Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room soundtrack history...

[atomobile]

The Enchanted Tiki Room show soundtrack remained the same from it's opening in 1963 until the mid 90's. At that point they were toying the idea of bringing a new show. Eventually the new show went to Florida where it was a big flop. Then they decided to re-record the entire soundtrack with the surviving cast in order to keep the same show but with better sound quality. Needless to say, the re-recordings with the now elderly cast made all the birds sound like senior citizens so it was never installed. You can find the re-recording of "Let's All Sing Like the Birdies Sing" on the "Theme Park Sing-Along" CD still available. What happened next is that they "remastered" the entire show and put new speakers in the show (with awfull sounding subwoofers. I remember seeing (and hearing) the complete show in this "remastered" version. This version dropped some audio elements such as the climactic gong. It also added some of the female vocals from the earlier re-recording. That is why, since then, a couple of songs such as "Let's All Sing.." and the "Heigh Ho" finale had extra added female vocals(bad choice IMHO). A few months later, the crowds were still leaving. At that point they decided to edit down the show. This is still the mid to late 90's and that is the version of the show we remember from recent years. Now cut to the present: Today, the entire show is being remixed, and restored with today's better technology (WAY better tech than what was available in the 90's, BTW). So.... while the complete restored version of the show should make an appearance on the Disneyland Box Set (next May?)including the pre-show, lawyer-permitting, the actual Disneyland show will still get the Offenbach piece axed. Some Imagineers I won't mention (cough....BG...cough)still feel that that piece would bore people.
Now I have not yet heard this new version so I don't know if the new restored version get's rid of the female vocals added in the 90's and adds the gong back in. We'll have to wait and hope they make the right decisions.
Your friend,
Louis

 

[Fantasmic]

Is the WDW Forever version the original or re-record?

 

[Zarpman]

According to Louis's timeline, the Walt Disney World Forever tracks are the remastered soundtrack. Some of the instruments actually sound re-recorded (also heavy on the bass drums/congos, which adds to his "added subwoofer" description) but the original vocals are pretty much intact. There are significant differences between this soundtrack (which I think sounds better) than the original that Randy insists on using for subsequent Official Album releases (which I assume is for authenticity's sake).

 

[X-S Tech]

As much of a purist as I am, I don't really have a problem with them getting rid of the Offenbach segment. Even without it, it's a long show for today's audiences. To expect them to sit through 2 minutes of music with nothing but the fountain going on is unrealistic. The average guest doesn't get the thrill we do knowing that that piece is from the Original show.

But thanks for the info atommobile. I didn't know a lot of that.

 

[dizneydomenic]

personally i love the original show...im a purist dont take from it.....but by all means u can add.....as long as it doesnt distract from original show (that horrid new management version in florida)....i always thought tho the tiki room should become more enchanted....something like...carousel of progress...have the seats circular.....as the show progresses at certain point...maybe the lets all sing number........rotate the audience to view entire room during song......hows that for a little spark to show

 

[s8ntmark]

I have to agree with XS, Tiki room is one of my favorite attractions in the park, but I dont have a problem with them removing the Offenbach sequence. It does sort of slow the show down...and not much happens during it...maybe if they had some business happening that involved more then the fountain it would be more interesting.

I have the recordings and would never delete it from my personal collection, but people now days are too antsy and used to the "mtv" style editing to appreciate a lesurely show that takes its time. due to the limited animation of the birds...I doubt tiki room will ever be an E ticket again (unless they do some really cool stuff with the new rehab)

Last time I saw the show Maynard was out on the stage singing and dancing and getting the audience to sing along....people just arent into the Tiki Room anymore

ps. Zarpman, you make it sound like Randys use of the original recordings is a bad thing. Do you not agree with his choice?

 

[Zarpman]

s8ntmark, I wasn't bashing Randy for putting the original version (albeit a newer mix) of the show's opener on the recent Official Albums. I was merely remarking that there must be some reason behind him totalling avoiding the newer version of the show's title theme. Even in the Wonderland Music title he used the entire re-recorded musical elements except when it came to the title track, which the mix totally changes tone in favor of the classic version.

Both are great in their own respect, but if the newer one is in deed playing in the park (I'm not very close to Disneyland, so I'm not sure what version is running there) then an accurate representation would beat out a historical representation in my honest opinion. But that's just one little Zarpman's opinion.

 

[atomobile]

Hmmm,
The WDW Forever track uses the "restored" version (with the additional female tracks and missing gong). The re-recorded version has never been used in anything and the audio never released except for "Let's All Sing...." which I mentioned earlier.
Zarpman: You must be confused, the Wonderland version does NOT use the re-recorded version. Actually I would be very curious to hear the entire show in this re-recorded version. The Wonderland uses the "restored" version and the Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room song version that was mixed with the Sherman Bros.
We don't have much longer to wait to hear a truly remixed, and restored, improved version of the original show. The complete show is planned to make an appearance on the Disneyland 50th Anniversary box set. At that point, we might see the Wonderland CD version change from the 90's restored version to the newer and superior 50th box set version. I can't wait!
I have always thought that The Enchanted Tiki Room LP with the Jungle Cruise B-side could use a general release from WDR along with the artwork and pictures from the LP. Here's hoping.
Hello, what a great idea to re-issue all the park related LPs with full artwork in time for the 50th! But that would make too much sense for WDR to do...
If only Randy could run WDR....

 

[s8ntmark]

I didnt even catch that they had re-recorded some of the elements for the show, I wish I could tell the difference on some of these things.

Although I didnt think that the Wonderland tends to sound a little "aged"? It doesnt quite sound as good as the show does now.

