Great video, George. I was a lifeguard at River Country in the mid-to-late 1980’s. It was a great job for a guy like me, who loved the Florida sun and the water. We rotated 3 lifeguard stands, 30 minute shifts at each different post, then took a half-hour break. We had an “unwritten rule” that any “found money” of small proportions in the water was ours for the keeping, as almost no one ever seriously reported lost money in the Bay Cove lake water. At the bottom of each of the 2 “Whoop & Holler” slides, people would lose small amounts of pocket money, mostly small bills and pocket change out of their swimsuit pockets, and it was all ours for the diving pleasure. I went home with $40 in quarters on a good day. One time, while guarding the bottom of the tube slide, a $100 bill floated right past me. There was no way I was not jumping in to grab it. I turned it in, certain that someone would be missing that amount of money, but after 3 weeks, I got called to the Supervisor’s office and they handed me the $100 bill! They said no one reported any missing cash, and it was now mine. The job itself was probably the most memorable for the camaraderie we had as lifeguards. Management was excellent, and we had a great time cleaning the park up, both pre-opening and after closing time. The place is still very memorable to me, and I hold those memories very tightly as my favorite job of my youth…
This story made my night. We only went to Disney World once, in 1982. River Country was absolutely my favorite day of our vacation. '82 was probably too early for you to be the lifeguard that told me off for doing a flyaway flip off the zipline into the pool. I was a Gen-X middle child, and no one in my family was nearby to film it. 😅
Honestly the world needs more places like River Country. Not in the abandoned state, but a small cozy swimming hole with some activities and slides amidst nice landscaping would be really nice to have in more places.
In today's day and age of higher faster bigger as far as water parks, those days of river country are gone. We went there the very first year it opened. I was seven. As a seven year old who had never been to a water park, it was absolutely magical.
I mean, Goofy being the mascot for River Country makes sense. It's classic America to have a dog swimmin around with you at the local swimmin hole. The inclusion of Pluto makes that point obvious.
We love to hate on Michael, but he gave us all the Disney memories we had as kids. He wasn't the best guy for the job, he was the perfect guy for the job.
@@GlennJimenezI think Michael Eisner would have just put good people in charge of Lucas film and not focused on “the message”. First film would have probably been directed by Brad Bird or something.
Michael Eisner did an amazing job. The one who ran the company into the ground was Ron Miller, Walt’s son in law (who took an executive producer credit on EVERYTHING the studio produced). Eisner saved the company.
It's a shame that they didn't make an nature reserve out of it, as such overgrown culture wastelands provide a great habitat for many endangered species, that may not survive in the modern cultivated landscape around it.
@@Quert_ZuiopueNo, you did great! Also, yes, it would have been nice if they’d handed the area management over to a nature reserve organisation. Plenty of fish, birds (especially wading birds), reptiles and crustaceans might well have been attracted to the area.
@@farfetchdthegamer3810 Disney likes the no take backsies rule when they buy stuff, they REALLY don't like reselling land, I want them to do something with it because it's just sitting there
Disney: bigger, more extravagant and more expensive. As kids we lived in a blue collar town in nj amd but most families could afford to load up the station wagon and camp in fort wilderness and go to disney. Disney has literally priced itself totally out of reach to most families except the very wealthy or singles. What are we at like $150 a ticket for one day ? During covid, they were closing the park at 6 pm and still charging full price. River country was part of old Disney. Disney has gone a totally different direction, catering to a totally different clientele. After going many times as a kid in the 70s , since we had grandparents in Florida , my husband and I honeymooned there in 1994. We paid just under $1200 for nine days in Disney's Caribbean beach resort and park hopper passes for nine days to all the parks and that included air fare both ways!
as funny as it is seeing goofy going down waterslides with guests i can only imagine how MISRABLE it mustve been in that suit. Theyre bad enough when theyre dry but making them heavy with water must have been hell for the actor
The closest Ive ever experienced was belle and beast going on the the carousel together at Disneyland, with Gaston in the foreground flexing to get her attention. It felt really weirdly organic and not scirpted. I kinda miss seeing that sort of thing
If I had a nickel, for every time something around Bay Lake closed because a bigger thing opened elsewhere on property, I'd have two nickels...which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice. Nearby Discovery Island closed because the much bigger Animal Kingdom was built! But seriously, it's wild that nearby Discovery Island has been abandoned too! It would've been interesting if Disney revived Discovery Island by teaming up with Cyan Worlds to turn the island into a replica of the titular island from the video game Myst. Discovery Island's history is just as fascinating. From 1900 to 1937, the island was known as Raz Island, named after the family that lived there. In the late 1930s, it was purchased for $800 by a man named Delmar Nicholson, who renamed it Idle Bay Isle and lived there for 20 years with his wife and pet crane. It was later sold, renamed Riles Island and used as a hunting retreat. Disney bought it in 1965. Delmar lived on the island and grew exotic plants prior to the island's acquisition by Disney. The island's facilities was home to the very last Dusky seaside sparrow, a bird once endemic to Merritt Island where the Kennedy Space Center is, they went extinct because of pesticides and flooding the island to control the mosquito population around the space center on top of highway construction.
