River Country

[disney_shorty]

yeah I was thinking it would be neat to have another water park but this couldn't be it ... if they fixed this up it would be resort thing or DVC only maybe

 

[Drew]

I love abandoned places with plants growing all over stuff. It just makes it look so awesome!

and yes, slightly creepy... what's with the doll head?

Maybe it was a safety dummy of some sort?

Man, I can't believe how bad that spot has gotten. That's just absolutely disgusting. It's cool to see the pictures but damn. The worst has to be all stuff collecting in the slides. Yuck.

 

[kingeric]

I rented a boat this past Monday and got as close to River Country as I could without getting in trouble. Enjoy.

 

[JokerMan0925]

[video=youtube;Q4JwgmPEIDQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4JwgmPEIDQ[/video]

 

[VacadvArchitects]

That is quite sad to see... I was never able to make it to the park, but it did sure seem to have a lot of charm....

 

[Henrick]

This is really sad. I visited when I was really young. I watched my mom's recording and it seemed that I had a blast.

 

[Vyrus]

That video is actually quite old, but its sad that its in that state now.

 

[kingeric]

Both Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach are light years ahead of River Country. While River Country was charming, quaint, and a first, it suffered from a lack of infrastructure (ie parking lot, direct bus access) that did not match the way the rest of the Resort grew.

While I am sure we will see it turned into a DVC property someday, with a tribute to River Country it will just have to remain a fond memory.

 

[TheDecemberists]

Also it had like, what, 5 slides? It's like halfway between decent water park size and awesome resort pool size.

 

[Nitro_230]

What's with all the hostility lately? River Country closed due to poor sales during the 9/11 bad times. If it was because of the water, why was the park fine for the prior 30 years?

And we're....

moving on....

It closed because of the two water parks with chlorinated water and because lake water was deemed unsafe. Same reason they stopped swimming in the lagoons on property.

 

[Dan_raven]

I did hear a story about a bacteria in the lagoon that is common in many lakes in the Florida area also about gators and snakes being a problem too. However there was talk that the regulations were also changed around the time that water for leisure/water parks had to be filtered/tested ect ect. Read somewhere it would have cost too much to alter it round that with the dwindling numbers forced wdw to close it for good.

 

[MillenniumDragons]

WFTV featured a story today about River Country and many YouTube explorers checking out what remains. Maybe this might spur Disney to take action? Glad there was a story on this, lets people know Disney isn't all magical in ways.

http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/rundown-river-country-hot-spot-disney-world-advent/njZHC/?ecmp=wftv_social_twitter_sfp

 

[Capacity]

Has anyone else heard the rumor that Disney is considering a River Country themed DVC?

 

[adjjb]

That was a rumor years ago, maybe they're planning it again since people are trespassing on the dangerous land.

 

[Disneyhead]

More like a Fort Wilderness themed DVC where River Country sits. There was even a train planned that would run from Pioneer Hall to Wilderness Lodge with a stop at the DVC.

 

[rhino4evr]

It is kind of amazing that it's still just sitting there.

 

[Teebin]

And remember, Discovery Island is still sitting there overgrown too. WDW has a very ugly backside that few get to see. The nautilus submarines are buried in the ground on the far west of the property. It strikes me as very trashy and irresponsible; the opposite of what they want people to believe with their beach cleanup efforts among their efforts to be viewed as a responsible neighbor in CF.

 

[Teebin]

BTW, there are websites out there that say, "a rumor the subs are buried on property". There were at least 12 subs. Two are sunk at castaway cay. The below image shows the other 10 subs at the WDW landfill west of the MK. The fireworks bunkers are in the upper right of the overall pic circa 2005 from google earth.

 

[OrlandoGuy]

And remember, Discovery Island is still sitting there overgrown too. WDW has a very ugly backside that few get to see. The nautilus submarines are buried in the ground on the far west of the property. It strikes me as very trashy and irresponsible; the opposite of what they want people to believe with their beach cleanup efforts among their efforts to be viewed as a responsible neighbor in CF.

9 times out of 10 when the topic of sustainable tourism comes up, Disney is used as an example or case study. They re-use a lot of resources as well as go through all the waste generated by guests and sort them by material so that it can be recycled. Most of their vehicles run on Compressed Natural Gas and some of the rides (at Disneyland at least) run on cooking oil that they use to make the fries. They also were extremely proactive in the shift to LED lighting. They do generate a decent carbon footprint but they are by no means trashy or irresponsible in terms of being "green".

 

[UniversalCityFL]

They also were extremely proactive in the shift to LED lighting. .

I know they had a hell of a time transitioning the popcorn lights on the signs of Main Street USA to LED lighting. As well all know, LEDs are blueish and harsh on the eyes. Disney created some new method of LED that replicated the amber glow of an incandescent bulb and the subtle fade-in and fade-out when electrified. Of course, you have to do this stuff (and publicize it) when you have the energy consumption of a city, with no other justification other than human amusement.

Regarding the burial of the subs: That's really intriguing; I don't know what their rationale for BURYING them would be. They aren't even biodegradable -- why not just have them above ground? Weird. There has to be a reason.

And back to topic/regarding the abandoned River Country: group field trip???