Discovery Island - last day - April 8, 1999

Discovery Island opened under the name “Treasure Island” on April 8, 1974. Guests enjoyed its wide variety of birds and wildlife until its closing on April 8, 1999. The pirate theme of Treasure Island was abandoned around 1977 and the name was changed to Discovery Island. It became an official zoological park accredited by the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums. Transportation to the island was only by boat, so guests could board a launch from a resort. The Walt Disney World Cruise was two steamships (The Southern Seas and Ports-O-Call) that took people around Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon stopping at resorts and Discovery Island. After the island’s closing most of the animals were relocated to Disney’s Animal Kingdom and its central hub was affectionately renamed Discovery Island.

It is amazing to me that people once lived on this 11-acre island in the middle of Bay Lake. In the early 1900’s the island was known as Raz Island, named after the Raz family that lived there. In the late 1930’s “Radio Nick” and his wife bought the island and renamed it Idle Bay Isle and they lived there for 20 years with their pet crane. It was then purchased again and named Riles Island and was used as a hunting retreat. Walt was flying over Central Florida on November 22, 1963, the same day JFK was shot. He saw Bay Lake and Riles Island and wanted to build his vision of the future in that area. Land was secretly purchased in Orange and Osceola Counties shortly after and in 1965 Disney purchased Riles Island.

Walt wanted this to be called “Blackbeard’s Island” since they had a movie deal to make Blackbeard’s Ghost (1968) and that would be a good tie-in. In 1973 the Disney Company announced the Island will be named Treasure Island, based off the 1950 live action film. When it opened to the public in 1974 it had a pirate theme and cast members even dressed as pirates. The locations on the original map included Jolly Roger Wharf, Buccaneer’s Cove, Scavenger Beach, Rum Point, Doubloon Lagoon, Mutineer Falls, Skeleton Island, the Mizzen Mast, and Black Dog Swamp. The remains of Captain Flint’s ship were found on the south side beach. The Walt Disney Company used 500 tons of trees, 500 tons of boulders, and 15,000 cubic yards of dirt to create this nature and wildlife park, home to birds, reptiles, and mammals. Quite the opposite of today’s times, Disney actually dropped an intellectual property affiliation to create an original concept, and renamed the park Discovery Island.

In this home video you will see…
I have a complimentary ticket to Discovery Island that I got shortly after being hired by the Disney company. I have never been before so I decided to go on the last day to check it out. I boarded a WDW launch boat from the Fort Wilderness Campground (maybe the Blue route?) over to Discovery Island. I started filming once I got onto the island.

There’s some quick shots of the Thirsty Perch. That’s where guests could find the gift shop, quick service food, guest services, and binocular rental.

I travel counter-clockwise around the island and go to the Eagles Watch. A southern bald eagle is in there according to the guide map.

I bypass the Reptile Relations theater since I only have about an hour to spend here and the next thing I see is the Alligator Swamp.

I make my way along Tortoise Beach. This area features the Galapagos Tortoise, which could live up to 150 years.

I took some shots across Bay Lake of my childhood swimmin’ hole River Country, which closed November 2, 2001. There’s some little motorboats going by.

Next, I took some footage of the Flamingo Lagoon. I’m sure most of these birds were moved to Animal Kingdom.

Off in the distance, across Bay Lake, is the Wilderness Lodge, which looks like a monster. Back on the island many vultures linger around.

On Shipwreck Beach you can see the remains of an old ship along the beach. Remember when Pablo Cruise sang “World’s Away” in front of this ship on NBC’s Christmas at Walt Disney World special (1978)?

I walk past the Aviary Outpost, which is like a mini-snack bar and gift shop. I think I am near the South American Aviary, which is most impressive, but I don’t take a lot of footage of it.

Next, I film a little bit of the Animal Hospital and Nursery which is the Discovery Island Headquarters. This is like Rafiki’s Planet Watch at Animal Kingdom, where guests can look through windows at veterinary services being performed.

Traveling along the path there is some footage of birds, so I might have reached the African Aviary. I’m not sure. There are some walkways through the middle of the island that wind around back to the front. There is a waterfall, so going by the map, it looks like Swan’s Neck Falls. The video closes with a majestic trumpeter swan. I had an enjoyable last day of Discovery Island. If it had stayed opened I don’t think I would have gone back though.