Atommobile...do you know if they are planning on remastering Adventure thru Innerspace for the 50th box set...I was listening to my version I have and I would love to hear the music tracks for that attraction clear remastered brilliance ;D

 

[atomobile]

Hello Mark,
Yes, the plan is to remix and restore the original elements from Adventure thru Inner Space and create a new ride-thru. I'm looking forward to this happening (hasn't been transfered yet) as I am a big fan of ATIS' soundtrack. As far as I know, the only new ride-thru's that are finished are Haunted Mansion (using remastered elements), and Small World (think similar to Japan's release). There are plans to issue pretty much every musical show and ride-thru. There is still a question of what the Fantasyland dark rides will be mixed like. May not be complete ride-thru's of each but the music should be well represented (sorta like the Indy and Star Tours we got on the Official Albums before). But considering the horribleness (is that a word?) of the 50's dark ride's, they are using the 80's versions and I'm happy with that decision. We'll get plenty of shows such as Country Bears (all 3), America Sings, Carousel of Progress, ATIS, Tiki Room, Pirates, etc.
They are still working on transfering elements, mixing , etc so the final track listing is not concrete. We won't know exactly what will be on it until this thing is finished early next year. Sometimes the lawyers have a way to make certain tracks disapear, but I hope this doesn't effect the current track line-up. I'm sure this message board will be one of the first to know when an actual track listing is finalised....
Your friend,
Louis

 

[Dirk]

this sounds cool ... I hope the set will sell well not only with us fans but also with the general public ... in the "worst" case they could still use some of the material for seperate releases in the other parks, e.g. release a Country Bear Jamboree CD in WDW.


Yours
Dirk

 

[s8ntmark]

Atommobile, that sounds AMAZING! Thanks for the info, Ive been looking for a better qualtiy version of the CBJ christmas show then the one I have (which is master qaulity but has a wierd sound that makes some of the singers sound like they are singing through tubes....Im sure you know what Im talking about )

Ill bet the old skoool Fantasyland attractions are pretty bad...but on the other hand...I wouldnt mind hearing what they sounded like Although Im really glad they are using the 80's versions for the box set release...

But Im most excited about ATIS, I didnt appreciate that attraction when it was still around, and when I finally received a tape of it and heard how dramatic and interesting it actually was, it quickly became one of my favorite extinct attarction (dare I say, my FAVORITE extinct attraction)? Ill have to ponder on that...

Man...Id love to come in and build one of those ride thrus (dream dream dream)

;D

Thanks again!

 

[X-S Tech]

Well I was kinda' excited to hear the "newly recorded" version of "Let's all Sing like the Birdies Sing", to see if I could tell that these were the more elderly actors doing the 4 host birds, so I finally dug out my old copy of the Theme Park Sing along Cassette. As I listened to it I realized why they thought it was OK to use this version of the song: Due to the minimal dialogue, you can't tell a darn thing. The hosts all sounded exactly the same to me. I'm only comparing it to my memory (which is usually pretty good) but I didn't get the impression of a decrepid Thurl and Wally Boag in the Recording Studio trying to remember their accents. Were the female vocals any different in this one?

 

[X-S Tech]

Re:The History of the Enchanted Tiki Garden?

Does anyone happen to have any idea of the timing between the Various Tiki's Parts in the Garden? What I mean is, Do the Tiki's all speak in succession, one after another, or is there any silence between Tiki's? Any help is appreciated.

 

[Kenster]

I can help a little. Having recorded the pre-show "live" several times this year so I could update my own personal pre-show remix, I did notice a couple things.

The background music. It plays continually, whether you can hear it or not. The background music volume cuts off abruptly for the pineapple film. However, if you are sitting nearby a speaker and strain to listen for it, you may be able to hear the background music still playing.

I had to add the extra music that is heard at the end of the pineapple film. There is a little animation sequence (which looks similar to a power point presentation) that runs at the end of the film so, I added it to my current mix.

After the film ends, the background music abruptly blurts in again for about 10 seconds or so and then abruptly cuts off. I use overlapping fade in/outs etc.

Maui begins though there is another small delay there after the background music cuts off. This gave me time to fade in a clean, live recording of the water dumping over and over again.

There is a small delay between Maui and Koro. That's when I realized the Disneyland Forever track is edited down, removing the dead air time. I do not know the exact "seconds" of the delays as of this typing, I will give the garden show a listen tonight though.

A short delay between Koro and the Tongoroa-Ru track which includes the other goddess. I added the sound of the water effect there which I found to be difficult as I had to mix several pre-shows together to eliminate the talking guests.

A small delay between them and Pele and Ngendei, which are grouped together. There is a click that occurs right before pele's fire erupts which then goes out when ngendei speaks and clicks on again when pele says it "comes out mad" and then the flame pops up again. The clicks were easy to edit in. I noticed that the flame didn't always light everytime, sometimes only burning once during a show instead of two times that it was supposed to. Maybe this rehab will fix that, who knows?

There is a small delay between the volcano and the kite flyer and another between him and tongoroa. It took several edits of the "new life falling" to capture and then later insert the hydraulic sounds which I like to hear, especially when the "little tikis" are going back into their flowers.

There is a delay between tongoroa and the announcement. The announcement has been edited so it no longer gives the "small reminder" about food and drinks because the policy has changed and food and drinks are allowed inside now. So now it's Ladies and Gentleman, come with us...etc.

Once the gong goes off, the background music blurts out again and continues until the pineapple film runs. The background music is in a little further down in the loop then it was in the previous cycle.

 

[X-S Tech]

If that's how you help a little, warn us before you help alot.

Thanks.

 

[Kenster]