I went a few times in the early 90's as a child. I was always a little freaked out that the pools were more natural and sandy bottoms, especially when a lifeguard fished a snake out of the water during one visit. That said Ive seen snakes at Typhoon lagoon too, but the water is clear there and visability is better. I also remember drama around one of the super twisty slides when a woman was taken away on a stretcher with a neck brace after a bad accident.
I was fortunate to visit River Country a few times with my family in the mid 80's. It was before waterparks popped up everywhere and a real treat to spend a day there. I remember a long tram ride into and out of the park and getting my white Wisconsin skin scorched beyond belief, but it was all worth it. My sister and I rode the tube rapids, over and over and over... mainly due to super long slide lines and the ziplines, rafts and other lake fun was over crowded and controlled by bullies. The main huge, very deep pool was also a good time. No one really played in the sand, it always kind of smelled funny, like swamp and mold. My last visit there with my own children in late fall 99, the park was completely empty, the day was cold and we only stayed for a few hours. There were no services and I saw no employees or lifeguards (May have been there, I just didn't see any) It felt as if they were planning on a shutdown. Even the bridge walk area was closed. I'm just glad I got to experience RC! Enjoyed your video.
I was there in 1979 with my family & we had a fabulous time. There was no other place like it then. It's amazing now to think how uncrowded everything was. We went back in the evening & practically had the place to ourselves. We just went round & round on the slides. We also stayed at the Treehouse Villas on that trip - 3 kids to a bed. A great memory for our family!
I was there in 1980. My memory is how dangerous the rapids slide was (I was 8 at the time). The downward pressure of the water was intense on my body, when you got knocked off the tube, chances are you were going down the rest of the way without it. Those rapids were strong enough to fling you off the tube (the video showing the guy trying to fetch his tube was a common experience ). Not shown was hitting the rocky structures at speed or colliding with other riders. I think there was a height restriction for the slide but in retrospect a child my size should have never been allowed on that. I remember swallowing a lot of water after a few attempts and just gave up. No way they could make a ride like that these days, the thing must have been a giant legal liability for Disney.
Just came back from Fort Wilderness. It's sad to go to the beach area where the dock is to take the boats and just seeing off to the side a "go away green" fence and beyond that all just nothing. It's all grass now and what little trees are left that were not knocked down. It's just off putting since it wasn't just River Country, but a set of bathrooms, Mickey's BBQ, and the Circle D Ranch (which they moved). So it was a lot they took out for this new project that never came. So it's sad to see not just the water park, those other attractions, but all the nature that was all around it. I'd be less off putting if they just planted a bunch of big trees instead of the "go away green" fence.
I went to Orlando in 2000 and went to river country.... It was one of my favourite memories. They really missed out here because that old school American country theme is very desirable to us Brits. If they only closed and just revamped and expanded I reckon it would definitely outdo typhoon lagoon!
Great video as usual! So refreshing to see a video on the park that’s not just controversy and abandonment. Also, glad someone finally acknowledged how odd and interesting goofy being the mascot was!
I remember visiting River Country with my wife and daughter. Arriving to find no seats/loungers available, they were all in use. A lovely American family gave us a couple of their loungers and it really made our day.
We tried to visit River Country in October 2001 only to be turned around by someone at the gate telling us that it was closed. The parks as a whole were pretty quiet, given we flew out at a very, very quiet airport a mere month after 9/11 on October 11th, so they likely figured it wasn't worth the cost to stay open so late in the season with lower tourism.
Much more thorough video on the history! I obsessed back when i first heard about it, yet i didnt know about the nature trail or goofy being a permanent guest.
Good job covering this park! You included a lot of information I haven't seen covered in other videos and more up-to-date. I happened to "visit" (stand outside the fence) in 2018 and didn't realize it'd been torn down later that same year!
