They really should have gone for a rustic resort that matches the existing buildings around it. Maybe add a nod to River Country or something. I just hope something happens with that plot of land.

I've never been to Disney, but I always thought the whole appeal of Disney was the heavily themed hotels/areas/rides and how it made you feel like you were in another world. If I wanna stay in a heavily modernized hotel I could literally go ANYWHERE else. But themed cabin resort?! That sounds like everything! It's like they're trying to adultify everything without realizing that adults LIKE the childlike, free and fun atmosphere. I actually feel bad for long time Disney goers.

Abandoned on top of abandoned in disney?! This truly is the Bright Sun Films Special. Great update jake!

As frequent campers at Fort Wilderness, we'd love to see the fences down, Clementine's Beach restored, trees planted and campsites added in the now vacant land.

Would have loved to experience River Country in its glory and witness it in its abandoned state

I feel like sometimes it's just best to keep it simple...that park/picnic area was beautiful

Your interest and or obsession with the former site of River Country at the WDW Resort knows no bounds…and for that we are grateful!

I can only wonder what Walt Disney would think of just how poorly things are managed today.

So Jake, is it safe to say that the old river country land is just cursed at this point? Because my word has this been a heck of a trip.

IMO, WDW does not need any more hotels. The parks are already overcrowded and the prices are insane. If they want to invest in something, build another park! They have the room.

This reminds me of the value resorts Pop Century and legendary years, and the others that were left abandoned and some just unfinished for many years. They eventually completed them, but they sat there, exposed and with a bridge to nowhere for way too long!

it was actually a good thing what they did was the grass seed. To prevent erosion from going any further or at least Slow it down alot. Until a time when either work can resume or Figure out what/where to go from this point on with the space.

It’s sad to see Disney parks lose their way. Everything in the old buildings and rides fit together so well (I.e. the old Epcot). Now everything not only feels disjointed but it feels like budget cuts. I like to look at it like a car. Both a Toyota Corolla and a Lexus LS have roughly the same features. Both made by the same company… but the LS has a level of refinement that the Corolla does not. Old Disney had a level of refinement that still outshines everyone else. I can’t say that about the current parks…

Would be really really cool for them to reuse the space and build another water park with appropriate theming and call it River Country :P

Honestly, I think that demolishing River Country so quickly was a pretty big mistake. New Orleans apparently gets a fair amount of money from movie studios who film in the long-abandoned Six Flags New Orleans/Jazzland site. Disney could've capitalized on that trend and made River Country a filming site to raise more money for the Reflections project before finally pulling the trigger. That way, they could've had some cushion to work with. Then again, I know very little about finances, so who knows if any potential revenue from that would've even made a dent in the massive amount of money it'd take to build the resort? I just think it's such a shame that River Country's gone when it was such an incredible abandoned site. It was GORGEOUS!

An indoor waterpark similar to Great Wolf Lodge (with a few rooms) would fit in a lot better there.

The River Country Saga continues it seems. Great vid, Jake, and great opening skit, too

I broke it off with Disney a few years ago. They used to give decent perks to Florida natives but not anymore. They can keep it

I always stay at the campground when at WDW and it won't be the same without playing "spot the decaying water park structures" during the boat ride to MK. My dad was also an Epcot cast member in the 80s who loved to visit River Country when he wasn't working, and there was at least one time when my family was hanging out around a bonfire at our campsite and he told an improvised horror story about the park being haunted due to being abandoned for years, drawing from his own memories about its layout and theming to make the story realistic. Honestly, he may have been onto something considering that location seems like a curse that Disney can't rid itself of

Disney has lost their “theme” for resorts touch. The addition to the Polynesian is sad. If they end up making a scaled down Reflections it doesn’t blend with wilderness lodge or fort wilderness. I have a feeling this will be the case for any expansions to existing resorts going forward. So sad. I’ve been going to Disney world since the early 80’s and always got excited for a new resort being opened. Now?? Not so much

Having lived in Florida for years, it's incredible how fast nature overtakes developed areas there when left unmaintained. The rainy season makes things grow like crazy. It's already showing, but 5 years from now will basically be covered with brush and be completely unrecognizable.

When ever Disney cancels a project...an angel gets its wings.

They had the opportunity to build a river country resort that was in line with the pioneer look of fort wilderness and that perhaps featured some amazing pools and slides to pay homage to RC. I hated the reflections look when they revealed it so maybe its good this happened.

