Not all stories have a happy ending, which is the case with Rainforest Cafe in Hong Kong,
specifically its animatronics.
And we can’t help but wonder, how is it possible that these animatronics ended up
completely abandoned?
This is Steven Schussler, an advertising salesman who is about to sell everything he owns to
venture into a completely new concept, something that had never been seen before.
He used his own home to create a massic Rainforest theme restaurant, complete with waterfalls,
rock formations, and animatronic crocodiles.
And all of this to show it to potential investors and see if anyone else out there recognized
the potential that this new concept, named eatertainment, had.
This is the first step that would lead to these animatronics being abandoned.
After a few years and a $400,000 investment, Schussler was finally ready to show the project
to investors, and a gambling magnate named Lyle Berman took
a chance on the concept and invested in the project, creating one of the most successful
restaurant chains of the 90s.
The Rainforest Cafe opened its doors on February 3, 1994.
And within a week, the wait for a table was as long as three hours.
The concept was unique; when you entered this restaurant, you left the real world behind
to immerse yourself in the Rainforest.
Full of trees, volcanoes, rocks, live animals, and of course, what made it so incredible
for many people, animatronic animals.
These animatronics were manufactured by Russels Creative, and we could find all types of animals
among them.
Gorillas, elephants, leopards, vipers, crocodiles, and giraffes were just a few of these animatronic
creatures.
Of course, people were fascinated with the environment, and the success of Rainforest
Cafe was beginning.
As we all know, the restaurant was a huge success, and so it began to expand its horizons.
First, nationally, opening restaurants all over the United States, you could even find
two Rainforest Cafes at the Walt Disney World Resort.
And then internationally, opening its first international location in England, and they
continued that way until they looked over to Asia en decided that was their next target.
So Rainforest Cafe opened in 1998 at Festival Walk, a shopping center in Kowloon Tong, Hong
Kong.
At the time, Festival Walk was the largest and most modern shopping mall in Hong Kong.
But unfortunately, in 1998, Hong Kong was going through a severe financial crisis.
So why did they think opening this type of restaurant during this time was a good idea?
Who knows, but it was predicted from the beginning that it would probably not last long.
Still, Rainforest Cafe opened with all its live animals, 300 staff members, and animatronics.
Sadly, the predictions were not wrong, and in 2003 the restaurant closed its doors forever.
Many of the decorations were destroyed, but it was not the end for these particular animatronics
and props.
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This is where our story gets creepy and terribly sad.
After the closure of the Rainforest Cafe in Festival Walk, many of the animatronics and
props like the emblematic Atlas statue that can be found in most of these restaurants
were bought by a man.
He purchased these because he wanted to open a hotel on the East side of Hong Kong and
wanted to have these animatronics and props as part of the decoration.
The idea for this place was to create a completely private resort on a private island so that
people could go and rest, being able to get away from the chaos and noise of the city
entirely.
So he rented an area in the secluded Tai She Wan Bay and set out to renovate the buildings,
built a pool and a bar, and installed the animatronics and props he had bought from
the Rainforest Cafe to get the resort together and open.
Everything was ready, the resort was well put together, and a name had been chosen.
The resort would be called Club Captain Bear.
But apparently, there was a curse attached to the animatronics because this project failed
dramatically.
That or the fact that there was no access for cars, so there was no easy way for people
to get to the resort.
After all, it was on a private island.
Still, private boats were set up to transport guests, and the place operated momentarily.
But after two unsuccessful years, the owner closed the site and left it to rot as it was,
animatronics and all.
Nowadays, the resort looks like a post-apocalyptic theme park.
The dock where the boats used to arrive is partially destroyed and sinking.
The buildings are in awful condition, battered and surrounded by broken glass.
They are also on the brink of collapsing due to several tree roots claiming them.
And this is just a glimpse of the destruction in this place.
Upon entering the resort, you can see the Atlas statue is not even holding itself anymore,
much less the whole world.
It’s in complete decay with its paint worn and lying on the ground.
It is without a doubt a somber sight, even more if you think that this statue used to
be the center of attention and admiration for guests during its hay day and to think
that it would end up completely abandoned on a desert island.
Inside one of the buildings, you can see a Rainforest Cafe menu display in terrible conditions;
here’s a picture that shows how it used to look before it was abandoned.
As for the animatronics, there are so many rotting and broken animals throughout the
property.
On one of the balconies overlooking the jungle, we can find a full-body and life-sized animatronic
elephant surrounded by greenery.
This animatronic was not in such a terrible state, but as time passed, it deteriorated
so much that its trunk is now completely detached and has all its mechanisms exposed.
But it is one of the lucky ones because just on the outskirts of the main building, you
can see the destroyed head of another elephant.
There are also several gorilla animatronics.
Some still have their cosmetics, while others are in a terrible state.
They look like something out of a nightmare!
There’s one completely split in half, and there are many pieces of it and other animatronics
scattered throughout the resort.
You can also find the remains of a python animatronic and a giant giraffe prop outside,
right next to the atlas statue.
Seeing these animatronics and props abandoned this way is sad and unfortunate.
This all ended up this way because of bad decisions and human mistakes.
From the opening of this type of restaurant in a mega complex in the middle of a financial
crisis to the ingenuity of creating a resort in the middle of nowhere that was very hard
to reach.
The lesson we can take away from all of this is that everything that goes up has to come
down, and we, as a species, must understand that nothing is eternal, and we’re only
here as guests on this planet.