Aerial View of Tom Sawyer Island and Rivers of America Demolition at Magic Kingdom

Aerial Photos Reveal Complete Demolition of Tom Sawyer Island Structures at Magic Kingdom

It’s the end of an era on the Rivers of America — and thanks to incredible new aerial photos from the one and only @bioreconstruct, we now have our clearest look yet at just how far demolition has progressed on Tom Sawyer Island at Magic Kingdom. Spoiler alert: every single building is gone.

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Once home to rustic cabins, winding caves, and the beloved Potters’ Mill, the entire island complex now looks like a bare construction site as Disney clears the way for the park’s largest expansion ever. From above, you can see the southern island (traditionally known as Tom Sawyer Island) stripped of every structure, while the northern island — home to the former Fort Langhorn — has been completely leveled as well. Even some of the island’s signature cave systems have started to crumble under the excavators’ reach.

According to Disney, the decision to redevelop the Rivers of America area came from a desire to revitalize what they described as an “underutilized space.” The result? Two massive new lands — one themed to Pixar’s Cars franchise called Piston Peak National Park, and another darkly delightful Villains Land that will stretch toward the former Fort Langhorn site.

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The new aerials by Bioreconstruct show the cleared footprint that will one day host Lightning McQueen’s scenic stomping grounds, likely filled with pine forests, red rock cliffs, and roaring engines instead of rowboats and wooden bridges. Potters’ Mill — once the most recognizable structure on the island — is now completely gone, leaving nothing but dirt trails and construction access roads in its place.

While it’s bittersweet for longtime fans of the classic Mark Twain-inspired attraction, the transformation promises to bring some serious horsepower to Frontierland’s future. Between Piston Peak’s national park aesthetic and the gothic grandeur teased for Villains Land, this corner of Magic Kingdom could soon become one of the most immersive and varied expansions in park history.

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