For a stress-free Disney or Universal Studios vacation, let the FREE expert planners at Royal Carriage Vacations take care of every detail including dining reservations, applying discounts, and onboard cruise credit.
You may have read that Tom Sawyer Island was evacuated at Magic Kingdom due to reports that a man was seen carrying a hatchet at the attraction. Kenny the Pirate has exclusive confirmation of what exactly happened. Get the entire story below!
In case you missed it
Late yesterday afternoon, we broke the news about a potentially dangerous situation that had occurred in the Magic Kingdom over Labor Day weekend.
Reports showed that at approximately 5:40 pm yesterday, September 4, a man was seen in camouflage and carrying a hatchet around Tom Sawyer Island. Guests notified Cast Members, and security personnel were also called to the area.
According to the forum on DisBoards, the man was reportedly singing/humming songs from the Country Bear Jamboree attraction.
At the time, details were still murky as it was a breaking news/ongoing story situation. However, we have exclusive confirmation from a trusted source of what happened. Where did the hatchet come from? Was he found and/or arrested? What were his intentions?
Exclusive Confirmation
Our source tells us the man was actually a young adult – either 17 or 18 years old. He was with his mother, but she was not on the island with him.
If you have never been on Tom Sawyer Island, it is located in Frontierland but you have to board a log raft to get there.
The man stole the hatchet that is used as a prop decoration for the Tom Sawyer Island queue. It is probably safe to say we will never see that again.
He also stole a lamp and a few other props and laid them all around the island. The Guest then went through the cave on the island scaring people “like Halloween Horror Nights” at Universal Orlando.
He went through the cave scaring people as if it were Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando.
Guests began to notify Cast Members who then notified security. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office also received a call about the incident shortly before 6 pm and arrived on the scene. They arrested him with trespassing, among other charges.
It’s probably safe to say he is getting banned from Disney World although we do not have confirmation of that.
Closure
Because the incident occurred shortly before Tom Sawyer Island’s posted closing time (6 pm), once Guests were evacuated the attraction remained closed the rest of the night.
We are unsure if the attraction is reopening today, but we will assume it is.
Were you witness to the incident that took place at Tom Sawyer Island? Share your experience and story with us on Facebook or in the comments below. You can also share them with us in our KtP Crew.
Share the love!
Jewels
Monday 6th of September 2021
Sorry but more security will do nothing but actually stop people from coming and putting up fences so that people can't get off will just take away from the experience all together. Disney does a great job. Teens will always find a way of getting into trouble no matter the amount of security you got. What they should do is post big signs at entrance to park that states that they will press charges on anyone that causes any type of trouble in the park and will never be able to enter the park again.
Linda Wolf
Monday 6th of September 2021
He probably had a camera filming this. I blame parents who are more interested in filming than disciplining. You tube, tik-tok, facebook... they all have videos of "pranks" it's gotta stop..put your phones down and parent
Tracy
Monday 6th of September 2021
I can't tell you how many times they stole the poison apple in Snow White's dark Ride at Disneyland... But there is no way that additional cameras and guards are going to stop people from trying to get something... What the kid needs to understand is the spirit of Disney and truly understand that it is an entirely different experience from a Universal Park with Universal studios methods of entertainment... Along with a good dose of some manners and etiquette of course.
Dave
Sunday 5th of September 2021
Jayne I have kids too and understand your concern. However, I don't think we need guards on every ride. The presence of guards everywhere, I believe will scare people even more. Security measures to eliminate props for patrons to gain access to and beefing up check in security scans is less invasive and allows for a more enjoyable experience. Making rides more secure by preventing people from getting off or wandering during the experience, will work fine. Smart and invisible security is the goal, not more lock down in person control.
Justin Newsome
Sunday 5th of September 2021
Did you even read the article? 10,000 guards wouldn't have prevented this. There's zero chance this stops people from coming if even Covid doesn't. Nice virtue-signal, though. 9/10.