Anyone seen River Country recently??

[feline figaro]

Hi all ,

I ve just been looking through the boards & found a really old thread about River Country . I ve read the many possible reasons why this may have closed & also lots of people saying that they ve visited the site by boat & can still see it still intact. These are pretty old threads though (from '05) so was just wondering if anyone has seen anything of the area which was River Country within the last yr or so & if you had any pics to share .

I can remember going here in '95 & really loving it , it was a really nice relaxing day. I can remember laying on the sand over looking the lake which was a beautiful site. I love Typhoon Lagoon too & many people said one of the factors for it closing was that it just could nt compete with the 2 other water parks. I still think though it had a lovely charm to it, i definatly have fond memories of going there.

Am pretty sure they re not still there now but a few yrs back apparently the signs for River Country were still up around wdw even though it was closed back in 2001 (something many people commented was a strange thing for Disney to leave up). Someone said they managed to walk up to the area which was fenced off but when they looked over the fench everything was still in place. Granted this thread was in '05 so im just curious to know if its been totally removed.

Im visiting wdw in Oct so would love to if poss have a glimpse at River Country & remember back to when i was 14 sunning myself on its beach

Shame as it was a unique experience when compared to most water parks

 

[Bob P]

Hi,

You may find some interesting info in this link:

http://waltdatedworld.bravepages.com/id220.htm

 

[scourtneyb]

This is just speculation...
But it may possibly be closed because IF I remember correctly (I was quite young when it closed) part of the park used water from the lake...and from what I have heard from CM's at Fort Wilderness, the bacteria levels in that lake are quite high.
Again, I have no real facts! But I still have pictures of my sisters & I at River Country...we loved it!

 

[Goofy4]

For all the speculation I've seen, someone usually chimes in and says it's really just about money --- too expensive to keep it open with the other water parks and fancy pools around.

 

[Tinkfan10]

I heard or read somewhere that it is sinking so they don't know what to do with it yet. They can't build on the area because its unstable and they are not letting people in so it looks like a ghost water park. I would love for it to reopen but I don't think it ever will. Who knows?

 

[Robo]

River Country in Decay

 

[deej696]

I've rode by RC a few times this year in a water sprite, and it is obviously very run down. I guess its not worth the expense to Disney to clean it up, but it sure is an eyesore in my opinion. At least with the old Discovery Island, most of the stuff is hidden by the trees.

 

[feline figaro]

River Country in Decay

Gees its in a real bad way , im surprised they dont try to do something with the land. I guess though as its not really visable to guests (unless via the lake) it may not be seen as a priority . What ever their reasons for closing it was its a real shame as it did have a nice quality to it that most other water parks lack. Plus the views ovet the lake were beautiful.

No one knows the real reason, i ve read soooo many speculated reasons, it would be interesting however to find out exactly why it was closed plus why nothing has been done to the land.

Thanks for the pics, just seems out of the ordinary for Disney to let something sit there for sooooo long in such a bad way. Then again i guess POP has a similar situation although i dont think the Legendary years look as sad as this site

 

[jessily]

I was at Fort Wilderness in 05 and was able to sneak a peak through the fences. Everything was still intact. Kind of creepy. I'm returning to Fort Wilderness again in Sept. for the segway tour and planning to check it out too.

 

[Robo]

...Thanks for the pics, just seems out of the ordinary for Disney to let something sit there for sooooo long in such a bad way. Then again i guess POP has a similar situation although i dont think the Legendary years look as sad as this site

Pop Century -Legendary Years, UNFINISHED

 

[ntsammy5]

There's a lot of speculation from time to time on the camping board about River Country. It's unlikely it will ever reopen due to several factors including economics and problems with lake water -- Disney has officially announced that it is closed permanently. It was closed late in 2001, so it's only been closed for 6 1/2 years.

River Country


BTW You can still look through the fences

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

We just got back from a magical week at WDW. We stayed at Fort Wilderness (cabins). We took the boat to MK a few times. We could see the outskirts of River Country. It just looked like a dock in the middle of nowhere. Everything else is pretty much hidden from view thankfully. But, I will say it is still there in its shabby state.

- Jennifer

 

[Spaceship Earthfan]

Then again i guess POP has a similar situation although i dont think the Legendary years look as sad as this site

I don't know, the Legendary Years area looks pretty crummy too ...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=bSc1fG0ETeY

 

[Robo]

I don't know, the Legendary Years area looks pretty crummy too ...

And, as long as we're looking at depressing, ugly, wind-swept WDW artifact video...

Here's what happened to the Mickey Hand and Wand that used to be standing next to Epcot's Spaceship Earth.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=cSLW9xNGMhU

(At least it is not where guests can see it easily.)

 

[feline figaro]

I think because so many of us went to River Country & loved it its just has more of an effect than seeing the Pop Legendary years. Mainly due to being able to remember how the areas in the pics use to look & how great it was there.Both are strange sites to see considering how fantastic Disney is known for looking, a little sad to see in wdw complex

 

[feline figaro]

I don't know, the Legendary Years area looks pretty crummy too ...

And, as long as we're looking at depressing, ugly, wind-swept WDW artifact video...

Here's what happened to the Mickey Hand and Wand that used to be standing next to Epcot's Spaceship Earth.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=cSLW9xNGMhU

(At least it is not where guests can see it easily.)

Thats another very sad sight to see i cant believe it was all just left on the floor like that. I wonder where abouts that was all located?
Im a tad sad the wands gone as i liked it up, by the looks of it thats not everyones opinion after reading the comments on YouTube. I just thought it made Epcot look fun

 

[Dan Murphy]

Hi,

You may find some interesting info in this link:

http://waltdatedworld.bravepages.com/id220.htm

I don't know, the Legendary Years area looks pretty crummy too ...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=bSc1fG0ETeY

Interesting links, thank you.

 

[Cindy's Mom]

River Country always bring a shiver to my spine....way back in 1977 I was a pre-teen, riding the water slide in my brand new Jaclyn Smith/Charlies Angel bikini, and my top completely fell off. I was motified. A male lifeguard had to tell me to fix my bathing suit.

LESSON LEARNED: I have never been on a water slide in a bikini.

 

[fall08CP]

http://www.disneypix.com/Recreation/River/WaterParks_RC.htm

That site has some pictures from both when it was open and how it is as of May 2005. Pretty interesting.

 

[feline figaro]

http://www.disneypix.com/Recreation/River/WaterParks_RC.htm

That site has some pictures from both when it was open and how it is as of May 2005. Pretty interesting.

Some very interesting pics, shame its been left in such a poor state though. Views looking over mk & Contemporary were such a great thing to see when laying on the beach there. A lovely place where you could really kick back & relax

Looking back on these pics makes me feel old

I had completly forgotten about this park until i came a cross old threads this morning, its only then that i thought back to my last trip in '95 that i realised what clear memories of RC i have & since then i ve never been to any waterpark that had that kind of charm to it