Anyone remember River Country??

[luvDaMouse]

My husband, daughter and I were staying at the WL in Sept. we took the boat on Bay Lake to CR and to MK and we made a stop to FW. We passed an area that had some rope bridges and some run down decking. I thought I overheard someone say that it used to be River Country. I had gone there when I was 11 years old back in 1976. I dont remember how we got there or too much about it other than that I thought it was a water park that used lake water. Is that where River Country was? Did Disney own it? Just curious...

[mainemajor]

On our second or third family trip we made a trip to River country and had a wonderful time. The sides were a blast. It was just a fun place, not that I don't like BB and TL, but there was a different feel to River Country. I think part of that might have been the location, at a campground so you had not only the family, but also the community feel.
I have visited youtube to see old video of RC. That brought back memories

[medic9016]

Yes, that was River Country. It was the original Disney water park. It did use the lake water. Parts of it are rumored to be salvaged and used in the pool rehab at The Fort.

[Mad About Mickey]

Thanks for the blast from the past. I remember going to River Country in the late 70's with my family. Then there was the amoeba problem in the lake water there and my parents didn't like us going there anymore. I loved the t bars and rope swings and was sad when I heard it closed :(.

[SBETigg]

I went to River Country, Disney's first water park, when I was twelve in 1981. We took a boat launch from our resort, the Contemporary, to get there. The launch also stopped at Discovery Island, a small Disney nature/bird park out on Bay Lake. The park did use the lake water for slides and activities in an old-time river sort of setting. They had bumpy log bridges, zip lines over water, and a few slides, some to ride in tubes, some not. It was a lot of fun, but not as grand in scale as Disney's current water parks.

[BigRedDad]

I remember going there all the time when I was little. I don't remember when it first opened, but I remember it throughout the 70s. The tube river, the zip lines, the big drop slides in the pool area, the kiddie area.

[Daisy'sMom]

I loved Discovery Island when I was a kid. :mickey:

[Maleficent's Dad]

It was just a fun place, not that I don't like BB and TL, but there was a different feel to River Country.
Ain't that the truth?

River Country - a different time, a different water park.

I love change. I love progress. I don't mind the "changes" in the theme parks. But man, do I miss River Country. Not the hectic chaos of today's water parks.

[ibrowse17]

River Country was a favorite of ours when I was younger. We always stayed at FW, and I remember how cool it was when we came back and found RC had opened. After that, we always made time for RC. It was so sad:( to find out they had closed it. I guess it has been a bit of a protest on my part, but I have not been to either of the other water parks.

[pixiesmimi]

I went to River Country, Disney's first water park, when I was twelve in 1981. We took a boat launch from our resort, the Contemporary, to get there. The launch also stopped at Discovery Island, a small Disney nature/bird park out on Bay Lake. The park did use the lake water for slides and activities in an old-time river sort of setting. They had bumpy log bridges, zip lines over water, and a few slides, some to ride in tubes, some not. It was a lot of fun, but not as grand in scale as Disney's current water parks.

I remember River Country but we never went there. I haven't heard that name in a long time. We visited Discovery Island one time and when we went back several years later, it was gone and AK was there. I have always wondered if AK is the old Discovery Island that they just improved because I couldn't remember where it was located. We only went one time. My brother was a Wildlife Officer at the time and showed us around Discovery Island. This all brings back memories.

[snuggs30]

Oh how i loved River Country!:cloud9: That was so much fun, we always stayed at FW so we went all the time! Remember how you use to get stuck on the humps on the inner tube ride? We laughed and laughed and laughed!Or going down a hill during take off and hitting your elbows on the hard concrete rocks..ouch!!! But it was fun! And the slides in the pools! Those where so huge at 10 yrs old! And the single body slide! So much fun! We use to stand in line for the tube ride and watch the fish swim right by our feet! So sad it closed! They say bacteria,, but i also say Alligators!:secret:

[DisneyOtaku]

I only went to River Country once, back in the 90s before it closed. I *loved* it--it was more laid back then the other water parks and I thought the rides were pretty awesome.

Part of me always hopes that Disney could revive it, perhaps with chlorinated water that they could somehow make LOOK like lake water (kinda like the AKL pool) so people wouldn't have to worry about the problems the real lake water has.

[mainemajor]

I loved Discovery Island when I was a kid. :mickey:

I really enjoyed Discovery Island, too. The boat ride out and walking along the beach really getting away from it all :mickey:

[paragon]

I was at RC on one of our first trips to Disney World, It was a fun place. I remember I was allowed to rent a "water mouse" and scooted all over Bay Lake!

Anyone ever use google earth and look at the current site? I did, its a bit hard to tell there was an entire water park there now.
I always thought they could refurbish it and make it part of the resort, but I'm sure the expense is too high to do that.

[LarryBoy]

If you google River Country you can find good pictures of how it used to be, and what it looks like now. We went once when I was a kid and I loved it. I also remember getting really bad sunburn, nasty water blisters. I haven't been to the new water parks either, they just aren't really my thing.

[luvemall]

Yes, I have many fond memories of River Country. My sister and I spent a lot of time there in 1979 when I was 14. In 1981, I took a friend of mine on the DW trip with us. She and I hung out at River Country, too. Both times we were staying at the Contemporary and my mom had no problem letting us take the boat over and spending time without a parent. It is strange that you mention it because my mom just brought up the other day that she did not know back then there was access to RC from the other side (FW). She said a stranger could have taken us and she would never have been able to find us. She always worried about that stuff. I remember floating around on the tubes and going down the zip line (which I sucked at because I had no upperbody strength to speak of). Since all the water activities were fueled by the lake water, it really was like playing at an old fashioned watering hole (like you would have expected Tom Sawyer to play in). Thanks for the memories!:vacation:

[PittFan]

There are quite a few videos of River Country on youtube. Alot of them are the old promo video Disney used distributed in the '70s.

[Ropachs]

I was there in 1992 - must have been shortly before it closed? I don't remember how we got there but it sure was fun - and I was 20!

[Mackflava99]

One day last summer on my trip i was at Wl and one morning one of my daughters woke up with a bad dream. She woke me up and I tried to get her back to sleep- it was 5am so we went outside for a walk, we had seen alot of deer a previous morning, so we tried to look again. We walked to FTWilderness- we walked through the woods and actually walked into river country- noone saw us, but we only stayed like 10-15 minutes , we didnt want to get into trouble, our intent wasnt to sneak in, but we stumbled on a wide open fence that had fallen...
Anyway- it hasnt been maintained but it was in pretty good shape- it brought back alot of memories...
my daughter and i left and didnt touch anything, its funny but i just didnt want to ruin a good memory by taking a 'souvenier"
please don't tell anyone:)

[Figaro]

River Country is pretty much fully intact. I do speciality cruises on Bay Lake/7 Seas and I take my guests by River Country. I personally wish it was still open. I never got to go, but it looked awesome.

[AdventurerKim]

I have so many great memories of River Country! We would get there when they opened, and my brother and I would race up to the tube ride and see who could be the first one down. I loved diving off the rocks by the pool, although I didn't like the half slides at that pool.

[sorarail]

They say bacteria,, but i also say Alligators!:secret:
I went to RC in 1980 w/ some college friends - we had a blast. That was my first experience w/ WDW.
It was several people coming down with nasty cases of bacterial meningitis :ill: after visiting RC that ultimately caused WDW to shut it down.