16 photos of abandoned Disney resorts that will give you the creeps ·

13 Jun 2024, 00:00

Disney has ditched several projects over the years for various reasons, but often these parks have been left intact to decay naturally over time. The result are eerie remains of what once was part of "the happiest place on Earth."

Take a look at a few of the parks Disney has abandoned over the years.

Discovery Island in Bay Lake has been abandoned since 1999.

Sam Howzit/Flickr/CC BY 2.0

The island could only be accessed from a Disney resort boat or a Walt Disney World Cruise, and was known as a premiere tourist destination from the 1970s to the 1990s.

It was originally called "Treasure Island" when it opened in 1974 as a bird sanctuary.

MattSonswa/YouTube

It was rebranded as "Discovery Island" in 1978, featuring a range of exotic animals, an aviary, flamingo pool, and a beach for tourists.

It closed in 1999 for a variety of reasons.

Matt Sonswa/YouTube

Reasons it closed included a fear of wild-roaming alligators, alleged mishandling of animals, and deadly bacteria found in the park's waters.

When it closed, the animals were moved to Disney Worlds Animal Kingdom Resort nearby.

Matt Sonswa/YouTube

The island has not been maintained since.

Visitors are prohibited from exploring the island.

MattSonswa/YouTube

Those caught trespassing could be arrested and banned from Disney World.

The area now looks like a ghost town.

Matt Sonswa/YouTube

Even if visitors were allowed, you probably wouldn't want to check out the area anyway.

After opening as the first water park at the Walt Disney World Resort in 1976, Disneys River Country closed in November 2001.

Seph Lawless

You can check out more photos here .

It was designed to look like a swimming hole, with an artificial mountain featuring water slides.

Seph Lawless

It was very successful when it first opened, but in 1980 a boy died there due to an amoeba that breeds in fresh water that attacked his brain and nervous system.

Seph Lawless

Then, two years later, a boy drowned coming off of the Whoop n Holler Slide.

Seph Lawless

Disney was sued by the family, who claimed that there was no warning about how deep the water was. A lifeguard testified that they had to save dozens of kids from that slide daily.

In 1989, another boy drowned there.

Seph Lawless

River Country then shut its doors for maintenance, but never reopened. Disney announced its permanent closure in 2005, despite it having laid abandoned for three years before that.

Now the park is overgrown and decaying, and the area has a haunting quality to it.

Seph Lawless

The area is much different than it was when originally advertised in 1976.

One of their advertisements said, "Bring a swimsuit and a smile. Youre likely to wear both out at River Country."

Seph Lawless

Now that it's abandoned, that advertisement sounds much creepier.

Nara Dreamland isnt a "real" Disney resort, but it was built to resemble one.

It opened in1961 as a Japanese version of California's Disneyland, complete with its own Main Street USA andSleeping Beauty's castle.

Some of its Disney replicas include Matterhorn mountain, Sleeping Beautys Castle, a monorail, and Main Street USA.

Abandoned Man/Flickr/Public Domain

The desolate park has an eerie feel to it without any visitors.

JP Haikyo/Flickr

The whole place is left to decay now, and visiting the area is prohibited.

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16 photos of abandoned Disney resorts that will give you the creeps

Disney has ditched several projects over the years for various reasons, but often these parks have been left intact to decay naturally over time. The result are eerie remains of what once was part of &quot;the happiest place on Earth.&quot;

Discovery Island in Bay Lake has been abandoned since 1999.

It was originally called "Treasure Island" when it opened in 1974 as a bird sanctuary.

It closed in 1999 for a variety of reasons.

When it closed, the animals were moved to Disney Worlds Animal Kingdom Resort nearby.

Visitors are prohibited from exploring the island.

The area now looks like a ghost town.

After opening as the first water park at the Walt Disney World Resort in 1976, Disneys River Country closed in November 2001.

It was designed to look like a swimming hole, with an artificial mountain featuring water slides.

It was very successful when it first opened, but in 1980 a boy died there due to an amoeba that breeds in fresh water that attacked his brain and nervous system.

Then, two years later, a boy drowned coming off of the Whoop n Holler Slide.

In 1989, another boy drowned there.

Now the park is overgrown and decaying, and the area has a haunting quality to it.

One of their advertisements said, "Bring a swimsuit and a smile. Youre likely to wear both out at River Country."

Nara Dreamland isnt a "real" Disney resort, but it was built to resemble one.

Some of its Disney replicas include Matterhorn mountain, Sleeping Beautys Castle, a monorail, and Main Street USA.

The desolate park has an eerie feel to it without any visitors.

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Disney has ditched several projects over the years for various reasons, but often these parks have been left intact to decay naturally over time. The result are eerie remains of what once was part of "the happiest place on Earth."