TS Island's Pirate Re-Theme: Good Idea? Bad Idea? (merged threads)

[Gemini Cricket]

So, you've read Al's article.

The Burbank bigwigs have Tom Sawyer Island in their sights, and if the budget gets approved later this fall that 50 year old piece of Disneyland history will go the way of the Skyway and the House of the Future. What Burbank has proposed is an ambitious plan to restructure and retheme the island into a pirate playground, where Captain Barbossa and Davy Jones would displace the less than blockbuster Huck Finn and Becky Thatcher.

What do you think?

Good idea?
Bad idea?
Other?

[karamie]

I love Pirates as much as the next person, and TSI probably does need a refurb, but it just doesn't feel right to completely change TSI over to a Pirates theme.

I'm sure it will be fine, but I just don't like the thought of it...

[Disneyland Daddy]

Why is everything PIRATES?

[mycroft16]

As cool as Pirates are, and as much as TSI needs some TLC... I'm not certain that Pirates is the best theme for it to become. It would work... I'm just not certain that it is the right course. I'm going to reserve judgement till more information gets released/leaked.

[Disney Wrassler]

If they put a lot of creativity and detail into the pirate play are then it probably will be a good idea. But if it is bland and generic, then it is a bad idea.

But I think the Caribbean theme will fit well with the French quarters theme.

[Doofy]

I think a retheming of TSI is a good idea. It would be nice to keep Injun Joes Cave to have some of the original remain undisturbed. I just think that swamping the island with pirates is an overload. How long will the Pirates fad last? This can't possibly be expected to remain popular as long as the original pirates attraction. I am optimistic. If they do it right it should turn out great.

[lazyboy97O]

BAD IDEA! To turn Tom Sawyer Island into a Pirates Island completely contradicts Frontierland, Critter Country, New Orleans Square, the Mark Twain, the Columbia, the Disneyland Railroad, and everything else that surrounds the island.

[aaronpaulcustoms]

its a good idea...dont hate me for saying so

[MagicKingdom]

I think they should leave it alone because it is that particular theme in that area such as Mark Twain and the River of America.

[Dustysage]

From a business point of view, it makes sense for the attractions to pull in at least enough attendance to justify their maintenance. And TSI was a heavily staffed and under attended attraction with LOTS of maintenance issues. As much as I will personally miss TSI, it hadn't been high on my list since I was a kid. If they can save the island, make it fun and safe for the kids of today and fix the maintenance issues, then I'm glad to see them make the change. I felt the same way about the change in theme of both the Swiss Family Robinson Tree-house and Autopia. The attraction isn't really going away, it is just coming back with a new theme. I suspect that the caves will still be there (with even more treasure), and that the whole thing will end up with a Bayou look and feel that will mesh just fine with New Orleans Square and Frontierland.

[Lore]

Hopefully, they'll be able to demolish the Mark Twain, Frontierland, Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, The Haunted Mansion, New Orleans Square, Fort Wilderness, the Indian Villiage, the Canoes, the Disneyland Railroad, and replace the Columbia with a pirate ship. That would make the theme rock!

Also, they should sell grog.

[iluvdisney01]

Tortuga Island? Hmmm.....interesting idea. One question though: why is Disney riding the 'Pirates' bandwagon? How long do they expect Pirates-mania to last? I love the movies and I think they did a good job with it. I also think it was good they decided to "merge" the movie and attraction. But does everything have to be pirate-themed?

True, TSI needs to be refurbished/re-themed. But I think it should not be directly related to the movie. The new theme should be something that will match the surrounding areas, partucularly NOS and Frontierland. Of course, I'm going to reserve final judgment once details have been released.

[Disney Wrassler]

BAD IDEA! To turn Tom Sawyer Island into a Pirates Island completely contradicts Frontierland, Critter Country, New Orleans Square, the Mark Twain, the Columbia, the Disneyland Railroad, and everything else that surrounds the island.

If I am correct, weren't many pirates spanish? Especially ones for the Caribbean? So if that were true, that is a connection that would link the Pirate island to frontierland. Frontierland takes place during the Alamo period after all.

From Wikipedia:

The "Spanish Main" was a name given to the Caribbean coast of the Spanish Empire in mainland Central and South America. From the 16th to the 18th century the Spanish Main was the point of departure for enormous wealth in the form of gold, silver, gems, spices, hardwoods, hides and other treasures. The famous Spanish treasure fleets transported these to Spain. The traffic in treasure made the Spanish Main a haunt of pirates and privateers.

The great or classic era of piracy in the Caribbean extends from around 1560 up until the end of the Golden Age of Piracy in the 1730s. The period during which pirates were most successful was from the 1640s until the 1680s. Caribbean piracy arose out of, and mirrored on a smaller scale, the conflicts over trade and colonization among the rival European powers of the time, including England, Spain, Dutch United Provinces, and France. Two of the best-known pirate bases were Tortuga in the 1640s and Port Royal after 1655. One of the last famous pirates of the Caribbean was Cofresí: Roberto Cofresí Ramirez de Arellano (1791-1825). He was put to death for his crimes in Puerto Rico at the Castle of San Felipe del Morro. His romantic legend inspires plays and songs on the island

So really they do have connections. The Caribbean Pirates came through Spanish Mains, went through French Quarters, etc. The thing that Frontierland and this new Pirates island have in common is the Spanish connections .

[The Mad Hatter]

I'm on the side of I don't care if they change these things. I'm more concerned with how this theme fits into the area surrounding it.

[RobotMirror]

Since "New Orleans" (as in Square) fronts the Gulf of Mexico, how about making it "Mexico Island"? You could have the flag of Mexico flying, themed restaurants, all kinds of things can be done with that theme!