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Disney's River Country
RiverCountry
The River Country logo
Background
Type Location
Continent North America
Country United States
One-Time? No
Theories  · Ghost

Disney's River Country was the first water park at Walt Disney World. It opened on June 20, 1976, and ceased operations on November 2, 2001. On January 20, 2005, The Walt Disney Company announced that River Country would remain closed permanently. Along with Discovery Island, it is one of only two Disney parks in history to close permanently. Both parks were abandoned rather than demolished.

Background[]

Positioned on the shore of Bay Lake, near Discovery Island in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida, River Country featured a rustic wilderness theming, complete with rocks and man-made boulders. It was described as an "old-fashioned swimming hole" with "a twist of Huckleberry Finn". The original working title was "Pop's Willow Grove".

The park 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. But even with the filtration system, the water from the lake was not completely purified. In 1980, an 11-year-old boy was killed by a deadly disease caused by an amoeba (Naegleria fowleri), which is found in warm bodies of fresh water, such as ponds, lakes, rivers, and hot springs. After entering the body through the nasal passages, the disease, primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, attacks the nervous system and brain. Although this occurs rarely, such an infection nearly always results in the death of the victim. The case fatality rate is greater than 95%.

As it did every year, River Country closed at the end of the warm-weather season (the park closed on November 2, 2001), with the expectation that the water park would reopen in the spring of 2002. But after the 9/11 attacks, the decline in business for all Disney parks and hotels prompted Disney to halt the reopening of River Country. On April 11, 2002, the Orlando Sentinel reported, “Walt Disney World’s first water park, River Country, has closed and may not reopen.” The report concluded with this line: “Disney World spokesman Bill Warren said that River Country could be reopened if ‘there’s enough guest demand.’” The attraction may also have been affected by a change in Florida laws, which prohibited unchlorinated natural water bodies from being used for water park attractions. River Country never reopened and remains abandoned as a forgotten Disney relic as of today. Disney employees monitor the area for trespassers.

Notable Accounts[]

There are no notable accounts that we could find.

Trivia[]

