This water park opened on five acres at a corner of Bay Lake near Cypress Point at Fort Wilderness on June 20, 1976.
Water from Bay Lake was pumped through the inside of River Country’s artificial mountain to the top of the flumes and raft ride at the rate of 8,500 gallons a minute. The River Country water spilled over the top of the tube back into Bay Lake and provided circulation in the water. There were natural sand beaches underfoot instead of the concrete found at a regular waterpark.
There was even a song written about it! This aired in November 1977 on The Wonderful World of Disney.
River County closed on September 1, 2001. It was supposed to be a seasonal closure, but it became permanent as cost cutting measures were put into place following 9/11. River Country was eventually demolished in the spring of 2019.