Tom Sawyer Island

Saturday, September 11th, 2010

Cinderella fountain

We spent most of the afternoon watching college football (go Gators!) before I finally convinced my husband to go with me to Disney World. I wanted to go to Magic Kingdom to try out the new sound effects on Space Mountain. When we got to the park, it was a bit more crowded than I was expecting (people were there early for Night of Joy, which was taking place later that evening after the park closed). The wait for Space Mountain was 50 minutes, which is a little too long for us. So we skipped it for today and went on to see what else we could do.

The wait for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh was only 10 minutes, and it was a nice break from the heat and humidity outside. After the ride, I took some photos near the castle before wandering over to Frontierland.

Here's the thing about our Disney annual passes...every time we visit a park, we manage to do something we've never done before. Whether it's a ride, a restaurant, a shop, or a show, we always find something different to try every time. Today was no exception. Despite having our passes for almost 2 years, we had never visited Tom Sawyer Island. It closes at dusk, and Magic Kingdom is a park we usually visit in the evenings for the fireworks or parades. But today we were there early enough to hop aboard a raft and explore the island. Despite the heat, we really enjoyed it! The caves were dark and spooky, the fort and other buildings were fun to climb and explore, and the trees and pathways made you feel like you were really out in the middle of nowhere. It reminded of my childhood, when my brother and sister and I would make up adventures in our backyard.

Tom Sawyer raft

map of Tom Sawyer Island

barrel bridge

view of Big Thunder Mountain from Tom Sawyer Island

Before we left, I managed to trade a pin with a castmember in Frontierland. Another Mickey to add to my collection!

I had been hoping to have dinner at one of the nearby Disney resorts, but lightning and an impending storm had us running to the car and back home instead. Oh well, maybe next time!