Featured Attractions

Thursday, April 6, 2017

Theme Park Thursdays: Dole Whips at the Tiki Room


While Dole Whips have become synonymous with DISNEYLAND's Enchanted Tiki Room, they weren't there from the very beginning; in fact, not even Dole was there from the beginning. Originally, the Tiki Room was supposed to be a restaurant sponsored by Stouffer. The company had even printed up promotional material with the Stouffer logo on them. When the restaurant idea proved unfeasible, the Tiki Room opened with a decidedly unfood related sponsor- United Airlines.

 

It wasn't until 1976 that Dole came on the scene and even then, the famed drink kiosk outside the Tiki Room didn't have Dole Whips. Those weren't added to the menu until 1986.

 

While the pineapple soft serve concoction is inextricably linked to DISNEYLAND's Tiki Room, Walt Disney World's sponsor was the Florida Citrus Group, which wanted a less exotic confection- the Citrus Swirl. The citrus swirl disappeared around the time that the Dole Whip appeared in DISNEYLAND and despite the fact that Dole doesn't sponsor the attraction in Florida, the DISNEYLAND treat laid down roots at Disney World's Magic Kingdom.