Niles: Why Disney needs mediocre attractions, too

Every great theme park needs mediocre attractions.

Imagine a park with nothing but top-rated, high-demand, E-ticket rides. Where do you go in the middle of the day when you just need to sit inside and take a break for 20 minutes? Where do you go when the kids get sick of standing in queues and want to run around to let off steam?

The design beauty of great theme parks like Disneyland is that they include less-popular rides and shows that no one runs to at rope drop but that can soak up crowds at mid-day. Disneyland’s sister park, Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, has announced that it is closing one of those attractions, and it’s been a gut punch for me.

Walt Disney World will close its Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island to clear space for two new Cars-themed attractions that were announced last month at D23 in Anaheim. This is personal for me, as Tom Sawyer Island was the first attraction I worked at Walt Disney World and the one where I spent most of my time with the company.

It pains me to refer to Tom Sawyer Island as mediocre, because it was my favorite attraction when visiting Disneyland and Walt Disney World as a child. But counting the number of guests served during the day, the island and the riverboat that circumnavigates it deliver mediocre numbers when compared with other park attractions.

I did not care about such things back then. The caves, pathways and bridges on the island engaged my imagination like little else at the park. They existed like a secret hideaway, behind the liminal space of the river. The raft rides across that river, to and from the island, felt real, unlike the track rides elsewhere in the park.

When I worked at Tom Sawyer Island, I confirmed that Disney’s cast members really were driving those free-floating, tiller-directed rafts. It took me more than a few shifts to get the hang of it, but driving a TSI raft became one of my all-time favorite jobs. For years I fantasized about maybe going back to my old TSI job after I retire, just to drive my beloved rafts again.

Related Articles

Disneyland spends $600,000 to replace Jungle Cruise animatronic tiger scene

Peter Pan ride at Disneyland to get makeover to remove insensitive stereotypes

Disney argues wrongful death suit should be tossed because plaintiff signed up for a Disney+ streaming service

See the Disneyland nighttime spectacular that almost happened in 1987

7 new Disneyland attractions and when they will open

At least for now, the island remains open at Disneyland and at Tokyo Disneyland, where it exists in the original form, without Anaheim’s Pirate overlay. Those islands remain great places for kids to explore and enjoy when crowds spill out of the queues for the big coasters and dark rides that surround them.

Theme parks need spaces like Tom Sawyer Island, the Enchanted Tiki Room and other play areas and theater shows where families can step away from the repetition of hourlong waits followed by four-minute thrill rides. Some enthusiasts can go that way that all day, but many families and casual fans need the break that “mediocre” attractions provide.

Disney’s new Cars rides likely will be hits, but I also suspect that I won’t be the only Walt Disney World fan to miss the charm and respite of Tom Sawyer Island when it is gone.