[kingu]

First and foremost, many who have been to WDW and stayed on the 'other lake' at Wilderness Lodge or Fort Wilderness might have noticed the old park structures on the south side of the lake, so it is interesting to see the images..

But what kind of moron claims as defense of common trespassing (and specific violation of the contract one signs when renting the boats) by asserting that you violated FAA restricted airspace to do it..?

Drones have been forbidden from within 3 miles of Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and major sporting events since October 2014.

[rktman]

Yup. The wonderful world of disney. Being so eco friendly, you would think they’d at least return these areas to pre disney condition.

[King of Florida]

This guy IS a moron, as his own words in the article reveal. It’s Disney’s property, as is everything within miles. What’s it to him? Plus Disney already has Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach, two great water parks. Get a life, pal!

[grania]

Leaving the land alone to return to nature is probably the best way to stop it from becoming more pavement and condos. Designate it a nature preserve and let the stuff rot.

[Marko413]

If you are staying at a resort on property, then the ferries do go by Discovery Island and you will see it. My wife used to work at Animal Kingdom and Epcot so she pointed it out to me and explained it. A lot of the photos in the article are pretty well what you can even see from the ferry. If Disney is trying to keep hushed about it, they are doing a bad job because the ferries don’t divert around it in any way.

[RightOnTheBorder]

I’m no fan of Disney but what is it to this schmuck what Disney does with their own property. On the flip side Disney Co. and their fellow travelers do want to tell me what to do with my property so f’ them too.

[blackdog]

Two years ago I rented a Boston Whaler and visited the shoreline. The island is full of habitat structures for bird nesting and is a flourishing ecosystem because it's left alone.

Nature has a seven year rule. Stay away for seven years and it reverts back to nature. Sunken ships are much the same.

As for trespassing, Disney would have a huge liability if it let visitors crawl around unattended islands.

I was at a company event there and one evening you could have your picture taken with Mickey Mouse at a formal affair. My wife on one side, me on the other with a glass of wine in my hand. That was until the security detail saw the glass of wine in a picture shot with Mickey Mouse. You would have thought I was the unibomber with a live grenade! They actually tackled me. Great experience right out of a Hunter S. Thompson story! I got roughed up by some Mickey Mouse thugs.

[Objective Scrutator]

Ban gay marriage, and Disney will happily give up their property for free!

[pgkdan]

You couldn’t pay me to set foot on any Disney property. Gay agenda HQ USA.

[Political Junkie Too]

I went to River Country when it first opened, but only once. I believe it had a fatal flaw. It was too closely associated with the Fort Wilderness campground, and too far from everything else.

When River Country first opened in 1976, all there was at Disney World was the Magic Kingdom theme park, the Contemporary Hotel, the Polynesian Hotel, and the Fort Wilderness campground for a cheaper vacation stay. Most people came too the Magic Kingdom, so unless you were a local who could visit WDW many times a year, you Weren't going to waste a day at the water park.

-PJ

[IronJack]

Interestingly, if you do a Googlemaps search of Bay Lake, FL, “Discovery Island” does not even appear in the lake. However, if you Mapquest the same location, it does.

[IronJack]

Correction: Googlemaps was showing some other location than Bay Lake. Discovery Island does appear on Googlemaps.

[Burma Jones]

I went to River Country on my only trip to WDW, a week or two before the bicentennial in 1976 — must have been brand new. Always wondered what ever happened to it.

[ozzymandus]

Lefties love to trash Disney.