Swiss-Tarzan Tree House

I LOVE the movie 'The Swiss Family Robinson'. I've already mentioned how much I enjoy jungles and such, so the concept of people actually setting up house and living there is just about the coolest thing ever. I made several attempts at making tree houses when I was younger, none of which were very impressive, but the things this family made where amazing.

 

The movie is based on the book by Johann David Wyss, and what I found fun about the script was that a group listed the things they would want in an island adventure movie, then turned it over to the screen writer. The water system that supplies the ice box and rooms with water was always one of my favorite parts of their tree, and the staircase that was manipulated by the ships wheel. Sure the movie has it's corny parts, but I think the overall effect is an exciting adventure with an interesting family. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.



A quick doodle of my brothers and I during the race depicted in the movie.

 

 While I LIKED Tarzan as a movie, I was definitely sad when they altered the Swiss Family Tree house in Disneyland to make room for the Tarzan motif. The general ambiance is still there, but there is something jolting about walking through the Swiss Family Robinson's house and running into stuff like this;

 

 Sabor, the jaguar that killed both Tarzan's parents and the child of a gorilla family

 

Jane Porter, doodling. (I love her line; "And Daddy, they took my boot!")

Baby Tarzan and his adopted mother, Kala

The wild man himself.

 

Like I said, no beef with Tarzan, but I LOVED the Robinsons. This was one of the first times I remember being really effected by an attraction changing/closing, something that many Disney parks lovers have had to learn to deal with. I just wish enough people would have shown this film to their kids so we could have kept it the way it was.

 

A Glimpse Behind the Scenes

When you walk past the room with the music playing on an old gramophone, you can hear the Swiss Polka playing, its like Mother Robinson is haunting the tree house!

 

To be fair, the Swiss Family Robinson still have residences in every other Disney park, but I still feel the need to point grumpily at Tarzan as I walk past.

 

Lesson Learned;

It's important to appreciate things all the time, you never know when it might be gone.

The Temple of the Forbidden Eye

I'm pretty sure this is the first comic in Marabic...

 

I remember watching Indiana Jones (not understanding much) at a young age, and the imagery and atmosphere struck such a deep cord with me. I think the overall tone heavily influenced the movies I made in my backyard for most of my life.  There was the ever alluring draw of the jungle settings, rotting stone temples, deep forgotten histories and so forth; which of course is something that I find deeply intriguing.

 

So the first time I walked out of the Jungle Cruise and saw the newly opened 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye' I was immediately fascinated. The concept was wonderful, The Temple of Mara has been discovered, offering one of three possible amazing treasures to those brave enough to enter; Visions of the future, Earthly riches, or Eternal youth. There is one condition however, you must not look at the eyes of the god Mara or face your doom. So many have vanished inside the temple that Indiana Jones was called in, but now even he has dissappeared. Guests travel into the Temple of the Forbidden Eye in search of treaures and Indy as well. 

 

 I even love standing in the line.

Outside the temple there are bamboo walls and snake-shaped pillars, plus the excitement of glancing up the line to the dark door leading into the crumbling structure with greenery sprouting up all over the decrepit stone. When it first opened one could spend a lot of time out here, which only added to the growing anticipation.

 

 

Inside the temple is phenomenal!!! My young mind latched onto this aesthetic so fiercely that I still have dreams of decorating my basement in the same style. The soft sound of drums echoing through the darkened passageways, lit only by flickering torches or crudely wired mining lights that gutter and brown out as low rumblings can be heard from ahead. Carefully stepping around the diamond shaped stones in the floor and eyeing the spikes poking out of the holes in the ceiling and floor. The walls are scrolled with messages in "Marabic", a forgotten language Imagineers created just for this attraction. When it first opened they would hand out cards that would help you decifer the writing.  The grand atrium with its murals covering the crown of the room, vines snaking their way down through gaps and cracks, before entering the darkened room with a clicking projector revealing more of the story.

 

 

A Glimpse Behind the Magic:

The area the temple is built on was originally the Eyore parking lot. If you have a moment to pause in the projection room, apparently you can ask a cast member to shine their flashlight on the blue sign that still resides in the dark corners of the room. I haven't seen it myself, I'm usually too shy to ask the frazzled looking cast member.

 

Of course my mind was working overtime at this point and I seem to forget I'm at Disneyland and I stare at the video wide eyed as we are warned not to gaze into the eyes of Mara.. I legitimately panicked because I wasn't quite sure where the statue was that I wasn't allowed to look at. What if I looked by accident? There was no time for clarification however as we were loaded into the waiting jeeps.

 

The car turns a corner and we are presented with three doors. This is one of the more tense moments for me, even now, because to this day I have never been granted visions of the future. Not once. I think Mara is holding out on me. Eternal youth? Sure. Earthly Riches? Ok. But not one peek into the future. Even when I'm the one behind the wheel, I can never seem to get it to turn that way.

 

So either the door to riches or youth open up and you pull ahead, the thunderous voice of Mara announces what gift you are about to recieve.

