What was Discovery Island?

[Lorix2]

I can't remember where I saw this, Travel Channel maybe?

Which park was it at? It said it had been closed for years and in the video footage from a distance, you could see it was all overgrown and neglected.

I'm curious to know what type of 'attraction' this was and why it was closed.

Thanks

 

[Ona]

It's a little island in the middle of Bay Lake. It used to have all sorts of birds and wildlife and there were 'rangers' there to tell you all about them. You could just walk round at you own pace and enjoy the scenery.

It closed in the mid 90's I think and I might be wrong, but I think this was due to the opening of the AK. I think that it is now a wildlife sanctuary but is not open to guests.

Ona

 

[cleo]

Discovery Island was truly a uniqe addition at Disney. As Ona said, it was an at-your-own-pace nature preserve, filled (FILLED!) with birds and other wildlife. There were a few shows and two children's educational programs on conservation and animal habitats.

One great feature of the Discovery Island days was that a 5 Day ticket at that time got you into the 'minor parks' (DI, BB, TL, RC) for free, with unlimited access. You could take a launch from MK over to Discovery Island and have an impromptu picnic and mid-day break without using up any of your pass.

There have been rumors of DI becoming various things, such as Myst Island (a personal favorite), but my understanding is that it's only been used for private functions at this point. It's a shame it had to close when AK opened. It really was a complete departure from the typical WDW offerings, and a welcome change of pace.

 

[Lorix2]

Thank you both. I'm glad I asked. It sounds like it was a great place to go...that's wonderful if they do still use it for wildlife. I wish I had seen it before it closed.

 

[elemusing]

I have two tickets in my wallet to Discovery Island that I never used on my honeymoon in 1996! Always wished they would let me trade those in for AK or at least a water park.

Angie

 

[Hagred]

When I went to the Disney Institute in May, 1999, we took a trip to Discovery Island to do a day-shoot of the birds. (Photography) They told us then that Discovery Island was either closed or almost closed because they were moving all the birds over to Animal Kingdom.

It WAS a great little island and the birds were FANTASTIC to shoot. Lots of color for great pictures. Our program leader (an excellent photographer in his own right) showed us how to get some excellent shots of a bald eagle with a 300mm lens on a unipod.

It was (and probably still is) a very tranquil island to walk around on. There's little fear of getting lost because it's kinda small and you can't hear much of anything like road noise or people on it. I hope they turn it into some kind of sanctuary where it won't be filled with people.

 

[jazyjewel]

I didn't realize that Discovery Island had closed. I went there several years ago and really enjoyed it. I got some great pics of an eagle and all kinds of other birds. That was really a great little island, it will be missed.
Julie

 

[Safari Steve]

The non-native birds and animals that once inhabited Discovery Island were moved to DAK.

 

[mareka]

They had special tours for kids (for a price). We did the keys of the kingdon tour and my son went to Discovery Island. They gave him a camera and he took pictures and had a great time. Lunch included. The older children did a tour that included animation. They learned to draw Mickey Mouse. It was great. Unfortuneatly these tours no longer exist.