Originally Posted By ChiMike No. River Country as it was known is dead. Even the idea of running the chlorine pool for Ft. Wilderness guests was a non-starter.
Originally Posted By hightp I only visited Discovery Island once, in 1991 and tended to stay away from it on subsequent trips. My wife and I had gone on our honeymoon, and on our return trips we thought the kids would be too small to enjoy it. Now, I think it would make a great place for Disney to resurrect their TV studio. I think it would be a nice background for Disney to shoot one of their kids programs. It's got a nice natural setting, it's realitivly quiet, and I assume it has a power source. I imagine it may be diffiuclt to transport things too, but, at one time it had a dock. Too bad it's going to waste.
Originally Posted By Labuda How big is Discovery Island, anyway? I never got to experience it myself...
Originally Posted By fundog58 I visited Discovery Island a few times in the mid-90's. They had a reciprocal agreement with our local zoo (and I would assume other accredited zoos) so you could actually get in for free if you were a zoo member. The island was very shady and tropical, with a long, circular boardwalk. There was a bird show and (I believe) a reptile show. There was also a fake shipwreck at the far end of the island, which was apparently built for an abandoned attraction. (I'm sure some of the Disney historians out there can fill in more of the details.) Maybe Disney figured that Animal Kingdom made Discovery Island somewhat redundant, but I was sad to hear it was gone. It was a nice place to visit.
Originally Posted By beamerdog We enjoyed Discovery Island when it was still there. However, with the current trend toward more "exciting" entertainment, I'm sure it would be a ho hum experience for most of the park goers. It was a quiet, slower paced experience. My kids liked it at elementary school age. And they had more zoo experience than most as we were members of the Philadelphia Zoo which ran an excellent bird show (better than Discovery Island's) and had travelled to numerous zoos across the US. I'd love to see something done there. Maybe a new evening entertainment venue to add to the luau and hoop-de-doo.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<The island was very shady and tropical, with a long, circular boardwalk. There was a bird show and (I believe) a reptile show. There was also a fake shipwreck at the far end of the island, which was apparently built for an abandoned attraction. (I'm sure some of the Disney historians out there can fill in more of the details.) >> The shipwreck dates back to the island's original incarnation as Treasure Island (think non-Jack Sparrow type Pirates)in a lightly themed tropical island. DAK did make Discovery Island unneeded ... but it's just one more part of the old,magical, slower-paced WDW that I miss. No FastPasses. No park-hopping (or just from one to the other via monorail). No planning meals six months in advance. No getting up at 5:30 a.m., but maybe staying out until 2:30 a.m. .... yeah, I'm old (but very, very, very wise)!
Originally Posted By juicer I see guests in those "water mice" riding all around the island...Has any one tried to go explore the island by tying up their boat and had a look around - I bet its very dangerous - especially if the paths were mostly boardwalks and the place has been closed for a few years - (a person could fall through one of those very easily) Mind you..I am not condoning someone to do this...I'm just wondering if anyone did?
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom Disney isn't going to be policeing everywhere at ever point in time. I'm sure you can "sneak" onto Discovery Island just like you can "jump and swim" in bay lake or the Seven Seas Lagoon. Just a reminder, Disney is watching and you will be told to desist any "unauthorized" activities.
