River Country Question +1

[HappilyEverAfter]

Hi everybody!

We are going on a trip down to WDW next Tuesday and we wanted to do a few different things that we have never done before, when we go down there. I cannot find the answers to these questions anymore ( I feel as though I read them one time somewhere) but now cannot seem to locate them.

1.) I am really interested in River Country and am so sad that it has closed down. But I heard that if you take a boat from somewhere to the Magic Kingdom, and you actually go right past it, and can see it. Does anybody know where that boat takes off from? and if you can go on the boat, if you are not staying at the lodge that it departs from? Can you see Discovery Island from this boat ride as well?

2.) Does the Keys to the Kingdom tour cost anything? is it worth it?

3.) Can you take a tour of Cinderella Castle on the inside?

[BC_DisneyGeek]

Keys to the Kingdom tour is $60 which includes lunch, and I thought it was worth the money. It will depend somewhat on your particular tour guide and the kinds of questions you ask.

If you're a Disney fanatic, you've probably heard some of the stories before, but it's still interesting. When I took it our tour guide did the Jungle Cruise spiel for us, and took us on the Haunted Mansion to check out some hidden things. Backstage we saw the parade floats, the utilidor, and a few characters getting in & out of costume.

[HappilyEverAfter]

I am such a Disney Fanatic, that sounds like so much fun! $60.00 isn't bad. I hope that we are able to do it, and see some of the cool things that you saw!! Have you ever gotten any of the "secret" free items from cast members? Like the Haunted Mansion death certificate or anything liek that?

[yoyoflamingo]

The boat to the Magic Kingdom and Fort Wilderness/Wilderness Lodge is the one that passes River Country. Sometimes, especially during crowds, they break the 2 resorts into separate boats, so the Fort Wilderness one is the one to take. You can also rent a boat to check it out at your own pace also. It's a sorely missed park by me, and sad that it's still sitting there, unused. In fact, it was even on the Disney on a Dime special on the Travel Channel, as the family renting a boat thought it looked "pirate like."

From the Magic Kingdom you can take the boat to Fort Wilderness no problem, just make sure you don't run out of time and miss the boat coming back.

You can see Discovery Island from the same boat, but it's more grown in with vegetation, so it's harder to spot; even the dock is practically torn up!

So sad.

[HappilyEverAfter]

That is really sad. Even the aerial pictures of Discovery Island you cannot tell anything was ever really there, but with River Country it is really upsetting. I did see that Disney on a dime episode, sad that it has been reduced to that level, where it looks eerie

Thank you for your response that was very helpful. I wish that they would let you look around it. I know that it is probably not very safe, but I think it would be interesting. Poor River Country RIP

[yoyoflamingo]

That is really sad. Even the aerial pictures of Discovery Island you cannot tell anything was ever really there, but with River Country it is really upsetting. I did see that Disney on a dime episode, sad that it has been reduced to that level, where it looks eerie

Thank you for your response that was very helpful. I wish that they would let you look around it. I know that it is probably not very safe, but I think it would be interesting. Poor River Country RIP

You can walk pretty close to it, up to the ticket booths and I believe main entrance. The bathrooms at least used to be used for the nightly campfire. I walked up to the ticket windows last year, but decided not to press my luck any further, just to avoid any security issues that would have appeared.

[HappilyEverAfter]

In order to walk right up to the ticket booth and such, do you just walk from the lodge up to it? Are you able to clearly see it? I never went to River Country, but have heard many wonderful things about it, I really just want to see it, while we can at least.

You have been a big help! Thank you!

[yoyoflamingo]

In order to walk right up to the ticket booth and such, do you just walk from the lodge up to it? Are you able to clearly see it? I never went to River Country, but have heard many wonderful things about it, I really just want to see it, while we can at least.

You have been a big help! Thank you!

It's at Fort Wilderness, at the marina you walk to the right and there is a water tower and a building. I forgot how far it is but it's just past the horse stables. You can walk right to the building, but I'm not sure how much you can see.

