Abandoned resorts

[Brenle]

I saw this posted on an older thread on this board and it got me thinking. . . how many other abandoned properties are on site at WDW? Maybe I've had rose-colored glasses on all of the trips we've taken the last few years because I've never seen anything like this or even heard of it before.

I know there are so many people on this board that are experts. And probably others like me who are curious about this. So what other property do you know of that's been abandoned that most people won't know about?



Originally by CanadianGuy:
Here's what would amount to 'Legendary Hall' - zoomed in from across the lake with the big lens. It looks to be in pretty good shape. They seem to run some housekeeping stuff out of the back side of it.

It looks a lot worse than it really is because vegetation has grown up.. and landscaping was never completed in the first place.

Like in this picture.. in this picture below you can clearly see the hand railings around the floors are just 2x4's for safety while the workers were there and are not the final metal railings. Many people thought they were the metal railings and were rotting and falling apart. That's not the case.

And here

If you zoom in close enough all the windows to the rooms have garbage bags over them... as you see here.

While doing my 'stealth photography' -- I saw thru the fence this hotel room door was actually OPEN??!!?

If you look thru there.. (in that pic above) you can see the room is completely unfinished. You can see the door on the far side of the building for what would be someone else's room if the building was finished.

I felt like paparazzi taking pictures thru bushes and holes in the fence.. here's another one of the open door..

And lastly .. THIS picture.. is really interesting to me. It's of the buildings closest to the 50's parking lot. If you look closely and notice.. the part of the building that connects the three wings with stairs & elevators hasn't been built yet. The only way to the upper levels of the building would be via ladder I guess?






Originally posted by Minnie61650:

River country was once a well enjoyed water park.

WDW opened River Country on June 20,1976.
It was closed in November 2001 because of problems with the water quality (it was reported that some of the Bay Lake water contaminated the water).
Our family went to River Country October of 1976 when it was brand new and
returned several times after that. It was a favorite of our family and our son age 25 still talks about how that was his favorite water park.
Because of the water issue I do not think they will ever restore River Country the way it was.
However River Country had a really nice themed pool with a water slide and I always wondered why Disney did not at least keep the pool open for FW guests.
Upstream Plunge Pool and Slippery Slides
At the back of this clear water pool are two steep slides that drop swimmers off in a free fall splashdown.
Here is a photo:

There was a pool as part of River Country.
Here is the photo from the above mentioned website:
http://waltdatedworld.bravepages.com/id220.htm

The pool is in the lower right corner of the photo.
River Country also had a sand bottom contained pool which was cleverly set up to make guests feel like they were swimming in "an OLE swimming hole."

River Country was 6 inches higher than Bay Lake and set up so that any overflow of water would spill into bay lake.
Here is another photo from:
http://waltdatedworld.bravepages.com/id220.htm

---------------------------------------------

Some recent photos of River Country from another forum:

 

[Amy&Dan]

Oh wow, thanks for posting those pictures of River Country, I always wondered what that place looked like. It loooked very fun. Too bad its gone!

They should just tear down those Pop buildings. They are such an eyesore, and really creepy looking. I just read on another thread, they are uninhabitable now anyway. With this economy, it will be years before Disney wants to build something new. Its been long enough, get rid of them!

 

[gabriellyn]

Oh wow, thanks for posting those pictures of River Country, I always wondered what that place looked like. It loooked very fun. Too bad its gone!

They should just tear down those Pop buildings. They are such an eyesore, and really creepy looking. I just read on another thread, they are uninhabitable now anyway. With this economy, it will be years before Disney wants to build something new. Its been long enough, get rid of them!

I had read that they were going to begin construction on them again - turn them into family suites. Then rebrand Pop into something else?

 

[Amy&Dan]

I had read that they were going to begin construction on them again - turn them into family suites. Then rebrand Pop into something else?

I've heard that one too. But with the current economy, I am betting that if that plan is real, its going to be shelved for awhile. To me, they've been standing there looking sad and creepy for long enough. I'd like to see them torn down. Unless they can do something with them (family suites would be great) in the near future.

 

[eaglesfan]

I don't know if this is considered an abandoned resort, but about 15 years ago, me and hubby went to DW and visited some type of wildlife island. I vaguely remember taking a boat and possibly passing River Country. I assume it's around Ft. Wilderness. Does anyone remember this....or have I gone crazy and visited this "place" somewhere else???

 

[LegoMom3]

I don't know if this is considered an abandoned resort, but about 15 years ago, me and hubby went to DW and visited some type of wildlife island. I vaguely remember taking a boat and possibly passing River Country. I assume it's around Ft. Wilderness. Does anyone remember this....or have I gone crazy and visited this "place" somewhere else???

