DISNEY'S DISCOVERY ISLAND ZOO MAY FACE SPRINGTIME EXTINCTION
By Jill Jorden Spitz of The Sentinel Staff
Published in The Orlando Sentinel, December 11, 1997
Discovery Island, a zoological park that is one of Walt Disney World's oldest attractions, may soon go the way of one of its former residents -- the extinct dusky seaside sparrow.
Although a final decision hasn't been made, Disney likely will close the island when the company's fourth Central Florida theme park opens next spring.
Sources say the closure would be a logical next step to a plan to relocate many of the animals now housed at the 11-acre Discovery Island to Disney's Animal Kingdom.
The island "is going to be impacted" by Animal Kingdom, Walt Disney World President Al Weiss said. "There will be animals moved."
Even if the current attraction closes, Disney won't abandon the tropical island, which is traversed with boardwalks that pass by a wide variety of birds, crocodiles and gigantic tortoises.
Insiders say several replacement ideas are being discussed, with the most likely candidate tentatively called Camp Hakuna Matata, a wilderness camping experience based on the "no worries" motto from Disney's The Lion King.
Other contenders:
-- A day-long treasure hunt, in which families would use a treasure map to search for clues on a pirate-themed island.
-- Four luxury honeymoon cottages. Insiders say this option is the least likely because of the logistical challenges and costs of providing 24-hour luxury amenities such as room service and on-call boat transportation to and from the island.
Without commenting on the options, Weiss emphasized that nothing is final.
"What we ultimately do with Discovery Island, we haven't determined," he said.
But sources say that while Discovery Island has a quaint charm, it will seem small, redundant and dull when Animal Kingdom opens.
And that's exactly what several people visiting the island Wednesday said they like.
"I like the intimacy of this better" than the hustle and bustle of a theme park, said Bruce Ramsey, in town from Columbus, Ohio, with his young son.
John Gittins, who was visiting from Luton, England, said he, too, liked the peace and quiet of a day on Discovery Island.
"It's a sanctuary type of place," he said. "And it's fairly isolated -- that's probably good for the animals."
Although it never was a high-profile Disney attraction, Discovery Island has made headlines on at least two occasions.
In the 1980s, the island was home to the remaining dusky seaside sparrows. The last six males of the species were captured in 1980, and Disney tried to crossbreed them with other sparrows so the species wouldn't completely die out.
The last pure dusky seaside sparrow died in 1987. Two years later, the last four crossbred sparrows disappeared from the island when strong winds ripped a hole in their cage.
Also in 1989, Disney was charged with 16 counts of animal cruelty stemming from the deaths and mistreatment of vultures and other birds on the island.
The vultures were attacking animals, stealing their food, defecating on boardwalks and making noise.
According to the state and federal charges, Discovery Island workers beat vultures to death; held dozens of the birds in a small, overheated shed with little food and water; shot at hawks and falcons; and knocked eggs from the nests of egrets and ibises.
The charges were dropped after Disney made improvements at the attraction, and Disney officials never admitted any wrongdoing.
Discovery Island opened April 8, 1974, as Treasure Island. Its name was changed to the current one in 1977. Until the 1982 opening of Epcot, it was one of the only attractions at Walt Disney World.
The island is near Fort Wilderness -- boats from the campground run regularly -- and costs $11.40 for adults and $6.20 for children.
I'm sure that helped secure it's fate as well. 
That was back when the pool at the Poly had a waterfall slide....oh it was so modern and wild and different. My how time and progress changes things!
