Discovery Island/River Country Picture Update

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Stormhammer22

New Member
Original Poster
Hey everyone. I was just at WDW from 8/08/04 - 8/15/04 (Yes, I did get caught up in the Hurricane but I will tell all in my trip report soon). I caught these pictures of the dock for the old Discovery Island and a few pics from the deserted River Country. Please excuse the image quality but they were taken from a moving boat. If the pics don't show up, try going directly to the URL.

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This is the old boat dock for Discovery Island. I wonder if anything is left over there now??


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Here are three pics from the deserted River Country. It's sad to see the place empty and unused, but I wouldn't want to see any WDW visitor get sick from bacteria in the water. Trust me, my sister ended up getting sick for a week due to a visit to River Country so I know what WDW officials are talking about. Still, sad to see any Disney park/water park/property/resort being unused. :cry:
 
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Blizz

New Member
Haha, thats funny. Disney didn't close it because it made people sick. It was closed because it was a major waste of money. After Blizzard Beach opened almost no one visited River County, i think the only visitors left were newbies to WDW and diehard fans like those here on the boards.

But fear not, River Country like any good graveyard has caretakers who maintain the grounds so that it doesnt end up looking overgrown (well to an extent) like Discovery Island. I have also seen CM's planting/watering flowers on the Ft. Wilderness side of River Country near the old ticket window.

I hear that Discover Island still gets visited every now and then and that the main buildings on the island still exist but I'd hate to see how many bugs no reside in those buildings. I have tried to "dock" close to the island near the old dock on a pontoon boat to get a close up look but its just to overgrown to really see anything. Sadly the only islands out on Bay Lake/Seven Seas Lagoon that get any care are those that are used for lighting/audio/pyrotechnical equipment.
 
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DarkMeasures

New Member
Blizz said:
Haha, thats funny. Disney didn't close it because it made people sick. It was closed because it was a major waste of money. After Blizzard Beach opened almost no one visited River County, i think the only visitors left were newbies to WDW and diehard fans like those here on the boards.
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What are you talking about? River country was always crowded and had good attendance. I did wish though that it became a private pool for Fort Wilderness guests only.
 
donaldduck1967

donaldduck1967

Member
I copied a url and this is the msg I get from geocities

"The web site you are trying to access has exceeded its allocated data transfer. Visit our help area for more information."
 
DisneyWood

DisneyWood

New Member
River Country Photos

I can't see them either. River Country was a great water park. I remember going there in the late 70's and having a ball. I really wish they would spend the money that it will take to clean up the bacteria problem and re-open this park.

Did it close due to attendance problems or bacteria problems? I have seen both reasons posted. We are staying at Fort Wilderness this fall and it would have been so convenient if this park was still opened. Which water park should I go to with my 2 year old? Our family has never gone to a water park (besides RC) b/c we just swim at the hotel pool. But from what I understand, the Fort Wilderness pool is boring. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
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Blizz

New Member
It will not be reopening anytime in the near future. That I would bet good money on! And as far as a pool for Ft. Wilderness... well I just have to laugh about that, because that would be the most expensive pool to operate on property.

The park was almost never occupied in the winter, this was because the water was so cold! It was not that it never had people in it, it was just more money that Disney did not see was needed. And i dont think i ever saw a day when River Country was closed due to attendence, yet Blizzard Beach hits its limit tons of times each year. So when cutbacks came, River Country went. I loved the park to, but I agree with Disney, River Country just was not on par with the other two water parks. In today's amusment business, people want thrills, and river country lacked them. So rather then taking funds away from lets say maintaining Blizzard Beach, they closed River Country.

Im not anti-River Country or anything, heck it was the first thing I wanted to visit at Disney World when i was little cause it looked so cool in all the Disney World videos. But you have to think about it like Disney Managment; It was a major waste of money for disney.
 
DisneyWood

DisneyWood

New Member
Pool for Fort Wilderness?

Blizz: I think you misunderstood me. I didn't think that they would reopen RC and make it the pool for Fort Wilderness. That would be an excellent idea though. I just mentioned it is easily accessible for the guest staying at Fort Wilderness and since their pool was boring, they may want to go to RC instead.

This is the first time for our family to stay at Fort Wilderness. We are looking forward to it.

Are they going to post the pictures again, so we can see them?
 
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Blizz

New Member
DisneyWood said:
Blizz: I think you misunderstood me. I didn't think that they would reopen RC and make it the pool for Fort Wilderness. That would be an excellent idea though. I just mentioned it is easily accessible for the guest staying at Fort Wilderness and since their pool was boring, they may want to go to RC instead.

This is the first time for our family to stay at Fort Wilderness. We are looking forward to it.

Are they going to post the pictures again, so we can see them?
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I know what you mean, i was mearly stating my thoughts. Sorry if you mistook it, i guess it could be taken two ways.

But I agree it would be one awesome pool if it was for Ft. Wilderness.

Ft. Wilderness is nice, make sure to get a bike and ride the trail to the Wilderness Lodge in the morning. Its a really nice ride!

While there make sure to walk over to River Country's old main gate, you can kinda see part of whats left.
 
mwitkus

mwitkus

New Member
Admittedly, I may be mistaken, but I am fairly certain that River Country was closed due to the bacteria in the water. Unlike the other water parks, RC's water came from the (is it the 7 Seas Lagoon? I always forget) and was filtered or recycled for use in the parks. Unfortunatley, the bacteria was not being cleaned out, people were at risk of becoming ill and the park had to be shut down. This is the same reason why nobody is able to swim in the lagoon.

I know my husband read this somewhere in his recent research on WDW. (He's a bit more obsessed than I am with the background info.) It was in a book that he read and I specifically recall him pointing it out to me because we rented a boat during our last visit and were looking at it, feeling a bit sad that it was no longer in operation. Until he read this bit in the book, we had been under the impression it was a financial cutback as well.
 
MGMBoy

MGMBoy

Well-Known Member
I'll dig up some of my pictures for you guys. When I was there in February the gate was up so we walked around the River Country area (where there weren't construction walls) and I got some great pictures over the wall. Also, regarding Discovery Island, it has made an amazing bird refuge. To truely get the effect, eat at the California Grill right around dusk and just watch the island. It turns white from all the birds who sleep over there. It's quite cool IMHO. Later.
 
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Blizz

New Member
I too know about the bacteria that exists in all Florida swamp water. The water for River Country was never really "filtered" all that well anyway, in the pool/lake where you came off the one tube ride you landed in lake water that flowed in and out through a rope fence that kept you from floating off into Bay Lake.

The bacteria might have been the nail in the coffin for River Country, but I am almost positive the reason was the waste of money.

Trust me, the bacteria was always there and long before it was closed people got sick. Money is always the underlying issue with disney!
 

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