As crowds dry up, water park closes

orlpassholder

orlpassholder

New Member
Original Poster
From this mornings OrlandoSentinel

By Robert Johnson and Todd Pack
Sentinel Staff Writers

April 8, 2002

Walt Disney World's first water park, River Country, has closed and may not reopen.

Opening in 1976, River Country has fallen in popularity behind Disney's newer water parks, Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach, which opened in 1988 and 1995, respectively.

Blizzard Beach, with attendance of 1.8 million in 2001, and Typhoon Lagoon, 1.6 million, were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 among the world's top water parks last year, according to estimates by Amusement Business magazine. River Country didn't make the Top 15 rankings.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/tourism/orl-cfbtourism08040802apr08.story

Disney World spokesman Bill Warren said that River Country could be reopened if "there's enough guest demand."

Dinosaur ride is tame

Disney World's Animal Kingdom has opened a new ride that is tamer than a thriller coaster but with more action than, say, the slow-moving boats of It's a Small World.

The new attraction, Primeval Whirl, is a coaster all right, but it reaches a top speed of only about 25 miles mph. Primeval Whirl has 13 cars on two tracks that navigate through flying asteroids and -- in the words of Disney's press release -- "corny depictions of dinosaurs that spin and pop up along the track."

Guests must be at least 4 feet tall to board the ride.
 
A

Al

Well-Known Member
Originally posted by ImaginationHost
If not, the least they could do would be to make it into a pool area for Fort Wilderness...


Just my reflection on it...
Click to expand...

if they did do that then i reckon that it would cost more to stay at fort wilderness.
 
A

Al

Well-Known Member
Originally posted by ImaginationHost
Good point...

I guess I could live with a small rate hike...but not too much...

ImaginationHost
Click to expand...

yes, i think it would have to be quite a lot, because not all the guests would visit the pool, and not spend money there - but they still have to maintain the pool :)
 
bearboysnc

bearboysnc

Well-Known Member
quote "The new attraction, Primeval Whirl, is a coaster all right, but it reaches a top speed of only about 25 miles mph. Primeval Whirl has 13 cars on two tracks that navigate through flying asteroids"

Primevil Whirl has 2 tracks?
 
Pioneer Hall

Pioneer Hall

Well-Known Member
If they do make it a swim area...they will probably make it like the other swim areas. They will keep one slide open and the pool. Nothing else will remain. And if they do make it a pool area and keep the stuff open expect FW prices to go sky high.
 
prberk

prberk

Well-Known Member
Sigh

Once again, it looks like WDW is closing or de-emphasizing the slower-paced attractions like River Country (and COP and Discovery Island and ...). I know that the "bigger, faster, higher" attractions always attract more crowds, but they also attract more ROWDY crowds, which in turn crowds OUT the people who used to enjoy some of the slower-pace parts that make this place a RESORT and not just a place for older kids and teenagers. Families with young children, as well as older people who like a slower pace are constantly being pushed out.

I just know that if I visited a water park I would be more interested in the laid-back "ole swimmin' hole." I also think that the Tom Sawyer kind of feel was nice for parts of WDW. Everything does not have to be flashy.

As for crowds, I do think that River Country for a long time was not emphasized in ads; and it is hard to find if you are not a FW guest. I think part of the problem is just as simple as guests not really knowing about it as an option, especially as much as they know about the other two; and that it is harder to get to. I would just tweak that a little bit and advertise it better on property and in the promo videos (not really an expensive proposition).

And finally... I have said before that really think that WDW, and especially EPCOT, could stand having a live show broadcast weekly or daily. In such a show, places such as RC could be featured as backdrops (free advertising also) every so often. Walt did it and it made Disneyland the national attraction that it is today. RC and all of WDW could benefit. It think it is just one example of how the company is a little out of focus these days, and doesn't fully utilizet what they have. RC and other things pay the price.
 
ToTBellHop

ToTBellHop

Well-Known Member
You have to realize, when disney does promos, as when Walt did them, they are trying to get more people to visit the resort--I don't honestly see more people visiting the resort if they learn about River Country. In any business-person's mind, a quiet, relaxing place is not good--not enough people visiting. I think this water park has been on the way out for a few years now--they were continually reducing its season. As with any other attraction, if an attraction does not see enough guests to make it worth keeping open (i.e. to pay to run it), then it is no longer a good idea to keep it open--it actually allows for us to see better attractions in the future. In order for River Country to ever do well, they would have to pick it up and drop it by say...Port Orleans Riverside...where it would also fit in, but be more guest-accessible. Disney will simply not do this--it's cheaper and they will make more profit in the long run with a bigger, new park. Simply put, they want more guests here but it's too small to support many more--it'd be like running the Tower of Terror with one elevator instead of four.
 
prberk

prberk

Well-Known Member
Rest and relaxation

I still think that WDW has more than enough room for slower-paced places that make it truly a resort. (Think of the golf courses and Fort Wilderness itself.) Those were the things I looked forward to the most, that differentiated WDW from the rest of the thrill-a-minute amusement industry.

For River Country, I think it just was not easily accessible or well-advertised.

Remember: Walt's original plan was for the "Vacation Kingdom" around Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon to more-or-less subsidize the humanitarian endeavors at EPCOT and the wildlife conservation that he intended for the rest of the land...

I don't expect bankruptcy; just a little balance in the aggressive approach to entertainment, so that the resort can actually appeal to the whole family and actually fulfill some greater sense of Walt's dream.
 
RogueHabit

RogueHabit

Well-Known Member
Originally posted by orlpassholder
The new attraction, Primeval Whirl, is a coaster all right, but it reaches a top speed of only about 25 miles mph.
Click to expand...
Space mountain doesn't go much faster, does it?
 
Buzz Lightyear

Buzz Lightyear

Member
BTW, RC has been removed from the WDW official site. It is no longer listed under water parks. And they removed it's heading from the park hours page, and replaced it with Downtown Disney.
 
orlandoparks

orlandoparks

New Member
Originally posted by Buzz Lightyear
BTW, RC has been removed from the WDW official site. It is no longer listed under water parks. And they removed it's heading from the park hours page, and replaced it with Downtown Disney.
Click to expand...

I think we all know what that means.:(
 
Tink

Tink

New Member
Originally posted by ImaginationHost
If not, the least they could do would be to make it into a pool area for Fort Wilderness...


Just my reflection on it...
Click to expand...

I know I have been to a huge pool at Fort Wilderness. It wasn't fancy or anything (just a big old pool) but it was open all night, which was nice. Does it count as a "pool area"?
 
D

djmatthews

Well-Known Member
BTW, RC has been removed from the WDW official site. It is no longer listed under water parks. And they removed it's heading from the park hours page, and replaced it with Downtown Disney.
Click to expand...

But if you look on the maps download page... its still there!
 

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