The Real Tom Sawyer

Long before the pirates established a lair on Tom Sawyer Island, guests could meet Tom Sawyer himself there. Tom Nabbe was perhaps the youngest person ever to be employed at Disneyland. He started work in July 1955 at the age of 12, hawking The Disneyland News (written by none other than Marty Sklar) at the front of the park. From the moment he learned that Tom Sawyer Island was coming to Frontierland, Tom took every opportunity he could to ask Walt Disney for the job.

Tom Nabbe became Disneyland's Tom Sawyer in 1956, holding the job until he no longer looked the part. Nabbe later went on to be a ride operator and supervisor at the park. He moved to Florida in 1971, joining the opening team of the Walt Disney World Resort as manager of monorail transportation. Tom retired in 2003 as head of Walt Disney World Distribution Services.

Today, there's a window dedicated to Tom on Main Street at the Magic Kingdom. Located just above the cinema, it reads, "Sawyer Fence Painting - Tom Nabbe, Proprietor" in tribute to his unique role in Disney history.

Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirate's Lair for Me

Across the river from Frontierland and New Orleans Square is the Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island. The original Tom Sawyer Island attraction opened at Disneyland in 1956. More than fifty years later, in 2007, elements from the Pirates of the Caribbean film series were added to the island, providing an extra layer of storytelling and interest.

Many of the classic pleasures of Tom Sawyer Island, from the walking paths and caves to the barrel bridge and Tom and Huck's treehouse, can still be found here. Explorers can also now discover hidden pirate strongholds, elusive chests of treasure and other signs of the island's checkered past.

Direct references to the Pirates films and characters can also be found. Look for the diary of Elizabeth Swann in the caves of Dead Man's Grotto and the name William Turner, attributed to the blacksmith's workshop where swords are being forged.

From time to time, guests here have claimed to spot a pirate or two still lurking about... even the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow himself!

Some have been heard to question, however, what all this pirate business has to do with Tom Sawyer Island. Well, it's perhaps not too far fetched that pirates seeking refuge from the Caribbean could have found their way up river a bit to Tom Sawyer's Mississippi. After all, piracy frequently figured into the childhood fantasies of Sawyer and his pals.

For evidence, dig into the works of Mark Twain... or simply look no further than the news clipping from the St. Petersburg Journal, posted alongside the fliers and advertisements on the River Notices board at the shoreline.

It recounts the tale (straight from the book) of the boys from town who were lost and presumed dead, only to show up at their own funeral with tales of their pirate adventures on a nearby island known to be frequented by smugglers and other such rabble.

Names & Places

Tom Sawyer Island in the Magic Kingdom is a kid's paradise. Take a raft across the Rivers of America, and step back in time to Mark Twain's Missouri of the 1800s. In fact, most of the locations on the island, from Aunt Polly's to Injun Joe's Cave, take their name and inspiration directly from Twain's classic novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

The fort out on the back island, Fort Langhorn, actually takes its name from Mark Twain himself. "Mark Twain" was the pen name used by the author Samuel Langhorne Clemens.

The references aren't exclusively tied to the island, either. Take a closer look at the crates sitting on this dock across the river:

The labels mention S.L. Clemens, Hannibal, Missouri and "Doc" Robinson, a character from Twain's books.

There's one other reference here that doesn't come from literature. Harper's Mill on the island is a nod to Imagineering Art Director Harper Goff, best known for his designs of the Jungle Cruise, Main Street and the Nautilus from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.