Tom Sawyer Island becoming Pirate Island???

[fireurgunz]

[undertaker0821]

I can undestand an overlay, but a complete tranformation is crazy. The pirates craze will die out, and when it does, what would happen to the island?

[theEpiphany]

And this just in.....


Disneyland Island Safe for Tom Sawyer, Say Imagineers


Disney Imagineers, who are responsible for designing the attractions at the company's theme parks, have downplayed reports by an unofficial Disneyland website that the company is planning to turn Tom Sawyer's Island, one of the original Disneyland attractions, into a Pirates of the Caribbean Island in time for the release of next year's Pirates sequel. In an interview with the O-meon website ("for the grownup geek in all of us"), one Imagineer remarked that the project could not be completed on such short notice. Others said no one had seen any designs for such an attraction. Moreover, they noted, changing Tom Sawyer's Island would also mean changing the Americana theme surrounding it. Indeed, asked one Imagineer, "What are guests going to think of the Mark Twain [a stern-wheel riverboat] gliding around a tropical island?"
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[daguru]

This is what happens when Management makes an announcement, before even asking the Imagineers about it.... it does make Disney look a little silly though.... glad they have Imagineers that think like the rest of us (in saying that it just wouldn't fit in with the area theme)...
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Up or Down North, South, East, or West An Adventurer's Life is Best!

[theEpiphany]

Management never made the announcement.....


It was a leak on miceage.com

THIS is what happens when High up WDI designers can't keep their mouths shut and are exploited by wannabe journalists that are filling a void.


</rant>
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[onecutemoose]

Hmmm...I introduced a six year old friend of mine to Tom Sawyerr Island when I went to DL earlier this year...two weeks ago when I was back down there it was one of three things he specifically asked to go and check out on our adventure afternoon.

I think in this case the pirate theme would create some hype for the island and more foot traffic for awhile....but seriously, when we were over there it was hoppin'! kids everywhere checking the whole place out. It was also fun to be able to answer the questions about who Tom Sawyerr and Huck Finn are (were--whatever). Maybe incite kids to actually pick up a book (or dvd more likely).

.....anyway...

: )

[disneylanddude05]

I can't even remember going on Tom Sayer Island, but I know I have like when I was 8

[daguru]

This rumor has come back again, with some changes this time. Apparently, this will be done at both WDW and DL....

Check this MiceAge page for more details...

Basically, they are going to rennovate the caves and parts of the island and add a "Pirate's Lair"....

*sarcasim on* Gee I can't wait, they are taking out the only quiet spot in the whole park.... can't wait, I'm so excited *sarcasim off*
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Up or Down North, South, East, or West An Adventurer's Life is Best!

[WDWFan]

The more I think about this the more I actually like it. I'll have to re-read Twain, but I thought Tom and Huck at 1 point were pretending to have something to do with pirates.

[aprildecember]

yeah, you're right...that does sound rather tom-n-huckish!

[onecutemoose]

Hmmm...I guess for me it's a wait and see thing...I kinda like how they've kept it up and kept the continuity of theme...plus...I don't know why they'd want to create too much traffic over there---it is already frequented by many guests...and too many could just become nasty chaos.

like I said...I'm just waiting to see.

: )

[aprildecember]

on the construction walls at the raft landing, the teaser sign quotes mark twain. good tom/huck pirate sinergy!

[Therewasatime]

"on the construction walls at the raft landing, the teaser sign quotes mark twain. Very Happy good tom/huck pirate sinergy!"

What's the quote on the construction walls?

[aprildecember]

i don't remember...i think it's from one of the books (the tom sawyer one maybe?)...but they attribute the blurb to mark twain.

