The Reef opened on August 8th, 1958, and was co-owned by George Millay, creator of Sea World. The original restaurant had interior designs by Bobby Mavis, and had "Hula Grounds" with many tikis.

The Reef burned down in 1974, and was later re-built in 1980 by David Tallichet, one of the original partners in the old restaurant.

Tallichet and his company have run over 100 restaurants around the country over the years. The other Polynesian project he is well-known for is the Ports O' Call Restaurant at the Ports O' Call Village.

However, Tallichet re-built the new Reef building in a mining theme, that was popular around the country at the time, with lots of raw wood beams. He was later heard to voice regret that he didn't stick to the original Polynesian theme so many area residents fondly remembered. It's since been remodeled several times and the mining theme has been erased as well. The current restaurant isn't really tiki or Polynesian at all but it is almost 3 times as large as its predecessor and is still run by Tallichet's family-owned company, Specialty Restaurants Corporation, which currently owns 18 other restaurants, including The Castaway in Burbank, Castaway in San Bernardino, the aviation-themed Proud Bird ear LAX and 94th Aero Squadron in Van Nuys as well as Orange Hill in Orange.

Pacific Ocean Park was a theme park on a pier extending into the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica. At the very end of the park was Mystery Island, a South Seas-themed area with a volcano and a train ride.

Dedication on July 10th, 1958. Actress Mitzi Gaynor (from the film, South Pacific) was there to drop a lei into the waters and do the hula. See below...

It opened to the public on Saturday, July 28, 1958 with an attendance of 20,000. The next day, it drew 37,262, outperforming Disneyland's attendance that day!

Pacific Ocean Park closed in 1967, and was demolished in the mid-'70s.

Opened @ June 8th, 1958 when they started advertising in the Santa Ana Register.

Themed motel just south of Disneyland. This site is now Eden Roc Inn & Suites.

The Waikiki Motel had a prime location, just south of Disneyland (the park is even painted into the background of the Waikiki Motel's postcards). The building is gone, this site now holds the Desert Palm Inn & Suites.

For many years, the Aku Aku Motel (also known as the Aku Aku Motor Inn) had a glorious A-frame entrance but it was demolished in October 2006, and now no traces of tiki remain. A few years later, the name was changed to Best Western Woodland Hills Inn, and now any hint of its tiki history is gone.

Opened by William Chin and ran from 1961 to 1965.

Tiki Kai had a very large and dramatic A-frame entrance, flanked by Milan Guanko tikis.

The Tiki Kai was succeeded by a second tiki establishment, The Golden Lei, which was opened by local realtor Fred L. Fredericks and lasted a very short time.

By the late 60s there was an entirely different themed restaurant in its place.

The building was demolished to make way for a Pizza Hut in 1971 and from 2008 until most recently the location is being used as a medical office.

This is the second location of Hula's Island Grill & Tiki Room, the first being down the coast in nearby Monterey. This newer location, which opened in late 2006, goes even further with the tiki theme than the original spot. The owners got assistance with the decor from Bosko, 'Onatiki, Tiki Tony, Polynesiac, Oceanic Arts and Munktiki, and consulted with Forbidden Island's Martin Cate in developing the bar. The space is warm, lined with lauhala matting and filled with carvings, floats and tapa lamps.

Then, Hula's Modern Tiki opened in Phoenix (2009-2018) followed by Hula's Modern locations in Scottsdale (2014) and High Street (2020). The first Hula's Modern Tiki in Phoenix re-located on Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018 to a new location on Seventh Street north of Camelback Road, less than a mile away from the original.

The Pago Pago Club was reportedly a hangout for staff at the Disney Studios, which were located across the street. Exact dates of the operation of the club are not known, but it was open as early as 1947 (per a postcard drawn by a Disney artist). Guitarist Paul Page played off and on at the Pago Pago for ten years.

Not a lot remains aside from the occasional drink token that pops up from time to time...

This Don the Beachcomber opened at the former Trade Winds around 1976 or so. It operated for a few years and closed in the late '70s. In later years, this location briefly became Coconut Joe's Warehouse and Hawaiian Cowboy, and the building was demolished in 1984.

Polynesian was on the Redondo Beach Pier and opened in 1969.

It was open throughout the 70s and into the 80s.

Much of the Pier burned down in 1988.

By then Polynesian had become the Edge Restaurant, which was destroyed in the fire, but it is unclear when the Polynesian closed and the Edge opened (probably some time between 1983 and 1988 since the Polynesian is said to have acquired a Barney West tiki from Helen Yue in 1983 that was previously at her restaurant, the Lahani Haloha).

The Tahitian Terrace was a restaurant in Disneyland's Adventureland. It began as part of Main Street's Plaza Pavilion, as the Pavilion Lanai, before becoming the Tahitian Terrace in the summer of 1962. The Tahitian Terrace had a daily dinner revue, complete with dancers. Clips from a performance at the Tahitian Terrace can be seen on the Walt Disney Treasures Disneyland DVD, in the special Disneyland After Dark. The Tahitian Terrace was adjacent to the Enchanted Tiki Room, which opened soon afterward.

A memorable part of the Tahitian Terrace was the 35' tall "Dineyodendron" Tree with its fiery-colored blossoms which shaded the stage and much of the audience and was the second largest in the park next to that at the Swiss Family Treehouse.

The terrace was originally sponsored by Stouffers, and later by Kikkoman's (1980-closing).

In 1993, the Tahitian Terrace closed, and in its place was erected an architecturally-incongruous Aladdin-themed building (initially for a dinner show, later used for storytelling or character meeting and called "Aladdin's Oasis"). In December 2018, Aladdin's Oasis was replaced by a new Polynesian themed food counter, named Tropical Hideaway.

Hong Kong Disneyland has a Tahitian Terrace. While it does have tikis, it is not as elaborate as the original.

Tiburon Tommie's was initially called "Tiburon Tommie's Pier 41" when it was opened by Tommy Cox and Johnnie Won sometime around 1955 or so (Won was a former chef at the Zombie Village in Oakland).

In 1963 it was renamed "Tiburon Tommie's Mai Tai."

The building was large, and situated on the water on historic Main St. in Tiburon, across the bay from San Francisco. Its upper level was the "Maori Sky Room," used in later years only for storage.

Tommy Cox retired in 1976. The Won family bought out his half.

Tiburon Tommie's lasted longer than many of the grand tiki places, closing in 1995 when Alice Won (wife of the then sole owner, Johnny Won) suffered a stroke. When it went out of business, many of its items were reportedly found in a dumpster, and then sold at auction. Many members of the then-burgeoning San Francisco tiki scene were able to purchase items from the decor. In the early '00s, the building was torn down, and now condos are on the spot.