Tom Sawyer Island

All four parks, waterparks, and other magic in Central Florida

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Debbiedeb
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Re: Tom Sawyer Island

Post by Debbiedeb » Jul Thu 22, 2010 9:05 am

I haven't visited TSI in a while and my husband has never visited, so we're going on our next trip. It is well worth it, off the beaten path, less crowded.

imaginationcelebration
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Re: Tom Sawyer Island

Post by imaginationcelebration » Jul Thu 29, 2010 9:08 pm

I love TSI! It's a must do for me on every trip. With all the cool little trails, the cave, fort, floating bridge, etc...there's plenty of fun to keep you occupied. It's a great place to cool down on a hot day or just get away from the crowds. Now that I have a baby daughter I can't wait to go with her and experience it through her eyes. I only wish the refreshment stand would be open at least ONCE when I go...I've always wanted to eat a nice snack there.

Amy
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Re: Tom Sawyer Island

Post by Amy » Jul Fri 30, 2010 5:46 am

imaginationcelebration wrote:I love TSI! It's a must do for me on every trip. With all the cool little trails, the cave, fort, floating bridge, etc...there's plenty of fun to keep you occupied. It's a great place to cool down on a hot day or just get away from the crowds. Now that I have a baby daughter I can't wait to go with her and experience it through her eyes. I only wish the refreshment stand would be open at least ONCE when I go...I've always wanted to eat a nice snack there.
I don't know that that stand is ever open anymore...

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Re: Tom Sawyer Island

Post by Mr.ToadWildRider » Jul Fri 30, 2010 8:49 am

I had no idea there was a scavenger hunt over there. I haven't been since I was a toddler. The scavenger hunt thing reminds me of their old challenge in Adventure Land to find the golden idol. Those were in the days before FastPass even existed so getting that golden ticket to jump the line was SUPER cool then. I think if the brushes are gone by 10:00 am it's not even worth it to go there then because you can get a FP for a ride and have ridden both BTMR and Splash by then anyway.

I did the animal hunt in the Canada Pavilion Gift Shop and got a certificate (I think? It wasn't even that long ago...) for my efforts. I also got some stickers. HOORAY!

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Re: Tom Sawyer Island

Post by Mousekedude » Jul Fri 30, 2010 11:12 am

We went briefly on one trip. It was okay for a nice diversion to get away from the crowds. We chilled for a little while and played a game of checkers. We keep telling ourselves that we need to go back and explore the whole thing, especially for the "find the paintbrush" thing, but we haven't had a chance yet. :(

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Re: Tom Sawyer Island

Post by dwellsbct » Sep Sat 04, 2010 9:55 pm

I miss being able to get a cold fried chicken box lunch at "Aunt Polly's"... but it still a fun place to explore!!
"I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse."
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Re: Tom Sawyer Island

Post by lommepenger » Sep Mon 06, 2010 3:02 am

Tom Sawyer Island is a great place to get away from the crowds. We've been on the island on every visit to WDW and often several times during our visits. My son and I played checkers inside the fort, explored the mysterious caves where we scared my wife (several times), trying to make the passage accross the barrel bridge as scary as possible and defending the fort from any attacks by firing the canons (pretend) & firing the rifles. Gone was the outside world and it was GREAT!!!
I hope they never change TSI.

Bjorn

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Re: Tom Sawyer Island

Post by theBIGyowski » Sep Mon 13, 2010 9:05 am

DW and I spent a good half-hour on Tom Sawyer Island a few weeks ago and it was awesome. The caves, bridges, fort, and everything else was fantastic. It truly makes you feel like a kid again and really brings the characters to life for those of us who love Mark Twain's writings. There is so much attention to detail that it's amazing the Imagineers were still able to make it look realistic and natural.
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1986: Offsite
1997: Offsite
2001: Coronado Springs
2008: Shades of Green / Saratoga Springs (WDW Half Marathon)
2009: Port Orleans French Quarter (WDW Half Marathon)
2010: Port Orleans Riverside (Honeymoon)
2011: Old Key West / Bay Lake Tower
2014: Kidani Village
2015: Old Key West (5th Wedding Anniversary)
2016: Old Key West (Kids' first WDW vacation in December!)

Amy
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Re: Tom Sawyer Island

Post by Amy » Sep Mon 13, 2010 9:11 am

theBIGyowski wrote:DW and I spent a good half-hour on Tom Sawyer Island a few weeks ago and it was awesome. The caves, bridges, fort, and everything else was fantastic. It truly makes you feel like a kid again and really brings the characters to life for those of us who love Mark Twain's writings. There is so much attention to detail that it's amazing the Imagineers were still able to make it look realistic and natural.
Did you find any paintbrushes during your exploring?!

theBIGyowski
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Re: Tom Sawyer Island

Post by theBIGyowski » Sep Mon 13, 2010 9:32 am

Amy wrote:
theBIGyowski wrote:DW and I spent a good half-hour on Tom Sawyer Island a few weeks ago and it was awesome. The caves, bridges, fort, and everything else was fantastic. It truly makes you feel like a kid again and really brings the characters to life for those of us who love Mark Twain's writings. There is so much attention to detail that it's amazing the Imagineers were still able to make it look realistic and natural.
Did you find any paintbrushes during your exploring?!
no...we got there too late :(

I did tell DW about it though and she sounded intrigued...so maybe on our next trip!
Image

1986: Offsite
1997: Offsite
2001: Coronado Springs
2008: Shades of Green / Saratoga Springs (WDW Half Marathon)
2009: Port Orleans French Quarter (WDW Half Marathon)
2010: Port Orleans Riverside (Honeymoon)
2011: Old Key West / Bay Lake Tower
2014: Kidani Village
2015: Old Key West (5th Wedding Anniversary)
2016: Old Key West (Kids' first WDW vacation in December!)

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