Do you remember "River Country water park" in Disney World?

I was a just a wee brat... but here are some photo's you may remember....


http://www.boingboing.net/2009/12/16/photos-of-rotting-ab.html

Mike,

I use to work at Fort Wilderness which was connected to River Country.  I watched it go down over the years.  Originally intented just for the camping folk it was difficult to get to for the rest of the huge WDW complex.  You could not drive to it.   You could walk to it or take the internal buses if you were visiting the campgrounds.  As WDW expanded, Typhoon Lagoon became the popular waterpark since it could be reached by everyone whether or not they stayed at WDW. 

Ernest

Wow, that's SO unfortunate...
I do remember going there as a kid with my family. It was a really fun place!
Sad to see stuff like that go to waste.
I also remember my favorite ride as a kid, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea... where you would board actual semi-submersible submarines... then motor around the lagoon and looking at all of the underwater props. It was neat, and I wish they still had it around so I could take my kids on it someday. I definitely love Disney World (Magic Kingdom)

Bran <><

I rode the 20,000 league under the sea ride back in 1971 when WDW first opened.  But, when I started working there in 1991 the ride was in disrepair and eventually it was closed down and removed.  There also use to be a canoe ride next to the 20,000 league ride but, they closed it down because of safety reasons.

When I was working security at WDW I would patrol Epcot.  I found a fenced off area behind The Land Pavilion where they had store one of the actual submarines used in that great old ride.  I got to see it, touch it, and go inside it.  Though, gutted out it still was quite a thing for the imagination.

Also, I found the original train that was driven through the perimeter of Fort Wilderness stored in a warehouse off of Epcot Drive.  It only was in operation for about 18 months and was removed from the campgrounds because it kept breaking down.

Ernest

Rando,

I was working at Fort Wilderness (Pioneer Hall) during those years and rumors abound about constant breakdowns of the 20,000 Leagues, sometimes daily.  Finally, in 1994 it was officially closed down permanent.

People were also complaining about how small the seats were and how hard it was to get inside the ride.  We thought that WDW was going to "rehab" the ride but, they never did.  I don't know why.

Ernest

OMG yes... I remember 2k leagues under the sea.  I was on that ride and remember thinking.   "Hey, were going way deep... I hope that this ship doesn't' have a leak because we are REALLY DEAP right now".

Another thing I remember is when we went on magic mountain.  I hide down at my moms feet.  She had our lunch in a bag for the day and I CRUSHed it because I was so scared... To this day, I remember thinking, "how can those robot people leave us under so much turmoil. "  After all, they obviously left robots in charge because they were better than people's judgement.   

I remember going on the submarine ride at Disneyland in Calif when I was a kid. It was one of my favorite rides, besides the car ride where you get to drive the little cars. My parents always had a hard time getting me off the car ride. You drive on the little roads, over bridges, etc.. as close to the real thing for a kid as possible! Who knew that I would grow up to drive a 18 wheeler all over the lower 48 states?? lol..

I also enjoyed the little "sky buckets" where you travel from one end of the park to the other. They always had problems with some kids spitting on the people down below, or dropping things!! lol..

skt

 Was fortunate to visit as a kid, stayed at the campground and had a great time. 

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/8SwWD3LQEYM" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/8SwWD3LQEYM</a>


<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/_UISN7xUngU" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/_UISN7xUngU</a>


<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/u_ofV8vsk0U" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/u_ofV8vsk0U</a>

Great videos! Thanks for sharing. 

skt