Halloween 2008 at the Fort

[stacktester]

wow, one of the true original water parks. that old picture reminds me of the fun we used to have there. the pool wasn't quite as big as that picture made it seem but it was a blast; they just don't make em like that anymore!

Almost makes me want to go clean it out myself and go for a dip lol. I never went to RC but it looks like it was fun. Only Disney can create places like that and then they let it go to waste.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

You know that I took more that two photos back in the old River Country, right? I took quite a few actually.

For your viewing pleasure:

I was able to snap this photo through a gap in a gate. This little building is shown on the park map as being in an area called Indian Springs. It is just to the right of the Upstream Plunge pool:

Same area, with the camera directed just a little to the left. The rocks you see are the edge of the Upstream Plunge pool:

Sorry, this one is a little blurry, but it is taken through the same opening, again panning a little further to the left. You can see the edge of the pool area here:

This one is taken from outside the fence, pointing toward the buildings that are now being used for the Backyard Barbecue entrance. This is where the restrooms, showers and lockers used to be. Notice the River Country trash can. These buildings connect to the old Pop's Place restaurant counter service restaurant, which is just to the left in this photo:

The doorway that you see in the red building leads to Men's and Women's restrooms. These obviously have been rehabbed, and are kind of industrial looking now. I remember that the River Country restrooms used to be much bigger, and there were showers in there. There are no showers in these new restrooms (no need for that):

Here is a closer shot of the restroom entrance. The sign must be an original from when River Country was open:

These restrooms were unlocked and clean. They must use them for the Backyard Barbecue guests.

Here is a photo of the area taken from further back. You see the buildings that we have just been looking at on the right, and the Pop's Place restaurant building on the left:

This area has been cleaned up, and looks pretty good.

I hope this next group of photos comes out clear in this post. These are photos of the old Pop's Place sign. It has been painted over, but you can still see the lettering through the paint. I'm not sure if it will be visible in these photos, but let's see:

And, what would a TCD trip report be without a peak into a backstage area?

Right around the corner from Pop's Place, there is a door marked Castmembers Only- This is obviously a storage area of sorts. You can see the Tri-Circle-D horse barn in the background:

And here are the fishing guides' bait tanks that use to be kept under the overhang of the River Country ticket booth:

I have more, but this post is getting long. I'll post the rest in the next post.

TCD

 

[Donna]

Almost makes me want to go clean it out myself and go for a dip lol. I never went to RC but it looks like it was fun. Only Disney can create places like that and then they let it go to waste.

its frustrating too, because ONLY disney has the imagineering smarts and MONEY to fix this back up and open it again. i wish i could sit down with whoever made THAT decision and what their plans are, if any. i guess when the so-called BIGGER and BETTER water parks came along, they thought attendance would die down and i'm sure it DID die down to the point of not being feasible to leave it open. But i have a feeling if this was fixed up the way only disney can fix it up and promote it, you'd be waiting in line to get in.

that can be a good thing AND a bad thing. it may ruin the quiet and peacefulness of the fort as we know it now. i think the best way to do it would be ONLY allow fort guests for a slight fee, like our own exclusive themed pool, but then site costs would probably go up to cover the cost of renovations. can't win, lol.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

I have more River Country photos:

Here is what the open area looks like. There are fences screening most of the views:

These are shots taken by holding my camera over the fence. These are of the same area that we have already looked at:

You really can't get a good view of the old lake area. It is very overgrown, but you can still kind of see a little through the trees. In this photo, you can see some of the structures that are in the lake, and the big rock formation that was used for the bigger slides in the background:

You can't see much in this photo, but if you look under the pine branch, you can see the poles for the rope bridge that used to be in the lake:

Not much to see in this photo, either, but you can kind of see the rock formation there in the back:

You can see a bit of a dock in this photo (same area):

Another over the fence photo, taken of the area to the right of where we have just been looking. I think this used to be a picnic area. The roof of the building that you see was a gift shop, if I recall correctly:

Another shot of the same roof:

Same area, you can see the Disney rocks there in the background:

Same area, looking at the ground:

One thing that was always weird about River Country is that it always seemed like it was really close to the Contemporary Hotel. I think this is because Discovery Island does not block the view from here. You can see the Contemporary through the trees in this shot:

This sidewalk leads to the area shown as the nature walk on the map:

This is what is looks like on the other side of the gate. You can barely see the sidewalk, and those things you see hidden in the brush are picnic tables:

This is off to the right of where we were just looking:

I still have more . . . to be continued.

TCD

 

[Tri-circle-D]

I want to try that Pop's Place sign one more time.

It says Pop's Place in larger lettering, and then below it says, Snacks & Refreshments As You Like 'em.

TCD

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Whew-

I still have a few more River Country pictures.

I guess I got a little carried away back there.

But, there is a lot to see.

My family and I visited River Country several times back in the day, so it was bittersweet for me to finally get back there for some photos.

I also found an open gate, and what I believe is a way to get further back into the attraction area, but I will save that for another time.

Here are photos of the areas that are open to the public.

This is a view from the open area in front of the old Pop's Place. You can get a clear view of the Contemporary from here:

This photo was taken from the area in front of Pop's Place, looking back toward the entrance. You can see the water tower in the background:

This is the area immediately opposite Pop's Place (standing if front of Pop's Place with your back to Pop's Place and looking straight ahead):

Here we have a little smoking area. I think this might be for Backyard Barbecue guests. There are a lot of butts in the ashtrays:

That is a Musket Mickey trash can, BTW:

It is actually pretty nice back here:

This is looking toward Pop's place as you enter this area:

A shot of the water tower:

And the old ticket window. Unfortunately, there is no longer a relaxing pool or springs back here:

You know what would be fun? Get a take out chicken dinner from Trails End, and have yourself a picnic back here. You would have to pick a night when there is not a Backyard Barbecue, but this would be a great place to have a picnic. You have tables, trash cans, and restrooms.

