One Disney World land is just weeks away from demolition, but it seems like it’ll be going out with a whimper, not a bang.
Tom Sawyer Island opened at Walt Disney World in 1973, offering guests a chance to explore winding trails, hidden caves, and riverfront views inspired by Mark Twain’s fiction. Accessible only by raft, the Frontierland outpost includes landmarks like Harper’s Mill and Fort Langhorn. Designed as a quiet, interactive space, the island has long served as a retreat from the park’s more crowded attractions.
However, there’s not long left to enjoy this quiet retreat.
Disney has confirmed that Tom Sawyer Island will permanently close at the end of the operating day on July 6, 2025. The Rivers of America and Liberty Square Riverboat will also shutter as part of the transition. The area will be redeveloped into Piston Peak National Park, a new Cars-themed land modeled after the setting in Pixar’s Planes: Fire & Rescue.
Construction walls are expected to go up shortly after. While Disney hasn’t set a firm timeline for its opening, fans have estimated 2028 or 2029.
Reactions to the land’s closure haven’t exactly been positive in the Disney community. Ripping out Magic Kingdom’s largest water feature went down poorly with fans – even if Disney has seemingly doubled down on the water included in Piston Peak National Park, based on updated concept art – and many view it as indicative of The Walt Disney Company’s approach to modernizing the parks with IP, regardless of their history.
Tom Sawyer Island In Poor Condition Ahead of Closure
Instead of sending Tom Sawyer Island out on a high, it appears that Disney is giving the area a rather lackluster farewell.
Disney World guests have reported that Tom Sawyer Island is in a sorry state right now, with multiple areas and features closed to all guests.
“The windmill was closed on Tuesday and all the caves were miserably hot, as if the AC was broken,” said one guest on Reddit. “Also the bathrooms in the fort were also very warm. At this point there’s really no reason to fix those things when it all closes in a couple weeks.”
Tom Sawyer Island isn’t in the best shape today…
byu/kingkoopa0819 inWaltDisneyWorld
Another user claimed that the “windmill and crooked little bridge have been closed for a while.”
One said, “I speak from the experience of having seen many an attraction go the way of the dodo. The nearer they get to their closing date, more special effects get turned off, [certain] areas become unavailable to public, other areas start to fall into disrepair….it’s pretty much standard practice at this point. I mean, why spend money on the upkeep of an attraction that’s gonna close in a few days anyway?”
In its final days, Tom Sawyer Island feels more like a forgotten corner of the park than a piece of living Disney history. With features quietly shuttered and little fanfare surrounding its departure, guests are left to wander what’s left of the island before the gates close for good. For many, it’s not the closure itself that stings, but the lack of reverence for what once made the space so beloved.
As construction looms and the next generation of themed lands prepares to take its place, fans are left to reconcile what’s being gained with what’s being lost. Tom Sawyer Island was never flashy, but it offered something increasingly rare in theme parks: room to explore, unplug, and imagine. Its quiet disappearance, some argue, reflects a broader shift in priorities—one where nostalgia rarely makes the cut.
How do you feel about the upcoming closure of Tom Sawyer Island?
