Uploaded July 2018 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Tom Sawyer Island is an artificial island surrounded by the Rivers of America at Disneyland Park. It contains structures and caves with references to Mark Twain characters from the novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and provides interactive, climbing, and scenic opportunities. At Disneyland in 2007, the attraction was rethemed and expanded as Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island, adding references to Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean film series.
The area opened in 1956, one year after the opening of Disneyland Park.
Prior to the debut of Fantasmic! in 1992, when the south end of the Island was re-built to facilitate the nighttime show, Tom Sawyer Island saw very little change. The Island received major upgrades, new show elements, and a complete re-theming in 2007 when it re-opened as Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island. The re-theming eradicated much of the previous Tom Sawyer theme in favor of characters and elements from and inspired by the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. A justification behind connecting the Tom Sawyer and pirate themes came in the form of a chapter from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer where Tom, Huck and Joe Harper go off to play pirates on a nearby island, the idea being that all of the Pirates of the Caribbean elements added to the island are all a part of their imaginative play.
Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island's opening coincided with the theatrical release of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.
On January 11, 2016, Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island, along with the other attractions and shows along the Rivers of America, closed temporarily for the construction of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island reopened on June 16, 2017.
Tom Sawyer Island is an artificial island surrounded by the Rivers of America at Disneyland Park. It contains structures and caves with references to Mark Twain characters from the novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and provides interactive, climbing, and scenic opportunities. At Disneyland in 2007, the attraction was rethemed and expanded as Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island, adding references to Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean film series.
The area opened in 1956, one year after the opening of Disneyland Park.
Prior to the debut of Fantasmic! in 1992, when the south end of the Island was re-built to facilitate the nighttime show, Tom Sawyer Island saw very little change. The Island received major upgrades, new show elements, and a complete re-theming in 2007 when it re-opened as Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island. The re-theming eradicated much of the previous Tom Sawyer theme in favor of characters and elements from and inspired by the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. A justification behind connecting the Tom Sawyer and pirate themes came in the form of a chapter from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer where Tom, Huck and Joe Harper go off to play pirates on a nearby island, the idea being that all of the Pirates of the Caribbean elements added to the island are all a part of their imaginative play.
Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island's opening coincided with the theatrical release of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.
On January 11, 2016, Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island, along with the other attractions and shows along the Rivers of America, closed temporarily for the construction of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island reopened on June 16, 2017.
