Tom Sawyer's Island

**JoeCool** · 03-25-2005, 02:34 PM

HI.

Tom Sawyer's Island seems to be not what it used to be. The overall conditions of the Island and the fort are subpar. Maybe it is time to say good bye to Tom. But what could the island be used for? Any ideas? Feelings about TSI?

**revol yensid** · 03-25-2005, 02:39 PM

I haven't been there for a long time...it just doesn't seem worth it to wait to get on an island with nothing to do and then have to wait in a line just to get OFF. Its a nice place to do nothing, if that's what you're looking for, but it would be nice if they build a restaraunt on it or had something to do more than self-led expeditions to get lost in tunnels. I don't think there is enough room to fit a ride...so I'm not sure how they could do anything there. Fantasmic! is on Tom Sawyer Island so that's something that's good about it...

**AStarOnMars** · 03-25-2005, 02:49 PM

I have never been over to the island even as a child ... I have been on the raft but my cousin and I changed our minds and left the rest of our family over there ... it was funny though b/c the CM had a puzzling look when we said we did not want to get off the raft.

**Dirton** · 03-25-2005, 02:54 PM

I think it should stay. It was part of Walt’s dream that you could actually be a part of the park and that's what tom's island is. You become apart of the past when you're on that island. It's a little run down but over all it's great. Although The BTM at DLParis is awesome. They could try to do something like that. Maybe they could connect the landmass to fontierland by some sort of tunnel or bridge.

**revol yensid** · 03-25-2005, 02:59 PM

Originally Posted by Dirton

They could try to do something like that. Maybe they could connect the landmass to fontierland by some sort of tunnel or bridge.

A bridge would have to be really tall to allow the Columbia pass, unless it is a drawbride...and a tunnel would be nice...no line for one of those.

***Villains Fan*** · 03-25-2005, 03:42 PM

I think it should definitely stay. It's one of the few places kids can actually just run around and not get lost in crowds. As a kid, that was the first place my Dad would take us to. Of course, we just wanted to go on rides, but he made us go to TSI for an hour and let us run off that initial "we're at Disneyland, I want to go on every ride" energy and then we weren't quite so antsy when we had to wait in lines.

**MiceMan** · 03-25-2005, 03:45 PM

I think they should keep it but also create a rapids ride themed to going down the Missouri or something tied in with TSI

**xfkirsten** · 03-25-2005, 04:27 PM

I absolutely love TSI! I have had more fun playing hide-and-seek there, and exploring the caves, and taking photos... then again, I'm a 6-year-old trapped in a 22-year-old body.

**Jspider** · 03-25-2005, 04:40 PM

they need to get that fort reopend (fix it or take it out and build a new one) and fix up a few other places and they'll be fine

I would go crazy and wish for them to move BTMRR out there like it is in Paris but with fantasmic running out there it just isn't practical

**almandot** · 03-25-2005, 04:46 PM

I haven't been to the island in a very long time. Certainly not since they renovated a bunch and added things. I just couldn't get myself to spend time there when I just wanted to run around the park more. The thing I didn't like as a kid was that the caves were too small. I wanted to be able to get lost in them or get through some maze-like thing.

**desertdweller** · 03-25-2005, 04:52 PM

Welcome back JC!

My one and only real visit to TSI was in '59 and as a 13 year old I thought it was one of the highlights of my visit to the park. The pontoon bridge, suspension bridge, caves, fort and tilting rocks were a playground come alive. My cousins, sister and I still talk about how much fun we had that day. The island was a great idea for the original design and is the primary reason the RofA work so well. It's rebirth as the main stage for Fantasmic was a brilliant idea and has given pleasure to millions. The only thing I'm sorry about is the safe, friendly island it's become. When we crossed those bridges we thought we might break an ankle as children. Like crossing a log over a stream in real life or rocks, we were careful. That part of the "magic" has long vanished.

**kevdo** · 03-25-2005, 05:23 PM

I was impressed overall with the improvements they made a few years ago. I was particularly glad they didn't turn it into a version of the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail (which I actually like, but it isn't "natural").

They need to reopen Fort Wilderness and do stuff in there (didn't they used to have a snack bar there?).

I love Tom Sawyer even without kids. It is so peaceful walking around the island.

**Michelle** · 03-25-2005, 07:28 PM

They did used to have a snackbar in the fort. The island went downhill after the fort closed in general. I miss the guns.

**Ortizmo2000** · 03-25-2005, 07:37 PM

I miss that entire fort.

**SilentBob66** · 03-25-2005, 08:02 PM

Matt Ouimet, hear our cry. Bring back Fort Wilderness and the guns.

Speaking of guns, a revitalized Fort Wilderness (and Frontierland in general) could benefit from a revival of gunfighting stuntmen who stage mock "shootouts" to add some needed flavor to the land. The Old West was not filled with sensitive, gentle, understanding peaceful souls bent on retaining the natural environment. It was filled with insensitive, rough, violent souls bent on establishing a place for themselves on the American continent, and if that meant cutting down a forest to make a fort, or shooting a settler full of arrows and then burning his cabin, well so be it. Disneyland should be truthful to the spirit of history and present something modern Park guests rarely, if ever, see - people battling each other over a hunk of dirt.