The famous “Tom (hearts) Becky” painted fence is now gone from Tom Sawyer Island at Magic Kingdom.
Tom Sawyer Island Demolition
The iconic fence was defaced just days before Tom Sawyer Island permanently closed. It was next to Aunt Polly’s, facing Riverboat Landing. Parts of the fence remain, but the area containing “Tom (hearts) Becky” has been cut away.
A safety net is in its place, connecting the remaining pieces of the fence. The way crews have removed one specific section suggests Disney may be preserving that piece of fence. Perhaps it will end up with The Walt Disney Archives — but this is just speculation.
As for Aunt Polly’s, the former quick-service restaurant hasn’t been touched yet. But part of the adjacent pier’s railing was removed. There is red spray paint on a remaining piece of fence, maybe marking it for demolition.
For reference, above is a picture of Aunt Polly’s and the fence from July 9, a couple of days after the island’s closure, and a picture of the fence a few days before the closure. The fence was designed to make it look like Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer had given up halfway through painting it white and wrote their names (and Becky’s) instead.
Earlier this week, scrim and scaffolding were installed along the edge of The Haunted Mansion’s queue facing the Rivers of America. The scrim has been replaced by construction walls.
The walls extend along the length of the outdoor queue. Scaffolding sits on the shore below the queue. The Haunted Mansion operations are not affected by construction.
There are also now construction walls at Riverboat Landing. Immediately after Liberty Square Riverboat permanently closed, there were rolling planters in the structure. The construction walls are behind the planters, further preventing guests from sneaking through.
Construction walls now run from the Frontierland pier all the way through The Haunted Mansion queue. They don’t block construction from view, but do prevent guests from reaching the old riverboat docks.
As we previously reported, crews have started draining Rivers of America for construction. This is especially obvious when looking at walls and supports in the water. You can see a clear line where the waterline used to be.
The Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island will be replaced by a National Parks-inspired “Cars” expansion to Frontierland. The Frontierland railroad station is also temporarily closed due to construction.
Take a last look at Liberty Square Riverboat, Rivers of America, and Tom Sawyer Island.
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