Walt Disney Imagineering Files Demolition Permit for Tom Sawyer Island at Magic Kingdom

27 days ago in "Tom Sawyer Island"

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Tom Sawyer Island June 2025

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Posted: Wednesday June 25, 2025 2:00pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

As preparations continue for the transformation of Magic Kingdom's Frontierland, Walt Disney Imagineering has filed a new Notice of Commencement for demolition work on Tom Sawyer Island.

Tom Sawyer Island June 2025

The notice is tied to an address that resolves to the island itself, and lists NorthStar Contracting Group, Inc. as the contractor. According to the filing, the scope of work includes demolition, infrastructure preparation, and utility modifications.

Tom Sawyer Island will close effective July 7, 2025

This filing comes shortly after Disney confirmed that Tom Sawyer Island, along with the Rivers of America and Liberty Square Riverboat, will permanently close starting July 7, 2025 to make way for a new Cars-themed land centered around Piston Peak National Park.

Piston Peak

The new Cars-themed area will feature an immersive off-road rally experience inspired by the landscapes and storytelling traditions of the American frontier. Tom Sawyer Island, a longtime walkthrough attraction dating back to Magic Kingdom’s early years, will be fully repurposed as part of this expansion, the largest in the park’s history.

Wide view of the new Frontierland, with two Cars-themed attractions replacing Tom Sawyer Island

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Chi8457 minutes ago

How do the majority that give you a choice operate? “Discouraging” and “prohibiting access” don’t sound very magical. Probably results in harried CMs and ticked off guests. Mobile ordering (at least when we’ve done it) accomplishes the same thing naturally.

lazyboy97o1 hour ago

When QSRs are operated as mobile order only they don’t let people inside until their order is ready. Mobile order only QSRs are even designed more like table service with a single entrance, a host position and a small waiting area. This is because more people arrive and then order versus order and wait to arrive. Even those who order before arriving, people don’t know their place in line and most don’t realize that simply placing the order isn’t what puts it in line to actually be made. Even without mobile order, Cast Members will ask people to wait until they have their food before sitting down.

Chi841 hour ago

I disagree. The change occurs because no one goes to the restaurant until they’re notified that their food is ready. That’s the point. What is the discouraging and prohibiting of access you’re referring to?

lazyboy97o1 hour ago

No, it is not. All mobile order requires complete restriction of access to only those with a ready order. Discouraging access without food is in place and has been in place, at Disney and elsewhere. The change is caused by the discouraging and prohibiting of access.

Chi841 hour ago

There’s more than enough for probable cause here.

lazyboy97o1 hour ago

Correlation is not causation…

Chi841 hour ago

I’m comparing it to times when we walked around with trays full of food past multiple people saving places for the ones in line waiting to order food. With mobile ordering you go in, get your food and the find a seat. You didn’t have to compete with people in line well behind you whose family members were saving seats.

AidenRodriguez7312 hours ago

I think we should definitely get off the mobile order topic but it’s definitely easier to find seats from how I remembered going before mobile order as there’s not a ton of people waiting in a seat doing nothing in the 10-15 minutes it can take for 1 member to get food for all of them. They show up, walk up to the counter, get their food and sit instead

LSLS2 hours ago

You have said multiple times mobile ordering has resulted in it being easier to find seats, including when you quoted Lazyboy who was talking about less dining capacity. My question is what are you comparing it being easier to find a seat to? I'm just not convinced that mobile ordering is the reason (or at least the main reason) it's been easier finding seats.

TheMaxRebo2 hours ago

In general, sure ... But if I knew we I want lunch at a popular place, say Woody's, I will definitely get that mobile order in by 10am for pickup at 12:30 rather than wait on line

AidenRodriguez7313 hours ago

Only planning I really did on my days was LL and what attraction I would rope drop. Everything else was just doing what I wanted at the time/finding room for other stuff. I got through every single ride at HS, every ride at AK (plus a few of them 2-3x because I ropedropped), every ride except Mission Space at Epcot because I don't like Mission Space, and every ride but the flat rides + Winnie the Pooh at MK because they weren't a priority. It isn't some major planning thing. I ate snacks at almost every land in the park with a lunch at Peco's and dinner at Caseys.

AidenRodriguez7313 hours ago

Meticulously planned? Come on. I was just at the parks, I saw there was a longer wait to something I really wanted, I know the nearby M.I.L.F is gonna take about 20-30 minutes which allows me to get back within the window. That's not really planning, just common sense.

Bocabear3 hours ago

When we were there last month, the restaurants were all mobbed, reservations were difficult to get, and QS restaurants were packed... Also wait times for rides were very long... If there are fewer, you could never prove that by my experience... We did used to have Tomorrowland Terrace, and a few other places to help balance out restaurant crowds....but not anymore... We are just starting to feel like going to WDW is becoming a lot less fun... Too much planning, too many people, lines are more than double what we used to experience back in the early to mid 2000s...and somehow it feels like the more they build, the more they close, leaving the place always feeling unpleasantly mobbed.

Chi844 hours ago

No that’s not my argument. I think the place is plenty crowded. I was referring to other posters in different threads. It does sound pretty absurd, I admit.