sort of thing you can follow my Instagram account, @ParkStarz.

Guess that's it for now. I have a couple things to hang on the bar area but budget-wise it'll be a couple months before I can get to the rest of the room. I'd love to hear what you guys think! Also thanks to all you who post cool photos of your bars/rooms I got a lot of inspirations and ideas from this board. Mahalo!

[ Edited by: Kungaloosh 2016-05-20 20:26 ]

Looks great!

That's fantastic! As one Disney fan to another, I envy your collection!

Have you looked into getting (or printing off) the various prints/postcards that Shag has produced for the Tiki Room's and Disneyland's various anniversaries? We've got those decorating the walls of our "Enchanted Tiki Kitchen" right now. And since you're looking to the Tiki Room for some inspiration, have you thought about adding some nice artificial orchids, birds of paradise, and other assorted flowers (crooning or otherwise)? Just something I thought of while being jealous of what you already have :)

@BeerBuddha thank you!!

@EnchantedTikiGoth Thanks! Yeah that's a great idea, I think I'll definitely add some more Shag pieces as I expand around the room (and might print some of them off just to save some cash, haha). The flowers/birds idea is great. I'm going to add some little floating shelves here and there so that would be a great place for them. And I'll probably put some orchids in the Uti Bowl (I noticed they did that at Trader Sam's).

That is an amazing collection. I am completely envious! Good job. And well decorated too.

Looking good so far. The Disneyana is great in your Tiki space. Keep up the efforts and post as you go along. It will be fun watching your progress.

@scottxwl Thank you very much!

@VampiressRN Thank you! Will do. I'm putting up a couple things today so I'll have an update soon.

Some updates from working all day today (and some of yesterday. I'm tired. So many splinters, haha)...

Lots of painting! I did the family room, kitchen and around the bar area. Used an orange color I've seen in a lot of tiki art pallets and like a lot.

Also picked up some more bamboo, Bac Bac with Abaca and Lauhala matting from Oceanic Arts. My measurements were a little off so I'm gonna need to pick up some more next week.

As you can see from the last picture I kind of butchered cutting the lauhala so I'm going to have to give that another shot. Just put it up temporarily to get a sense of how it would look. I'm not sure if I'm happy with it. Obviously it'll look different once that patch is filled in - what do you guys think? Any suggestions?

While I was there I picked up this Easter Island Ceremonial Paddle. I recognized it as the same design as the one in Trader Sam's. So awesome.

That's it for now - got some stuff to hang on the walls then should have another update next week.

[ Edited by: Kungaloosh 2016-05-28 23:47 ]

Ambitious project and you are well on your way. Your collections are fantastic, displaying those are going to have a big impact on the room. Looking forward to seeing this continue. The "front" of the bar is great!

@W8N2Surf thanks so much! I added a few more things to that today actually and it's looking pretty great. Just need a couple of bar stools and I think that area's about done.

Also hung up this guy. Not sure if I'll keep him on this wall but like it for now.

Looks like you have been bitten by the Tiki Bug pretty hard and your room is swelling up fast. Nice collection of Disney mugs and relics. It's also fun to watch someone go to town as swift and labor intensive as you have with the wall painting and the matting. I will be making this a stop in and see what's going on, on a regular bases. Good Luck and Have Fun !!!

On 2016-05-30 22:06, hottiki wrote:
Looks like you have been bitten by the Tiki Bug pretty hard and your room is swelling up fast. Nice collection of Disney mugs and relics. It's also fun to watch someone go to town as swift and labor intensive as you have with the wall painting and the matting. I will be making this a stop in and see what's going on, on a regular bases. Good Luck and Have Fun !!!

Thank you! It's been a lot of fun so far.

Quick update - finished the paneling for the wall and switched out some of the bamboo molding for thicker pieces and wow, what a difference. Really happy with it. I got a few more pieces of art work hung up (along with the wheel and Tiki). This side is pretty close to done I think

Next step is the bookshelves/tv console on the opposite wall. I finished painting around it and already have the paneling behind the tv. Installed some LED lighting pictured below - planning on putting more tiki glasses/adventurey stuff on the shelves and moving the random toys to another room (gotta stay consistent, haha).

Dang, I hope those "on loan" Sam's menus make their way back, considering people have stolen so many that they only have two hardback menus in the bar. Such a shame, this is why we can't have nice things.

On 2016-06-06 12:45, kkocka wrote:
Dang, I hope those "on loan" Sam's menus make their way back, considering people have stolen so many that they only have two hardback menus in the bar. Such a shame, this is why we can't have nice things.

Oh geez, yeah a buddy from WDI got the hardback one for me but I didn't ask how (thought "on loan" would sound funny - I do not condone taking anything from the bars! haha). I see them pop up on eBay from time to time - that's where I got the soft menu.

[ Edited by: Kungaloosh 2016-06-06 14:40 ]

Update! I think I'm pretty much done with the major work I'm going to be doing (at least for the time being). Still have some little changes I want to make and of course little things to add and grow - but I'm really happy with how it has all turned out.

Up first - the bar. I added a picture of Walt holding a model of the Nautilus. Also bottom right I have a framed picture of my crew when I worked attractions at California Adventure.

Next - the big wall. As far as paneling and molding I think this sucker is done. Will still be adding and rearranging the decorations but it's in a pretty good place.

Closer look at the big wall starting from the right side. Up top I added a postcard of Pele from the Wonderground gallery. Bottom row on the right I have one of the letters from the Adventurers Club. And then there's the postcard of the Jungle Cruise's Sweitzer Falls (moved this from the bar).

Middle section of the wall - switched a couple things around.

Far left of the wall - better look of that floating shelf this time. The empty space on the bottom I left for a print I ordered that will be arriving in a couple weeks (one of the Colin Campbell Tiki Room pieces). Also added Indy's hat.

TV Unit now has shelf lighting installed on both bookcases. Pictures don't do it justice and looks great at night.

Closer shot to show the glasses.

And you may have noted on the top shelf a new addition, immediately one of my favorite things in my collection - Tiki Stitch by Eric Tan. There have been a few versions of this guy from the company Mindstyle, and loved this one. LE of 100 and was a Comic-Con exclusive one year. They have a version of him in Trader Sam's on one of the shelves behind the bar.

That's it for now. Hope everyone is having a great (and safe) weekend.

[ Edited by: Kungaloosh 2016-06-12 19:07 ]

Very nice, I like.

On 2016-06-12 19:41, hiltiki wrote:
Very nice, I like.

Thank you!!

Yes a good tiki vibe, keep it up. BTW love the orange wall.

Did you acquire your stone Tiki Stitch recently? The last one on eBay was too much for me. Any plans on hitting up the orange wall/tv wall?

Great job! This is such a good lesson in incorporating a lot of what you already own and creatively mixing a couple new items + touches. Really makes me want to get around to redecorating (can i call it that if i never decorated to begin with? ^_^). Hopefully I'll get to it soon.

Please keep us posted as you add new elements.

On 2016-06-13 15:05, kkocka wrote:
Did you acquire your stone Tiki Stitch recently? The last one on eBay was too much for me. Any plans on hitting up the orange wall/tv wall?

I actually got him from this site: http://www.baitme.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=eric%20tan

I believe they still have the wood and stone versions.

As for the TV wall - not sure if I'm going to add any bamboo or keep it as is. I like the orange and it's kind of nice balance with the art work and other walls so we'll see. But I'm going to continue adding Tiki Mugs and things to the shelves to hopefully make it a bit more unified in theme.

Love the Disney woven into everything. Great job!!