River Country

Post by **js3901** » Nov Sun 25, 2007 1:03 am

castmember04 wrote:Its sad that the little nostalgic water park is going to rot and ruin, and Disney hasn't done anything to take it away.

that would be a negative. about the only things they (probably) did was remove things like the water fountains and things in the snack bar area for use in other areas. It's the same thing on the old Discovery Island right across from RC. all the buildings are still there, though not in use...

Mr.ToadWildRider · Post by **Mr.ToadWildRider** » Nov Sun 25, 2007 4:20 am

Well I guess to play Devil's Advocate... nostalgia isn't always a good thing. I went to RC twice during its twilight years and it never really had a crowd, in fact it was probably less crowded than most resort pools. It was sort of hard to access for most visitors and once you get there it's 2 water slides (not counting the drop off ones), a boom swing, a zip line, and a monkey bar set. I know it's hard for hardcore fans to think about the general public, but imagine deciding to go to RC with one of your precious days in WDW only to find out it's basically a larger version of the little ski patrol training course they have at BB only in an algae filled body of water. Additionally, I know it's easy to scoff at the notion of cutting costs by closing underused, aged attractions but sometimes it's necessary. It'd be easier to swallow if they made up for it elsewhere i.e. not turning Tomorrowland and EPCOT into Pixar Paradise 1 & 2 but it's got to be done. I think it's ironic when people cite Walt and say he'd never let this happen, but Walt himself was all about progress. While he themed the parks on nostalgic ideas, I highly doubt he'd support keeping around 35 year old attractions that rely solely on nostalgia and kitsch as wat little draw they retain. I'm not saying I'm glad to see RC go, I'm just saying I'm really neutral on it and I'd rather see them abandon it if it means funding will go to other more popular areas of the World.

Captain Schnemo · Post by **Captain Schnemo** » Nov Sun 25, 2007 12:25 pm

I agree that if you'd visited the other Disney water parks first, you'd be pretty disappointed when you found out what River Country had to offer. Setting aside the obvious option (improving the existing facilities!), I think they could have easily left it open (maybe even in a stripped-down form) as more of a deluxe resort pool than a water park. It's a bit weak as water park these days, but it'd rival Stormalong Bay as a resort pool.

Not sure whether the economics would make it more worthwhile to make entrance free to all hotel (or even Disney) guests and recoup the losses on lemonade, sarsaparilla, and other good picnic food or to restrict access.

yodiwan1 · Post by **yodiwan1** » Nov Sun 25, 2007 3:09 pm

RC may not stand up to the water parks of today, but back in the day it was great!!! When you don't have anything else to compare it to then it doesn't look so bad. My family always spend a day there when we went. In fact, I saw my first wild armadillo there.

Post by **Dr. Ravenscroft** » Nov Sun 25, 2007 5:59 pm

I still think they could upgrade it fairly easily. They would have to build a retaining wall right at the Bay Lake border. Then they would have to drain the whole thing re-build the the interior area and make it "clean". While they are working on it they could add some water cannons and other stuff to make it more of a fun place to go.

Heck if they really wanted to draw people in they could turn it into a Pirates of the Caribbean water park. Granted that is more short term BUT that seems to be the way WDW thinks and they could do it and draw the crowds that would make it worth while.

Esmeralda · Post by **Esmeralda** » Nov Mon 26, 2007 11:23 am

I like the idea of turning it into a hotel pool. That could be amazing! Is it close enough to any of the resorts (Wilderness Lodge perhaps)?

Jacca5660 · Post by **Jacca5660** » Nov Mon 26, 2007 1:45 pm

I have read that one of the big problems was water quality. They had a very hard time keep the water up to standards. The zip line was a lot of fun!!

Post by **js3901** » Nov Mon 26, 2007 9:11 pm

Esmeralda wrote:I like the idea of turning it into a hotel pool. That could be amazing! Is it close enough to any of the resorts (Wilderness Lodge perhaps)?

I think it's actually a little bit closer to Ft. Wilderness than it is to the Wilderness Lodge end. The trail/road that runs there is about 1/2 - 1 mile long from end to end.

Captain Schnemo · Post by **Captain Schnemo** » Nov Tue 27, 2007 12:41 am

The Lodge trail would be shorter if it went straight to River Country. And Disney transportation would easily take you from your Fort Wilderness campsite to the Pioneer Hall area.

It'd also be easy to have boats leaving from the MK area resorts to RC (they used to have launches to Discovery Island, do they still go to Pioneer Hall?) and I suppose they could launch a boat from the TTC.

It'd be worth a little bit of hassle to get there if there were no entry fee. They might have to do something to keep out the locals, so maybe you'd need to show resort ID. Maybe $3 lemonade would take care of costs. I dunno.

Post by **js3901** » Nov Tue 27, 2007 1:09 am

Captain Schnemo wrote: It'd also be easy to have boats leaving from the MK area resorts to RC (they used to have launches to Discovery Island, do they still go to Pioneer Hall?)

They have a boat that goes from the pioneer hall area to the WL dock, then on to the MK. same thing in reverse. the old Discovery Island docks look to have (more or less) rotted away in the satellite images...

SimonTemplar · Post by **SimonTemplar** » Mar Mon 23, 2009 8:12 am

I don't know that I have a specific suggestion of what they should do with RC, just DO SOMETHING!! It's become a total eyesore, and the old rotted Discovery Island docks fall into the same category. I can't imagine Walt ever allowing a closed attraction to simply fall into disrepair and rot away.

packwingfn · Post by **packwingfn** » Mar Mon 23, 2009 8:23 am

SimonTemplar wrote:I don't know that I have a specific suggestion of what they should do with RC, just DO SOMETHING!! It's become a total eyesore, and the old rotted Discovery Island docks fall into the same category. I can't imagine Walt ever allowing a closed attraction to simply fall into disrepair and rot away.

You could say similar things about Wonders of Life, Horizons, etc

pixiesparkles · Post by **pixiesparkles** » Mar Mon 23, 2009 9:04 am

I definitely understand the safety concerns, but I miss River Country. I have a great deal of fun memories from that place.

SimonTemplar · Post by **SimonTemplar** » Mar Mon 23, 2009 9:04 am

packwingfn wrote:
SimonTemplar wrote:I don't know that I have a specific suggestion of what they should do with RC, just DO SOMETHING!! It's become a total eyesore, and the old rotted Discovery Island docks fall into the same category. I can't imagine Walt ever allowing a closed attraction to simply fall into disrepair and rot away.
You could say similar things about Wonders of Life, Horizons, etc

Amen!!! It's become an all too common sight in the last 10 years or so.

Jacca5660 · Post by **Jacca5660** » Mar Wed 25, 2009 8:12 am

SimonTemplar wrote:
packwingfn wrote:
SimonTemplar wrote:I don't know that I have a specific suggestion of what they should do with RC, just DO SOMETHING!! It's become a total eyesore, and the old rotted Discovery Island docks fall into the same category. I can't imagine Walt ever allowing a closed attraction to simply fall into disrepair and rot away.
You could say similar things about Wonders of Life, Horizons, etc
Amen!!! It's become an all too common sight in the last 10 years or so.

It became common place while Eisner was at the wheel. In the 15 or so years he ran the place, he had a scorched earth mentality. It's gonna take a long time, a lot of money, the will, and the want to fix it. I just don't think Iger has the will or the want to really fix everything. I think the only reason he's putting the money into CA is because it has his name on it. It's his baby!!

PS Schnemo I love the mutant line!!