  • Attractions included:
    • Upstream Plunge, a kidney shaped clean-water pool.
    • Slippery Slide Falls, two water slides that emptied into Upstream Plunge.
    • Kiddie Cove, a kids zone with two large water slides and a cove. This area was targeted toward preteens.
    • Barrel Bridge, a bumpy bridge with barrels under it, similar to the one at Tom Sawyer Island.
    • White Water Rapids, a 330 foot (100 m) long inner tube river.
    • Bay Cove, a half-acre (2,000 m²) sand-bottom lake which featured a tire swing, boom swing, rope climb, and T-bar drop.
      • Boom Swing
      • Cable Ride
      • Tire Swing
    • Whoop 'n' Holler Hollow, two water slides, 260 ft (79 m) and 160 ft (49 m) long, that emptied into Bay Cove.
    • Bay Bridge
    • Indian Springs, a very small splash zone with fountains spraying kids. This area was mainly designed for guests under age 8.
    • Cypress Point Nature Trail, a trail among trees beside Bay Lake.
    • Pony Rides
    • Mercury WaterMouse Rental
  • interest in the location seems to have somewhat arised out the fictional creepypasta "Abandoned By Disney". In which a protaganist discovers a abandoned section of the park with haunting. this park may have been the inspiration for that story. It is however unconfirmed.
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Locations
North American Locations
Anjikuni Village · Bennington Triangle · Bermuda Triangle · Blood Bowl · Bremen Troll Bridge · Bridgewater Triangle · Clown Motel · Devil's Gate Reservoir · Devil's Kettle · Devil's Tramping Ground · Disney's River Country · Doveland, Wisconsin · Helltown · House of Blue Lights · Island of the Dolls · Langville, Montana · Shirtwood Forest · Spider Gates · Stairway to Hell · Urkhammer, Iowa · Wakulla Volcano · Zone of Silence
South American Locations
Hoer Verde
Asian Locations
Nagoro
European Locations
Cannock Chase · Flannan Isles Lighthouse · Hoia Forest
African Locations
Australian Locations
Bass Strait Triangle
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North America
North American Cryptids
Airborne Frogman · Batsquatch · Beast of Bladenboro · Beast of Bray Road · Belled Buzzards · Bigfoot · Black Demon · Black Star Penguins · Blue Birdman · Boston Lemur · Buena Vista Giant Spider · Campfire Creature · Carmel Creature · Charles Mill Lake Monster · Chupacabra · Coonigator · Crawfordsville Monster · Crocodingo · Deer Man · Demon Leaper · Deridder Roadkill · Dos Palmas Winged Snake · Dublin Lake Monsters · East River Monster · El Verde Creature · Enfield Horror · Farmer City Monster · Flannel Shirt Sasquatch · Flying Horse of Mexico · Flying Horse of Virginia · Flying Rays · Giant Penguin · Giant Shrimp in the Laundry Room · Gow-Row · Grampus · Green Clawed Beast · Green Eyes · Grunch Road Monster · Herrington Lake Monster · Herring Cove Sea Serpent · Highway Beast · Jackson Dragon · Killer Cactus · Kinderhook Blob · Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp · Manor Road Pig-Dog · Man in the Plastic Bag · Mantis Man · Melrose Creep · Metepec Creature · Michigan Dogman · Montauk Monster · Moss Man · Mothman · Mountain Boomers · Mud Mermaids · Mutant Canine · Nightcrawler · Octoman · Ogopogo · Oil Pit Squid · Oklahoma Octopus · Panama Creature · Pennsylvanian Albino Bigfoot · Red Devil-Bat of Chester · Riverside Monster · Rochester Rat-Dog · Sewer Blob · Sheepsquatch · Snallygaster · Sugar Bundle · Sun Birds · Swift Peter · Texas Big Bird · The Awful · Thetis Lake Monster · Tick Canyon Giant Rabbit · Tumor Seal · Werewolf of Defiance · Whatzit · Wood Devils
North American Alien Sightings
Aliens in Aisle Five · Ausso One · California Fetus · Crazy Critter of Bald Mountain · Crescent · Cycloptic Aliens of Harrah · Dade City Flowers · Falkville Metal Man · Farmersville Green Man · Flatwoods Monster · Gaffney Aliens · Garson Invaders · Georgia Stalks · Gliders · Hopkinsville Goblins · Long Prairie Cans · Medford Shmoos · Newport Stumps · Nuevo Laredo Alien · Old Saybrook Blockheads · Pancake Bakers from Space · Pascagoula Creature · Prospect Monoliths · Ririe Carjackers · Sorrento Crawler · Space Brains of Palos Verdes · Space Penguins of Tuscumbia · Syracuse Giant Insects · The Purple Glob · Tripod Creature · Van Meter Visitor · Veggieman
North American UFO Sightings
4th of July UFO · Butterfly UFO · Lubbock Lights · Warren UFO
North American Hauntings
Annabelle the Doll · Arlington Attic Ghost · Avon Haunted Bridge · Bassett Ghost Cars · Bell Witch · Blue Albino Woman · Bobby Mackey's Music World · Boy Scout Lane · Demon's Road · Demon Cat · Demon of Brownsville Road · Devil Baby of Hull House · Eunice Welsh's Mausoleum · Faceless Figure of Dead Man's Curve · Fantasma Colorado · Ghost Bus of Highway 93 · Ghost Cow · Ghost Deer · Ghost Mammoth · Ghost Moose · Ghost Wolf · Ghosts of Disney · Ghosts of the Charles Haskell · Graceland Cemetery · Grant Park · Green Lady of Wahiawa · La Belle Cemetery · Mandy the Doll · Moody's Light · Old Man Weary · Old Woman in the Crawlspace · Purple Bubble · Purple Head Bridge · Ring of Children and the Banshee · Robert the Doll · Seaweed Charlie · Stiffy Green · Tall, Dark, & Gruesome · Tanaka the Drowned Ghost · Vincent Hitchcock the Doll · Waverly Hills Sanatorium · Wyoming Woman in Black
North American Phenomena
Black Aggie · Black Mist of Casa Grande Mountain · Bleeding House on Fountain Drive · Blinking Crucifix · Carnivorous Pink Cloud · Coke Mystery Vending Machine · Cursed Grave of Carl Pruitt · Dancing Underpants · Death Valley Sailing Stones · Face in the Courthouse Window · Flying Mist Mattress · Fountain Cloud · Handprint of the Carbon County Jail · Handprint of the Chicago Firehouse · John Lawson Mannequins · Kokomo Hum · Michigan Blue Hell · Moodus Noises · Polybius · Smiling Stones · St. Louis Light · Swirling Basement Thing · Taos Hum · The Black Angel
North American Beings
Axeman Of New Orléans · Bandage Man · Bunny Man · Black Flash · Butterfly People of Joplin · Cloak Man of Clifton Heights · Danbury Frog People · Dark Baby · Donkey Lady · Grinning Man · Harlequin · Houston Batman · Invisible Man of Palmetto · Mad Gasser of Mattoon · Maryland Goatman · Mauston Birdman · Melonheads · Mercy Brown Vampire · Mexican Being of Light · Muppet Clown · NASA Gargoyle · New England Faceless People · Northfield Pigman · Ohio Bridge Trolls · Pedro the Pygmy · Phantom Barber · Phantom Clowns · Phantom Sniper of Camden · Phantom Whistler of Louisiana · Pig Lady · Pope Lick Monster · Porterville Gnome · Richmond Vampire · Santa Lucias Dark Watchers · The Smiley Face Killer · Stroudsburg Rain Man · Subway Man · The Green Man · Third Eye Man · Toronto Tunnel Monster · Toxic Lady
North American Events
Battle of Los Angeles · Beaumont Blackout · Disappearance of David Lang · Disappearance of Glen and Bessie Hyde · Disappearance of Oliver Lerch · Massacre of Doc Johnson · Max Headroom Broadcast · Philadelphia Experiment
North American Locations
Anjikuni Village · Bennington Triangle · Bermuda Triangle · Blood Bowl · Bremen Troll Bridge · Bridgewater Triangle · Clown Motel · Devil's Gate Reservoir · Devil's Kettle · Devil's Tramping Ground · Disney's River Country · Doveland, Wisconsin · Helltown · House of Blue Lights · Island of the Dolls · Langville, Montana · Shirtwood Forest · Spider Gates · Stairway to Hell · Urkhammer, Iowa · Zone of Silence

Gallery[]

Photo Gallery[]

Video Gallery[]

DISNEY'S_ABANDONED_RIVER_COUNTRY

DISNEY'S ABANDONED RIVER COUNTRY

An exploration of the abandoned park

DISNEY'S_ABANDONED_RIVER_COUNTRY_(Part_II_Crossing_the_bridge)

DISNEY'S ABANDONED RIVER COUNTRY (Part II Crossing the bridge)

An exploration of the abandoned park (Part 2)

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