The Magic Kingdom - Tom Sawyer Island

It's Tom Sawyer Island time! When I did my 1974 Tom Sawyer Island post last year, I had not actually been over to the island....I just used some vintage slides and a couple current pics that I had taken from the "mainland." Unfortunately, the island was always something that I would put off for later in the day and then it would end up closing (Closes At Dusk!) before I could get over there. Well on my recent visit to The Magic Kingdom, I made sure I saw it!



Just a warning....at this point in the day, the sky got very gray and ugly, so the lighting in these pictures really isn't the best.



Here we are waiting on the dock for the next raft.



While we waited, the Liberty Belle Steamboat passed us. Notice the single smokestack.



We're almost there. This is the view from the raft, looking back at the dock.



We made it! Let's go explore!



I wonder if they ever gave out maps of the island at WDW like they used to at Disneyland? Tokyo Disneyland still gives out maps of their island!



Tom and Huck welcome us.



This vintage photo is from my 1974 Tom Sawyer Island post.



The sign really hasn't changed much in 37 years.



Here's something that neither Anaheim's or Tokyo's islands have....it's Old Scratch's Mystery Mine. Hey, that trash can is blocking my view! It's like placing a stroller in front of artwork that's hanging on a construction wall!





It was pretty dark in the mine, but my camera flash was lighting the way.



This part of the mine turns into something like a "Mystery Spot" or the former "Haunted Shack" at Knott's Berry Farm. I loved it....except it was a little difficult to walk through it in the dark.



In this "peek-in", we can see water flowing uphill.



It looked better without the bright flash!



Glowing jewels can also be found in this area.



Now this section of the mine had an interesting effect. The crossbeams gradually got lower here, so as you continued forward it appeared that you were growing larger and larger!



This is Potter's Mill. You can enter the structure and view it's inner workings from two levels.



And this is Scavenger's Fort, which is located on the highest point of the island....pretty much in the same location as the treehouse on Disneyland's Tom Sawyer Island. Did WDW's island ever have a treehouse?



The pipe laying on the ground appears to be the smokestack from a steamboat.



I love these birds. They can be found all over The Magic Kingdom, especially in the areas where there is water. I am guessing that they are some type of crane? I saw more of these birds than I did ducks.



In addition to the Mystery Mine, WDW has it's own version of Injun Joe's Cave.







At Walt Disney World, Tom Sawyer Island is actually divided into two separate islands. Guests have to cross this suspension bridge to get over to the second island, but it isn't as high as the suspension bridge at Disneyland....this one is only a few feet above the water.



Fort Langhorn can be found on the other side.



Wow....this brings back memories. (Hey Disney, BRING BACK DISNEYLAND's FORT WILDERNESS!!!)



I took this next photo because I wanted to compare it with the following two pics.



I took this one a couple years ago at Tokyo Disneyland.



And this next one was taken at Disneyland by my dad in 1965. Even though I was standing in a slightly different spot for the WDW photo, you can see what I was trying for. All three photos show the bathroom, the southeast "rifle roost" and part of the water well. The DL and TDL photos were posted previously in my "Then and Now/Here and There" post from a couple years ago.



The Blacksmith is a "peek-in" with some animated figures.



The guy on the right is holding onto a rope and as he raises and lowers his arm, it operates the bellows for the fire. Notice the glowing horseshoe being held by the guy on the left.



These horses can also be found in the Blacksmith's space. The one on the right swishes his tail back and forth.



And next to the horses are these chickens that cluck and move their heads. Nice touches, Disney!



A view of the well from above.....



And a view of the path leading to one of the "rifle roosts."



WDW has not removed their rifles like Disneyland did years ago after a child lost a finger. I did notice that there isn't a loop of metal in front of the trigger, so I guess that would prevent a careless child from getting their finger stuck, and then falling and losing the finger.....gee, what are the chances of that anyway? How many decades did those rifles exist before that happened?



This is the view looking out from one of the rifle roosts.



The fort is also equipped with cannons!



Standing just outside the fort, we can look up and see the tips of the rifles and cannons protruding from the fort.



The Guard House is another "peek-in", but no animation on this one.





The Magic Kingdom's fort still has it's "escape tunnel." Disneyland sealed up their passageway back in the mid-seventies and I've always wondered why.



Once again, very dark....and kind of creepy! Mrs Bates, are you down there?



Now we've exited the escape tunnel which led us down to the banks of the river. We'll take one last look up at this cool little structure and make a wish...."BRING BACK DISNEYLAND'S FORT WILDERNESS!"



As we continue along the east side of the island, we pass the Haunted Mansion.



And the Liberty Belle.....



And the two-level dock for the Liberty Belle.



Looking back we can see the two-level queue and loading dock for the old Keel Boat attraction. Yep, WDW lost their Keel Boats just like Disneyland did. HEY DISNEY,.....oh nevermind!



Hmm, somebody had help whitewashing that fence.



And finally, as we continue around the front of the island, we find Harper's Mill.



Compare the shot above to the one from my older post.



Again, the sign hasn't changed much.