Maybe disney should just announce things when they are midway through construction so that they don't overhype something that wont come.

I'm not going to shed a tear that another Hyatt-like monster of a building won't see the light of day at the once-themed WDW

it's crazy to think that a company as massive and rich as Disney just keeps falling through on developing such a big space.

This is turning into another Legendary Years/Art of Animation right before our very eyes.

Disney is really going to be hating you for pointing out their mishaps with this land and the projects linked to it lol

I think the best idea for this is definitely a big wilderness camp which includes nighttime tours for family's and a full working 'Ranch' type town as well as a Gold mine in which you can travel via a gold cart.

I started this on my lunch and I plan on re-watching tonight. These updates are amazing and helpful. It’s what brought me to the channel

Disney has truly lost its charm with Chapek at the helm…

My sass aside, your passion for this is seriously impressive, and something I appreciate so much. Even the work you take making the maps and showing where construction is, where the buildings still are, is so cool to see. Thank you so much for preserving Disney history better than Disney does! I really appreciate it, and I'll be back in 20 years!

ya see, it was actually a 4D chess move Disney is doing by canceling reflections. They were trying to make sure you can never run out of videos covering the river country area that gives them so much more attention for it even existing whatsoever

I agree with your assessment that those cages are rebar. they prebend and tie as much as possible so they can crane it in and tie it all together in sections. they have done a lot of groundwork already. that big crane with the weird thing was a compactor, potentially driving pilings into the ground. there might actually be a LOT more work than we can see, because that all gets buried and the foundations poured on top.

River Country is the story that never ends.

it wouldn't surprise me if the boat at Discovery Island was placed there to deter trespassers, and make them think someone is there.

As a Florida native I truly enjoyed all of the Abandoned Disney playlist. Thanks for all the work put into the history and timelines of these finished and abandoned ideas. very entertaining and informative.

EmpLemon, Matt McMuscles, nerdSlayer and now Bright Sun Films. What a killer Saturday 💥

Bro they’re running Disney like I run my life, which is essentially high intellect coupled with untreated ADHD. Tons of amazing ideas, big starts, no follow through, and then repeat 🔁

As someone that has been working construction for 6+ years now, I can tell you that those pre-assembled rebar cages/rebar in general was for sure gonna be used in likely pouring more footers/possible slabs for buildings. If the construction crews left them out like that and they put down grass seeds for the site, it is very likely they aren't just in limbo on the project anymore, it is dead in the water and they will either resell the land off sometime in the future or they will make something else out of it, just not at the scale of a resort/small park as they had once planned. A number of things may have happened on said site, either the contractors weren't being paid enough for the scope of the project/were trying to rip off Disney for the work they were doing for them and Disney got rid of them to find another company to work with so they gonna pull more permits which can take a few months in Florida just to get ONE permit for work on the site. Whatever the case, they clearly knew it was gonna take a very long time to do anything on that site so just put down grass seeds down to let the area regrow back in for now for other possible ideas to do on the site, like a new park area/beach/etc. They can still use those big footers they already poured for new buildings, but they would likely scale everything way back.

I explored river country twice before it was torn down. So scary and fun. When my buddy and I climbed to the top of the family tube ride thing, Disney was testing fireworks over MK around midnight. One of my fav Disney memories.

the Grand Floridian was a very upscaled updated hotel. Nice place to stay, although might be too expansive and not cost effective for most people. I stayed there over ten years ago and was an unforgettable stay.

Way things are going you may be doing a lot more abandoned disney vids lol. Keep up the great content.

Loving the commitment to the bit with actually flying to Disney for this video

With how busy the other two water parks are now getting I say re-open and update river country. Another resort isn’t needed around the magic kingdom. It’d be so tight packed between the wilderness lodge and fort wilderness.

I think it was your first video on River Country that got me so interested in abandoned places. It blew my mind something like that was just left to rot. Now for some reason I am intensely interested in abandoned places and have been for years, I even tried to buy an abandoned school and am still looking for some kind of old unused industrial building. It's hard to believe you're still doing updates on River Country and it's been abandoned like 73 times now!

If abandoned and ultimately cancelled, using that site for another project is going to be costly as digging up the 16 foundation pilings already poured are going to add millions of dollars to the site prep.

