Engineering the Magic

When the Enchanted Tiki Room opened at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., in 1963, it was, by all accounts, thrilling. Inside were dozens of talking flowers, totem poles, and birds - colorful macaws, toucans, and cockatoos - and together they performed a musical show by dancing and singing along to tunes like the "Hawaiian War Chant". Huge crowds visited the attraction, excited to get a look at these early Audio-Animatronics -"audio" meaning that sound triggered a series of mechanisms, like cams and levers, that caused a pneumatic valve to open and close, moving an eye, a beak, or part of the body in time with the music. In the end, Audio-Animatronics is about teamwork. Bringing characters like Lucky and WALLldrE to life, blending robotics with entertainment and aesthetics, is the result of a collaborative effort.