 

A Glimpse Behind the Magic:

Did you know there is actually only one room? The doors are all on a moving wall that shifts to make it appear as though you are getting a different gift. The room beyond is changed by sound and different lighting.

 

You are pretty much unable to avoid looking into the eyes of Mara in this space, unless you close your eyes (which I did as a child) and where is the fun in that? As you approach the huge carved face, his eyes begin to smoke and he apparently takes back your gift and instead sends you to 'THE GATES OF DOOOOOOM!" (Read that in a booming voice.)

 

The car speeds ahead, lightning shooting through the walls around you as you see Indy himself struggling to hold "THE GATES OF DOOOOOOM" closed. He sends you ahead and as you crest a small hill you see Mara again, however this time half of his face has broken away to reveal a skull-like visage, his one hollow eye full of flames. It's a thrilling moment as the music changes to a gothic choir.

 

You weave your way through darkened passageways, dodging bugs and skeletons (Fun Fact: One of the skeletons is wearing a pair of Mickey Ears, the name 'Bones' embroidered on it. Bones, by complete coincidence, is also the nickname that I was given by a group of friends.) Then you finally get to the rikety bridge that spans a lake of lava and as you speed across, avoiding the fires started by the beam of light emmitted from Mara's eye, Indy says something about snakes.

 

I can remember sitting next to my sister as we noticed the huge snake up ahead. Over all the sounds of fire and hissing I can hear her say; "If that snake comes after me I'm going to freak out." Now, she tortured me constantly when we were younger, so I found great joy in her shrieking and ducking as the snake lunged at her.

 

There are more twists and turns and dangers until you come to a stop under Indy hanging from a rope. The low rumbling sound heralds the approach of the huge boulder from the first Indy movie. As it rolls into view, your car backs up a bit before speeding ahead and down a sudden drop, narrowly avoiding being crushed.

 

A Glimpse Behind the Magic:

Did you know that your car does not actually back up? Apparently having a ride vehicle go in reverse can cause some problems, so instead they just move the whole room around you. The tunnel itself moves forward, giving the illusion of backing up.

 

This ride is still the highlight of my Disney trips, regardless of the length of the line. It is the perfect marriage of technology and story telling. As far as I'm concerned, it's the perfect ride.

 

Lesson Learned;

I am not supposed to see visions of the future...and I'm bitter about that. 



Passing The Enchanted Tiki Room

 

 

The first thing that my family would pass on our journey into Disneyland was the Enchanted Tiki Room. Notice I said pass. For my entire childhood we would walk past without so much as a glance. I can remember asking about the strange looking attraction with it's thatched roof and wooden carvings and getting the same response; "You just sit there and the birds sing. It's boring." That seemed to satisfy me and we would move on. I never went in past the gate until I was about 28.

 

It's strange how embedded in my head the idea was that this attraction was boring. Even when I went back as an adult I would pass by the Tiki Room with barely a glance. I had heard more about it by this point, but so many other attractions held more magic for me so I made no effort to look into it.

 

Being a bit of a Disney nut I did end up looking more into the attraction as I got older. I had no idea it was the first place that Disney instituted the audio animatronics, that it had originally been planned to be a restaurant, or at the time of it's opening it was one of the most popular attractions because it was air conditioned. After doing a bit of study I looked at the Enchanted Tiki Room with a bit more interest.

 

Another thing that caught my eye was the little shop at the entrance, with its perpetually long line. It was yet another thing our family would pass by, we had a tight schedule to keep and standing in that line just cut into our time way too much. I soon discovered the wonders of the Dole Whip however and I have never regretted standing in that line since. Have you tried these things? They are amazing! I've wondered why they keep the Dole Whips and Dole Floats contained in this one spot, I can only imagine they could make so much more money if they offered them in a few more spots.

 

My first journey into the Enchanted Tiki Room I was intrigued by the moving Tiki gods that fill the open garden area in front of the actual building, which I assume were put there to entertain the Dole Whip line (Which tends to be only just a bit shorter in there) I don't pretend to know much about the culture involved, but they are cleverly presented.

 

Inside, I was fortunate enough to be in a room full of very enthusiastic Tiki Roomers. (As a side note; any and every ride in Disney can be enjoyed by anyone of any age if you have a good attitude. There is nothing more entertaining than seeing a group of adults clapping and singing along with the songs in the attractions) I didn't know the songs, besides the "Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room" song that everyone knows, but it was fun anyway. The whole room was clapping and singing and reacting to the attraction as if we were all seven years old.

 

While I have no nostalgia for The Enchanted Tiki Room, I've had a blast every time I've gone in, eating my Dole Whip and laughing along with all the people who do have a love for it. And just as a side note; don't get up and run out as soon as the show is over, the parrots hang around (pun intended) and make clever remarks as the people leave.

 

Life Lesson:

It doesn't matter what activity you are doing, a good attitude and good company can make any experience pleasant and memorable.