'Treasure Island' opened to the public on Apas a relaxing bird sanctuary, with a few remnants of the pirate theme still present, as evidenced by a reproduced wreck of a ship on the island's southern shore. New, man-made bodies of water were created, and the one time flat, scrub brush filled island was transformed into a tropical paradise. In order to accommodate the more than 600 feathered friends that were going to take up residence here, more than 50,000 cubic yards of soil and 500,000 tons of boulders were brought onto the island, increasing the size of the island to almost 11.5 acres, as well as a variety of flowers and trees from around the world. In 1974, however, plans to add a wide variety of tropical birds to the island emerged, thereby putting the pirate theme on hold. Although the name of this new island attraction was changed to 'Treasure Island', the original concept for a pirate themed adventure would remain, as it would take elements from the 1950 Disney film of the same name.Ī unique diversion from the theme park attractions, the island was planned to be a retreat for exploration and relaxation, with wrecks of pirate ships, 'Ben Gunn's Fort', the 'Benbow Inn', and lakes and waterfalls to enjoy. It was later purchased, renamed 'Riles Island,' and used as a hunting retreat long before being bought by Disney (under a fake name, of course), in 1965.ĭisney originally planned to add a pirate 'theme' to the island and call it 'Blackbeard's Island', but that name was discarded, and was eventually changed to 'Treasure Island.' (However, the Blackbeard Island name was recycled and given to one of the three man made islands of the Seven Seas Lagoon). In the late 1930s, it was purchased for $800 by a man named Delmar 'Radio Nick' Nicholson, who renamed the island 'Idle Bay Isle' and lived there for 20 years with his wife and pet crane.

However, this Discovery Island is not man-made, and has a long history that predates the arrival of Disney.įrom the early 1900s, it was known as Raz Island, named after the family that lived there.

The story goes that as Walt Disney was flying over the land he was interested in purchasing to locate his new Florida theme park (reported to be on November 22, 1963, around the time that JFK had been shot), it was the sight of this island in the center of Bay Lake that convinced him that this was the ideal place to build.Ĭurrently known as 'Discovery Island', it shares that moniker with its 'distant cousin' in Disney's Animal Kingdom. Legend around these parts states that it was this island that solidified the location for Walt Disney's secret new theme park project. But in the middle of that great, murky, muck sat a large island.

Well, a long time ago, in a swampland in central Florida, there sat… well… swampland. Riles Island a.k.a Blackbeard's Island…a.k.a…Ī long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… oh, sorry… wrong story… Treasure Island, a.k.a Discovery Island a.k.a. Treasure Island, a.k.a Discovery Island Theme Park Archives

Discovery island disney world