Whatever Happened To Disney World's Abandoned Discovery Island?

Walt Disney certainly changed the world with his little cartoon, "Mickey Mouse." Disney pioneered movie animation, with Mickey and classic fairy tales like Snow White. He then leveraged this success into creating "the Happiest Place on Earth," also known as Disneyland California, in 1955. The larger Disney World in Orlando came later, in 1971, and since then, Disney has taken over the globe, with parks in far-flung destinations like France and Japan.

Disney World and its fellows bring to mind bright, happy people exploring colorful streets and laughing on state-of-the-art rides. But even the happiest place on Earth has it's secrets. There can be a shady side to Disney parks, but Disney goes to great lengths to keep the illusion alive (and also probably doesn't play it's employees enough). One less-than-shiny aspect of Florida's Disney World is particularly intriguing: an abandoned island smack in the middle of the park. Discovery Island, once a popular, zoo-like attraction in Bay Lake, was closed in 1999, and is often referred to as a Disney mystery hidden in plain sight.

[Featured image by Sam Howzit via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-2.0]

Bay Lake's lush little isle originally opened as Treasure Island in 1974, based on the hit movie of the same name, and was rebranded as Discovery Island in 1977. For over 20 years, Disney visitors could take a boat from the shores of the Magic Kingdom to Discovery Island, to escape the crowds of the main park and immerse themselves in nature. The island was something of an exotic bird sanctuary with species from all over the world and a rare bird breeding program, but was also home to other intriguing plants and animals, including monkeys and Galapagos tortoises. 

Discovery Island was never going to be one of the biggest draws to Disney World, like Cinderella Castle or Space Mountain, but it was considered one of the most unique attractions at Disney theme parks around the world. The island did a brisk enough business until 1998 when Disney's Animal Kingdom opened on the mainland. Within a year, the island was closed, and all animals were transferred. Perhaps as homage to this now-defunct attraction, part of the Animal Kingdom is named Discovery Island. 

Disney never gave an official reason for the abrupt closure of Discovery Island. Theories abound, with the most likely reason for closure being due to fewer visitors after the Animal Kingdom opening combined with expensive overhead. More conspiratorial ideas consider reports of hazardous, free-roaming alligators (it is in Florida, after all), animal cruelty allegations, and flesh-eating bacteria in the lake as potential reasons for closing. Disney's strict no-access rules and reported signs of life, such as electricity, long after closing only fuel the mystery.

[Featured image by BestofWDW from USA via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-2.0]

When appreciating the beauty of Bay Lake, your eyes may not even register Discovery Island as a separate entity from the opposite shore. From a distance, little distinguishes the island as a former park attraction. The remaining structures are only visible from above or from a boat traveling close enough to the island's edges. Since it was shut down in 1999, Discovery Island has been strictly off-limits to both visitors and employees. 

Of course, several intrepid souls have found their way onto the island despite this, and, like any good modern-day sleuth, have reported their findings to the World Wide Web. The pictures and videos are eerie: ticket stands and snack bars are still visible in the thick forest, there's a calendar still hanging in an office (open to a 1999 page) and writing on a whiteboard. Some trails are still sturdy and accessible, while others have been reclaimed by the jungle. The former animal hospital still has a cabinet full of medications, and a soda machine still has visible tags for each drink. As all the wildlife was transferred to the Animal Kingdom when Discovery Island closed, you're unlikely to see a stray toucan, although you may see some more localized wildlife.

Considering Discovery Island has been closed for nearly 15 years, it's unlikely that Disney has any plans for the spot. With nothing in the works, it seems doomed to remain on the list of once popular places that are now almost or completely abandoned, destined to be explored only by a select few. 

[Featured image by BestofWDW from USA via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-2.0]