Exotic palms growing on Disney's abandoned Discovery Island

[Eric in Orlando]

My wife and I stayed at Disney's Contemporary Hotel this past weekend. Sunday morning we rented a boat and headed out to circle Discovery Island to see what exotic plants are still growing there visible from the lake.

Discovery Island is in the middle of Bay Lake east of the Contemporary Hotel and near Ft. Wilderness resort. It opened in 1974 as Treasure Island and was renamed Discovery Island in 1978. The island was a tropical themed area with different birds and exotic animals. It had a pirate theme then more of a zoo attraction after the name change. It had lots of sandy beach area and was planted with exotic palms,plants,trees and bamboo. It closed in 1999 when Disney moved the animals to Animal Kingdom which had opened the year before. Since then it has been abandoned and the island was grown back wild and the beaches have disappeared.

Most of the exotic palms visible from the shore were planted back in the mid to late 1990s. I believe the Bismarckia was the first planted by Disney as they weren't common back then yet. It was a small specimen when planted and isn't as large as a 20 year old specimen should be as it has grown with no care since 1999. There is a Cocos nucifera back in there too but I couldn't see it from the lake. It has been a long term survivor. Bay Lake is about a mile across so it provides a good microclimate for the island. Several large Ficus are visible from the boat. There is lots of Brazilian Pepper thickets that have overtaken the sandy beaches.

[Eric in Orlando]

Bismarckia nobilis

[Eric in Orlando]

Copernicia alba, I could see 3 poking through the jungle

 

 

[Eric in Orlando]

Bismarckia on the left, Copernicia alba on the right

 

[Eric in Orlando]

Copernicia alba

 

[Eric in Orlando]

Hyphaene, probably H. coriacea

 

 

[Eric in Orlando]

large Sabal, not S. palmetto. Probably S. domingensis

[Eric in Orlando]

Phoenix sylvestris

[Eric in Orlando]

Washingtonia robusta with Peltophorum dubium (Yellow Poinciana)

[Eric in Orlando]

a large Ficus lyrata

[Eric in Orlando]

a "shipwreck" that used to lie on a sandy beach, now overgrown 

 

 

 

 

Here it is back in the 1970s

 

 

2005

 

[Eric in Orlando]

Looking back across Bay Lake at the Contemporary Hotel

[Eric in Orlando]

Lots of Wodyetia and Bismarkia planted around the Contemporary Hotel

[Eric in Orlando]

[Eric in Orlando]

View from our balcony looking east towards Discovery Island and Bay Lake 

[sur4z]

...interesting post...thanks

[Missi]

Ugh Disney! Tear out those Brazilian pepper trees!! 

Very interesting, btw! 

Edited August 7, 2017 by Missi

[Palm Tree Jim]

Thanks for sharing......it's probably been 40 years since I was there!

[Gileno Machado]

My first trip to US in 1974, with my family, we stayed at the Contemporary, great memories Éric thanks. Disneyworld was still in Jurassic age...

Remmember they had small motorboats for 2 people max, for renting at the hotel. 

Your pictures are amazing.

[RedRabbit]

Very impressive to hear a coconut has survived that long in Orlando.

[Eric in Orlando]

15 hours ago, Gileno Machado said:

My first trip to US in 1974, with my family, we stayed at the Contemporary, great memories Éric thanks. Disneyworld was still in Jurassic age...

Remmember they had small motorboats for 2 people max, for renting at the hotel. 

Your pictures are amazing.

 

They still have the 2 person speedboats. That's what we rented to go out there.

 

 

[Eric in Orlando]

12 hours ago, RedRabbit said:

Very impressive to hear a coconut has survived that long in Orlando.

 

I had seen it survived the 2009-10 winter. It was growing near the Copernicia alba. You would think it would be tall enough to be poking out through the brush.

[Kim]

What a fun outing!  Wouldn't it be great to go ashore and whack your way through the brush!

[RedRabbit]

11 hours ago, Eric in Orlando said:

 

I had seen it survived the 2009-10 winter. It was growing near the Copernicia alba. You would think it would be tall enough to be poking out through the brush.

I was thinking exactly that. Coconuts grow so fast it should be at least 25ft if it were planted way back in 1999... You're sure it survived 2010-2011? The Dec 2010 freeze finished off a lot of coconuts around here. 

[Eric in Orlando]

It may have. Too bad there isn't Streetview!

I found this photo taken in 2008;

 

 

[Moose]

On ‎8‎/‎7‎/‎2017‎ ‎3‎:‎23‎:‎23‎, Missi said:

Ugh Disney! Tear out those Brazilian pepper trees!! 

Very interesting, btw! 

Horrible plant  

[Tracy S]

Great post. I appreciate the look back.