A Disney theme park podcast, dedicated to picking out our favourite things about Disney parks that help to make the magic happen. http://www.makethemagic.ca
Since KP brought up Discovery Island last week, I decided it would be fun to walk down memory lane with a short clip from my own video archive. These clips were taken Winter 90/91 on a family trip. Discovery Island is a place that will live on in my Disney Memories forever, and I do miss it a fair amount.
I do apologize for the poor quality, I saved it from an old VHS tape.
It was a rainy day in the Magic Kingdom on my most recent trip to Walt Disneyworld so my friend and I decided to check out some of the nearby Disney resorts. During our circle tour we decided to take a ferry ride from the Wilderness Lodge to the Contemporary. It was on this ferry ride that I got my first glimpse of the now closed Discovery Island. And no, I’m not talking about the new Discovery Island that the Tree of Life sits upon in the Animal Kingdom.
Discovery Island (copyright waltdatedworld.bravepages.com)
Being a Disney enthusiast I had seen and read numerous articles and stories about the former attraction but never before actually seen it with my own two eyes. To the unsuspecting tourist it looked just like any other island. No signs, no lights, just an island. However if you looked close enough you could just make out some remnants of pilings and part of a dock.
Back in the day this Island was an attraction and a park. Filled with numerous plants and both caged and free roaming animals. Areas included the Monkey Colony, Trumpeter Springs which had swans, Bamboo Hollow and Vulture’s Haunt. You could come for a nature walk or check out one of the numerous shows.
One of the Bird Shows on Discovery Island (c/o Allan Oakley)
Having opened April 8 1974, Discovery Island was eventually closed exactly 25 years later on April 8 1999. Ultimately due to the brand new park that had just been built, Animal Kingdom, in which you can now find the new Discovery Island.
Since this time the park has been closed, completely abandoned and over grown. As I stared at the island I couldn’t help but think how cool it would be to walk around what one person described as the “holy grail of modern ruins for Disney fans”.
There is no official Disney way to gain entry to the island. But of course there is always some way, albeit not very legal. The Island is surrounded by the waters of Bay Lake which in the past have been known to house alligators and bacteria that can result in death. Of course this doesn’t stop everyone. One blogger many years ago swam to the island under the cover of night. He found most of the structures were still present including cages and canopies. Even stumbling across old cast member photos and preserved snakes in jars. I highly recommend reading his account here: http://shaneperez.blogspot.com/2009/12/discovery-island.html
The Now Abandoned Discovery Island (taken by ShanePerez.com)
It should be noted that this is high risk to anyone attempting. I personally love Disney far too much to ever risk getting caught and banned from the parks so you won’t see me swimming the waters. But I would love to see Disney open up a special behind the scenes tour of the Island. Although it is questionable whether this is possible due to the countless number of birds now occupying the Island, but one can hope. Until that day I guess I will just have to be satisfied viewing it from a passing ferry.
Photographs are terrific things. They let you relive memories of times gone past, capturing a moment and preserving it forever.
It’s also a great way to relive the magic of Disney when you aren’t in the park anymore. For me they can be a great pick me up when I am in need of cheering up, remembering all the good times and adventures that I had in the parks (of course, they can also serve to bring me down because I’m not in the parks at the moment!). They are also great ways to preserve days of Disney gone by, letting us fire up our Wayback Machine and visiting things from Disney that no longer exist.
A fantastic way to mix the Wayback Machine and using photos of the park as great Disney memories?
A little strategic planning, of course.
Find a photo spot in Disney, and each trip you go there (even if your visits are years apart!), take a picture of you and your loved ones in that same spot! After a few visits you’ll have a nice chronology of images that not only takes you on a great walk down memory lane, but also serves as a look at how the Disney Parks have changed over the years.
Perhaps the most obvious spots are the park landmarks: Cinderella’s Castle in the Magic Kingdom, Spaceship Earth in Epcot Centre, the Chinese Theater (or newer, Mickey’s Hat) at the Hollywood Studios, or the Tree of Life at Animal Kingdom. But you can also come up with some unique spots as well, because Disney always has some great places for pictures!
Some of my own favourite places include the Adventureland bridge, in front of Spaceship Earth, or my absolute favourite… a picture of me with Mickey. Not only do I change in the pictures as I get older, but Mickey’s sense of style changes with time as well (he’s such a stylish guy, eh?).
A tradition KP and I started when we worked at Disney World, and our subsequent visit to Disneyland, was to get a picture of the two of us in front of the Haunted Mansion, since it is one of our all time favourite attractions. In our trip to Disneyland we also started a new tradition with our friend C – can you tell what movie we borrowed the idea from?
(If you guessed High School Musical, then you must be as big as Disney Geeks as we are. Congrats!)
Now I realise in my last post I say to be flexible, so do keep that in mind when planning, because you never know what great snaps you might get by being open!!
Happy picture taking!
My friend Steph commented that our blog didn’t have enough Figment. So for today’s Media Monday, we’re firing up the Wayback Machine and bringing you an audio ridethrough of Journey into Imagination. The original version, not the the one with Dr Channing. Nothing but classic Figment and Dreamfinder. 
Sit back, close your eyes, and enjoy the next 20 minutes!! One little spark.. of inspiration..
This song has been archived to save space. If you’d like to hear it, just comment on this post and we’ll upload it again.
Please note: None of the music we post in the blog will be available for redistribution, so don’t ask!
For this weeks Media Monday I thought I would travel back a few years and bring you some picts I recently stumbled upon in my Grandma’s photo albums.
Disneyland Hub: 1985
This picture appears to be taken in the Hub, outside the entrance to Tomorrowland. The Plaza Inn is on the left. Off to the right is the center of the Hub with the Partners Statue. I think that the Hub appears much larger in the picture than it does now…perhaps due to the enormous trees. That must have made watching the fireworks a challenge. But I do like how Green it all looks.
Sleepy Beauty Castle
Ahhh Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. Once again I love the green foliage growing up the side. But the castle appears much smaller to me. I can’t figure out why. Hmmm thoughts?