In 1972, Bill and Mary Koplin built Magic Carpet Golf on land they purchased from Marjorie Springmeyer adjacent to what was once the South Lake Tahoe amusement park. Marjorie had overheard Bill and his real estate agent talking in a local restaurant about Bill's plans for building the course. "I have a piece of property I can sell you," Marjorie told them.

At the time there was a gas station on the corner of Lodi and Highway 50, so the minigolf course was built on the land in-between the amusement park and the station. Years later the Koplins bought the land where the gas station was and expanded their parking area and home above the course.

Bill was no stranger to the business. He had built 13 miniature golf courses with uncles and brothers in the California cities of Alameda, Lake Berryessa, Bakersfield (an indoor course), Pinole and Konocti Harbor, then in Key West, Biloxi and Galveston. Family members ran all of those except for the ones in Konoti and Bakersfield.

In 1948 he built a popular course along the Russian River where he raised his family, one that daughter Karen has very fond memories of.

"Those were great times," said Karen. "All the kids hung out there."

In 1970, Bill and Mary bought property at Carnelian Bay and build the first Lake Tahoe area Magic Carpet Golf. This course was for his son Bill, Jr. who still operates the course.

Then came 1972 and South Lake Tahoe. Daughter Peggy was given this course to run.

In 1974 they added a Reno location for daughter Jeanne, who, you guessed it, still runs the place.

Daughter Karen operated the Russian River property until 1992 when she switched locations with Peggy and moved to South Lake Tahoe. Cal Trans bought the Russian River course in 1994 due to a freeway planned for the property.

Karen and her husband Gino Franceschi live most of the year above the Magic Carpet Golf on the corner of Lodi and 50, then head off the hill from time to time to their other home in Forestville, CA.

Their children, all now adults, have grown up at Magic Carpet. Though none of them live in South Lake Tahoe year round, they all come to town for the summer along with their own children to help run the family business.

Karen and Gino have four children, Tony, Nicki, Karey and Gina. They are also grandparents to ten. At any time you'll be sure to find one of them working the front counter at Magic Carpet. They also hire local teens to help out in the summer since the course is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Magic Carpet is open Spring through Fall, and with weather permitting, winter too. Last year they were open some days in December and February.

All locals get a discount, so make sure to mention you're from South Lake Tahoe the next time you play either one of the two 19-hole courses, or the 28-hole course.

Open from around 1962 (or '63) to at least 1980.

It was housed in the former Haslett Warehouse, now known as 66 Franklin, which was originally constructed in 1926 for the Lawrence Company.

Around 1961 it became home to the Mikado restaurant on the ground floor, and a special glass elevator took guests up to the Castaway which opened in 1962-63, a Polynesian-theme restaurant in a new penthouse that was constructed on the roof.

Later the Castaway venue became home to the Old Spaghetti Factory restaurant.

The Warehouse was again remodeled in 2006 to restore the appearance closer to the original design. It is now home to Forge Pizza and other restaurants on the ground floor.

This Castaway location had a sister restaurant at The Castaway - San Mateo - at Coyote Point Recreation Area.

John Douglas Jacks remodeled a cafe in 1938 into a Hawaiian-themed restaurant and bar. The cafe was located on the island within eyesight of the Hotel del Coronado. Island Cafe was decorated with primitive weapons, palms, bamboo, and murals by local artist Russell Dale Moffett. This pre-tiki bar served exotic okolehao and rum drinks. It closed in 1943.

The new Carnival Cruise Line ship Mardi Gras set sail on Saturday, July 31, 2021, marking the first official passenger cruise from Port Canaveral since the pandemic began in 2020. The ship has a capacity of 6,500 passengers and 20 decks, making it the eighth largest cruise ship in the world. The Mardi Gras is also the first ship in North America powered entirely by liquefied natural gas.

Note, there was also a much smaller Mardi Gras ship launched in 1972... but this one dwarfs it in comparison.

The 2021 Mardi Gras specializes in Caribbean cruises. It is docked and leaves out of Port Canaveral, Florida, United States.

The RedFrog Tiki Bar is located on the 5th level Lido deck and is the first of 3 RedFrog Tiki Bars planned, with the Carnival Celebration and Carnival Jubilee next in line.

Carnival Celebration's Red Frog Tiki Bar opened when the ship was completed on November 2, 2022.

These Red Frog Tiki Bars are distinct from the Red Frog Pubs or Red Frog Rum Bars on other ships in this line.

The Carnival Mardi Gras' bar is 2 stories tall and has both bar and dining table seating. They have extensive themed decoration including some Oceanic Arts style lights and some Oceanic Arts Papua New Guinea masks and other hangings.

The bar features a wide array of rums listed by region but the bar name reflects their line of beers which is served on tap. They do have unique branded tiki mugs and mai tai glasses available for sale as well as other merch.

Opened in 2018.

This bar boasted: "A wide array of Tiki Cocktails and Classics, One of the Largest Rum Selections in the Country, a good range of soft drinks including our Homemade Ginger Beer and a Selection of Beers!"

The interior had a long bar decorated in bamboo and with a backbar decorated with geometric clusters of bamboo end-pieces. The ceiling had several canoes suspended from the rafters. Walls were painted blue, with booths outfitted in a mix of padded blue and red benches and red/green/and white antiqued wood "captain's chairs". There was one large carved tiki on the bar at the end and several masks and other pieces of assorted tiki art spread throughout.

Closed as a result of Covid shutdowns in September 2020.

Tijuana's first pre-tiki bar opened in 1928.

