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View Full Version : Disney Might Let Pirates Swarm Tom Sawyer Island - Los Angeles Times, 10/5/06



Darkbeer
10-04-2006, 11:20 PM
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...ninav-business (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-sawyer5oct05,1,2668579.story?coll=la-mininav-business)

QuikQuote: Some company officials believe the 50-year-old attraction may be too dated for video-game-playing, Harry-Potter-reading kids, said Al Lutz, who first reported the possible changes on Miceage.com, a website devoted to Disney news.
"They had Tom and Huck whitewashing the fence … and on the island interacting with the kids, but the kids were clueless," Lutz said. "I guess in the schools now they don't teach the books anymore."
Lutz quoted his sources inside Disney as saying that the company might spend more than $28 million to make over the island in time for next year's premiere of the third installment of the lucrative "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie trilogy.

Syndrome
10-05-2006, 10:36 AM
I'm torn on this one. I personally go to Tom's Island maybe once every 2-3 years, it's just not that interesting to me. So it could definetely use a face lift of some sort in my opinion. I think the pirate idea could be a good one.

But then the Mark Twain would feel kind of out of place, don't you think?

Vegitabeta
10-05-2006, 10:45 AM
I've never been to TSI...there, I admitted it...

jrad32
10-05-2006, 11:18 AM
Yeah I like the Pirate idea. Heck maybe they could bring skull rock back and plop it down somewhere in the Rivers of America. But I also don't know how teh Mark Twain would fit in.

disneyochem
10-05-2006, 11:47 AM
I like TSI for the reason that it is just imaginative play! It makes a great break in the day for my kids to run around and use their imagination w/o being bombarded by video and technology!

daisydog
10-07-2006, 11:55 PM
I think Disney would be making a HUGE mistake to eliminate Tom Sawyer, however, it could be really fun to include some pirate theming to the island in the sense of kids playing make believe pirates. In the book, Tom and his friends play pirates, so it would also make sense if they were added.

It could be fun to have a pirate's den that looked like something kids would have built themselves. When you go inside there could be a map showing hidden treasure somewhere on the island. Then you could go around the island searching for it.

Rkkm
10-08-2006, 07:54 AM
I think Disney would be making a HUGE mistake to eliminate Tom Sawyer, however, it could be really fun to include some pirate theming to the island in the sense of kids playing make believe pirates. In the book, Tom and his friends play pirates, so it would also make sense if they were added.

It could be fun to have a pirate's den that looked like something kids would have built themselves. When you go inside there could be a map showing hidden treasure somewhere on the island. Then you could go around the island searching for it.


I am with you, Daisy D! I LOVE Tom Sawyer's Island just the way it is! EVen with the Fort in such cruddy condition. But, if it was kept in its natural condition, it would add to the fun to make some pirate-themed spots on it.

The magic of TSI for me is that it is just about the "realest" place at Disneyland. When you are on it, there is little about it that seems contrived. It is a place where city and suburban kids can truly experience playing in nature - without Mom and Dad having to worry them about the Boogeyman! I just love watching the kids go screaming around the trails and caves .. no lines to stand in, no painted backdrops, just real dirt and plants! Would be a shame to plasticize it completely.

The Fairest Beauty
10-08-2006, 09:03 AM
Aww, I hope they don't change Tom Sawyer's Island. It's such a peaceful place. I love exploring the caves and it's a nice shady place to rest and get away from the crowds. Heheh, I've even taken a nap on one of the benches at the far side of the island. It's so relaxing, and there isn't much fuss over there. -sighs-

my3girls
10-08-2006, 10:35 AM
If they change TSI to look like a tropical pirates island won't the Mark Twain look odd and out of place? :confused:

dznyphreak
10-08-2006, 11:44 AM
Did they not just makeover TSI a few years ago??? Seems kinda wasteful to already overhaul it again. I do think something needs to be done about that fort, though. Why did it get closed in the first place?

Darkbeer
10-08-2006, 02:38 PM
If they change TSI to look like a tropical pirates island won't the Mark Twain look odd and out of place? :confused:

Doesn't the Columbia look out of place now:confused:

disneygalforlife
10-08-2006, 07:13 PM
Maybe I am an old fuddy duddy mother, but I think TSI is dangerous. All of the rocks with the loose sand make everything really really slippery. Those bathrooms are nasty. I am all for keeping the theming, but they need to make some changes.

my3girls
10-09-2006, 08:48 AM
Doesn't the Columbia look out of place now:confused:

WardKimballFan said it best for me on the other thread- "Why would the Mark Twain Riverboat go around a Caribbean island? Riverboats do not travel on the open sea. Sailing ships, however, do (or at least did) travel up large rivers (like the Mississippi) from time to time." That's why the Columbia doesn't seem out of place to me.

And that's what makes it hard for me to imagine a new pirate theme. Palm trees and sand would look really strange to me. Maybe if the theme was that swampy bayou look it would work. Or perhaps this is proof I wouldn't make a very good Imagineer. ;)