According to the Los Angeles Times (although I saw it yesterday on LA Observed, la_observed), rumors are flying about potential changes to Disneyland. In particular, Al Lutz of miceage.com is reporting that Disney-internal sources are saying that the company might spend more than $28 million to make over Tom Sawyer Island in time for next year’s premiere of the third installment of the lucrative “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie trilogy. Disney isn’t confirming anything.
According to Lutz, the current proposal calls for over 28 million to be spent this winter rebuilding and rebranding the Tom Sawyer themed attraction. Gone would be the treehouses, trails and caves referenced in the literary works of Mark Twain and originally designed for the simpler audiences of the 1950’s. In their place would be snazzier pirate themed activities. The current lush wooded landscaping would also presumably be substantially altered, as tropical islands don’t quite match the southern American landscape. Part of the plan calls for the old Fort Wilderness facility to be razed, and the space used as an interactive pirate museum using exhibits and interactive play spaces such as those used in the Sorcerer’s Workshop in DCA’s Animation pavilion, or the nifty Fortress Explorations attraction at Tokyo DisneySea.
Tom Sawyer Island is one of the few attractions left that is 100% Walt. The island, surrounded by the Rivers of America, permits visitors to explore caves, cross a suspension bridge and encounter characters from Mark Twain’s classic American tale. Disney was apparently so dissatisfied with the original designers’ plans that he scrawled his own vision, which was largely adopted. As parents well know, it is a wonderful place just to sit and let the children burn off energy.
The LA Times article notes some of the changes that have occured in the island. In 2001, a girl lost part of her finger when she caught it in a rifle trigger; after that, the gun turrets at Ft. Wilderness were removed. Originally, there was scene of a dummy settler hit by an Indian arrow lay sprawled in front of a burning cabin. In the 1970s, the flame was turned off; in 1984, fake flames replaced the real ones, and the settler was replaced with a drunk moonshiner. The drunkard was later replaced with wildlife, a more family-friendly storyline. Of course, across from the island, we’ve seen the loss of the Indian Village, mule-rides, and all the other things that gave Frontier-land its flavor. Of course, no one today remembers the Davy Crockett hysteria.
Of course, another reason for getting rid of the island is political correctness. Schools no longer teach Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn (especially the latter). Kids playing on the island no longer recognize the Tom and Huck characters. But the kids know pirates from the movies.
So, should Disneyland replace Tom Sawyer Island with a Pirate Island? I don’t think so, but then again, I wallow in rose-tinted nostalgia.