River Country
From WDWHistory
Location: River Country
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| River Country |
| Opening | |
| June 20, 1976[1] | |
| Became Seasonal | |
| November 1, 2001 | |
| Closing Announced | |
| January 20, 2005[2] | |
| Closed | |
| January 20, 2005[2] | |
| Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830 | |
| Latitude — 28.4112759 | |
| Longitude — -81.5646439 |
Coordinates: 
28°24′41″N 81°33′53″W / 28.4112759°N 81.5646439°W
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River Country was Disney's first attempt at a water park at Walt Disney World which opened on June 20, 1976. It was themed to look like an old-fashion watering hole with a twist of Huckleberry Finn. It was about 1/4th the size of Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach. The park is currently closed and has been taken over by nature. Some of the problems with the water park is that the water is fed from Bay Lake and was not chlorinated. This was one of the reasons for the closing, due to state laws requiring pools to have water from municipal water systems.
River Country was included as part of Disney's Fort Wilderness and located on the shore of Bay Lake. It had fake rocks which the slides were part of. The water park was also one of the cheapest compared to the other water parks in Walt Disney World.
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[edit] Closing
River Country's problems started with it being rather small leading to frequent sell out days. This led to the construction of Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach. With these new resorts opening, the popularity of River Country wained. Adding to its problems were that the pools were not heated and it shared water with Bay Lake. 9/11 caused a large decrease in tourism which may have been the final nail in the coffin for the water park. For awhile, River Country was still used for private parties but this has ended due to the massive deterioration of the park.
[edit] Current Status
Plants have taken over most of the walkways and beaches at the water park as Disney has neglected it. The pool has also been taken over by aquatic plant life and is unusable. Many of the rock work has been damaged and have not been repaired. It would take a lot to get the water park back in working condition.
[edit] Video
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[edit] References
- ↑ "WDWNews.com - History Digest".
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Adams, Denise. "River Country FAQ". AllEars.Net. Retrieved on January 26, 2009.
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