Next up, a few more photos, and this report is done!

TCD

 

[Donna]

oh the possibilities are endless! i LOVE the chicken/picnic idea, like having a private piece of disney all to yourself. i am kicking myself for not checking this out a couple weeks ago.
PLEASE tell me there's more to come!

 

[Us3]

It was very nice, quiet and peacful back there TCD! However it was almost too quiet...it would be nice if they added some speakers with quiet music in the background to give it more of a Disney feel.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

I just found these old River Country photos on line:

Kind of neat to compare what these areas used to look like with the current photos that I just took last weekend.

TCD

 

[stacktester]

Looks like they're putting a lot into the old area for some reason. Why do all this to a closed down area? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Maybe the pool is going to be at River Country lol.

 

[my3princes]

Nice photos. We were back there in 2007 when we did the segway tour. That was where it started. The bathrooms were clean and useable back then. Some of the buildings housed the segways and the sidewalk areas were used as the practice area before heading out on the trails.

 

[BigDaddyRog]

Boy...wouldnt THAT be great!!! You have a very valid point, Donnie...why all the sprucing up of this area???? I cant wait to see what the reason is.

 

[Mmketeer]

I know what you're thinking.

You are thinking that there is no way that TCD can show you something new.

Well, I'm telling you you're wrong.

So, you saw on the schedule above that there is a pet parade on Friday morning.

I'm there.

Here is what I see. Looks like a bunch of dogs in costumes:

Wait a second, one of these dogs looks a little different.

Take a closer look:

Does that dog have a big white stripe down its back, or is it just me?:

Dude, that is no dog. It's a skunk!

What the heck?

Yep, that is definitely a skunk! And, check out the dog in the skunk costume. Shouldn't the skunk have had on a dog costume?

Here the contestants march on from the dog park toward the 300 loop:

Just when I think that I have seen it all, this fellow comes running up:

What is this?

I am as intrigued by the owner (is that Clay Aiken?) as I am by his dog:

I'm sorry, but this costume bothers me even more than the lady with the skunk:

So, who has ever seen a skunk in the Fort.

Raise your hand if you have.

I didn't think so.

TCD, you've done it again!

TCD

Bravo...geeze, I didn't realize your reports were so entertaining and educational. I'll have to read them more often. Hoping for my turn soon near the canal on the 800 loop real soon!!

 

[3gr8kids]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Maybe the pool is going to be at River Country lol.

THAT would be awesome!

 

[seabee]

I looped past that grave yard on Tuesday night with Nicole (Seabea) and all of our girls. We were on the cart moving at a snails pace looking at all of the ghost and mangled pieces of whatever in the grave yard. The ghostly statues they had were quite realistic and we took time to study each one. As we approached the last "ghostly statue" it made a sudden move toward us! I couldn't get that electric cart out of there fast enough! It was pretty cool...the only freight we had all week.

That was so HILARIOUS!! We all screamed, and I think all of our hearts just about jumped from our chests! We must have laughed about that for 10 mins!

 

[LONE-STAR]

Man TCD you had me going with all the River Country talk I was waiting for you to say they where going to open the old pool and counter service back there. I felt like a YO-YO I was up then down. I sure wish they would turn River Country into the themed pool for FW. As always great report TCD

 

[Goingtoseethemouse]

HI! Had a blast hanging out with all of you over Halloween! We were in 301 right behind the dog park. We had the Oggie Boogie, Jack, and the Do Not CRoss Crime Scene inflatables. Our dog Callie (French Bulldog) won 3rd place in the costime contest! Callie was dresssed as the Lobster. We also had two other dogs in the pet parade Sprout our Brussles was a pirate and Angler our golden was Snoop Dog.

News on the street is that the Clay Aiken look alike was a CM.

Any one heading back for Thanksgiving?

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Man TCD you had me going with all the River Country talk I was waiting for you to say they where going to open the old pool and counter service back there. I felt like a YO-YO I was up then down. I sure wish they would turn River Country into the themed pool for FW. As always great report TCD

As much as I would like that idea to be true, I don't see them making the River Country attractions into a free pool area for the Fort. There is no economic incentive for them to do this.

Now, here is an idea. I read a rumor somewhere recently (I can't remember where) that WDW management was considering creating a small, all-inclusive park experience similar to Sea World's Discovery Cove. The concept is a small, unique park experience, with a limited number of guests, and some premium amenities. Could River Country and/or Discovery Island be a location for this type of a project? I think so. Maybe something where people get to interact with animals? Add some nice pools, water attractions, a nice bar and restaurant, and you might have something there.

TCD

 

[Tri-circle-D]

HI! Had a blast hanging out with all of you over Halloween! We were in 301 right behind the dog park. We had the Oggie Boogie, Jack, and the Do Not CRoss Crime Scene inflatables. Our dog Callie (French Bulldog) won 3rd place in the costime contest! Callie was dresssed as the Lobster. We also had two other dogs in the pet parade Sprout our Brussles was a pirate and Angler our golden was Snoop Dog.

News on the street is that the Clay Aiken look alike was a CM.

Any one heading back for Thanksgiving?

Hey, we met Angler and Callie at the dog park a couple of times.

They were there with your son.

Here is the TCD dog:

She had a good time playing with Angler one afternoon at the dog park.

Didn't know y'all were Disboard members!

TCD

 

[marble96]

Our first time at the Fort for Halloween and the kids had a blast, we had them in there costumes all day and they got tons of loot. The decorations were great. Hope to do it again next year.