Tom Sawyer Island is in Missouri

[snopes]

Comment: I've seen this posted a few places but can't confirm it's
validity:

"When Tom Sawyers Island was opened up Walt Disney made an agreement with
the state of Missouri to annex it to them. Yes, it's true. When you step
onto the Island you are no longer in CA.

Tom Sawyers Island has it's own Missouri Zip Code. This is why they do not
sell things on Tom Sawyers Island. If they did so, they would have to
charge a different amount of tax then the rest of the Park. Plus the book
keeping would get crazy.

Should a crime be committed on Tom Sawyers Island it becomes a Federal
Crime due to the crossing of State lines to get there."

True or false?

[snopes]

When Tom Sawyers Island was opened up Walt Disney made an agreement with the state of Missouri to annex it to them.

The obvious question would be: Why?

[htonl]

The other obvious question is: How would they get the California legislature to agree to something like that? You can't just excise property from one state and give it to another without both states' consent.

[firefighter_raven]

Best answer I've found looking through various links.
http://disneylandinsideout.com/forum...eyland-part-ii

Hoggiem
7/18/2013 6:25:16 AM
Apparently this was kind of a joke. This entry is from the Missouri state department. On the opening day for Tom Sawyer Island, there was an “old fashioned fish fry with catfish flown specially from Missouri…Attending as honored guests of Disneyland were two Hannibal, Missouri youngsters, Chris Winkler and Perva Lou Smith, modern day Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher. Chris and Perva Lou read a proclamation from the Governor of Missouri that officially annexed the Island to the state of Missouri. Following the ceremony the invited guests journeyed back across the river for a catfish luncheon at the Plantation House and the Island was declared open to the public.” (from the Disneyland News)One die-hard fan researched the “proclamation” mentioned in the Disneyland News and received this reply:We have checked a few sources and found nothing stating that Tom Sawyer’s Island in Disneyland is part of Missouri. We checked Governor Donnelly’s proclamations for the whole of 1956. The only thing we found that was even remotely related was passed on July 6, 1956 and declared August 12-18, 1956 to be “Tom Sawyer Week.”Next, we checked the Missouri House and Senate Journals to see if perhaps a resolution was passed. There was nothing we found in the indices. In fact, the legislature only met for two months in 1956: February 27 through April 27 in a special session. (At that point, the legislature met every other year.) Just to be sure, we checked the 1955 and 1957 regular sessions but also found nothing.Finally, we checked for an executive order and there was none.Thanks for your interest in the Archives and best of luck with your research.Sincerely,Reference StaffMissouri State Archives

There is also no listing anywhere for what this Missouri zip code is. There is a California, Missouri (with 2 zip codes).

[E. Q. Taft]

Also, I can remember when they *did* sell things on Tom Sawyer's Island. They had a snack bar in Fort Wilderness. I fondly recall their apple juice.