Disneyland to upgrade special effects in Trader Sam’s Tiki Bar

Walt Disney Imagineering will refresh and upgrade the Trader Sam’s special effects and audio-animatronics that make the Disneyland Hotel tiki bar “enchanted” whenever patrons order specific tropical cocktails from the drink menu.

Disneyland filed a building permit with the city of Anaheim to refurbish the Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar at the Disneyland Hotel, according to city records.

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The permit calls for Imagineering to replace the show effects, show lighting and mechanical and electrical systems inside Trader Sam’s and replace the gas tiki torches outside the bar.

Disneyland has not yet announced when the refurbishment will start and if the tiki bar will close during the project.

The Trader Sam’s refurbishments are expected to begin in early 2026, according to WDW News Today.

The cocktail-triggered special effects at Trader Sam’s include a volcano eruption (Krakatoa Punch), lowering bar stools (Zombie), rain storm (Uh Oa) and a sinking ship in a bottle (Shipwreck on the Rocks) depending on the tropical tiki drink you order, according to the Pursuitist website.

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The Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar became an instant hit when it opened in 2011 at the Disneyland Hotel. The Imagineering-designed Tiki bar includes nods to Disney films and features audio-animatronics along with lighting, sound and special effects. The bar’s lineup of limited edition Tiki mugs often draws long lines of the faithful who rave about the collectible designs.

The Trader Sam’s bar takes its name from the culturally insensitive Jungle Cruise headhunter character that was removed from the Disneyland river boat attraction in 2021.

Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar owes a debt to Don the Beachcomber in Hollywood and Trader Vic’s in Oakland — the rival Tiki bars that gave birth to the pop culture movement in the mid-1930s and both lay claim to creating the mai tai cocktail.

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The short-lived Hollywood & Dine food court that opened in 2001 with Disney California Adventure in Soundstage 12 of Hollywood Land included a food stand called Don the Beachcomber. The Chinese take-out eatery included a dining area themed to look like a Tiki lounge with bamboo, oars, totems and puffer fish lamps.