Disney’s River Country

Disney’s River Country

Opening on June 20, 1976, River Country was the first water park built at the Walt Disney Company Resort in Florida. Situated on the shores of Bay Lake, close to Discovery Island, the park embraced a rustic wilderness theme, featuring lush greenery, large rocks, and carefully crafted man-made boulders. It was often described as an “old-fashioned swimming hole.” Initially, its working title was “Pop’s Willow Grove.”

The park appeared in a musical number during the 1977 Wonderful World of Disney episode, The Mouseketeers at Walt Disney World. The segment included a song called “River Country,” showcasing the late-1970s lineup of Mouseketeers from The Mickey Mouse Club as they enjoyed the park’s attractions.

The park was designed with primarily sandy ground in place of traditional pavement, along with several lakeside sandy beaches outfitted with lawn chairs and daybeds. A distinctive feature was its innovative water-filtering system, which used water from the adjacent dammed-off Bay Lake to create a natural-looking yet man-made freshwater lagoon. The park’s water level was kept higher than the lake’s to ensure that lake water did not flow back into the park.

Incidents

The 1980s saw several fatalities occur at River Country. The first was in August 1980, when an 11-year-old Long Island boy died after contracting amoebic meningoencephalitis — a rare but fatal brain infection caused by the microscopic amoeba Naegleria fowleri, the brain-eating amoeba. The identity of the boy was never made public, and he was the fourth victim in Florida to succumb to the infection that year. Earlier that same month, 6-year-old Tommy Shultz of Grant, Brevard County, followed by two more deaths in Pinellas County.

David Voss, spokesman for the State Department of Health, and Dr. John McGarry, director of the Orange County Health Department, pointed out that such infections occurred with some frequency in freshwater lakes during warm weather. Earlier reports stated that the cause of the death was the park’s faulty filtration system. Still, Voss and McGarry emphasized that it was considered a natural risk, not a result of the park’s filtration system.

A 14-year-old boy from North Dakota tragically drowned after sliding off the end of the Whoop’n Holler slide and into the lake. His family later sued the company, arguing that no signs indicated the water’s depth. During the trial, it was revealed that park staff were routinely rescuing dozens of guests from that ride each day. The family was ultimately awarded $375,000 in damages. In 1989, another drowning occurred — this time involving a 13-year-old boy from Florida.

Closure

In 1989, Disney introduced its second themed water park, Typhoon Lagoon, which boasted more parking, slides, and amenities and a significantly larger footprint. Six years later, in 1995, Disney unveiled a third water park, Blizzard Beach, which surpassed both in size and offered even more thrilling attractions.

River Country closed on November 2, 2001, with plans to reopen in the spring of 2002. However, on April 11, 2002, the Orlando Sentinel reported that “Walt Disney World’s first water park, River Country, has closed and may not reopen.” Disney World spokesman Bill Warren added, “River Country could be reopened if there’s enough guest demand.”

In 2005, Disney officially confirmed that River Country would remain permanently closed and removed its iconic entrance water tower. The abandoned water park deteriorated for the next 17 years, slowly being overtaken by nature.

During this time, the park was fenced off with signs stating, “Sorry, River Country is closed.” Despite this, it became a popular destination for urban explorers who scaled the green fence or entered the backstage driveway. Inside, the River Country Closing Theme continued to play, and the park’s lights automatically switched on and off, as Disney never entirely cut power to the site. On August 25, 2016, Disney announced plans to drain and fill in Upstream Plunge, the park’s 330,000-gallon pool, though there were no immediate plans to demolish the rest of the park.

River Country’s closure made it the second—and one of only two—Disney parks in history to shut down permanently, following the closure of nearby Discovery Island in 1999.

Redevelopment

On March 5, 2018, Disney filed permits for a new development, labeled “Project 89,” to be built along Bay Lake, encompassing the former River Country site. A week later, speculation arose that “Project 89” would likely be a new themed hotel resort or a Disney Vacation Club (DVC) timeshare property.

On May 31, 2018, Disney confirmed plans for the resort, and by April 20, 2019, most remaining structures from River Country, including the remnants of the Upstream Plunge pool, were demolished to make way for construction. Disney later announced that the new deluxe resort, Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge, would be nature-themed and feature 900 hotel rooms. The resort was initially set to open in 2022 and would incorporate Disney characters such as Bambi, Brother Bear, The Fox and the Hound, and Pocahontas into its room designs. Additionally, a lakeside restaurant themed around The Princess and the Frog was planned as part of the resort.

However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney halted all major construction projects at Walt Disney World Resort, including Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge. On March 15, 2022, Disney announced that the project had been canceled in favor of a new Disney Vacation Club tower at the site. Later, on November 26, 2024, Disney Vacation Club revealed that the project had been rebranded as Disney Lakeshore Lodge, with an expected opening in 2027 at Walt Disney World Resort.

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