is the swiss family tree house and tom robinson island worth doing?

[julieannbabe]

i haven't done either of these two attractions ar MK - i will be my own.

Are they worth doing? Or is Tom Robinson island mainly for children?

The Swiss family house looks interesting - although i have read there is alot of climbing!

thanks,

xjx

 

[MickeyNicki]

Not really, it is just a waste of time

 

[GeorgiaAristocat]

I would say Swiss Family is something to kill a little time if you're waiting to do something else (like Tiki Room or Bear Jamboree or Jungle Cruise, which are all reasonably close), but only if it is not a busy time of the year. It is one of those attractions that has you going single-file through, with fairly narrow walkways and few places to pass others, so if you get stuck behind someone that wants to spend a lot of time looking at something, you may not make it out as fast as you would like. It is only mildly interesting to an adult. (Well, except for those of us that have strong nostalgia about it, like me, as it is one of the few memories I have of my first trip to WDW in 1976.)

I have not been to Tom SAWYER'S island - but I think it is more of a place for kids to run off some energy.

 

[rie'smom]

I think Swiss Family Tree house is worth seeing especially if the kids know the story.
It shows how clever people can overcome adversity.

 

[Allison]

My kids like Tom Sawyer (not Robinson) island. It's a nice break.

 

[dreamscometrue47]

DS 12 and I did Swiss Family Tree house for the first time last week. yes, it is a lot of stairs, but we were the only ones climbing at the time so we could take breaks without aggravating anyone behind us. DS has read the book so he knew the story behind the tree. We both found it a lot of fun, but not something we would have taken the time to see if we were there at a busier time of year.

At least now we can say we did it!

As for Tom Sawyer's island, this is a welcome rest place for parents if you have kids that just need to run off some energy. we visited this when the kids were little, but now that they are 16 and 12, we skip it.

 

[Spartan]

Tom Sawyer island takes a little more time since you have to take the little boat ride over (crammed in like sardines if it's crowded).

The treehous does indeed have a lot of stair climbing, but never seems crowded any time we've done it. Plus it only takes a couple of minutes, even if you do stop. My parents went with us for the first time last trip, and my dad really enjoyed it. It's very nostalgic.

 

[LadyDulcinea1]

I'm one who says you should always try every attraction at WDW at least once!

 

[airtime]

TSI is a great place to get a little shade and rest. When our kids were younger (dd16, dd14, ds13), this was a common strategy for us to give them a chance to run around.

SFT is interesting to see once, but that's probably it. Be ready to do a lot of stairs.

Tim, who thinks you should try put everything in the Disney theme parks at least once , but understands if your time is limited that you want to hit the highlights.

 

[goofydad621]

just about everytime, as someone else mentioned it is a nostalga thing for me plus when I was young(that was either yesterday or along time ago) I always dreamed of living in a tree house like theirs.

Last Jan 05 took my 7yr old DD to Tom Sawyers island and she is still talking about it. We had a good time, mom got a 1/2 day at the spa and me and my princess hit a few things in the MK.

Do them both at least once, read the books first or see the movies. That may make them more interesting to you.

JMOHO

Dave

 

[cleo]

TSI was a godsend for our 3 boys (7, 9 and 13). It's a fabulous place to let loose, which is a rare blessing at the theme parks, especially in a more 'natural' environment. We all felt a lot better after spending an hour or so there; sort of cleared our heads of all the 'input'.

Swiss Family was of less interest, though if you have the time it's a good diversion. Our boys know the story but there just wasn't enough for them to 'do'. If they had been able to make some of the inventions 'work' it might have been more interesting to them.

 

[Sylvester McBean]

I thought there was talk of retheming the swiss family treehouse. it needs something. tom sawyer's island is worth doing. go to the fort and shoot the guns at the trains on big thunder mountain.

 

[DisneyJen0504]

We skip the Tom Sawyer island but we always do the treehouse. Somewhat a tradition when at MK.

 

[S. C.]

I'm one who says you should always try every attraction at WDW at least once!

ITA

We have done both and once was enough. We go to disney in the summer and didn't think either one was worth the long wait times.

 

[Eeyoreluver]

We have done the Swiss Family Tree House everytime. The island we have done once. Or rather my family has done the island once and still do the tree house. Now, that I can't walk as well, I haven't done the island. I am so glad I did the Tree house before. I enjoyed the tree house, but I loved the movie too.
So, I say do both at least once and see what you think.

 

[JulielovesDisney]

Swiss Family Treehouse is nice. If you get a break in the branches and leaves, you get a great view of Magic Kingdom. I've done it a few time before, but we usually just skip it and head over to Pirates of the Caribbean.

Tom Sawyer Island is a nice break from the crowds if it's not too hot. There are scary caves to explore, and a very fun barrel bridge. (Do a little hop, and watch everybody lurch forward )

Both a nice unless you have limited time to do stuff, then I'd say skip them.

 

[lorli]

We try to avoid it and so far we have been successful. But as dd (5) gets older we may not be so lucky.

 

[Hanover]

We try and hit them both once on each trip. Our boys really like Tom Sawyer Island and looking for hidden paint brushes. They also like the caves and fort.

We were there 1/11 to 1/17 and made it to Tom Sawyer Island just before the 3PM parade. We could actually see it quite well over near Aunt Polly's and it was nice not having a huge crowd around us, not having to stake out seats early and not having hands waving across our camera lense in all our pictures. I got some of the best pictures I've ever taken of parades that day (with a long Nikon lense)

 

[dgaston]

My older kids still love Tom Sawyer's Island, mostly for hiding in the cave and trying to surprise one another. They also like the barrel bridge, and love to jump on it, trying to get me (mom) to squeal. Of course, these are the same adult children who tricked their Uncle Dwight into Beverly at the Coke station in Epcot. Where did I go wrong? LOL

 

[spoon full of sugar]

Who is Tom Robinson? Is there actually a childrens book out there I haven't read? If you have read the books you will probably enjoy these, if not? Tom Sawyer island is my ds's (almost 12) favorite thing in all of WDW, not just MK, but his fav in all the parks, but we're a bit odd . If you go to Tom's island try to be the first ones over, if you find a paint brush you get a free pass to SM or BTMRR. Also, make sure you go to the far side of the island and explore the fort, it's really cool and you can shoot at stuff on BTMRR.