Missing the last raft from Tom Sawyer Island...

[Sevenofeleven]

...So we could be wandering around the island and the fort on a leisurely stroll, and forget when to board the last raft from the island to the dock.

Do cast members go out and look for stragglers? Is there an audible message on a speaker for the last raft? If a tourist ignores the last raft warning are they stranded? Maybe there are security cameras on the island and they are monitored? There are so many places to search - all those caves and bushes and fort structures.

Just for laughs - if stranded - think of the overnight views you could have of the Magic Kingdom, including fireworks from a different perspective.. And if you are in the middle of a 7 day resort stay with a 5 day park pass with hopper - would it be illegal?

 

[DisneyJoe]

Cast Members walk the island and clear it from the back towards the front a few times before this could happen, and they do have security cameras.

 

[bunnyman]

The first thing that came to mind is the movie Frozen, and not the Disney one, but the one where some kids get stranded on a ski lift after the resort closed for the day...

 

[Minnie Mum]

...So we could be wandering around the island and the fort on a leisurely stroll, and forget when to board the last raft from the island to the dock.

Do cast members go out and look for stragglers? Is there an audible message on a speaker for the last raft? If a tourist ignores the last raft warning are they stranded? Maybe there are security cameras on the island and they are monitored? There are so many places to search - all those caves and bushes and fort structures.

Just for laughs - if stranded - think of the overnight views you could have of the Magic Kingdom, including fireworks from a different perspective.. And if you are in the middle of a 7 day resort stay with a 5 day park pass with hopper - would it be illegal?

As Disney Joe said, the CMs do more than I sweep for stragglers. And yes, there are security cameras, so forget trying to hide. And yes, hiding out and trying to stay overnight, after the park has closed, would be illegal. Plus, after hours all the lights come on and the maintenance and supply folks start doing their work. The consequences, once you were caught, would be memorable, but not in a magical way.

 

[bearprn]

Hey this would be great upcharge experience- camp overnight on the island followed by a campfire breakfast and here is the clincher a jumpstart on the rope drop folks all for the bargain basement price of ???

 

[The Empress Lilly]

They found me at 5:15pm. I wasn't trying to overstay, just lost track of time. I did get a raft all to myself! Well me and my guards.

 

[ABQ]

Some kid hid on the island on purpose. Later on that night he tried to swim back across but drowned.

That was Disneyland, but still, it did happen.

 

[crxbrett]

Another person also died in the river at DL in 1984 when he and his friend, heavily intoxicated, stole a maintenance boat and struck a rock alongside the island. One of them was knocked overboard and drowned.

Regarding the two boys that were hiding on the island after it closed, that story always saddens me because the river is only 50 ft (most narrow section) - 110 ft (widest section) across and literally 3-4 feet deep except for the very middle where it's about 5-6 feet deep. Unfortunately, the older brother was obviously not a strong swimmer and lost his life trying to help his younger brother.

 

[smile]

As Disney Joe said, the CMs do more than I sweep for stragglers.

high V!

 

[Walt Disney1955]

I've always wondered about that kid that died swimming back across the island. He's 18, his brother who can't swim is 10. That's not a terribly far swim, I am not saying it is easy to carry a 10 year old with you, but there could have been so many ways to do it. Back float with him holding onto your foot, front stroke with him holding on, etc.

 

[Tick Tock]

I am not saying it is easy to carry a 10 year old with you, but there could have been so many ways to do it. Back float with him holding onto your foot, front stroke with him holding on, etc.

Or even the easiest method: Getting off the island when it's time to get off the island.

 

[Walt Disney1955]

And the deepest part of the water is only 5-6 feet deep.

The younger kid couldn't swim but somehow was able to doggy paddle till he was rescued after his older brother drowned. If the younger kid who didn't know how to swim survived by doggy paddling then how did the older brother who could swim drown.

It just seems like something to the story is missing.

I guarantee something is definitely missing. None of it has ever made sense to me. Even a person who knows how to swim that gets a leg cramp would be able to figure it out.

 

[crxbrett]

I guarantee something is definitely missing. None of it has ever made sense to me. Even a person who knows how to swim that gets a leg cramp would be able to figure it out.

Yeah, I agree it seems almost impossible. But who knows, maybe the older brother was a god-awful swimmer? Maybe he panicked and didn't actually even know how to swim himself? Or maybe he was not an experienced swimmer and freaked out once he got in the water and froze up (not physically, but mentally). It is sad, horribly tragic and at the same time somewhat odd that the older brother, who tried to save his brother who supposedly couldn't swim, ended up being the one who died while attempting to make a 50-100 foot swim in only 3-6 ft deep of water.