Disney's River Country
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| Disney's River Country | |
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| Location | Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando, Florida, United States |
| Theme | Old-fashioned swimmin' hole |
| Operated By | The Walt Disney Company |
| Opened | June 20, 1976 |
| Closed | November 2, 2001 |
Disney's River Country was the first water park at the Walt Disney World Resort. It opened on June 20, 1976 and ceased operations on November 2, 2001.[1] On January 20, 2005, The Walt Disney Company announced that River Country would remain closed permanently.
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[edit] History
Positioned on the shore of Bay Lake near Discovery Island in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, River Country was an rustic wilderness theming, replete with rocks and manmade boulders (created by the same man who created Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at the Magic Kingdom).
It was described as an "old-fashioned swimming hole". The original working title before being changed was "Pop's Willow Grove" and featured a sandy bottom and unique water filtering system using confluent water from adjacent Bay Lake, which was dammed off creating a natural-looking man-made lagoon. It was much smaller than the resort's other two water parks, Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach, with the latter nearly four times the size of River Country.
[edit] List of Attractions
Attractions included:
- Whoop 'n' Holler Hollow, two water slides, 260 ft (79 m) and 160 ft (49 m) long that emptied into Bay Cove
- Bay Cove, a half-acre (2,000 m²) sand-bottom lake which featured a tire swing, boom swing, rope climb, and T-bar drop.
- Slippery Slide Falls, two water slides that emptied into Upstream Plunge, a 330,000 US gallon (1,250 m³) clear-water pool.
- White Water Rapids, a 330 foot (100 m) long inner tube river.
- Cypress Point Nature Trail, a trail among trees beside Bay Lake.
- Indian Springs, A very small splash zone with fountains spraying kids. This area mainly attracted guest under age 8.
- Barrel Bridge, A bumpy bridge with barrels under it. Similar to the one at Tom Sawyer island.
- Kiddie Cove, A kids zone with two large water slides and a cove. This area was targeted toward pre-teens.
[edit] Closure
On January 20, 2005, The Walt Disney Company announced that River Country would remain closed permanently, the closure was due to high amoeba levels from Bay Lake which Walt Disney World was built on. As of writing this, River Country stands abandoned and is slowly being reclaimed by vegetation, and many of the slides and pools are giving way to decay and rust. Reports suggest that music, plumbing, and electricity are still on within the abandoned park. The park is fenced off, but people have managed to get into the park and take pictures and videos.
[edit] References
- ^ Smith, Dave (September 2010). "Ask Dave". D23. Archived from the original on September 28, 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5t5udWW5i. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
[edit] External links
- A photo essay in 2009 of the decaying River Country
Coordinates: 28°24′41″N 81°33′53″W / 28.411325°N 81.5646805556°W
