‘Splash Mountain’ Character Surprises Guest on Tom Sawyer Island After Closure

When it comes to Disney Park wildlife, Walt Disney World Resort Guests’ minds immediately turn to alligators and other reptiles. However, furrier wildlife like bears and coyotes have also been spotted in the Disney Resorts and Disney Parks, and these wildlife sightings are not restricted to Disney World and its Florida habitat!

A Disneyland Guest and Reddit user has just shared their experience with a more reclusive creature on Tom Sawyer Island: an opossum. Opossums, or “possums,” are unfairly seen by many misinformed people as unseemly and potentially-aggressive animals.

An Unfair Reputation

Opossums are actually nocturnal and shy, much like the incorrectly-maligned fishers or fisher cats are, and they will not bother you unless you bother them.

Some people also find these marsupials’ tails and angular faces to be unsettling, while others think that they are adorable.

Finally visited Tom Sawyer Island after thirty years of DL, met this little guy.
byu/LABeav inDisneyland

Evicted From Critter Country?

The image shown above of “this little guy” has elicited varying reactions from Reddit users.

Some found the opossum to be “a little cutie,” while others joked about possums’ eviction from Critter Country after the closure of the classic Splash Mountain ride.

“Say ‘How do you Do?’ and see if he replies,” one person joked, since that line was an iconic part of Br’er Rabbit’s adventures on Splash Mountain.

Nature Finds a Way

Even though a theme park might sound like an odd location for wild animals like opossums, a location like Tom Sawyer Island is a prime habitat for some species — especially since Disney makes an effort to keep its forested or rural areas clean and safe!

Would you greet this marsupial with a “how do you do” on your Disneyland vacation — while maintaining a polite distance and leaving it alone otherwise, of course?