I've been to River Country quite a few times thru the 70s & 80s. We always had a great time there! Was sorry to see it close, just another black eye from the Eisner era..
Life-long Florida resident here. We never had much growing up but every couple of years my mom and my aunts would throw in on a campground at Fort Wilderness for my siblings, cousins, and I to get a decent vacation. We'd just pop up as many tents as theyd allow and pile in. I was born in 1995 so only had a couple of visits but do remember River County. I remember Goofy going down the slide. I thought i made it up as i got older because, obviously, it shut down. I asked my mom about it some years down the line and she confirmed it was real. Then when I was around 16, my sister became a CM for DRC. That scored us 15-20 free visits per year and discounts on hotels, Fort Wilderness included. We went back to Fort Wilderness a lot, getting cabins from that point forward. The old tavern was at least still there at that time. I'm not sure if it's still open. But peaking behind the go away green fence, honestly, was a bit heartbreaking. All those childhood memories I thought I'd dreamed of were crushed before my eyes. I will say though, it did intrigue me to go back there. On one trip (in later years) we took our golf cart rental back there and my cousin and i peaked over the fence and talked about climbing over. Lets just say we were a bit sauced up and later fell off the back of our Golf cart 😂😂 Really glad we didnt for a few reasons. 1) I love Disney and dont wish to be banned. 2) Snakes 3) Gators. I DEFINITELY have a strong memory of my siblings, cousins and I running from a gator on 1 trip. Yes they do teach us how to run from gators in school in Florida. No it doesn't work the way they teach you. My cousin ended up covered in yellow jackets somehow 😅 Loved your video. Brought back good (and some slightly bad) memories.
Talking to my mom today. She reminded me that we also used to swim in the water off the beachy area next to river country at Fort Wilderness. They also used to have little boats you could rent. Kinda scary looking back knowing about the gator infestation and the bacteria in the water. My brother and my cousin also swam over to discovery island during this time though I'm not sure if it was abandoned yet or not.
We stayed in Fort Wilderness in 1980, and it was a fantastic era, the 80s was WDW's peak, imo. We went to the water park on a single occassion, and I mostly enjoyed it. I was 12 years old at the time and I was a puny swimmer, so the deep stuff didn't turn my crank. It was fun, but tbh it wasn't "Disney special". It was like loads of other water parks that are a lot cheaper, and not hogging up premium Disney vacation time. The most outstanding memory I had was going down the wider rapids thing seated in the inner tube, and it would not be too strong to say I hated that part, because the irregular surface intended to stir up water turbulance struck my ass over and over going down, and I'm telling you, it hurt like hell, and my tailbone ached the remainder of the vacation (something I wouldn't let on to my "you sound like you're not appreciating this" type parents). Anyway, I can imagine it's "quite nice but not being particularly special" aspects is what shut it down, especially while it was surely far more expensive than average to upkeep. Despite the nostalgia, if it still existed, I would have zero interest in returning to it.
I think you should do a video about montazumas revenge at knotts berry farm and what happened to it I think it would be a cool video or even on the ride boomerang
Hey forcer, the story I could tell you would make your toes curl. I was a RC lifeguard from 1985 to 1988. We were instructed to suspend park opening one rainy morning until “Critter Control” could get to us and remove a 14 foot alligator from Bay Cove that was spotted floating on the surface by me, the opening shift pool chemist, and the opening ticketing cashier. The gator kept going into deeper water, towards the bottom of one of the “Whoop & Holler” slide exits. The Gator Wranglers used an aluminum boat to haul it in, and just like in the nature videos, it did the “death roll” to become ensnared in their netting. The biggest guy in the group actually duct-taped his jaw shut, but it took all four of these guys to carry it to the back of their “paddy wagon,” where it was driven away, presumably relocated elsewhere in the Gator-infested Bay Lake. It was a scene I’ll NEVER, ever forget…and always made me more suspiciously paranoid of that dark water…
@@twoblacklabs904 If you're in florida, it's a decent sized water area, and you can't see it? There's a 99% chance there's a gator in ther, if its not a gator it's a snake
I grew up in Orlando and remember going a few times as a kid. It was my third favorite park in the area after 1. Typhoon Lagoon and 2. Wet n' Wild. I only went to Blizzard Beach once or twice growing up and I definitely only went to Water Mania once. Good memories!
