Disney's River Country Water Park

[parmejm]

Hi everyone,

Just read in my national newspaper about Disney's River Country Water Park (DRCWP) and about a guy Seph Lawless who got photos from the abandoned park, but now has a lifetime ban!
Obviously he has trespassed the area, but surely a life-long ban?!

Have a look at the awesome pics he's taken.
CLICK HERE FOR THE ARTICLE

Does anyone know why the park closed in 2001?
Does anyone know why Seph Lawless has a life-long ban from WDW?
Does anyone know what WDW are hiding?

discuss

 

[Matt_Black]

Does anyone know why the park closed in 2001?

Numerous reasons, but mainly the amoeba thing and the post 9/11 travel slump are the big factors.

Does anyone know why Seph Lawless has a life-long ban from WDW?

He... broke the rules? That seems pretty obvious to me.

Does anyone know what WDW are hiding?

Way to sound nefarious. You ever have a room in your house that's just a mess? Basement, garage, spare room, whatever. You just throw crap in there out of the way. You keep meaning to clean it up, but stuff comes up, or you had a long day at work, or whatever, you don't want to deal with it now. You're not going to show that room to Grandpa when he comes to visit.

River Country is that room.

 

[DisneyFans4Life]

The reason the park closed in 2001 is not just one thing...more of a combination of things. Do a Google search and you'll find multiple articles regarding River Country and some of the events that happened there. Everything from unsafe water to kids drowning to the decline in travel after 9/11.

Seph knowingly and purposely broke the rules and trespassed on property that he shouldn't have been at; he got off lucky only receiving a lifetime ban.

What do you think Disney is hiding there? Some three headed creature that comes out in the night? Disney isn't hiding anything...it's just not worth their time or money to level it. By the looks of it...mother nature is doing a fine job herself at it.

 

[Dukeblue1227]

If there are genuinely people who think Disney is "hiding something" because they have a small plot of land on an island that makes zero sense financially to upkeep and maintain as well as staff so people can visit... Then I weep for our society...

 

[Glasgow]

I think he was banned for pool hopping

 

[DisneyFans4Life]

I think he was banned for pool hopping

Or maybe because he visited and left all that trash around...

 

[Goofyernmost]

Hi everyone,

Just read in my national newspaper about Disney's River Country Water Park (DRCWP) and about a guy Seph Lawless who got photos from the abandoned park, but now has a lifetime ban!
Obviously he has trespassed the area, but surely a life-long ban?!

Have a look at the awesome pics he's taken.
CLICK HERE FOR THE ARTICLE

Does anyone know why the park closed in 2001?
Does anyone know why Seph Lawless has a life-long ban from WDW?
Does anyone know what WDW are hiding?

discuss

Does anyone know why the park closed in 2001?
For all the reasons previously mentioned and the fact that they had two state of the art water parks besides that one. It was a popular place when it was the only one, but, the bells, whistles and extras that the new parks had were much more enticing then the old swimmin' hole.
Does anyone know why Seph Lawless has a life-long ban from WDW?
He's not the first, nor the last that will get that same ban. He is trespassing in an area that is clearly marked to stay out of and his desire to take pictures and make something out of nothing caused his particular banning. They have to take the least extreme route to deter other adventure seekers from doing the same thing. That action should deter most from being stupid.
Does anyone know what WDW are hiding?
Yup, they are hiding an unsafe, overgrown mess that no one should want to see to begin with. If they really wanted to "hide" something, the place logically would have been leveled and hauled off. They currently do not have a use for that area and legally they have no obligation to clean it all up especially since the only time it is a problem is when people sneak in and expose themselves to safety issues. Before anyone says it... there is no reason to clean up the "safety" issues because no one is supposed to be there to begin with.

 

[MickeyMomV]

Seems like that would be a great place for the Fort Wilderness DVC location.

The only thing WDW is hiding is Walt's cryogenically frozen body on Discovery Island.

 

[JohnByers]

This thread topic pops up, what, every 2-3 months?

 

[slappy magoo]

If they really wanted to "hide" something, the place logically would have been leveled and hauled off. They currently do not have a use for that area and legally they have no obligation to clean it all up especially since the only time it is a problem is when people sneak in and expose themselves to safety issues. Before anyone says it... there is no reason to clean up the "safety" issues because no one is supposed to be there to begin with.

The other issue is that it would be very difficult to just "clean" it up because so much of the surrounding area is protected wetland. They can't just raze the remnants of the park without risking some ecological damage. Whether you believe in preserving the ecology of the area as best as possible, or you think it's tree-hugging hippy crap, legally they're obligated to be sensitive to the environment now, more than when it was built. Similar to when WDW replaced the old Treehouse Villas when the old ones got destroyed and/or dilapidated and stopped being available to rent out. They were made in a modular fashion and assembled piece by piece as opposed to being built on site, so the environmental impact would be close to negligible (and costs cut down).

RC is too expensive to upkeep, and too expensive to tear apart even if there were a way to do that was environmentally sound.