[me27821]

The whole thing about Tom Sawyer Island losing it's popularity isn't really anyone's fault. It's not something that could be blamed on parents. Kids these days are overwheled by technology. If a parent tried to tell their kid a story, or read them a book, the kid wouldn't be able to stand it. I remember being like that, and that's cause I wanted to go play with my trains. Now there's Playstation, computers, and robot dogs. Things of the past just have a way of fading away. Now if a blockbuster movie came out based on Tom Sawyer and Huck fin, then the popularity would come back for a short time. It seems to be human nature to improve on things and out do what was once done. As I kid I loved going to Tom Sawyer Island in WDW. I'd go to the fort and shoot the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad trains, when they came around that last turn. That was when I was too short to actually go on the ride. I must have been 4 or 5, and I remember how much fun it was. I remember the barrel bridge too, and how much fun that was. But as a grown up, that wouldn't entertain me anymore (well the bridge still would). We used to go to WDW every year for two weeks at a time. Over the years, new attractions opened which were more exciting. I wanted to go on Splash Mountain so bad every time, that I just forgot that Tom Sawyer Island existed. A new Tomorrowland showed up, and I wanted to spend more time there, than I did on Tom Sawyer Island. Plus it's kind of in a inconvenient location. You have to take the rafts to get to it, and I remember plenty of times waiting too long for the raft to fill up, before it was sent off. As an attraction, it just doesn't compete with newer attractions around the resort. That's just the way I see it, and I didn't have bad parents. More like I was a bad kid, because my trains were more exciting to me, than a parent's story.

Now I'm sure everyone will agree that Tom Sawyer Island, at either park, needs to be plussed, not replaced. It looks like that's what's going on for WDW. I'm not sure what's going on in DL. I was there a year ago, unfortunatly, only for 1 day. And of course, there were more exciting things to do, so I didn't go to Tom Sawyer Island.

So if it came to plussing, what would everyoe like to see? If Disney made a Tom Sawyer movie, that could be a start. The island could be redone with elements from the movie added. Does anyone remember about the idea for the replacement of Discovery Island in Bay Lake? There was a concept for a puzzle themed island, like the PC game Myst. Would this be possible with an americana theme for Tom Sawyer Island? Maybe more of an obstical course layout. The barrel bridge is still fun, and the caves are interesting (especially the crooked one).
Who's been to a theme park that had a water park actually in it? Like Carowinds in North/South Carolina. Why not integrate something like that into Tom Sawyer Island? Sure it would anger some people at first. Just like how the idea for a flume ride in a Disney park angered some of the Imagineers. "How could a run of the mill flume ride be put in Disneyland? Disneyland is no run of the mill park." Then, a few years later, Splash Mountain opened. And Splash Mountain was an instant classic.
Or why not revisit an old idea? One that people cant seem to let go. River Country was loved by so many people, but it's been closed for over 6 years now. It's still there, in WDW, just closed. It too was outdone by newer ideas. Typhoon Lagoon, and Blizzard Beach. It makes sence to me that you could revive two loved, but dying attractions by combining them. Of course it would take time for that idea to set in, and be accepted for a Disneyland style park. After that, would it be a hit? Everyone who loved River Country, and Tom Sawyer Island could still go out to Tom Sawyer Island, and see much of the things that have always been there, just plussed, and a small water park too. They follow the same EXACT theme. River Country was based off of Tom Sawyer. And it would be isolated from the rest of the park. It's own island, where you could only come accross it intentionally. It would be nothing cheap like a waterslide tossing people into the Rivers of America, while people can watch from New Orleans Square. It could be tucked into the northern part of the island. For the Magic Kingdom, the size is about right. But not for Disneyland. For DL, it would face the same old problem. Available space. It could be done on a smaller scale than WDW on the current island. However, if the river was rerouted closer to BTMRR, a much larger River Country would fit. Disneyland has no water park yet either, like WDW does.
I could see it being done. And I could see it being done tastefully. There would be no issue of "half naked people coming from Tom Sawyer Island", as that issue would easily be resolved. A dress code would be enforced upon attempting ro reboard the raft. There might be an issue of more wet people walking around, than what Splash Mountain currently provides. Then again, people seem to make an effort to dry off before getting dressed.
Since it is an island, it's already somewhat seperate from the park anyway. It would be like a sanctuary, where people can relax in the sand, or hang on for dear life as a telephone pole on a rope spins over a lake, while people are chearing hoping that you fall, and splashing water at you to help you fall (ahh memories). It seams that a lot of people miss River Country. Disney doesn't think people are willing to pay the $30 or so entry fee to reopen it. Tom Sawyer Island is in need of a pick up. Does anyone else think this is a good idea for Disneyland? Maybe it would make more sense for the Magic Kingdom? Or is the puzzle style "Myst" island, with an Americana theme better? Either of these would certainly make more sense than a tropical island, with a riverboat circling it.