hoop de do closing

[chartle]

I do know for quite a few years now DVC members had been suggesting over & over that River Country should be renovated and reopened as a DVC recreation area. WHen I heard that I suggested it to my DVC guide also.

As I post in many Reopen River Country threads they would have to bulldoze everything and start over. Even if they kept everything in pristine condition it wouldn't work as a water park today.

 

[Reddog1134]

As I post in many Reopen River Country threads they would have bulldoze everything and start over. Even if they kept everything in pristine condition it wouldn't work as a water park today.

Why not?

 

[chartle]

Why not?

I have visited RC twice, once as a teenager and once as the father of a 8 and 9 year old.

Here you go:

• The main pool was over 10 feet deep and even had rocks around it that encouraged diving. Yes at one time in the US people were allowed to dive into deep water. When they rehabbed the main pool at FW they decreased the depth and I don't think it wasn't close to that deep.
  
• The body slides dumped you into over 6 feet of water. 6 feet of murky water that if you went down the lifeguards had maybe 1 foot of visibility (get back to that later)
  
• The tube slides were designed like a lazy river where people could get bunched up, jump out of their tube and cause shenanigans.
  
• The water came from the lake. It was pumped in and filtered a bit and maybe heated and thats the water that was used for everything but that deep pool I described above. Since RC was built there has been a FL law passed that outlaws using natural sources of of water for swimming pools.

It boils down to RC was a first gen themed water park and would be an insurance nightmare today.

 

[jenpink]

I have visited RC twice, once as a teenager and once as the father of a 8 and 9 year old.

Here you go:

• The main pool was over 10 feet deep and even had rocks around it that encouraged diving. Yes at one time in the US people were allowed to dive into deep water. When they rehabbed the main pool at FW they decreased the depth and I don't think it wasn't close to that deep.
  
• The body slides dumped you into over 6 feet of water. 6 feet of murky water that if you went down the lifeguards had maybe 1 foot of visibility (get back to that later)
  
• The tube slides were designed like a lazy river where people could get bunched up, jump out of their tube and cause shenanigans.
  
• The water came from the lake. It was pumped in and filtered a bit and maybe heated and thats the water that was used for everything but that deep pool I described above. Since RC was built there has been a FL law passed that outlaws using natural sources of of water for swimming pools.

It boils down to RC was a first gen themed water park and would be an insurance nightmare today.

But oh so much fun at the time

 

[Reddog1134]

[*]The water came from the lake. It was pumped in and filtered a bit and maybe heated and thats the water that was used for everything but that deep pool I described above. Since RC was built there has been a FL law passed that outlaws using natural sources of of water for swimming pools.
[/LIST]

Actually, this is not true.

LINK

 

[chartle]

Actually, this is not true.

LINK

I'm not saying thats the reason it closed, its just one of the reasons why it wouldn't reopen as is.

The article states it better than I do.

Although River Country was the first water park at Walt Disney World, it had been joined by two newer, larger ones: Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon (1989) and Disney’s Blizzard Beach (1995). The new parks offered far more slides, relaxing lazy rivers with clever things to see along the way, fully developed themes, and much greater capacity. On top of that, they offered convenient parking and bus transportation, unlike the awkwardly located River Country.

When RC opened it was in the middle of the what was the "World" back then. You had the MK, the TTC, the Poly, the Contemporary, FW and I think the Golf Resort which is now SoG. Now its in a far, out of the way corner, of the "World".

I would add if you told people that there was a WP located near the campground at FW. They would probably reply "There's a campground at WDW? " or "There's a Disney Campground Resort behind HDDR?". Even people planning on staying at FW ask if they get all the privileges that guests staying on site get.

The end of the article does address the water issue. My post didn't get into the specifics and yes I didn't fully research the law but my point is still valid. If they did take the water from the lake it would have to go through some major treatment. The article then states that they would then have to seal it off from the lake and use a recirculating system but that would pretty much mean rebuilding everything aka bulldoze it down and start over.

 

[Reddog1134]

I'm not saying thats the reason it closed, its just one of the reasons why it wouldn't reopen as is.

The article states it better than I do.



When RC opened it was in the middle of the what was the "World" back then. You had the MK, the TTC, the Poly, the Contemporary, FW and I think the Golf Resort which is now SoG. Now its in a far, out of the way corner, of the "World".

I would add if you told people that there was a WP located near the campground at FW. They would probably reply "There's a campground at WDW? " or "There's a Disney Campground Resort behind HDDR?". Even people planning on staying at FW ask if they get all the privileges that guests staying on site get.

The end of the article does address the water issue. My post didn't get into the specifics and yes I didn't fully research the law but my point is still valid. If they did take the water from the lake it would have to go through some major treatment. The article then states that they would then have to seal it off from the lake and use a recirculating system but that would pretty much mean rebuilding everything aka bulldoze it down and start over.

I wasn't trying to discredit your entire post. I think they were some good points. I was just pointing out the water issues.

I don't know for sure but I would assume that the filtration system was already in place or RC WOULD have been forced to shut down long before it actually did.

 

[chartle]

I wasn't trying to discredit your entire post. I think they were some good points. I was just pointing out the water issues.

I don't know for sure but I would assume that the filtration system was already in place or RC WOULD have been forced to shut down long before it actually did.

Yea I kind of got a little long there but hey it kills time at work when I should be working.

I thought the law came into being after it closed. Even if it didn't and they were Somehow grandfathered in, people now know about the issue and generally people are more germ a phobic than they are now.

They would look at that brownish green water and say I'm not letting my snowflake swim in that.

 

[chartle]

But oh so much fun at the time

Yea but back in the day we also drank water out of the garden hose and growing up for fun my wife would hit her brothers over the head with sticks.

 

[Reddog1134]

Yea but back in the day we also drank water out of the garden hose and growing up for fun my wife would hit her brothers over the head with sticks.

Are "we" NOT doing these things any more?

 

[chartle]

Are "we" NOT doing these things any more?

Yes since the NHL is in a labor dispute no one is hitting each other over the head with sticks right now.

 

[Reddog1134]

Yes since the NHL is in a labor dispute no one is hitting each other over the head with sticks right now.

This makes me want to hit some people over the head with a stick.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I know some cast members that are there and they were telling me this. They were very upset.

I'm still trying to decipher where you made your error...exactly...

I'll get back to you

 

[LivMattmom]

I have heard the Hoop De Do Review at Fort Wilderness will be closing at the end of the year along with Trails End to make room for more DVC only areas, This means the beach and boat access will only be for DVC members only. So unfair to FW campers who love the campground.

I hope not! They just took our ressie for the end of March 2013!

 

[super mike b]

Sure hope this doesn't happen.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

the Hoop De Doo was never closing.

About 2 years ago, there were some building plans floating (if you go back far enough in the campground forum you may find them) around showing a western themed DVC. One of the plans showed the HDDR and Trails End moved, with either the biulding taken down or redone.

That is where to story started about the HDDR closing.

That same plan also showed a new and enlarged biulding across the path to the east and set a little in the woods with no ID. My guess is that the new biulding would be the new home of the HDDR and trials end if there were moved out of the orginial biulding.

Most of those plans showed RC gone........yet one showed a new RC, apparently to be used by the campground and the dvc resort and maybe WL as well... That should bring up some discussion!

Another rumour going around at that time was that 2 DVC reosrts were planed, the western one and the GF one and they couldn't decide which to biuld first........Seem we have a answer on that now.

AKK

 

[NoraNow]

I love the HDDMR, it's one of the classic Disney events! I hope it doesn't close!