Tom Sawyer Would Have Loved Pirate's Lair

In Mark Twain's classic book, Tom Sawyer loved nothing quite so much as a ghastly, bloody, violent pirate tale. He would have adored Disneyland's Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island. Look at the photos above and below, which show a couple of the island activities: turn a capstan or man a pump and skeletons are revealed -- now, that's interactive fun a kid can love.

I have great memories of good times romping around the original version of Disneyland's Tom Sawyer Island as a child. As I got older, I enjoyed getting a lemonade at Fort Wilderness and settling onto a rocky outcropping behind the fort to just relax and watch the Mark Twain pass by. It was a great place...

And it still is. When this much care and attention to detail goes into a makeover, how could I complain? Plus, the spooky new show scenes inside Dead Man's Grotto are worth the trip to the island. I have to admit, if my younger self had a choice between old Tom Sawyer Island and the Pirate's Lair version...I would've picked the pirates in a Davy Jones heartbeat.

What if....Disney Infinity Extended Into the Parks?

Yesterday, Disney announced its big plunge into the collectible-toys-come-to-life-in-a-video-game genre (which the smash hit Skylanders had all to itself up until now). Starting this June, Disney Infinity hits store shelves, offering an expandable video game world which players enter via collectible Disney character figures.

That's real.

This next bit is pure speculation: What if the Infinity Experience extended out into the parks as part of the upcoming Next Gen additions?