Discovery Island / River Country and other good things gone bye bye

[5fromNC]

OK, I'm a newbie to this board and FW, but not WDW. I haven't visited since '89, and then it was the Treehouse Villas that were located over near the Disney Institute (both now hiding in the shadows of progress). On two previous trips in the '80s, we stayed at the nearby Fairway Villas (which I understand were the first to go down).

By now you are wondering why this post is in the camper forum. Well, here goes: Now in my planning, I find that River Country and Discovery Island are just memories too....OR ARE THEY? Has anyone tried to view the old River Country or Discovery Island sites by Pontoon Boat or Water Mouse? I know you wouldn't be able to get close, but hey, I'm in shock here. I gotta have some hope of rekindling those memories. Anybody ever take binoculars in the boats? I can't imagine that these old sites are completely destroyed.

I know it all sounds silly, but I guess it's kinda like how some folks visit what's left of the narrow guage train tracks at FW. Any info on the current viewability of these attractions or the lodging mentioned earlier is appreciated. NOTE: I KNOW THEY ARE CLOSED AND NEVER TO BE REOPENED.

James

 

[Trackerbee]

According to our hayride guide, who is in charge of the stables, Discovery Island is closed for good, mainly because they opened AK. They closed River Country because they had two other water parks, BB and TL, and they felt that was enough, because it was going to cost way to much for them to overhaul it to keep it going. It looks really spooky over there now because it is all overgrown and most everything that could be salvaged was taken out of there piece by piece. The Treehouse Villa's supposedly are used by security. They were not handicap accessible and they had started to rot, so they tore some down and use the rest for security offices.

 

[Memaw2Wm]

Well, they are still there ... when you take the FW launch to MK you pass right by Discovery Island ... the shipwreak is still there ... and you can see the dock on one end of the island.

River Country is still there too as best I can tell while sailing by ... but I've never tried walking back towards the old entrance.

Me, I've got my fingers crossed that if tourism continues to increase Disney will refurbish and reopen River Country ... if only as a theme pool for FW.

 

[RocklandRVers]

We used the Family Plan for renting water craft in December and spent a lot of time exploring Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon. I got as close as I could to River Country without bottoming out the pontoon boat. It is all overgrown. One afternoon we saw a truck with its amber light flashing and a group of workers doing something, but couldn't see what was happening. Also saw a couple of boats tied up to the west dock of Discovery Island. It could have been some CMs partying for all we knew.

I have to tell you that I was so tempted to tie up and go ashore on DI. Of course there is no way to do it with the patrol boats keeping such an eagle eye on your every move. Just as an example, my wife and son had a wave racer out together while I was in a pontoon boat. They pulled along side and stopped for maybe a minute to chat over by RC. A patrol boat way over by the parasailing sped over and asked if we were OK. I told the young lady that all was cool and that I was just enjoying the warm sun. She said she had seen me stop a few times and figured I was just making the most of the warm day. She left and didn't bother me. I am sure by the time I got to a dock and tied up she would be right there in her Boston Whaler speed boat.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

Re Tree House Villas. These were doomed a few years ago because of severe termite infestation. According to my inside source, they are not occupied by security. The electricity has been left on and security partrols since a lot of curious visitors have vandalized them. They can be seen on the river cruise to POFQ and POR.

By the way - they received a LOT of hurricane damage last season.

 

[Memaw2Wm]

most everything that could be salvaged was taken out of there piece by piece.

Well, shoot if Disney has taken everything out of there I guess there's no hope that that River Country will be re-opened <pout> ... I was there in 1978 ... my kids were too small to do much more than splash around, but I have fond memories of RC ...

 

[duranfan]

Another issue about River Country is safety. There had been several bad accidents and even a few drownings there over the years. I can't help but think the newer parks can handle safety/liability issues better.
I am an excellent swimmer and I know one time one of the flumes at RC really got to me when I landed in the 'lake'. Yet most rides at the new parks provide easy landings.
They really should do some kind of themed pool even if its only for the cabins or preferred loops. Obviously they would have to put a gate key system on it to keep non guest out.
RE: Discovery Island, remember it use to be Treasure Island! AK was the main reason it closed. SOme animals went over there. Totally miss looking at the flamingos. Its really grown up but they do park alot of Disney boats over there and I've even seen one of the ferry boats docking there (probably training). An employee once told me one idea was for an adults only vacation type island that would be very upscale/pricey with only a small number of villas.

Theres really SO many things I miss about old Disney. I hate how they've messed up the shopping village turning it into one big disney store and how they've stripped the hotel shops, even the FT w out posts are not what they once were. I know the RoyDisney campaign mentioned some of this stuff a few months back.

 

[dis4fun]

I read today on allearsnet.com that Disney officially announced yesterday that River Country is permanently closed. :