A 62-year-old animated talking tree outside the Enchanted Tiki Room that hasn’t worked properly in years will be rebuilt during an extended refurbishment of the first Disneyland attraction to feature audio-animatronic figures.
The Enchanted Tiki Room will close on Monday, April 28 through at least late June with the attraction expected to return this summer.
The Tangaroa Tree in the attraction’s pre-show area will be rebuilt for maintenance reasons. A high-resolution scan of the tree will aid in creating a replica of its design.
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The Tiki Room will undergo maintenance work on lighting, sound and show systems during the months-long furbishment.
The animated Tangaroa Tree with a carved wooden face and dangling pink and blue flowers has been part of the Enchanted Tiki Room since the ground-breaking attraction debuted in 1963. Special effects used to make the tree’s face move and the flowers bloom on the branches.
Tangaroa tells stories and introduces himself as the father of all Tiki gods and goddesses before inviting visitors inside the attraction.
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Disney singer and voice actor Thurl Ravenscroft performed the voice of the Tangaroa Tree and Fritz the audio-animatronic parrot in the Enchanted Tiki Room.
Ravenscroft lent his voice to several other Disneyland attractions — including Pirates of the Caribbean, It’s a Small World, Splash Mountain and Country Bear Jamboree.
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He can be heard and seen as one of the broken busts in the Haunted Mansion graveyard scene, according to MiceChat.
His Disney film credits included “Cinderella,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “Mary Poppins” and “The Jungle Book.”
The Disney Legend, who passed away in 2005, was probably best known as the voice of Kellogg’s Tony the Tiger.