-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
RIVEeRCOUNTRY
- Thread starter kathyjacks
- Start date
Splashman
Member
kathyjacks said:
They will never reopen River Country. It has laid in ruins for years now. Not only was it much smaller and did not attract as much people as the other two water parks, Disney had to close it because of people becoming ill. The water used in the water park came from Bay Lake and over the years the water became contaminated and was no longer safe to use in the water park.
DznyGrlSD
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- Yes
DisneyDellsDude
New Member
Fallen Angel said:
It's kind of creepy how they left it like that.
Teenchy
Member
Fallen Angel said:
Talk about contaminated...look at that picture of the 3/4 empty pool on the link you provided.:hurl:
It was fun in its day and I'm all for tradition and keeping some of the "old things" i.e. COP. But even when it was still open I was going to TL, it just had so much more to do.
Also does anyone know for sure if the reason they no longer allow you to swim in Bay Lake, i.e. at Poly or GF is because of people getting ill? or was it the need for more lifeguards and not worth the risk?
I just got back from a stay at Poly, I'm a DVC Member but my company was picking up this tab!
I was there as a kid in 75' and it was so much fun back then swimming in the lake onto the platforms and Goofy even came right up onto the beach on water skis! Boy I guess I'm dating myself.
figmentfan
New Member
Disney does not let people swim in the lakes because of two major issues:
1. There is a certain bacteria found in the lake that can make people sick. That is also why Disney only allows catch and release on there Fishing Expeditions. Also levels of Mercury in the water makes it unfit for people. Hate to say it, the Mercury and other bacteria in the water is caused by Disney.
2. Also, too may boats in the water. Especially the little "mousers" boats that guest rent. I heard of guests trying to outrun the ferry boats, or cutting off the ferry boats. What if you were swimming in the water, and a guest ran into you with on of those boats?!?!?!?!
1. There is a certain bacteria found in the lake that can make people sick. That is also why Disney only allows catch and release on there Fishing Expeditions. Also levels of Mercury in the water makes it unfit for people. Hate to say it, the Mercury and other bacteria in the water is caused by Disney.
2. Also, too may boats in the water. Especially the little "mousers" boats that guest rent. I heard of guests trying to outrun the ferry boats, or cutting off the ferry boats. What if you were swimming in the water, and a guest ran into you with on of those boats?!?!?!?!
bugsbunny
Well-Known Member
figmentfan said:
E.Coli. Caused by all the animals dong their business in the water and the high water temperatures. The darkness of the water also makes it difficult to have a good oxygen content thus making it take longer to break down the refuse in the water. So you get a lot of bacteria not being destoyed by the sun, etc. E.Coli can kill some people if you have a weak immune system, otherwise, it can get you violently ill. Obviously not the type of souvenior Disney wants you to take back with you!
Water Country had this "floating tube" type of thing that seperated the Lake from "it". You were basically swimming in Lake water. If you think people are doing things they shouldn't in a hotel pool, at least there huge amounts of chlorine to destory it.....hopefully. As for RC, I doubt any chemicals were used and I honestly don't know if there was any kind of pumps or filtration system. I would imagine it would have been futile to filter it since it was constantly replenished by the dirty lake water.
They would never rebuild River Country with a new water park. The problem is that its an attraction that can really only be reached by bus transfers or by some combo bus/water taxi. Face it, people are lazy and/or don't want to figure out how it takes to get there. Plus I know people that have been going to WDW for years and have no idea what's at Fort Wilderness unless they've been to the HDR show. And even then, have no idea how to get back there!
Disney is always concerned about their total return on investment and it doesn't take a CPA to see that the attendence figures would be mostly from people staying at Ft. Wilderness and that the "higher paying" folk will most likely NEVER make a trip from the ritzy Yacht Club to a "backwoods watering hole".
Basically, its the economics and social perceptions of it that would stop Disney from building a new water park there.
col
Well-Known Member
when i went on my carriage ride at night the boat went past a load of trees in the middle of the water; would that be RC?
also i took the boat to WL during the day and there is a piece of land in the middle of the water with loads of trees; it looked totally bad. deserted. it looked like a waste of space all i could see was what looked like a walk way it was light brown, what i can remember was bird ________ being over the floor of this water park and like this rope thing which people could hang onto then jump into the water which wasnt enclosed so i would guess thinking about it that -that was bay lake? i was quite young when i was there with my family.
also i took the boat to WL during the day and there is a piece of land in the middle of the water with loads of trees; it looked totally bad. deserted. it looked like a waste of space all i could see was what looked like a walk way it was light brown, what i can remember was bird ________ being over the floor of this water park and like this rope thing which people could hang onto then jump into the water which wasnt enclosed so i would guess thinking about it that -that was bay lake? i was quite young when i was there with my family.
WishinUponAStar
New Member
I really miss River Country. I have REALLY fond memories of camping at Fort Wilderness and spending a whole day at River Country. I remember the distinct smell of the "river" water and hanging from that one "swing out and drop" bar. I LOVED the tube ride, and I thought the side where you freefall drop into the water was like the COOEST thing. hehe. I would love if they just opened it for one year to rekindle those memories... then they can shut it down again. haha
ErickainPA
New Member
col - River Country is right next to Fort Wilderness, the other island you are talking about is Discovery Island (I Think) That is the one you can see from WL and while on the boat you go around it.
ClemsonTigger
Naturally Grumpy
Teenchy said:Talk about contaminated...look at that picture of the 3/4 empty pool on the link you provided.:hurl:
It was fun in its day and I'm all for tradition and keeping some of the "old things" i.e. COP. But even when it was still open I was going to TL, it just had so much more to do.
Also does anyone know for sure if the reason they no longer allow you to swim in Bay Lake, i.e. at Poly or GF is because of people getting ill? or was it the need for more lifeguards and not worth the risk?
I just got back from a stay at Poly, I'm a DVC Member but my company was picking up this tab!
First off, the photo's don't show "contamination", just natural growth of algae and other regular lake plants.
The ban on swimming in any lake water including River Country is also not do to E. coli/coliforms or mercury, but to to a naturally occurring ameboa called Naegleria fowlerii. Because Florida water is always warm, the population can significantly increase. Add to that the number of people coming in contact with lake water (particularly sediment) and the chances are greater in contracting this infection. Only one or two cases a year would be considered normal in the general population, but are avoidable and therefore Disney has taken the steps it has.
The only way to protect against this is by chemical treatment of the water (like a pool). Doing that to a lake would not sit very well with fish and other animals in the lake.
rdour@techminds
New Member
I would hope that they would spend just a small budget in the next few years towards returning the land to a state where it can eventually grow back naturally. I'm sure if you're out on Bay Lake and using one of those boats, it must be quite irritating to see part of the Disney magic rotting away. Also, the plastics used will be there for years, along with any cement work, electrical facilities, telco, etc.
What keeps people from walking over there? What keeps people from entering the land from the lake itself? Is that water blatter still out there, I'd guess it would be the only protection they would have against that.
anyone up for exploring?
Ryan
What keeps people from walking over there? What keeps people from entering the land from the lake itself? Is that water blatter still out there, I'd guess it would be the only protection they would have against that.
anyone up for exploring?
Ryan
There is a fence that runs around the whole back side from the cast area just to the right of RC if your looking at it from the lake. All the way back around to FW. There are wood walls up a few hundred feet from where the water tower is to the left side if looking from the lake. As far as exploring. Been there done that. Side note. It is dangerous. Scares to prove..........:hammer: http://users.adelphia.net/~tburr/
bugsbunny
Well-Known Member
ClemsonTigger said:
I figured it was probably more than E.Coli. I had read that somewhere and also was told by some CM's during a stay at FW.
The island in the middle is Discovery Island. It has never been much of anything even back when it was privately held. I'm sure this can be verified/corrected if I am wrong, but I believe it was never inhabited except for a hunting retreat owned by a doctor way before Walt bought it all.
Discovery Island was sort of like a miniture Animal Kingdom, but mostly it was all birds. Once AK opened up, it was literally abandoned. Since then, nature has reclaimed it in earnest. You can still see the decks and docks and also some of the netting strung up high that kept the exhibit birds from flying away.
