New Pirates themed island at Disneyland

LOS ANGELES, May 26 (UPI) -- Disneyland's Tom Sawyer Island in California has been overrun by pirates.

The family oriented tourist park opened the renovated attraction with a "Pirates of the Caribbean" theme to coincide with the release of the newest installment in the film series.

Thousands of visitors had already hunted for treasure on the old Tom Sawyer Island after it re-opened Friday, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The island comes complete with ghostly apparitions, mysterious voices, skeletons, and lots of working features such as water-shooting pumps and pulleys to lift treasure chests.

"We still have the original rope bridge that's been there 50 years," said Chris Runco, who has been a Disneyland designer for about 34 years. "So with the new things we've added it's got a lot to offer, both old and new."

The idea for the Pirate's Lair came out about a year ago and Disneyland executives decided to debut it the same weekend as "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End."

The pirate-themed island even has staff members dressed like pirates attempting to recruit visitors on their quest for hidden treasure.