Inside the mill, you can hear the recorded sounds of birds chirping. I took this picture of the gears turning and it wasn't until the flash went off that I could see this bird hiding in the space left by a broken cog.



Well, it was a long post, but I hope everyone enjoyed this visit to Walt Disney World's Tom Sawyer Island!

The Magic Kingdom - Liberty Square

Hey kids, let's visit Liberty Square! This is where you will find Walt Disney World's Haunted Mansion. The exterior is almost an exact copy of Tokyo Disneyland's Mansion....or I guess I should say that Tokyo's is a copy of Florida's!



After seeing online photos and video of the new interactive queue for Florida's Mansion, we felt like we could just skip it since walking through it is optional for guests. Actually, there was only an hour left until park closing and we still needed to ride Snow White's Scary Adventure's a couple more times....okay, eight more times! This headstone is located just outside the entrance to the Mansion, but it isn't part of the new interactive queue, it was added in 2002. The inscription reads, "DEAR SWEET LEOTA, BELOVED BY ALL. IN REGIONS BEYOND NOW, BUT HAVING A BALL."



The neat thing about this headstone is that every so often, it's eyes will open for just a couple seconds and then close again. I remember the very first time I saw this, it reminded me of the "I Love Lucy" episode when Lucy turns her head into a clay bust and is trying to hold still, but opens her eyes briefly to look at Ethel. Here's an animated pic using two photos that I took on a previous visit. (Editor's note: Sorry, but the animated photo doesn't seem to be working the way I had hoped. Doesn't Blogger support GIF files anymore?)



The Haunted Mansions in Orlando and Tokyo have a few extra scenes that are missing from Anaheim's version. One of those scenes included a hallway with portraits of people whose eyes would "follow" you as you rode past them in your Doombuggy. Orlando replaced these not too long ago with Anaheim's "changing portraits" and put a window on the opposite side of the hallway with lightning flashing outside. The portraits that used to hang on the walls have now been moved to the loading area. Below are two of those paintings. I know the painting of the fisherman is based on original concept art by Marc Davis, but I'm not sure about the other one. If someone out there knows for sure, please chime in!




Another scene missing from Anaheim's Mansion is the music room with a piano that plays all by itself.



Just outside the gates of the Haunted Mansion is a shop called The Yankee Trader, which carries "Jams, Jellies and Kitchen Needs".



The shop was formerly known as The Yankee Pedlar (Gourmet and Culinary Aids). Here's a photo from 1975.



This next shop is called Heritage House. I did not go inside and unfortunately the maps for the Orlando parks, just like the maps for the Anaheim parks, no longer give a description of any of the shops or their wares. Whatever happened to the guidebooks that were given out at the ticket booths that had a description of the attractions, restaurants AND shops for each land? Even the official WDW site didn't care to tell me what was sold inside the shop, but according to an unofficial website I found, this shop sells "everything from the revolution era....flags, T-shirts and lots of historic replicas....here you can also find metal plates that were made by real modern day blacksmiths." I hope that's true and that they don't just sell the same souvenirs that every other shop in the park sells.



The Liberty Belle Riverboat is also located in Liberty Square. I'm planning on doing a separate post on that attraction so for now, we'll just take a look at "the stocks" that are located in front of the riverboat landing.



Here are three vintage pics from the 1970's. This guy seems to me making his own imaginary guillotine with his hand as a blade. I bet that was his wife!



Now it's his turn in the stocks.



I believe this is him once again, but taken during a different visit. Hey....that guy on the left......is that.....no it couldn't be.....but it kind of looks like.......SQUIGGY!



Liberty Square contains a replica of the Liberty Bell that was cast from the same mold as the original. According to Wikipedia, it's the only other bell to ever be cast from those molds. Who knew?





The Liberty Bell is surrounded by flags from the original thirteen colonies. In the background is The Hall of Presidents building.





The original attraction poster hangs outside the entrance.



The United States Seal can be found on the carpet in the lobby.



Funny, in this closeup it looks more like an eagle (ha, ha!)



Now in the past, I think the cast members have stated "no photography of any kind" during the show, but this time they only stated "no flash photography" (and maybe no videotaping), so I took the opportunity to snap a few pics. Of course without a flash they came out a little blurry, but here they are. The first one shows Abraham Lincoln delivering his Gettysburg Address. The interesting thing here is that he speaks in the middle of the pre-show. This is something new just since Barack Obama's addition to the show. One of the projection screens raises to reveal Lincoln with curtains strategically placed behind him to block out the rest of the Hall of Presidents stage sets and audio-animatronics.



And now, the Presidents of the United States....



....including the Barack Obama animatronic (in the foreground and on the far left.....of the photo that is.) Another new addition to the attraction is George Washington standing up to deliver a speech. He does this before Obama speaks. In the past, Lincoln was the only figure in the show that spoke, but beginning with the addition of Bill Clinton in 1994, the current president now delivers a speech that is recorded by the actual Commander-In-Chiefs.



Here's high definition video of the current version of The Hall of Presidents show.

Part One:



Part Two:




And just for fun, here's a short video showing the Lincoln Audio-animatronic experiencing some minor technical difficulties back in 1992.