Disney Has a Pair of Abandoned Properties

You’ve probably heard about all of the new stuff coming to Disney Parks over the next couple of years—Toy Story Land, a Star Wars hotel, new rides, new attractions, and more. But what about all of the old stuff?

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Disney closed the gates on two of its smaller properties: Discovery Island, an island filled with interesting plants and animals, and River Country, a water park with a rustic “swimming hole” theme. More than 15 years later, both remain abandoned.

DISCOVERY ISLAND

In the early 1960s, when Walt Disney was flying over the Orlando area to scout locations for his newest theme park, he noticed a little island that looked particularly secluded and peaceful. When he completed his Disney World land purchase, he made sure the island, then known as Riles Island, was included.

Disney originally planned to call the place “Blackbeard’s Island” and give it an elaborate pirate theme. Construction took about a decade longer than they intended, but in 1974, the island did open to the public under the name “Treasure Island.” It wasn’t as heavily-themed as Walt had wanted—in fact, the only pirate "relic" was a shipwreck replica. Other than the fake wreck, the main attractions were exotic birds, animal demonstrations, and various walkways, lookout points, beaches, and lagoons.

Disunplugged // The Walt Disney Company

Treasure Island was open for just two years before Disney decided to make it bigger. They brought in 50,000 cubic yards of soil to expand the island to 11 acres, added more than 250 plants and flowers, and introduced 140 new exotic birds and animals. It was eventually renamed “Discovery Island” and was re-branded with an ecological theme.

It was never one of Disney’s most popular attractions, so it was a no-brainer to close Discovery Island after the bigger-and-better zoological park, Animal Kingdom, opened in 1998. The island’s animals were relocated to the new facilities and others were placed in non-Disney zoos across the country.

Discovery Island is still there all these years later, though it’s been completely abandoned. An urban explorer found his way onto the island in 2009 (don’t try this at home, by the way) and snapped a few pictures of what it looks like these days. Though it appears pretty desolate now, there have been some thoughts about how to resurrect this valuable piece of real estate.

Soon after the island closed, Disney met with Robyn and Rand Miller, the creators of the hugely popular computer games Myst and Riven, hoping to recreate a real-life version of the adventure game. A certain number of guests would be admitted to the island each morning and would have a set number of hours to explore, unlocking secrets and finding hidden passages in the process. No two experiences would ever be the same. Storylines were plotted and plans were sketched, but the Myst island never fully materialized.

In 2009, one site suggested that Disney had extensive plans in place to transform the place into a Lost-themed island, but that turned out to be a hoax. Nevertheless, diehard fans immediately rallied to the cause, even starting an online petition that show producer Damon Lindelof signed. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to visit the Hatch or purchase DHARMA Initiative-branded fountain drinks anytime soon.

RIVER COUNTRY

River Country, a quaint little water park featuring tire swings, a barrel bridge, and two water slides called “Whoop ‘N’ Holler Hollow,” first opened to the public in 1976. The first rider to christen the water slide was Susan Ford, the daughter of then-President Gerald Ford.

The Huckleberry Finn-esque swimming hole, located near the Fort Wilderness campground area, was a popular vacation destination for 25 years, and was even the focus of a Wonderful World of Disney episode called “The Mouseketeers at Disney World.” At the end of the 2001 season, however, River Country was shut down for good. The rumor has long been that the death of an 11-year-old boy contributed to the closure, but the tragedy—the result of a rare amoeba found in freshwater lakes—occurred in 1980, 21 years before the proverbial windows were shuttered.

What’s closer to the truth, according to Yesterland, is that River Country simply became too expensive to operate. Theme park attendance dropped after September 11, forcing Disney to make budget cuts. Because two newer, easier-to-access water parks had been opened in more recent years, closing River Country was likely an easy decision to make.

Though a spokesperson said that River Country could potentially reopen if there was “enough guest demand,” it never did. Disney drained and filled in the 333,000-gallon Upstream Plunge pool just last year. There are currently no plans to demolish what remains of River Country, but there’s been speculation that the area will eventually be converted into timeshare units for the Disney Vacation Club.

Photojournalist Seph Lawless documented the decaying park in 2016.