Disney's River Country
| Disney's River Country | |
|---|---|
| File:Logo river.PNG | |
| Location | Walt Disney World Resort, Bay Lake, Florida, U.S. |
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Theme | Old-fashioned swimming hole |
| Owner | The Walt Disney Company |
| Operated by | Walt Disney Parks and Resorts |
| Opened | June 20, 1976 |
| Closed | November 2, 2001 |
| Status | SBNO |
| Pools | 2 pools |
| Water slides | 5 water slides |
| Children's areas | 2 children's areas |
Disney's River Country was the first water park at Walt Disney World.[1] It opened on June 20, 1976, and ceased operations on November 2, 2001.[2] On January 20, 2005, The Walt Disney Company announced that River Country would remain closed permanently.[1] Along with Discovery Island, it is one of only two Disney parks in their history to close permanently. Both parks were left to deteriorate rather than demolished.[3][4]
History
Positioned on the shore of Bay Lake, near Discovery Island in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida, River Country featured a rustic wilderness theming, complete with rocks and man-made boulders. It was described as an "old-fashioned swimming hole"[1] with "a twist of Huckleberry Finn".[5] The original working title was "Pop's Willow Grove".[6]
River Country was featured in a musical number from the 1977 The Wonderful World of Disney episode "The Mouseketeers at Walt Disney World", which included a song titled "River Country" and featured the then-current Mouseketeer lineup from the late 70s incarnation of The Mickey Mouse Club enjoying the attractions at the park.
The park featured a sandy bottom and unique water filtering system using confluent water from adjacent Bay Lake, which was dammed off creating a natural-looking man-made lagoon. But even with the filtration system, the water from the lake was not completely purified. In 1980, an 11-year-old boy was killed by a deadly infection caused by an amoeba (Naegleria fowleri), which is found in warm bodies of fresh water, such as ponds, lakes, rivers, and hot springs.[7]
In 1989, Disney opened a new water park, Typhoon Lagoon. It had much more parking, many more slides, newer amenities, and was a much larger water park. In 1995, Disney opened their third water park, Blizzard Beach. River Country was much smaller than the other two water parks, yet the park remained, surviving the competition.
As it did every year, River Country closed at the end of the warm-weather season (the park closed on November 2, 2001), with the expectation that the water park would reopen in the spring of 2002. But after the 9/11 attacks, the decline in business for all Disney parks and hotels prompted Disney to halt the reopening of River Country. On April 11, 2002, the Orlando Sentinel reported, “Walt Disney World’s first water park, River Country, has closed and may not reopen.” The report concluded with this line: “Disney World spokesman Bill Warren said that River Country could be reopened if ‘there’s enough guest demand.’”[7] The attraction may also have been affected by a change in Florida laws, which prohibited unchlorinated natural water bodies from being used for water park attractions.[8] River Country never reopened and remains abandoned as a forgotten Disney relic as of today. Disney employees monitor the area for trespassers.[9]
List of attractions
- Upstream Plunge, a kidney shaped clean-water pool.
- Slippery Slide Falls, two water slides that emptied into Upstream Plunge.
- Kiddie Cove, a kids zone with two large water slides and a cove. This area was targeted toward preteens.
- Barrel Bridge, a bumpy bridge with barrels under it, similar to the one at Tom Sawyer Island.
- White Water Rapids, a 330-foot (100 m) long inner tube river.
- Bay Cove, a half-acre (2,000 m²) sand-bottom lake which featured a tire swing, boom swing, rope climb, and T-bar drop.
- Boom Swing
- Cable Ride
- Tire Swing
- Whoop 'n' Holler Hollow, two water slides, 260 ft (79 m) and 160 ft (49 m) long, that emptied into Bay Cove.
- Bay Bridge
- Indian Springs, a very small splash zone with fountains spraying kids. This area was mainly designed for guests under age 8.
- Cypress Point Nature Trail, a trail among trees beside Bay Lake.
- Pony Rides
- Mercury WaterMouse Rental
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ 7.0 7.1 http://www.yesterland.com/rivercountry.html
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External links
- A photo essay in 2009 of the decaying River Country
- Disney's River Country on Modern Day Ruins
- A four-part series on the abandoned resort
