Discovery Island (theme park)
| Discovery Island | |
|---|---|
| Park | Walt Disney World |
| Land / area | Bay Lake |
| Type | Zoological park |
| Opened | April 8, 1974 |
| Closed | April 8, 1999 |
| Designer | Walt Disney Imagineering
|
| Status | Closed |
Discovery Island was a zoological park at Walt Disney World in Florida, occupying an 11.5-acre natural island in the middle of Bay Lake. Guests reached it only by boat and followed paths through habitats for birds, reptiles and small mammals. It opened on April 8, 1974, as Treasure Island and closed on April 8, 1999, exactly 25 years later, after its animals were transferred to Disney's Animal Kingdom. The island has stood abandoned ever since, and together with River Country it is one of only two Disney parks to close permanently.
History
The island passed through several names before Disney developed it, appearing on early Walt Disney World maps as Blackbeard's Island. Disney opened it to guests on April 8, 1974, as Treasure Island, named for the 1950 Disney film and loosely themed to pirates, with a shipwreck set on its shore. The animal collection, however, was always the real attraction, and the pirate dressing was thin.
In 1978 the island was renamed Discovery Island and recast straightforwardly as a place to observe wildlife. It was recognised as a zoological park and accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, and it functioned partly as a breeding facility for rare and endangered birds. Among its residents was the last known dusky seaside sparrow, which lived on the island until its death in 1987, when the subspecies was declared extinct.
Discovery Island's fortunes changed when Disney began building Disney's Animal Kingdom, a full theme park devoted to animals that opened on April 22, 1998. The island's collection and much of its purpose could be absorbed into the new park at a far larger scale. Discovery Island closed to the public on April 8, 1999 — its 25th anniversary — and operations wound down over the following months as the last animals were moved, ending entirely by July 9, 1999.
Experience
A visit began with a boat ride across Bay Lake from Fort Wilderness or the Contemporary Resort, which made the island feel like a genuine excursion rather than another park gate. Ashore, shaded paths looped past a large walk-through aviary, a flamingo pool, and habitats for macaws and other parrots, scarlet ibis, pelicans, swans, peacocks, bald eagles, giant tortoises and small primates — around 150 birds and small primates, across well over a hundred species. A bird show, staged at an area known in different years as Parrots Perch or the CooCoo Cabana, featured trained macaws and cockatoos, and keepers presented animals along the paths. Turtle Beach provided a sandy shore on the lake. There were no rides; the appeal was a slow, quiet half-day among the animals.
Closure
Disney gave the opening of Animal Kingdom as the context for the closure, and the island's limitations supported the decision: it was small, reachable only by boat, costly to maintain, and drawing modest attendance next to a brand-new park offering a much bigger animal experience. Its birds and animals were relocated to Disney's Animal Kingdom and to other zoos. In a deliberate echo, Animal Kingdom's central hub — originally called Safari Village — was renamed Discovery Island, and its surrounding paths became the Discovery Island Trails.
Legacy
Unlike most closed Disney attractions, Discovery Island was neither demolished nor replaced. Its buildings, aviary and docks were left behind, and the island reverted to a tangle of vegetation and wildlife that can still be glimpsed from boats crossing Bay Lake. It remains off-limits to guests. Its afterlife as a forbidden, overgrown ruin in the middle of a working resort has made it a fixture of Walt Disney World lore, and its name lives on, in daily use, at the heart of Animal Kingdom.