Jennifer Lynn on WikimediaDiscovery Island sits in Bay Lake at Walt Disney World, close enough to the Magic Kingdom area that plenty of people pass it without realizing what it is. It looks like a quiet, wooded island from a distance, but it used to be a ticketed attraction built around animals, birds, and carefully managed habitats.
The island opened on April 8, 1974, originally under the name Treasure Island. The name was changed only three years later, in 1977, and remained as Discovery Island until it closed on April 8, 1999. During those 25 years, it served as a wildlife-focused attraction that didn’t rely on rides, shows, or a parade schedule, just pure wilderness and conservation.
From Treasure To Discovery
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Before Disney turned it into an attraction, the island had a well-documented life. A 1999 Orlando Sentinel story traced its earlier years as a family residence in the early 1900s and later as a hunting retreat, before the land was purchased by Disney.
When the park opened on April 8, 1974, it was themed to Disney’s 1950 film Treasure Island. D23 points out that a wrecked ship from the Treasure Island film could still be seen on the shore well after the company abandoned this idea.
In 1977, the name shifted to Discovery Island, and the pitch became less about pirates and more about a nature preserve with curated animal experiences. By the time it was nearing the end of its run, it still operated as its own paid visit, with adult tickets costing $12.67 and children’s tickets costing $6.89 in 1999. The island was only 11.5 acres, but Disney treated it as a real standalone attraction with a clear theme and a dedicated setup.
What The Island Held
Discovery Island’s “headline” feature was the birds, and the park was described as one of the largest walk-through aviaries worldwide. Visitors who had the pleasure of experiencing Discovery Island shared that it was a much slower experience, similar to that of a zoo or perhaps even a museum experience.
Alongside the birds, other folks noted the existence of giant tortoises, lemurs, and monkeys. However, its focus on birds cannot be understated.
One of the most undiscussed parts of Discovery Island was its dedication to conservation work. D23 says Disney curators helped the government with a breeding program aimed at saving the Florida dusky sparrow, and that the last pure dusky sparrow died of old age on the island. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also explains that five of the remaining males were brought to the Discovery Island nature reserve and that the last surviving bird, “Orange Band,” died on June 17, 1987.
Why It Went Quiet
Discovery Island shut to the public on April 8, 1999, exactly 25 years after it opened. By then, Disney’s Animal Kingdom had arrived with a much bigger footprint and a similarly animal-centered mission, which likely contributed to Discovery Island closing a year after its opening date. Atlas Obscura also reports that when the attraction closed in 1999, the remaining animals were moved to Animal Kingdom.
Disney hasn’t widely published an “official reason” for the shutdown. Explore.com explicitly notes that Disney never gave an official reason, while pointing to the overlap with Animal Kingdom and the cost of operations as the most likely explanation discussed in later coverage.
What makes Discovery Island such an interesting topic today is that it wasn’t replaced by something else, and it wasn’t turned into a public-facing project. Atlas Obscura says Disney explored alternate uses, including an idea tied to the Myst video game series, but nothing moved forward. The island is still off-limits today, even though you can still spot it near Bay Lake while staying or traveling around nearby resorts.
That “visible but restricted” status has created its own mini afterstory, mostly involving people attempting to visit the old park. In 2020, TIME reported on a man arrested for trespassing after trying to camp on the island, describing it as a “tropical paradise.” Orlando Weekly also interviewed urban explorer Matt Sonswa, who said he found a written account of a Discovery Island expedition and then “searched high and low” for video of the island’s condition, but “there was none whatsoever.”
Today, the island is a chilling example of what happens when isolated and abandoned theme parks are left to the whims of Mother Nature. To see what the island looked like in all its glory, you can find videos similar to this one across the Internet.