As someone who went there many times as a child, it blew away any water park I've been to since...the atmosphere was incredibly authentic to an old timey huck finn watering hole... so much fun other than the cold the lake water jn February (yes it was open in the winter months!)
Thank you so much for this! I always remembered going over the lake on the cable ride but I had no idea it was not typhoon lagoon. I went to typhoon lagoon and just thought they had changed it all🤣. I’m glad to know that I’m not crazy and I really do have those memories! It was such a cool place
My family visited Disney for the first time in May 2001 and we had the choice of the Waterparks. I was literally the only one that wanted to go to River Country but was outnumbered, so we went to Blizzard Beach instead. I'm now 34 y/o and never got my chance yo go to River Country ☹️
ive always been really interested in how national tragedy tends effects media, so i think its really interesting how disneys reluctance to do anything with river country meant it experienced two deaths as a result of 9/11 and covid, both being literal decades apart from each other.
Read the description ;) It definitely gets a bit blurry about what does and doesn't count as a theme park, so it's totally fine to consider Discovery Island as a closed park, but I've never really considered it a fully fledged park in its own right.
Hey, thanks for making this video! I haven't seen your channel before, but did because of this video. I like your content so have subscribed - keep up the awesome work!!
My only childhood trip to WDW was in late November 1976. River Country was brand new and I wanted to go there so badly. I was very disappointed that it wasn’t open…even though it was really cold the days we were there. I didn’t make it back to WDW until January 2001, when River Country was closed again. I became an annual passholder in December 2002, but River Country was closed for good then… 😔
I did indeed go down a water slide with Goofy, also had a water fight in the splash zone…. And then 3 years later ended up going on the Winnie the Pooh ride with Tigger. It was awesome!
That “vacation kingdom” idea really stuck around through the mid 90s; even at that point all of those recreation options were available and highly promoted. It was a great time to be a kid. 😊
on characters not riding rides: I actually rode magic carpets with jasmine once as a kid! it was completely unexpected, and I got lucky since I was alone up front with my dad and sister in the back. we got little certificates that said that we rode with her but unfortunately they're lost now :( Also, the trip we went on last month we saw Anastasia and Drizella riding the carousel which they seem to do frequently in the mornings from what my mom told me
I would suspect that a full maintenance survey was conducted at River Country, costs calculated, a Cost:Benefit analysis performed, and the annual income vs outlay for maintenance (likely an overhaul/ refit) just wasn't worth it. Hence the comment regarding demand, if a million people had complained, then maybe.
I just subscribed to your channel. I never knew about river country. I honestly wish that Disney would do something with it besides just sitting there. Your video caught my eye and I was very intrigued.
I played Goofy @ WDW on 2004/2005 and as the character I once opened up the barnstormer, hopping into the first cart with a random kid that was handed over. I had to hold my head, similar to the scene in this vid where goofy jumps into the water. Let me know if you have any questions 😆
I rarely comment on RU-vid videos, but I absolutely love your topics and editing style, and I can't believe you aren't better known! Can't wait for your next upload!
I remember going to this park just once. I took part in a hula hoop competition and got pretty far in it, but didn't end up winning. Personally, I much preferred Typhoon Lagoon!
I do have a question about urban explorers, what is, hypothetically, as trespassing smt happens to you? you fall, you step wrong, you run into a rotten bridge. how to proceed?
When I was kid in the mid 90s we went to river country, I remember Goofy coming up and joining me and my younger sister going down the tube slide with us.
4:50 I think the "barrier" was actually a weir dam. Bay Lake water was pumped in, filtered, then put in Bay Cove, which would then continuously overflow into Bay Lake. Guests would not notice the barrier, unless they were on the Cypress Cove walkway.
I have exactly 2 memories of River Country (I was probably 6 years old): all of the dock poles in the “river” pool were slimy as hell and goofy tapping me on the shoulder at the top of the drop off slide and motioning to ask if he could cut in front of me (of course I said yes) 😂 absolutely wild
They finally in 2019 announced a new project Said finally we're gonna use something where critter country And all that water par and everything was filled and the whole area was cleared out They started laying the foundations The footings were done and rite of the middle of COVID they stopped It was a new resort project that basically was halted right before it got out of control Because I believe the partners at the last minute bailed on the entire project Right now at this time They have now no plans for developing that area as of right now For the future they're still potential that they could do something with it I'm not holding my breath over that one
When I was four at Disneyland in California, I went on the Autopia ride with Goof! My mom took so many pictures lol. This was roughly around 2004 though so i'm not sure if they still let them do that.
