A week ago, I attended Trader Sam’s Mahaloween Luau. I was pretty delighted to see the
announcement pop up on the Disney Parks Blog a few weeks ago:
Here’s what it said:
It’s one day only, and guaranteed to put you in the spirit of Halloween Time – Trader Sam’s “Mahaloween Luau,” with seatings starting at 3 p.m., September 29.
Just 100 guests per seating will have the pleasure of this kooky seasonal party that includes beverages and eats, live music and insider info with Imagineers and Disney cast members.
Guests attending “Mahaloween Luau” will receive a special edition glass available only at the event. Collectors take note, the second edition of the Zombie souvenir glass will also be available for purchase at the event, before it is available to the public the next day.
“Mahalo” is a Hawaiian word meaning thanks, praise or regards, and this “Mahaloween Luau” gives fans of the Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar trademark humor an insider’s hour of fun at the legendary watering hole.
Choose your hour: 3-4 p.m., 4:30-5:30 p.m., 6-7 p.m. or 7:30-8:30 p.m. The fun starts on the patio with appetizers and two drink tickets (beer, wine, Zombie Drink or Polynesian Punch). Move inside for live entertainment and a Disney tiki presentation by Walt Disney Imagineering. You’ll also have a chance to meet some of Disney’s concept artists and other special guests.
When the party ends, you’ll get a Jungle River Cruise Expedition Bag that includes a Trader Sam panama hat, a boxed special-edition “Mahaloween Luau” glass (with a dated stamp), a Trader Sam print on canvas, and a coupon good for 20 percent off at the adjacent Tangaroa Terrace. Guests also can purchase up to two additional second-edition Zombie souvenir glasses.
Cost is $125 per person, including tax and tip. To reserve your spot, call 714-781-DINE – reservations open tomorrow!
I sat by the phone at 7AM PST the next day and got in for the 7:30 seating, my reasoning being
that we wouldn’t be rushed out for the next group, and we wouldn’t spend the limited outdoor
portion of the event in the hot sun.
At 7pm, I arrived and asked some of the CMs manning the goody bag table if check-in was still at Tangaroa Terrace. They directed me to a line marked with bright green tape. Dusty and some friends joined me shortly thereafter and let me know that the line was for people who had already checked in and received their wristbands. I went and got my wristband, then got in line. This happens quite a bit at events like this, and not just at Disney. Is there no last-minute huddle right before the event starts so that everyone is on the same page? If not, there should be. The greatest CM on earth is useless if they don’t have the correct information, and we had a fantastic group of them taking care of us that night.
When we checked in, not only did we get our wristband (which showed that we had been carded),
we got three tickets, two identical ones for drinks and one for the opportunity to buy two
more mugs, one additional first edition and one second edition, which would go on sale to the
general public the next day. We also learned that the artists, Marcus Gonzales, who did the
print of Trader Sam with his mug and Tim Wollweber, who designed the mug itself (after a
beloved former resident of Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion) would be signing their work after the
presentation.
Cast members greeted us with trays of drinks. I chose a Zombie, which was served in a clear
plastic cup with a colorful straw, and handed over one drink ticket. There were several tables
with seats and a group of standing round cocktail tables closer to the boards showing the
artwork. We found two chairs with a couple of friendly strangers, but most of the attendees
had to stand.
The pupus were finger-food versions of some of Sam’s most popular dishes: endive leaves with
hoisin beef, panko green beans, kalua pork sliders and, best of all, small seaweed-flavored
cones (soy wrappers?) filled with ahi poke and avocado. There was also wine, beer and punch;
waiters worked their way through the crowd, offering refills and taking drink tickets.
King Kukulele showed up to entertain the crowd. If you travel in Tiki circles, you might have
heard of him. If you travel in Disney history circles, you might recognize his face, too. He
performed Disney songs like “Pineapple Princess” by Annette Funicello and “Whale of a Tale”
from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and brought up an attendee to help him along. He Bruddah
Iz’ed some of the lyrics (listen to Israel Kamakavivaole’s version of “Somewhere Over the
Rainbow” to better understand this concept), and it was fun, but tough to see him over all of
the people in front of me.
