Tom Sawyer Island is a physical island within the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California. It contains caves with references to Mark Twain characters from the novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and provides many climbing opportunities and scenic views.
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History
The area opened in 1956, one year after Walt Disney opened the theme park. Two names considered for the island were "Mickey Mouse Island" and "Treasure Island." Ultimately, the Tom Sawyer theme was selected.
While the island has not seen tremendous change over the years, in 1992 the south area was renovated to accommodate the nighttime spectacular Fantasmic!. The $30 million dollar production has run many hundred times and is one of the most successful shows in Disneyland history, judging by guest popularity. Disney has recently updated Tom Sawyer island with pirate elements for the premier of Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End. Officially announced as a two-phase revamp into "Pirate's Lair at Tom Sawyer's Island" based upon stories in "Tom Sawyer" where Tom, Huck and Joe Harper pretend to be pirates on the Mississippi, this change would integrate pirate tie-ins with the original, but updated, Tom Sawyer feel. Originally, the re-theming was thought to have been more drastic and specific to the movie. Some of the new additions include a stunt show on the Fantasmic stage, Pirate treasure salvaging, a meet and greet with Jack Sparrow, and a retheme of Injun Joe's Cave into Dead Man's Grotto, featuring a variety of special effects such as an animatronic pirate that switches between a normal and cursed form, a ghost guarding a treasure, the Dead Man's Chest complete with the feel of Davy Jones's heartbeat, and pop-ups of skeletal Pintel and Ragetti guarding a cursed treasure. In addition to these, Fort Wilderness torn down after years of closure from termite damage and currently in its place is a new fort being built.
Geography
Guests visit the island, surrounded by the Rivers of America, by traveling on a motorized raft which is piloted by a Disneyland cast member. While aboard the Sailing Ship Columbia or Mark Twain Riverboat, Disneyland guests travel clockwise around the island. Looking to their right they can see the many areas and adventure opportunities of the island. To the left they see Disneyland itself and from time to time will see a Disneyland Railroad train passing by. At the northern end of the island, inaccessible to guests, is the Burning Settler's Cabin, a cabin that used to actually burn by spewing fire from its roof. Despite guest complaints, the park no longer ignites the roof of the cabin with propane each time a watercraft passes by. The Walt Disney World version lasted until 2006, where the pipes (the originals from 1971) were damaged by age and being turned off while the Riverboat was under "rehab". The most prominent structure on the island, viewable from Frontierland, Adventureland and New Orleans Square is Harper's Mill. Most of the existing play areas on the island and its Huck Finn backstory will be incorporated with the new pirate theme, though it's uncertain how this will play out at the moment.[1]
Tom Sawyer Islands in other Disney theme parks
The Magic Kingdom within Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Tokyo Disneyland in Japan both have their own Tom Sawyer Island, still known by their original names. Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland have islands, but with alternate themes. In Disneyland Paris Big Thunder Mountain Railroad occupies the site while Hong Kong Disneyland has Tarzan's Treehouse in a similar location.
See also
References
- ^ Lutz, Al (December 3 2006). Tom, Huck, and Jack. MiceAge.com. Retrieved on November 28, 2006.
External links
- Pirate's Lair at Tom Sawyer Island is at coordinates Coordinates:
