River Country Area

[tumbleweed12]

First off i'mn glad to be back after being gone for a while. Alot has changed. Does anyone know what is goin on over by where River Country used to be? Like i said i've been gone for a while so i have no clue as to what is going on back there. thanks.....

 

[disgolfer]

Nothing is really happening that I am aware of. Maintenance keeps it clean and looking nice. I have heard that it may become the main pool for FW and the Villas at WL. I hope so. I love River Country. I will be there in a couple weeks, and I plan to take a golf cart as close to and possibly as far in as I can. Maybe I will get to see something neat.

Only 13 days until I am there!!!

 

[he-guy]

If you want to get real up close to River Country, I would recommend renting a Sea Raycer boat, crossing Seven Seas Lagoon, Discovery Island, and BAM, there it is.

 

[StevenT]

The rumor about it becoming the FW pool is not likley due to poor water quality in Bay Lake. It would require a complete overhaul, creating an independent water supply because it can't use Bay Lake's water anymore.

 

[he-guy]

The rumor about it becoming the FW pool is not likley due to poor water quality in Bay Lake. It would require a complete overhaul, creating an independent water supply because it can't use Bay Lake's water anymore.

I wouldn't believe this rumor either. The River Country area would need a lot of repairs to make it accessible to guests. Some pieces of the water park have already been sold off as well.

 

[doop]

I used to love River Country so much, and was very sad when they closed it down. It is one of my wishes that they would bring it back

 

[TheOneVader]

Why'd they close it down, anyways?

 

[EpcotFanatic04]

It closed not too long after Sept 11 2001 because it simply was not as popular, plus the water was mainly unheated and rather gunky most of the time.

Currently nothing is going on there. Yes, they have sold pieces of it away, so I doubt it can come back without extensive rehabs.

 

[netenyahoo]

Why don't they just demolish the place so they don't have to maintain it. It isn't going to ever reopen, so just get rid of it. If they want to build a new water park in its place, then fine, but all the old stuff would have to replaced.

 

[tirian]

When River Country was open, Disney used the Bay Lake water supply so that the water was literally from a natural source (like a river). But the Bay Lake water was eventually deemed unfit for humans, and the area had to close. I've also heard rumors that the process Disney used to purify and chlorinate the water would have been prohibitively expensive with the dirtier water.

 

[prberk]

When River Country was open, Disney used the Bay Lake water supply so that the water was literally from a natural source (like a river). But the Bay Lake water was eventually deemed unfit for humans, and the area had to close. I've also heard rumors that the process Disney used to purify and chlorinate the water would have been prohibitively expensive with the dirtier water.

I don't know if this actually due to serious decline in water quality or just higher standards and a general movement in society away from anything "natural" that might have a bacterium or two... It sounds like the latter to me.

The more "antibiotic" we become, the less our body can actually build any natural tolerances or defenses ... and thus we gradually take away the natural defenses that give us strength in later life. Sigh...

Sorry for the rant, but if this was closed just for hypersensitivity and fear of unreasonable lawsuits, I am saddened. I cannot see this being a terribly legitimate concern, especially since Bay Lake is used mostly by tourists: thus rarely on a regular basis by anyone.

And in the meantime, ironically, we lose "the ole swimmin' hole" and everything it represents.

 

[longfamily]

Every time we went there, someone was injured coming off of the slides. I heard that for insurance purposes, the fact that the water wasn't clear enough to avoid hazards, the park was closed.

 

[celticdog]

With the competition from Blizzard and Typhoon; River County just lost attendance.

 

[Cynderella]

I used to love River Country so much, and was very sad when they closed it down. It is one of my wishes that they would bring it back

Me too!!!!! I was devastated when they closed that down. I always loved that one soo much more than those other ones. The slides were my favorite. For hours we would slide down the slide, go up the stairs and then back down again. Aaahhh....those good ol' memories. Bring them back!

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

As I understand it the pool is separated from the lake with a bladder type wall. Given the advances in technology I hardly think it would be too difficult to isolate the River Country area from the lake. I would have also thought it less expensive than a major new pool are for either Wilderness resort area.

I think its lack of desire rather than bacteria thats the problem.

Having staid at both resorts cant say that I was over bothered by the pools though I do get upset at closed down areas

 

[Bagheera]

As I understand it the pool is separated from the lake with a bladder type wall. Given the advances in technology I hardly think it would be too difficult to isolate the River Country area from the lake. I would have also thought it less expensive than a major new pool are for either Wilderness resort area.

I think its lack of desire rather than bacteria thats the problem.

Having staid at both resorts cant say that I was over bothered by the pools though I do get upset at closed down areas

River Country's water intake is filtered water from Bay Lake. No purification or cleaning of any kind is done, other than filtering out the big stuff. Since the bacterial issue can not be addressed without the installation of a large water-processing plant, it is doubtful that River Country will ever open again.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

River Country's water intake is filtered water from Bay Lake. No purification or cleaning of any kind is done, other than filtering out the big stuff. Since the bacterial issue can not be addressed without the installation of a large water-processing plant, it is doubtful that River Country will ever open again.

Who said use of Bay Lake water was compulsory? They dont use it in pools so if they were to separate the pool area from the lake normal BB or TL style water plants could be used. We are talking about constructing a wall and a water plant, the codst of which is dramatically less than building from scrtach. The water parks are too crowded to be fun so re open please.

 

[djmatthews]

We took a MouseBoat on Bay Lake / Seven Seas Lagoon in April. There was no sign of life, or action over at River Country.... Its very sad really. Maybe another reason for closing was that people used to have half a day at River Country and half a day on Discovery Island, with the closure of Discovery Island, maybe the water park also lost attendance.

I think it was a combination of a number of factors.

 

[disgolfer]

I used to love going over there when I was little. I agree that building a wall would not be that difficult or expensive to do. I think what it comes down to is the consistant lack of want by Disney to spend money. Bring just a little piece of the magic back with River Country.

I am going over there next week, and when we get back, I will post an update of what I was able to see and find out from some CMs.

 

[gyro_m]

Last year we took an evening boat ride on Bay Lake and through the Lagoon. The cast member tour guide noted that one of the big problems with RC was the foundation. According to the guide, the base structure at RC was poorly designed and/or implemented, and as a result, portions of the water park had sunk (in some cases) as much as several inches. Coupled with the water quality problems, it proved cheaper to simply build TL and BB elsewhere, instead of rehabbing RC. Don't know if it's true, but thought I'd pass it along.