The announcement had stated that the presentation would take place inside Trader Sam’s. It
didn’t. In fact, our group of 100 people plus staff had the patio from Tangaroa Terrace to the
corner of the building. Trader Sam’s was open to the general public, as well as a big chunk of
the regular outside seating. The presentation took place where the big couch usually sits on the back patio. We didn’t go inside at all.
Brandon Kleyla, who did a fantastic cosplay of Dreamfinder at this year’s Comic Con, was our Imagineer in
charge of the presentation, and he did the best he could with what he was given. He shared
some history (The Shipwreck in a bottle did NOT originate with the Adventurers’ Club as I
mistakenly thought, but rather was a gag designed for the Haunted Mansion, for example.) He
showed some of Sam McKim’s gags, Marc Davis’ work, Rolly Crump, it was wonderful – but
difficult to hear.
Brandon then shared with us about Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto at the Polynesian Village Resort
(it feels good to type that again!) at Walt Disney World. It will have a more nautical theme,
will have one of the squid’s arms from the old 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea attraction in the
bar, and will have a tiki mug shaped like the Nautilus. Excuse me, I have to go buy a plane
ticket now. They’ll even have t-shirts!
Trader Sam’s merchandise? Wow! What a great idea! It’s not like fans out here have been
clamoring for YEARS now for Trader Sam’s merchandise.
But a quick chat with someone else working on the project clued me into why our pleas have fallen on deaf ears: they won’t make merchandise for us left-coasters. They will, however, make it for the Grog Grotto, and if it’s a success there, THEN we’ll get some. Not sure if it’s the leftovers or our own stuff, but we’ll eventually get something IF people at Walt Disney World open their… um.. MagicBands. But we ARE getting a new Uh-Oa mug. It’s smaller, so it looks like the Uh-Oa will be a drink for one person from now on. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. No more fights over who gets to keep the mug.
We got ample time to look at and photograph the presentation boards, then went to the
fireplace to buy our mugs and get stuff signed. At the bottom of the stairs waited the cast
members with our goody bags – not Jungle River, but rather Mahaloween themed. Inside was the
print, which was indeed on canvas, not paper and the mug, along with two pinback buttons like
the birthday buttons you get in the parks and a smaller button akin to the one that came with
the Trader Sam’s juju this summer.
The mug is very much like the Shrunken Zombie Head Mug that was previously available, but
colored differently and inscribed on the bottom. Whereas the old one was ghostly blue-green,
this was more forest green and gray, while the second edition is ivory and a peachy, brainy
pink inside. We bought our mugs, turned in our coupons and had Manuel and Tim sign our mugs
and pose for a photo. Also, we were not allowed, as it said, to purchase two second editions –
it was better: we could purchase an additional first edition and one second edition mug.
Was it the best thing ever? No. Was it fun? Yes. Could they have done
better? Definitely.
First, deliver what you promise. Check the fire safety regulations before you offer a hundred
people a venue that has room for half that many. If you promise a Jungle River Expedition bag,
give attendees a Jungle River Expedition bag. Some attendees compared the bag we received to a
grocery bag. It’s nicer than that, but underwhelming. Everyone there knows what Disney is
capable of, even on short notice, and this was below par.
Second, plan: Put the standing people behind the sitting people, make sure all attendees can
see and hear what’s going on, and ensure that everyone of your staff – everyone! – has at
least a general idea of what’s going on. Your servers should have a grasp of how many mugs an
attendee can purchase. Your goody bag table staff should know that attendees have to check in
before standing in the green tape line.
Third: Do it again, do it better, and do it BIGGER: have weekend packages. Do the thing you
did at Trader Sam’s opening with the party on the lawn, hire some fire dancers and a
polynesian revue, have the food up on the terrace, close Sam’s to the public that night. Have
presentations in one of the convention center upstairs rooms during the day (decorate it).
Make more merchandise to sell. Imagineering had a Trader Sam’s cloissone pin at opening. When
I wear mine, strangers beg me to sell it to them. The audience is there, take advantage of
this opportunity. The Tangaroa Terrace kiosks are dead now, put a merchandise stand there.
Even with the hiccups, I had fun. Even if I hadn’t been with fantastic company, I still would
have enjoyed it. Brandon did a great presentation. I’d like to see it presented in a setting
worthy of the wealth of history and information he shared. If they do this again, and I hope
they do, I’ll buy a ticket. I just hope that they learn from this first run that they are
capable of doing so much more.
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