A Friday Visit with Jim Korkis: Trader Sam’s
By Dave Shute
Welcome back to Fridays with Jim Korkis! Jim, the dean of Disney historians, writes about Walt Disney World history every Friday on yourfirstvisit.net.
TRADER SAM’S GROG GROTTO
By Jim Korkis
Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto opened in Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort in April 2015 as part of the rehab of that resort. The new bar was the work of former Imagineer Brandon Kleyla, now a member of Universal Creative, who was also responsible for Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar that opened at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim in May 2011.
The character of Trader Sam is a cannibal salesman prominently located near the end of the iconic Jungle Cruise attraction since Disneyland opened in 1955. He is the “head salesman” of the jungle, trying to get ahead by offering two of his shrunken heads for “one of yours” because “his business is shrinking”.
Kleyla worked at Disneyland as a skipper on the Jungle Cruise in 2005-2006 during its 50th anniversary and his memories helped inspire both Trader Sam tiki bars, although Kleyla prefers that they be called “explorer’s bars” because they incorporate so many different Disney adventure elements like the mythology of Indiana Jones and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
As Kleyla told me when I interviewed him in 2019, “Anaheim Trader Sam is the true Trader Sam. This came up several times when we started working on the Florida Trader Sam’s. At one point it came up to remove the Marc Davis Sam from the Jungle Cruise attraction and replace him with Anaheim Sam, which I think the majority of us opposed.
“So I simply came up with the fact that the Florida Sam is Anaheim Sam’s cousin, and he runs the east coast. Simple and we get the best of both. And I concreted that idea by creating a black and white photo of the two of them standing together and posted it on the wall.
“Sam’s expertise in head-shrinking potions grew into an interest in mixology. Bitten by the bartending bug (just one of thousands he’s been bitten by), Sam sailed the Seven Seas. Countless tropical locales were explored for mystical ingredients to mix into his delectable libations.
“Along the way, he picked up many of trinkets and artifacts that you see around here. In the tiki bar business, it’s a jungle out there. But once Trader Sam began serving his exotic elixirs to his guests, the word really spread!”
The Enchanted Tiki Bar in Anaheim is set during the time period of 1930-1950 while the Grog Grotto reflects 1950-1970. It includes more elements of the extinct Magic Kingdom 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea attraction because that was an iconic Walt Disney World ride.
Kleyla said, “I just wanted the bars to be a dash of Adventureland, two dashes of Jungle Cruise, a sprinkling of Indiana Jones, and a little Enchanted Tiki Room icing on top. One of my biggest concerns was that we had to make sure people knew that this wasn’t The Adventurers Club, even though there are interactive elements.
“I grew up in Florida and was always too young to get into the Adventurers Club. So I actually never got to go in ever! I was there for the night it was closing and didn’t get in so I did not get a chance to experience The Adventurers Club.
“That being said, I certainly did my homework, talked to some of the original cast, and watched plenty of videos. Certainly there are references to the Club in both locations but we tried hard to differentiate ourselves.
“When it came to salvage the Club, most of the stuff was in such bad shape from just being in there so long, that you really couldn’t get much more use out of it. That and the fact that people were stealing things right off the walls before the club closed. A lot of the stuff from the Club actually got picked over and taken to Mystic Manor in Hong Kong.”
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Thanks, Jim! Here’s the review of Trader Sam’s from our book:
And come back next Friday for more from Jim Korkis!
In the meantime, check out his books, including his latest, Disney Never Lands, and about planned but unbuilt concepts, and Secret Stories of Walt Disney World: Things You Never You Never Knew
, which reprints much material first written for this site, all published by Theme Park Press.
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