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Disney’s Discovery Island
Visitors to Walt Disney World will notice how the employees (called ‘cast members’) go out of their way to make visitors’ day at the theme parks and resorts special. But there are limits to this friendliness and willingness to bend over backwards for guests. Some areas of Walt Disney World that are strictly off-limits to guests, who face banishment from the parks and other consequences if caught. One of these places is the original Discovery Island in Bay Lake near the Magic Kingdom. Discovery Island opened three years after Disney World as a Treasure Island-themed adventure park accessible by boat, a refuge from the busy theme parks. Walkways wove through forested areas, where exotic birds and animals wandered among the trees to the delight of visitors. The island had its own concession stand, office spaces, maintenance facilities, even a hospital and nursery for its animal and avian ‘residents.’