a third water park, Blizzard Beach, which was also much bigger than River Country. The park closed on November 2, 2001, with the expectation that it would reopen in the spring of 2002. On April 11, 2002, the Orlando Sentinel reported that "Walt Disney World's first water park, River Country, has closed and may not reopen." Disney World spokesman Bill Warren stated that River Country could be reopened if "there's enough guest demand". In 2005, Disney officially announced that River Country would be closed permanently. River Country then sat abandoned for 17 years, rotting and gradually being reclaimed by nature. The water park was fenced off with signs up reading "Sorry, River Country is closed." The park was a popular site amongst urban explorers who climbed over the green fence or even walked in through the backstage driveway. The River Country Closing Theme still plays even in the abandoned park. Lights are also turned on automatically as Disney appears to not have cut off power to the Water Park. The River Country water tower towards the entrance was removed a few years after closing and moved. On August 25, 2016, Disney announced that it would drain and fill in Upstream Plunge, the 330,000-gallon pool. There were no immediate plans to tear down any other part of the park. River Country is one of only two Disney parks to permanently close, along with "Discovery Island", which is situated parallel to the water park. There are many similarities between the two closures, in that both closed permanently within two years of each other, and were also both abandoned and never mentioned by Disney. Planned hotel On March 5, 2018, Disney filed permits for a new mystery development labeled "Project 89" to be built along Bay Lake and over the former River Country site. A week later, it was rumored that "Project 89" will most likely be another themed Hotel Resort or DVC timeshare property. The resort hotel was confirmed on May 31, 2018, and most remaining structures at the park, including the remnants of the Upstream Plunge pool, were demolished on April 20, 2019, to make way for development of the new hotel. Disney later officially announced that the new deluxe resort would be nature-themed and called "Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge." The new resort is slated to have 900 hotel rooms and was set to open in 2022. The new