Tropical home tiki bars feel like Trader Sam's at Disneyland FacebookTwitterEmail Nicholas Petty built his own special effects for Echo Island, like a fountain above the barBy Jessica Torres When Don the Beachcomber started his Polynesian-inspired bar in Los Angeles in the 1930s, he didn’t just open a bar inspired by exotic locales — he created an original piece of culture that is in a whole new wave of popularity. They are so pervasive now that tiki lovers have built their own home bars, places that go beyond neon flamingos and grass skirts and really dig into the history of the culture.