One last walk around Disney’s Tom Sawyer Island

The days are numbered for Tom Sawyer Island, a longtime Frontierland feature, at Magic Kingdom .

In August, Disney announced that the space would be repurposed for two “Cars”-themed attractions . It didn’t say when, exactly, the last chance to visit the island in its current state would be, although the company said work would get into “high gear next year.”

We beat the rush for a farewell visit and, honestly, a reminder of what has been going on out there since 1973.

Getting there

The island is accessed only by log rafts that carry Frontierland visitors over the Rivers of America. There are no bridges or walkways.

But the trip, which starts at a dock across the way from Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, literally takes less than a minute. The safety spiel and anchoring process took longer.

Naturally, you get back to the mainland the same way, leaving from the dock where you arrived.

A quiet place

It’s difficult to reconcile that this place is calm and downright tranquil in spots despite being surrounded by the most popular theme park on Earth.

Rivers of America provides a buffer. You can see Frontierland teeming and the Festival of Fantasy parade route if the timing’s right. Folks are queued up for Haunted Mansion. It’s an unobstructed view of the mansion. Liberty Belle paddleboat, which has an unknown future itself, comes close to the island.

On dry land, visitors roam free, and there are spaces for kids to galavant and break the silence, although there wasn’t much of that during my recent visit. There’s a small playground structure and a large fort to explore. Picnic tables await at the top of the shady island.

After checking out Fort Langhorn, I took the designated escape tunnel and ended up on the back side of the island with two other visitors and the Liberty Belle in the distance. It was picturesque and quiet again, although I doubt many people go to Magic Kingdom for peace and quiet.

There are seating areas for relaxing or catching up on email, which is really anachronistic. The largest covered overlooks the water and doubles as a dining area for Aunt Polly’s, a rarely opened counter-service restaurant.

Never the Twain shall meet

Disney World’s website describes the island as a “secret rustic hideaway inspired by the stories of Mark Twain.”

A lot of this is achieved in the names: Tom’s Landing, Poor Ole Jim’s Shack, Harper’s Mill, Old Scratch’s Mystery Mine and the ilk. There’s Disney charm mixed with Twain in signage written by Tom, which warns about the dangers of a cave “ifn you chooze to go inside.”

The name of the island’s Fort Langhorn is just one e short of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, birth name of Twain.

Other signs share other Twain facts, including that he was born in a village called Florida, Missouri, in 1835.

Armed and ready?

Fort Langhorn, on the north end of the island attraction, is accessed by foot via the Superstition Bridge. It’s not hidden but possible to miss.

It’s a re-creation of an 1800s fort and features many details of that time. There’s a blacksmith shop, a stable (with animatronic horse and chickens), a dry well (near drinking fountains), a vintage U.S. flag, antlers on walls and such.

On the second floor of the fort are multiple peek-hole perches, giving this area the name Rifle Roost. They are strategically placed on all sides for the defense of the structure and, let’s assume, historically appropriate.

But while staring through the slots at Frontierland pedestrians and the passing trains of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, one may get a modern-day creeper vibe. There are also cannons set up with the advisory “Use cott’n when shoot’n.”

The explosiveness of it all gave me a flashback to the Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade, which closed in June. That raised the burning question: Should firearms be entertainment at theme parks?

On foot

Another Tom Sawyer Island challenge is the uneven terrain, with solid but irregular stairways, bumpy walkways, slanted paths and wacky bridges. Some structures have tricky, tightly wound, curved staircases.

The escape route and caves have uneven flooring and tight quarters in pitch-black spaces. Even the steady-footed could get unnerved.

Folks who are insecure in their steps or dependent on wheeled vehicles may find their choices limited on the island.

That would also go for Barrel Bridge, one of the few island elements that can be seen clearly from the rest of the park. Slats are over floating barrels on near the shore that faces Haunted Mansion. It’s a bumpy, not-quite-trampoline experience, so perhaps an old-fashioned thrill.

What’s so very Disney about it

The island leans into its cutesy, old-timey theme. It’s Disney-level clean in a great outdoors way.

There are a handful of animatronics, including one that’s snoring.

On the modern side, there are the standard warnings about alligators and snakes, and there are rules for Tom Sawyer Scavenger’s Fort (ages 2-12 only) and the “surfaces may be hot” advisory.

What’s not very Disney 2024 about it

On Tom Sawyer Island, there’s no MagicBand needed, no PhotoPass stops, no Lightning Lanes, no dessert party offering and no cast members telling us to keep our hands and feet inside the fort at all times.

There are no characters to meet or greet, no touting the latest holiday, no Mickey Bars, no souvenir merchandise or really anything to spend money on with the exception of a couple of vending machines by Aunt Polly’s.

Decide for yourself if that’s a plus or minus.

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