That's the old Discovery Island, and it's out in the lake more or less across from the Ft. Wilderness beach. It had some animals and birds, and there were trails and boardwalks to walk around on. It was closed down right around the time Animal Kingdom opened up, although I don't know if that was coincidence or not.

.

 

[Hollywoodhaha]

Wow, river country looks really scary now.
I read that there are snakes and stuff in it now D:

 

[WDW LifeLong Fan]

Wow, river country looks really scary now.
I read that there are snakes and stuff in it now D:

We saw the biggest snake we have ever seen at WDW at River Country one day during our last visit there, it was while River Country was still open, I can't imagine how BIG they are now!

 

[Missus Toad]

Those River Country pictures make me sad. So many happy memories there.

 

[ntsammy5]

I really miss River Country -sometimes I go over and look throughthe fence and bring beer to the otters who live there now.

 

[Hollywoodhaha]

I really miss River Country -sometimes I go over and look throughthe fence and bring beer to the otters who live there now.

We saw the biggest snake we have ever seen at WDW at River Country one day during our last visit there, it was while River Country was still open, I can't imagine how BIG they are now!

They are going to GET HUGE!

 

[Tjkane28]

We saw the biggest snake we have ever seen at WDW at River Country one day during our last visit there, it was while River Country was still open, I can't imagine how BIG they are now!

Largest snake 'as long as a bus'
By Paul Rincon
Science reporter, BBC News

Titanoboa was 13m (42ft) long - about the length of a bus - and lived in the rainforest of north-east Colombia 58-60 million years ago. (and perhaps at River Country today)

The snake was so wide it would have reached up to a person's hips, say researchers, who have estimated that it weighed more than a tonne.

Green anacondas - the world's heaviest snakes - reach a mere 250kg (550lbs).

Reticulated pythons - the world's longest snakes - can reach up to 10m (32ft).

 

[perla75]

I don't know if this is considered an abandoned resort, but about 15 years ago, me and hubby went to DW and visited some type of wildlife island. I vaguely remember taking a boat and possibly passing River Country. I assume it's around Ft. Wilderness. Does anyone remember this....or have I gone crazy and visited this "place" somewhere else???

Ooh, I loved Discovery Island!! Went there when I was a child! It was similar to the trails & birds and wildlife of DAK (minus the jungle animals). They actually had a neat bird and vegetation sanctuary there with some rare species. The very last of a rare breed of bird lived and eventually died there. They had beautiful nature trails, a pretty beach & picnic areas, fun bird shows, and it was just a fun and relaxing way to spend the day

 

[girlsx2]

How sad to see those pictures. We were at POP in 2004 and when we walked around the property then and looked over the lake and it was scary then, can't imagine what it looks like now. The pictures are horrible. It is also ashame that all that money was wasted. As for River Country, it was long closed by the time we first visited with our girls in 2003. It did look very fun, too bad they let it run down like that. Does anyone have pictures of the original treehouses? I would have loved to see those. I believe that they sort of let those get run down as well, but now are reconstructing some of them. Thanks for brining back a piece of the past!!

 

[Brenle]

If you have google earth downloaded onto your computer, type in WDW and look at the aerial view. It's amazing how much property Disney owns and how many buildings there are that seem to be in the middle of nowhere. I'm sure most have a purpose, but seeing the previous pics, I wonder.

Honestly, I was amazed that there are abandoned buildings or unfinished buildings at the Pop resort, especially since there have been new DVC resorts built since then. If anyone knows of another "scrapped" project, please share it with us.

 

[Alexander]

The treehouse villas were desperately falling down until just last year or so when DVC decided to rebuild them and make them part of SSR. I don't have any photos to upload, but you can boogie on over to the DVC boards to see current pics.

 

[Keira1387]

River country looked like fun. It's a shame that they closed it.

 

[WillCAD]

Lessee... the only abandoned properties I can think of off-hand are

Pop Century Legendary Years (never completed)
River Country (closed)
Discovery Island (closed)
Treehouses (being refurbed to re-open as Treehouse Villas)
The Disney Institute (closed, later demolished to make way for SSR)

 

[Brenle]

How sad to see those pictures. We were at POP in 2004 and when we walked around the property then and looked over the lake and it was scary then, can't imagine what it looks like now. The pictures are horrible. It is also ashame that all that money was wasted. As for River Country, it was long closed by the time we first visited with our girls in 2003. It did look very fun, too bad they let it run down like that. Does anyone have pictures of the original treehouses? I would have loved to see those. I believe that they sort of let those get run down as well, but now are reconstructing some of them. Thanks for brining back a piece of the past!!

Here's a link that has the old treehouses:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1467284

 

[Goofy22]

River country looked like fun. It's a shame that they closed it.

River Country was awesome! Alot like Blizzard Beach but smaller!