Tom Sawyer Isle Getting The Axe !?

[Isaac]

From Al's latest update:

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.
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 designed for the kids of the 21st century who have grown up with extreme sports and Super Mario Brothers instead of barrel hoops and Tom Sawyer. The current lush wooded landscaping would also presumably be substantially altered, as tropical islands don't quite match the southern American landscape.

The article: http://www.miceage.com/allutz/al100306a.htm



I hope this is not happening.

[blueerica]

WHAT?!?!

[Disneyphile]

I don't see how it can happen, because they'd also have to re-theme the RoA.... and the Mark Twain would hardly look right "sailing the Caribbean".

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by Disneyphile

I don't see how it can happen, because they'd also have to re-theme the RoA.... and the Mark Twain would hardly look right "sailing the Caribbean".

It wouldn't be any stranger having a paddle wheeler cruising the Carribean than it is having a sailing ship of the high seas plying the Mississippi.

[Gn2Dlnd]

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

It wouldn't be any stranger having a paddle wheeler cruising the Carribean than it is having a sailing ship of the high seas plying the Mississippi.

Actually, the Columbia River (a River of America, don'cha know) is named for the ship which traveled up it!

From Wikipedia:
"On May 11, 1792, Captain Robert Gray became the first European to sail into the Columbia River. Gray traveled to the Pacific Northwest to trade for fur in a privately-owned vessel named Columbia; he named the river after the ship."

[Isaac]

Who's to say they'll keep the Mark Twain ? They could just keep it in dry dock, only use it for Fantasmic, and retheme the Columbia to The Black Pearl.

[Disneyphile]

Originally Posted by zapppop

Who's to say they'll keep the Mark Twain ? They could just keep it in dry dock, only use it for Fantasmic, and retheme the Columbia to The Black Pearl.

Sssssh! Don't even give them the idea!!!

[belleh5]

Originally Posted by zapppop

Who's to say they'll keep the Mark Twain ? They could just keep it in dry dock, only use it for Fantasmic, and retheme the Columbia to The Black Pearl.

NO!! Why did you say that?! You know "they" read all the Disney message boards.

[Capt Jack]

ok, even I...as big a PotC fan as I am, really dont need to/want to see the entire park rethemed for one set of movies.

(even if I do think the Columbia would look great as the Black Pearl)

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

Oh, I hope not. What a bummer! My namesake's headstone would be removed.

That aside, it's such a nice, peaceful respite from the rest of the park, just the way it is. Dammity damn!