Anyone ever go to Discovery Island?

[hrh_disney_queen]

I have been reading the UG to the history of WDW (can't remember the title, but it is very interesting..) and they had a brief, boring page about Discovery Island. I was wondering if anyone ever experienced it first hand, and what it was all about.

 

[Chuck S]

I have been reading the UG to the history of WDW (can't remember the title, but it is very interesting..) and they had a brief, boring page about Discovery Island. I was wondering if anyone ever experienced it first hand, and what it was all about.

Discovery Island the actual island is located in Bay Lake. You can see it from the Contemporary and Wilderness Lodge/Ft Wilderness area. It was closed to the public as an attraction when Animal Kingdom opened.

It was a nice way to spend a few hours, there was a small sandwich/snack shop wilderness walking paths and some bird shows. I think one was a Parrot family show, the other Birds of Prey. Threre we also Galapogos Tortoises, bald eagles, flamingos, minature deer, a veteraney/nursery area...all of which -more or less- were incorporated into Animal Kingdom. I found a map of Discovery Island while going through some old stuff the other day.

 

[Pixiedust34]

I was there when I was a kid. I don't remember it much, other than there were a ton of beautiful birds all over the place. I wish I could remember it more. I guess the Magic Kingdom left a bigger impression!

 

[danny1649]

It was a very nice way to spend a few hours.Had a parrot show and lots of birds.Also some very huge turtles and a nice walk through area.

 

[rlduvall]

My DH and I went there in the Fall of 1997. I really enjoyed it. It was very relaxing and the island was pretty, but not spectacular. I especially enjoyed taking the boat over there. We even spent a few minutes lazing in a hammock; something my Type A personality usually can't do . Saw birds and turtles. This was when you could buy a ticket for the 3 major theme parks good for 5 days - park hopping - and the first time you used it you got 7 consecutive days at any of the minor theme parks, i.e. Discovery Island, Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach and Pleasure Island. Man, that was a heck of a deal. I miss the good ole days.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We went in Oct 1997. It was very nice, relaxing, quiet. They had different talks about animals. This was kind of like what you have at Rafiki's Planet Watch without the large building. Most of it was outdoors. Paths to walk on around the island so you could see different animals and plants.

Did you know that they now call the area at AK where the Tree of Life is located? Discovery Island.

 

[LadyDulcinea1]

Went when I was five, so I don't really remember much about it But I do remember there were lots of birds and as a five year old who loves animals I enjoyed it

 

[solferino]

We went in 97 and 98 and we really enjoyed the difference between there and the parks. Where we live we're essentially living in the middle of the woods (right Jenny2 ??) and for us it was nice to have a connection back to nature. We love disney, but I really enjoyed the connection with the real-live attractions there as much as the made up ones.

 

[swtnikki]

I remember going all the time when it was there - couple of times per trip too. You took the boat from Ft. Wilderness to the Island, & from there you would walk the path to see the animals & plants. I remember it being hot though, good thing for the refreshment stands. Oh yeah, they had flamingos too.

 

[Feralpeg]

DD and I went there once. It was nice although pretty I mostly remember the big bugs.

 

[newcomer52]

We went over for a few hours on our departure day in 1990. This kids enjoyed the boat ride over and the bird shows. Wish we had gone to River Country too since it's gone now also.

 

[mrscoobs]

It was a nice, laid back aviary with some other animals mixed in as well (some reason I remember little monkeys too) with a pretty decent bird show to boot. If I remember correctly though, it had a trouble past with the zoo animal association (I forget the actual name of the org.) and some of the birds getting sick in the early 90s : Then Animal Kingdom came along and sealed the islands fate.

 

[QT Pooh]

My mother used to make us go when we were younger. We'd stay at FW and take the boat over. Like everyone said, it was an island in Bay Lake that had lots of birds and other small animals. I guess I didn't appreciate it as a kid, but looking back now, I would venture over there if it was still open!