Disney’s Tom Sawyer Island: Too Old Media

Travel Blog • Jim Benning • 05.23.07 | 3:20 PM ET

Out: Tom Sawyer and books. In: Jack Sparrow, movies, video games and, yes, vertical integration. Last October, Disneyland fans were wondering whether park officials would ditch Tom Sawyer for Jack Sparrow, turning Tom Sawyer Island, which was designed by Walt himself and opened in 1956, into a “Pirates of the Caribbean”-themed attraction. Or, as one observer put it, “Will Disney abandon book-lovers for Pirates 2.0?” Absolutely, Disney officials announced today, though they’ve slyly kept the island’s original name. On Friday, Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island will debut, timed, not coincidentally, with the opening of the latest “Pirates” film, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.

“The phenomenal popularity of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has allowed our Imagineers and cast members to bring the classic Tom Sawyer Island pirate experience alive in new, entertaining and fun ways like only Disney can do,” said Disneyland resort president Ed Grier. “Through Disney’s signature brand of storytelling, guests will be immersed in a pirate experience like no other and find new ways to explore an island that’s been taken over by some of the most popular characters from the Pirates franchise, including Captain Jack Sparrow himself.”

While millions of kids today love Jack Sparrow, few, apparently, know much of anything about Tom Sawyer.

That’s a shame. As Theme Park Insider’s Robert Niles wrote back in October:

In Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain created the most compelling, debated and beloved characters in all of American culture. If today’s kids do not know of them, why, that’s a pretty damning indictment of the rest of us, as parents, educators and artists. That Disney’s failed these characters, and their story, by allowing Tom Sawyer’s Island to fall into decay does not speak to an inherent lack of appeal in the characters, but to a lack of foresight by Disney.

As if to highlight the transformation in media and culture during the last 50 years, Disney officials are encouraging kids to bring video game players with them to Disneyland through Labor Day.

From Disney’s press release: “Pirates aficionados who are gamers also will find a bounty of buccaneer booty when a Disney Parks wireless initiative brings technology to life like never before. Created in partnership with Disney Interactive Studios for Disneyland and Walt Disney World, guests with a Nintendo DS(TM) and a copy of the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End Nintendo DS video game will be able to download content only found in Disney Parks in Southern California and Florida.”

Seriously. “At Disneyland,” the press release notes, “half the fun will be discovering ‘hotspot’ locations in New Orleans Square (hint: as every pirate knows, X marks the spot) for downloads that unlock new content such as unlimited health and ‘savvy’ as well as fun extras and additional costumes.”

Nothing screams Disneyland fun like “new content.”

I’ve enjoyed the “Pirates” films, and I’m sure the revamped island will be a hit with kids—if they can pull their eyes away from their Nintendo games long enough to have a look around.

Try as I might, it’s hard not to be cynical about this.

Photo by hyku via Flickr, (Creative Commons).

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