The Orange Bird was created by Disney as a mascot for Florida Citrus (the people who make "Florida's Natural" products, the most famous being their orange juice that can be found in grocery stores nation-wide.
United Airlines had originally sponsored the Enchanted Tiki Room in California, and it later switched to Dole (which still sponsors the attraction), for Florida, United had no interest in sponsoring a new Tiki Room which was an identical show, let alone they just ended their contract with Disneyland's Tiki Room. Easter Airlines, which was at the time the newly appointed official airline of WDW, had no interest in sponsoring the Tiki Room because they shelled out big bucks for their own attraction in Tomorrowland.
Thus a more "pure and simple" brand was chosen to sponsor Florida's tiki room. The Sunshine Tree Terrace featured a little orange bird figurine pearched on a branch of the "sunshine tree" which was surrounded by tiki idols above the juice machines. Projections would display thought bubbles above the orange bird's head because he couldn't talk or sing, he could merely "think orange".
A woman by the name of Anita Bryant, who claimed to be "pure", but had a not so "simple" agenda caused many to boycott Florida Citrus' products when she along with the orange bird were spokespersons for the attraction in Florida and company in general.
In the mid 1980s, her contract was terminated, the life size orange bird character that would meet n greet infront of the sunshine tree terrace was retired, and the orange bird figurine was removed from the sunshine tree model. Later on, the sunshine tree model was removed from the sunshine tree terrace, leaving only the tiki statues perched on a shelf over the juice machines, and the only sweet memory left of days past is the remnant of the orange citrus swirl, a product leftover from the day's of Florida Citrus' sponsorship of the tiki room and a delight only found in the MK.