6:59 STORY TIME I stayed at Fort Wilderness campground in 2012 (I think I was 14 at the time?), and I got lost while trying to find the biking trail. I ended up in this exact area, and following my map, I thought I had to to shoot past the ticket booths to reach the trail (I thought they were just another part of Fort Wilderness at the time because I didn’t know River Country even existed). I got right up to the ticket booths before a nearby cast member literally PANICKED - I mean, ran at me like they were gonna call the cops kind of panic - and turned me around. I think they assumed, since I was a teenager, that I was purposely trying to trespass into River Country, so it was pretty embarrassing for me to admit to them that I was just *that* bad at reading maps lol

I know that River Country was demolished a couple years ago, but man, it really feels like an end of an era, both for Disney and the internet. The eerie abandoned waterpark that once grabbed the online public's fascination and imagination is gone along with its former mystique. We still have Discovery Island though. That rock won't stop being creepy until it's paved over too.

I went by the site in December 19 with fond memories of a trip to River Country as a kid. I suppose like many things this shows the decline in Disney's management, they don't have a plan here and they aren't going to invest that kind of money in something that won't immediately generate more serious revenue then another hotel. I think the River Country site will be like the Ford hole in the ground. Where vision and ambition is beaten down and what you end up with is a glimpse of what could have been.

I think, after their failure with Star Wars, Disney is gun-shy when it comes to new developments. When I went to Magic Kingdom last and saw their anniversary decor, it was clear their budget had been slashed hard... 100 Years of Disney decorations, in my opinion, should have rivaled or surpassed their Christmas decor in grandeur!

With the size of that earthen mound on the land that didn’t exist before, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was wetland that wouldn’t be able to support the size of the building. It reminds me of the earthen mound they had in the parking lot of Magic Kingdom to fill in the wetland area to build more parking. I think that was up a couple of years and they are know removing the dirt to complete work on the parking lot. It would make sense to put hundreds of thousands of pounds of dirt on top to compact the soil that you need to be strong and then come back and remove the top layers later when that process completes.

Wow, that's roughly the most unimaginative architecture that I've seen in a long time. Maybe the Riviera is a close second. It doesn't remind me of "country" or Disney or "riverside." You go when it's built. Send me a post card. I'm staying home. Signed - Disgruntled Shareholder.

Wow. This is seriously an incredible video, Jake. Really enjoyed this coverage. Justice for Reflections

The recent events will prevent this site from ever being developed. So sad. They should have just allowed the original "River Country" to be open. Instead it gets abandoned twice.

So, technically, yes, the project was "funded." When it comes to huge projects like these, companies don't have the full amount of money for the project, rather Disney had planned their financials for the company years and determined that based on the current market flow, they would have enough money to cover the construction costs up and through the grand opening. Of course, the Covid shutdowns happened, which completely upheaved all of Disney's financial planning, which meant there was no guarantee they would have the money to finish the construction. This is also why all projects at the parks were shutdown, even though, at first, I figured the covid shutdown would be the best opportunity to complete their projects without worry of interrupting park opperations. TLDR; Disney didn't have all the money but planned to afford it, Covid had other plans.

I own a construction company, those are definitely rebar cages for concrete beams that have rusted out

I really hope they announce something at D23 this year, it's awful how this has been left when you can clearly see the time and effort that went in to creating this beautiful area in the 70's ie wilderness campground ect, I feel bad for the guests who pay thousands to stay here for an immersive experience, to then be faces with this, it's so depressing to me.

A western/rustic theme would be awesome and fitting for the area.

The time in which the parks were either closed or at limited capacity should have been ideal times to work on construction and renovation projects if only Disney hadn't been spending so recklessly before the pandemic hit.

This is insanity that the space is abandoned again 🤦🏻‍♀️

Love the Disney videos as a orlando local it’s so fun and interesting to see how everything slowly progresses. I’d love to see a “canceled: Disney’s 50th anniversary” where you discuss what was supposed to be planned and what was slashed with budget cuts and what the 50th anniversary actually brought

I have missed your Disney Vlogs Jake!. River country and a few others though will always bring me back to vlogs with you and Matt Sonswa. They are some of the best Abandoned Disney Vlogs around, and probably always will be!. I hope you had a great time at Disney and welcome back to The States!

Could you do one about the affects of DisneyWorld losing their self-governing status? Given all the foolishness being said now, I think we could all use the straight scoop on this item.

That intro had me rolling. Thank you for the update and amazing video, as always Bright Sun!