[halltd]

They use the old snack bar building and bathrooms for the Segway tour. So, you can actually walk "into" River Country before you're met with a construction wall I think. As long as you don't hop any fences or sneak through construction walls, you can walk over there wherever you want. There's a really cool boardwalk type thing that goes out into the lake too. You can see into River Country from out there I think as well.

If you have time to relax and just chill out, the boat ride to Fort Wilderness is worth just meandering around the "Outpost" area of the campground.

[Jerren]

Hi everybody!

We are going on a trip down to WDW next Tuesday and we wanted to do a few different things that we have never done before, when we go down there. I cannot find the answers to these questions anymore ( I feel as though I read them one time somewhere) but now cannot seem to locate them.

1.) I am really interested in River Country and am so sad that it has closed down. But I heard that if you take a boat from somewhere to the Magic Kingdom, and you actually go right past it, and can see it. Does anybody know where that boat takes off from? and if you can go on the boat, if you are not staying at the lodge that it departs from? Can you see Discovery Island from this boat ride as well?

I would suggest hopping the monorail to the Contemporary and then walking to the boat dock (it's past the swimming pool) and either a) take the resort launch which services The WL, Tempo and FW only since it's typically not crowded and if you ask nicely they can point out what's left of the Island and River country for you and they have the discretion to go all around Discovery Island so you can see pretty much the entire shoreline from the boat. I say shoreline since it's very overgrown.

Option B: rent a watermouse or other watercraft and explore for yourself, keep a safe distance from shore and any roped off areas of course and your good to go at your own pace.

And if your feeling very adventurous try the trail from Wilderness Lodge to Fort Wilderness, you can get a good look of some of River Country from there and explore a bit on foot. Parts of it are still in use for storage and the Segway tour at FW.

2.) Does the Keys to the Kingdom tour cost anything? is it worth it?

Yes it does it's 4 1/2 hours, cost $60 per person plus theme park admission, you must be able to walk, no camera's allowed, lunch is provided, photo id required, and no one under 16 can attend the tour. (yes they do check ID) To book a spot call (407) WDW-TOUR. It's a very nice walking tour which covers a good bit of the park, expierence will varry dependign on your tour guide. A good alternative if you have someone under 16 is the Mickey's Magical Milestones tour ($25) or the Family Magic Tour ($27) both are shorter and do not have the same restrictions since you will not be going to any "back stage" areas.

3.) Can you take a tour of Cinderella Castle on the inside?

Yes and no, unlike Disney Land there's no walk thru exhibit in the castle, however you can walk through the main entrance when the show isn't playing and enjoy the classic Cinderella mosaics with characters modeled after some of the origional Imagineers. The new Bibity Bobity Boutique takes up a good portion of the left side of the first floor and there's not much to see there, on the right is the reception hall where you can visit with a Princess and find Jaq and Gug Gus hidng on the wall. Upstairs is Cinerella's royal Table which you will need reservations to get to most times, and of course the Dreams suite which you can ask a CM to see but I wouldn't get you hope up unless you see a group of dream team members headed right to you.

[HappilyEverAfter]

Wow! Thank you all for your responses. I am so ecstatic now to try and get some pictures of it. I will post some pictures as soon as I get back!

[Barbaraann]

I remember visiting Discovery Island in September of 1997. I was at Disney World, for the first time, with my 4 year old grandson and my husband. My grandson loved the animals, and I don't remember too much, except how hot it was. River Country had just closed down before that visit, and it has never reopened.

[HappilyEverAfter]

Question: the trail that was at River Country, Cypress Point Nature Trail, can you go on that? It was from Bay Lake to River Country? Is that open to the public or is that sectioned off as well? Does anybody know?

[Jerren]

It's been a long while but if it's the one that runs along bay lake from the Wilderness lodge to the Campground it's still there.

[yoyoflamingo]

I don't believe you can go on the nature trail anymore, since it was part of River Country. I might be wrong on that though, but it's definitely not the Wilderness Lodge/ Fort Wilderness Trail, since that takes you away from River Country. I walked that one last year, and it's away from River Country altogether.