Tom Sawyer’s Eye Is on the Sparrow

The Walt Disney Co.’s Disneyland theme park, which already has altered its Pirates of the Caribbean ride to include Captain Jack Sparrow, modeled after Johnny Depp’s character in the Pirates movies, may now do away with Tom Sawyer Island, one of the park’s original attractions when it opened 50 years ago, and convert it into a second Pirates of the Caribbean-themed area, according to MiceAge.com, an unofficial website that focuses on the Disney theme parks. The site claims that the decision, “crafted in the corporate offices of Burbank rather than the [Walt Disney Imagineering] design studios of Glendale,” is aimed at promoting the third Pirates movie due out next year. If a $28 million budget is approved, the website said, construction would begin this winter to rebuild and rebrand the attraction. Part of the transformation would involve creation of an “interactive pirate museum,” replacing the current Fort Wilderness, according to MiceAge, which commented: “Of course, it’s a given that diehard Disneyland fans will likely recoil in horror when they first hear about this idea. But what should be kept in mind is that this project would make a beloved old corner of Disneyland exciting and relevant again for a new generation of fans.”