A gifted artist and cartoonist, Val Valentine worked for the Fleisher Studio in Miami in the 1930s, illustrating the cartoons “Popeye” and “Betty Boop” and the animated feature “Gulliver’s Travels.” He also was the original creator of “Casper the Ghost.”

Valentine moved to Panama City Beach in the mid 1960s after working on several other notable attractions in Florida and other states, including Silver Springs in Ocala.

In 1965, Valentine purchased a struggling roadside animal display (Ross Allen's Alligator Show) and proceeded to construct a massive concrete volcano at its center, complete with billowing smoke and faux molten lava. The attraction was renamed “Jungle Land” and became one of the premier sights in Panama City Beach.

Jungle land featured several tiki masks, including a large moai with giant boar's tusks through its nose that graced the roofline at the front entrance.

Many photos show the "natives" of Jungle Land -- pretty young blonde girls in leopard print bikinis with spears in their hands.

Not long after Jungle Land opened, the park was purchased by the owner of Miracle Strip Amusement Park, for which Valentine also shared his talents, designing such attractions as Dante’s Inferno, the Abominable Snowman, the walk-through haunted house known as the “Old House” and Shipwreck Island Water Park.

Val passed away in 2015.

Jungle Land was eventually purchased by Alvin’s Island department store and became one of their dozens of locations, however, after it became apparent that bringing up the site to code would be cost prohibitive, it was announced in 2020 that it would be demolished and a new construction built.

The 190-capacity Oxford site opened on April 7th, 2011 and closed on March 31st, 2017.

This location was described as a buzzing bar with Polynesian-inspired decor serving tropical cocktails, plus a DJ-hosted dance floor.

There were several other Lola Lo's in the franchise (including Bristol, Cambridge, Manchester, and Reading) with the Bristol and Reading locations the only two remaining open by late 2024.

Huli Huli is a casual atmosphere tiki oasis in the northern Columbus suburbs.

Specializing in small plate, Pacific-inspired food, the cocktail menu is an extensive mix of cocktails ranging from early period classics to modern finds, peppered with house originals.

Pukiki is a tiki bar on the Portuguese island of Madeira, which is in the Atlantic Ocean, about equidistant from the shores of both Portugal and Morocco. The bar celebrates Madeira's historic connection with Hawaii: Portuguese emigrants from Madeira and Azores went to Hawaii in large numbers starting in the late 1800s to work the sugarcane plantations. The strong thumbprint of Portuguese culture remains in Hawaii today, most notably the ukulele, an instrument brought to Hawaii from Madeira. "Pukiki" is what these settlers were called by the native Hawaiians.

Pukiki opened in July 2016, and is the creation of Carla Lopes Marques and Martin McDermott. Carla is a Madeira native, and Martin is from Manchester, UK. There is a menu of tiki and other tropical cocktails, and there is also a wide rum selection (by Madeira standards, at least). The decor is somewhat simple (importing materials to this remote island would be no easy feat!), but the bar is fronted with bamboo, and drinks are served in tiki mugs (sculpted for them by Bai). A shared drink, The Ukulele, is served in a ceramic ukulele vessel, with the long straws presented on top as its "strings".

The Breakers (sometimes called "Lenny's The Breakers") is a classic Tiki-Cantonese restaurant and bar in Crystal Lake, outside of Chicago. It opened in 1949, and has plenty of old school tiki-in-a-Chinese-restaurant touches, with a landscaped garden, bamboo and beachcomber lamps, tikis, and dim lighting, amidst newer layers of rope lights and Party City-style tropical bric-a-brac.

The food menu is typical midwest Cantonese fare, and a "Po-Po Platter" is on the appetizers menu. The cocktail list includes a Mai-Tai ("It's a secret") and a Navy Grog ("It's a stronger secret"), and other classic and less-classic tropicals. There are some Dynasty mugs and bowls in use, but you may have to ask nicely to get your drink in one.

On the weekends, you may find some live music, which often includes some Hawaiian standards.

Tangaroa Terrace is a casual dining restaurant at the Disneyland Hotel, with a name inspired by the Tahitian Terrace and Enchanted Tiki Room in Disneyland. It opened in May 2011. The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and is near the more elaborately-themed Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar. The offerings have island flavors, including a papaya slaw and a pineapple-teriyaki burger. Made-to-order meals are ordered via a video kiosk, and there are also some grab-and-go options. There are some tables indoors, but most of the seating is on an outdoor patio. Exotica and traditional Hawaiian tunes are played.

The Beachcomber was a Canadian chain of elaborate Polynesian restaurants in the same vein as other popular chains like Kon-Tiki, Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic's. Aside from this Vancouver location, there were also locations in Calgary, Edmonton, Victoria and Winnipeg.

This location opened in 1960, and was briefly closed in December 1961 after a fire. The restaurant was also called The Hawaiian Village during part of its time of operation. It eventually closed in 1981.

This space has been occupied since 1984 with the newly constructed Grosvenor Building at 1040 West Georgia St.

The Beachcomber was a Canadian chain of elaborate Polynesian restaurants in the same vein as other popular chains like Kon-Tiki, Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic's. Other restaurants in the chain were located in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Victoria.

The Beachcomber was located in the Carlton Motor Hotel in Winnipeg; the motel opened in 1961, and the Beachcomber was open at least as early as 1962. The restaurant had a "star-lit sky" ceiling, and had thatched huts, and an open "steak pit" area where patrons could see chefs at work. An alcove dining area had floats, tapa and beachcomber lamps.

The Beachcomber was open until 1990.

The Carlton Motor Hotel became the Carlton Inn, and the then non-Polynesian restaurant on site was called Paragon.

The building was torn down in 2012 when what is now the RBC Convention Centre expanded.

Served "Authentic Cantonese Food". Also offered "Dining, Dancing, and Cocktails".

This location is now apparently Temple Liquor.

Club Mallard came into existence in 1945, but this same building has been a bar since 1934, just after the end of the Prohibition. It was originally called The Doghouse and then became Club Pago Pago in 1941. Some of the Club Pago Pago roots can still be seen on the outdoor patio and have been accented with some Oceanic Arts decorations as well.

Overall, though, this bar is themed more like a duck-hunting lodge than Polynesia, but in addition to the tiki-themed patio, some of the bartenders (Robin, in particular) can be trusted to make classic tropical drinks. The bar is pretty popular with East Bay folks, and the doormen can be quite strict about checking IDs -- be sure you have yours on hand.

The current owner of the Mallard also owns Kona Club in Oakland.

The Polynesian Room (now called The Tiki Bar) is located in the Waldorf Hotel.

The hotel was established in 1947 and is one of the most renowned tiki-themed hotels in North America.

For much of the '90s and '00s, it was available only as a rental hall for private events. The Waldorf came under new ownership in late 2010, and the new owners have re-emphasized the Polynesian Pop angle. The Polynesian Room was renovated and restored, and a new era-appropriate analog sound system was installed. It reopened to the public in early November 2010.

It is made up of three rooms, the Polynesian Room (now the Tiki Bar), Tahitian Room (now the Tabu Room), and Menehune Room (now the Hideaway). The Polynesian Room has a large collection of black velvet paintings by Edgar Leeteg, collected by one of the original owners of the hotel, Bob Mills. One of these, The Tahitian Drummer, was used on much of their early advertising, especially on their swizzle sticks.

This popular sushi restaurant can become quite crowded on weekend evenings when the DJs play dance music and reggae. That warning aside, the food and drinks make this place worth a visit. It has a more tropical than tiki feel, as is common with the more modern tiki bars, but for the most part at least sticks to a Polynesian theme.