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Discovery Island

506 bytes added, 20:35, 6 September 2016
/* History */
On opening day, the Tree of Life was surrounded by two different walkthrough attractions- the Safari Village Trails and the Tree of Life Gardens <ref> http://www.florida-project.com/images/guidemaps/dak/disneys-animal-kingdom-guidemap-1998-june-05.jpg </ref>. Both of these attractions allowed guests to see the beautiful landscaping and wildlife that surrounded the Tree of Life. Finally, Safari Village was also home to the Discovery River Boats, which took guests on a tour of the Discovery River, previewing other parts of the park.
Outside of the aforementioned attractions, Safari Village was also home to the restaurants, Pizzafari and Flame Tree Barbecue, as well as four shops: Island Mercantile, Beastly Bazaar, Creature Comforts, and Disney Outfitters <refname= "safari"> https://d23.com/a-to-z/safari-village/ </ref>.
The first change to come to Safari Village came in late 1998 when the Tree of Life Gardens were incorporated into the Safari Village Trail. Subsequently, in November 1999 the name of the Discovery River Boats was changed to the Discovery River Taxi, in an attempt to emphasize the transportation aspect of the attraction<ref name= "river"> http://saitonews.tripod.com/DiscRivBoat.html </ref>. Due to guest dissatisfaction however, the attraction was closed by the end of 1998<ref name= "river"/>. In March 1999 Disney again to reinvigorate interest in the Discovery River Boats by renaming the attraction the Radio Disney River Cruise<ref name= "dated"> http://waltdatedworld.com/id55.htm </ref>. Although now featuring music from Radio Disney (and showcasing small animals that were brought on board), the attraction still proved unpopular and in August 1999 the Discovery River Boats were closed for good<ref name= "dated"/>. Also in 1999, Disney Outfitters changed its name to Wonders of the Wild <ref name= "d23"> https://d23.com/a-to-z/disney-outfitters/ </ref>.
In December 2000, Safari Village was renamed Discovery Island<ref name= "safari"/>. This name change happened subsequent to the Discovery Island attraction located in Bay Lake closing for good<ref> https://d23.com/a-to-z/discovery-island/ </ref>. In congruence with the name change, the Safari Village Trail was renamed the Discovery Island trails<ref> Compare http://www.florida-project.com/images/guidemaps/dak/disneys-animal-kingdom-guidemap-2000-may-v2-05.jpg AND <ref> http://www.florida-project.com/images/guidemaps/dak/disneys-animal-kingdom-guidemap-2000-december-05.jpg </ref>.
Since the name change in December 2000, Discovery Island has seen a relatively few number of changes. In 2001, Wonders of Wild changed its name back to Disney Outfitters <ref name= "d23"/>. In August 2012, Beastly Bazaar closed, before eventually reopening in May 2013 as character meet and greet location called Adventurers Outpost <ref> https://d23.com/a-to-z/beastly-bazaar/ </ref>. Subsequently, January 4, 2015 <ref> https://d23.com/a-to-z/creature-comforts/ </ref>, Creature Comforts closed in order to become Disney’s Animal Kingdom’s Starbucks location. The new Starbucks opened to guests on June 19, 2015 <ref> https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2015/06/disneys-animal-kingdoms-starbucks-opens-flat-white-lattes-to-help-endangeredspecies/ </ref>. Finally, in March 2016 Disney Outfitters was renamed Discovery Trading Company <ref> http://www.wdwmagic.com/shopping/disney-outfitters/news/16mar2016-photos---discovery-trading-company-takes-over-from-disney-outfitters-at-disneys-animal-kingdom.htm </ref>.