A legendary social spot for over 80 years, the Aloha serviced the Prohibition crowd from the U.S. and sailors come to port. Originally it featured amateur boxing as its source of entertainment but then turned to dancing, featuring classic romantic dance numbers from Old Mexico and the popular Aloha girls, swaying and sashaying their way around the room to the music of the tropics.

It was burned down and rebuilt in 1938.

This was not a tiki bar as we think of them today and even by pre-tiki standards it was still essentially a Tijuana tequila bar. Other than a few decorations and tropical murals (which were on display for many years), the name, and the occasional hula dancing, this location blended in with other bars in the area.

However, it proved a popular spot for tourists throughout the 20th century -- the club grew and evolved with the times in both good and bad ways. As the century reached its final decades it operated as a disco in the 70s and a strip club in the 80s. In 2011, the Aloha burned down, thus ending a legendary bar and restaurant experience. The building's marquee however survived, and can still be seen on the front of the building to this day - a symbol of Mexican history and a physical reminder of Tijuana's once bustling, enterprising nightlife.

The Castaways Hotel opened on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip across from the Sands Hotel in 1963, became one of the casinos billionaire Howard Hughes bought in the late 1960s and survived into the 1980s, when it was demolished to make way for Steve Wynn's The Mirage in 1989.

In 1963, the casino was themed as a Polynesian Resort, with Tiki torches and palm trees surrounding the exterior. It also included Pacific Island Tiki-themed showrooms and a bar with a fish tank in which a woman swam to entertain patrons.

The following year, in 1964, the Samoa Room showcased "Playmate of 1964" with March & Adams/Dick Wells/Jay Nemeth. The Kon-Tiki Room showcased continuous entertainment.

Successive remodeling as the years went on sometimes went against theme. For instance, outside the hotel, Castaways managers bought and assembled a sixty-year-old scale replica of an East Indian Jain temple, made of elaborately carved teakwood, which they called "The Gateway to Luck".

This speakeasy style nautical bar is adjacent to (and owned by) Hula's Modern Tiki in uptown Phoenix and also opened in 2018. Look for the unmarked porthole door outside.

From Hula's Modern Tiki website:

"Set sail from HULA'S Phoenix every Thursday - Saturday from 6pm to close, step through the porthole door to explore, and let the waves carry you away to The Captain's Cabin, where a late ’40s era Tahitian sailor’s bar meets the modern day craft cocktail lounge. It's the perfect spot to savor HULA’S “Uku Nui” Cocktail Menu (which means “premium” in Hawaiian); hand-shaken with fresh squeezed juices and housemade bitters and syrups. Plus, sip & savor HULA’S Rum Flights, allowing you to take your taste buds on a self-guided tropical tour of some of the world’s finest rums. Truth is, you never know what kind of craft cocktail shenanigan's "The Captain" might be up to!"

Hours: Friday & Saturday, 6pm to Close

This bar has only a few tiki decorations and is overwhelmingly nautical but it is a fun themed space adjacent to Hula's. PRO TIP: It does not have bathrooms, so you may have to step back into Hula's next door. Plan accordingly.

The Captain's Quarters is a fully tikified vacation rental on the second floor above Foundation Tiki Bar in Milwaukee. It is owned and operated by the same folks behind Foundation, and decorated by owner Don Nelson with the assistance of Milwaukee's own Dave Hansen, a.k.a. Lake Tiki. The feel of the space is a true extension of the highly regarded tiki bar below it, with vintage mugs, pufferfish, rattan furniture, tapa cloth, and carvings by Lake Tiki. The room is rented out via AirBnb, with two beds that can sleep up to four guests.

This Capitol Hill Luau Hut was the sister location to the original Luau Hut in Silver Spring, it opened in 1967. It was owned by Moon Kim and Paul Malonson. Like the original, it was richly and elaborately decorated in the Polynesian style, and very popular. The lower level held the Outrigger Lounge, where live music acts performed, including Kim Tsoy and the Sauce, the band of Moon Kim's son.

The building that housed Luau Hut had previously been a Chinese restaurant called The Chinese Lantern (moved to this location around 1946 and closed in 1960), then before it was Luau Hut (1967), it was another Polynesian restaurant, The Waikiki (1960-1967). By 1978, the building had become Kelly's Irish Times, though the Chinese origins are still clear in the building's architecture. There was briefly another Washington, D.C. Luau Hut near Dupont Circle.

The Castaways was opened by a young Birmingham nightclub impresario, John Reeve, in November 1966. It held a restaurant, bar, nightclub and casino. The Castaways attracted many big name acts of the day, including Dusty Springfield, Liberace, Engelbert Humperdinck, and Tom Jones. The house band was the Waikiki Islanders, a band that had begun playing Hawaiian music in 1937, was being continued in the 1960s by the daughter and son-in-law of an original member, and still continues on today.

The upper floor, where the dining and performance happened, was thoroughly themed with massive, 40-foot faux palm trees, carpeting made to look like footprints in sand, and a ship's hull.

After The Castaways closed sometime around 1969, it became a succession of other nightclubs. The multi-story building that housed The Castaways, Bradford House on Bradford Street just off of Rea Street, has been an empty husk for many years now.

Tacoma Cabana was opened by owner and bartender Jason Alexander and Robyn Murphy in Tacoma's downtown in 2012. The establishment was a mix of traditional midcentury Polynesian Pop, with some more modern-day Hawaiian influences. The bar had a large selection of rums, and a particular focus on the quality of the cocktails.

Alexander and Murphy opened a new tiki bar nearby, Devil's Reef, in January 2018, where they lean harder into full-on tiki. Over the next months they worked to shift their efforts entirely to the new business, and closed Tacoma Cabana on September 1, 2018.