Loveeee the recent Disney content!

last time I was at Disney I actually ate at pioneer hall and watched fireworks over that fence! I had no idea that I was standing right next to Disney's most recent abandoned site!

Thanks for bringing us a topic so recent. Great job, Jake!

Now that the Florida government has striped Disney of their magical powers….wonder how future projects will be effected!

Don’t build it unless you can staff it!!!! All the other resorts are running on low staff now and IT SHOWS! The guests and members all see it!!! It’s time to be truthful and for the higher ups to ask questions and LISTEN to the responses!!!!!!!!

Massive thanks Jake for all your effort in creating these videos. Despite never stepped foot in the US and with little knowledge of Disney parks and resorts, I found your videos are incredibly informative and interesting!

Your Disney videos are easily my favorite. Super informative, plus I love Disney. Great video!

“Most comprehensive video on it on KZfaq” not a lie but why do I feel like Defunctland is gonna see that as a challenge

I literally just rewatched the River Country saga yesterday. How convenient!

GREAT work again!!! Thanks for the update! Leave it to Disney to take the supplies ordered for Reflections & use it at the Poly tower that doesn't fit in!

At any rate the Demolition and Removal of River Country was So Long Over Due! You could also make 3D models of the Persian Hotel, the Mediterranean Hotel, the Venetian hotel and the two different Ski Lodge Resort hotels that they planned to build in California but never did.

I’ll always remember fondly my families experience at River Country. The beach was lovely, the littler two seater speed boats 🚤, the great restaurant buffet, the water park and the horses and canoe’s. I remember my Uncle forgot to put sunscreen on his feet 🦶 and he really had a bad sunburn 🥵. I was 16. Demolishing it was a bad idea. What they are planning on replacing it with is boring. Disney is definitely lost their way. It’s sad.

For many people, Disney has totally lost it's magic. They buy up existing IPs with an already existing fan-base, then usually alter those IPs into something completely different, or completely destroy it. Not to mention, they've stepped into the area of politics, which means you're going to ostracize a large group of people, no matter what side of the isle you jump to. I've since canceled my Disney+ subscription, and haven't watched a single Disney film since 'End Game'. You can find more authenticity elsewhere, and it's usually a helluva lot cheaper.

Amazing Video As Always

Thanks Jake! I was wanting for this video.

the never-ending Disney saga love the intro skit

One day, something could take over where River Country once stood. But I wouldn’t hold my breath

In my fictional world, this place never gets abandoned and still successful

I can't get enough of you talking about the River Country saga

Literally everything Bob Chapek touches has died.

I love the update videos. I can't wait to see the update for American dream

I love the video. The imagery was amazing the talking was amazing and the topic is really cool to learn about. Cant wait to see more Disney videos from you.

This is great, dude!!

At this point can we just build a new version of river country with excursions to a repurposed discovery island

Ohh River Country was the first video of yours that I found 😍

Love the Disney videos Jake. I binge watch them a lot. Keep up the good work.

Your videos are always amazing and love how you can explain the details about the how thing that once was or suppose to be a dream for to be how it ends and how things happens during it, as this is just very sad when places like this always look good on paper but to only never be fully coming to life. They really should of been planning it more and making sure if things can be work out that they should keep to it then just giving up, as I may not be a business guy or knowing much of the place or even ever went to Disney place, but do happened to have a thought to say and that they should of been ready for this to making sure to keep going forwards and never ended like this or to have a plan in case if something isn't working out. As like other places that are doing things, they should of been thinking ahead then thinking about now for if things can't keep going forwards or if the thing may fall into a pot hole that may end the project before getting it up.

I wonder, how will the repeal of the Reedy Creek Improvement District impact Reflections?

Hi Jake, I've been watching your videos including Bankrupt and Abandoned for a long time. Keep uploading these awesome videos. Also how about for your channel, a show that explores the famous hotels around the world. I would call it The Famous Hotels of the World. What do you think?

Another brilliant update my friend. Love the new video. Just once I wish people would start a project and follow through with it. This one looked pretty cool.

The faint "River Country" theme playing at the end was a nice touch.

I'd like to see a more enhanced version of River Country, but I think like you said it's going to end up as a DVC resort in the end.

The fact that this man flew all the way to Orlando, Florida from Canada just for this video proves how dedicated he is to all of us.

This story never ends!! Amazing video as always

Reminds me of the other half of Pop Century that sat for years after 9/11 happened. They ultimately changed it to Art of Animation so positive changes are possible!