Nowadays, it is nothing more than an overgrown dot of land with huge nestings of cormorants all over the place. There were rumors it would reopen as a "honeymoon" island of some sort as well as other ideas, but nothing has happened. Maybe now that attendence numbers are up to pre 9/11 size, WDW will move on doing something with it.
ErickainPA
New Member
Here is what one site says about Disvoery Island, which was originally called Treasure Island:
<table class="tblMatrix" bordercolorlight="#FFFFFF" bordercolordark="#999999" border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" frame="below" width="100%"> <tbody><tr align="left" valign="top"><td bgcolor="#ffffcc" nowrap="nowrap" width="10%">At A Glance</td> <td bgcolor="#ffffcc" width="90%">Discovery Island has now unfortunately been closed.
A small and quiet island retreat featuring all kinds of wildlife, predominantly birds. Only a couple of animal based shows, (each of which was relatively short). No thrill rides or high tech attractions. Time required - half to 1 day</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <!-- #EndEditable --> <!-- #BeginEditable "Content" -->
NOTE: Disney have finally closed Discovery Island to all but specially invited guests of it's sponsor Friskies. The closing party/wake was held on 8th April on the Island, and was a very low-key affair which was not widely advertised. All Discovery Island sineage on the water transportation was removed during the following evening. The closure date was exactly 25 years after it first opened in 1974.
Discovery Island was a small (11 acre) and very tranquil zoological park located on an island across from Wilderness Lodge and River Country. It could only be reached by boat from the landing stages at The Magic Kingdom, River Country, or the Wilderness Lodge resort.
It was well worth spending a morning there, if you'd seen everything at the major parks, or if you wanted to get away from everything for a few hours.
Discovery Island featured over 140 species of animals, several of which are threatened with extinction, and 250 species of tropical plants including 5 species of bamboo, all arranged around a series of walkways around the island.
This small island was designated as a zoological park by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, and actively exchanged animals with other zoos for breeding programmes and similar projects. Following its closure many of it's animals will be transferred to locations within the Animal Kingdom. Others not transferred to the Animal Kingdom will most likely be moved to other Zoos around the United States in order to continue established breeding programmes.
Another site: http://home.cfl.rr.com/omniluxe/trislnd.htm
<table class="tblMatrix" bordercolorlight="#FFFFFF" bordercolordark="#999999" border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" frame="below" width="100%"> <tbody><tr align="left" valign="top"><td bgcolor="#ffffcc" nowrap="nowrap" width="10%">At A Glance</td> <td bgcolor="#ffffcc" width="90%">Discovery Island has now unfortunately been closed.
A small and quiet island retreat featuring all kinds of wildlife, predominantly birds. Only a couple of animal based shows, (each of which was relatively short). No thrill rides or high tech attractions. Time required - half to 1 day</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <!-- #EndEditable --> <!-- #BeginEditable "Content" -->
NOTE: Disney have finally closed Discovery Island to all but specially invited guests of it's sponsor Friskies. The closing party/wake was held on 8th April on the Island, and was a very low-key affair which was not widely advertised. All Discovery Island sineage on the water transportation was removed during the following evening. The closure date was exactly 25 years after it first opened in 1974.
Discovery Island was a small (11 acre) and very tranquil zoological park located on an island across from Wilderness Lodge and River Country. It could only be reached by boat from the landing stages at The Magic Kingdom, River Country, or the Wilderness Lodge resort.
It was well worth spending a morning there, if you'd seen everything at the major parks, or if you wanted to get away from everything for a few hours.
Discovery Island featured over 140 species of animals, several of which are threatened with extinction, and 250 species of tropical plants including 5 species of bamboo, all arranged around a series of walkways around the island.
This small island was designated as a zoological park by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, and actively exchanged animals with other zoos for breeding programmes and similar projects. Following its closure many of it's animals will be transferred to locations within the Animal Kingdom. Others not transferred to the Animal Kingdom will most likely be moved to other Zoos around the United States in order to continue established breeding programmes.
Another site: http://home.cfl.rr.com/omniluxe/trislnd.htm