Exploring the intricate planning and development of the Disney-created Seven Seas Lagoon is incredibly fascinating. The soil from the lagoon site even played a role in the Magic Kingdom’s development! The site selected for the Magic Kingdom initially posed significant challenges due to its swampy terrain. However, with the leadership of Roy Disney and the extraordinary talent of the Imagineers and construction teams, the Magic Kingdom built on that site became a reality.
The planning teams employed innovative engineering techniques and creative design solutions to transform this landscape into the Vacation Kingdom of the World. The result is a vibrant resort area that has become a beloved destination for millions of visitors from around the globe.
In the photo above, you can see a spectacular aerial view of the Magic Kingdom area as the Seven Seas Lagoon transforms into an actual lagoon!
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Building a theme park on the land where Magic Kingdom currently stands was quite challenging. One solution to address this issue was to use the excavated soil from the lagoon site and transport it to the Magic Kingdom site to help stabilize the area for construction. The soil removed from the future lagoon area contributed to the creation of the Seven Seas Lagoon.
The sandy paradise seen above eventually became Seven Seas Lagoon, with two of the three island mounds clearly visible. In the upper left corner of this photo is the future site of Magic Kingdom, and in the upper right corner is a glimpse of Bay Lake.
Transportation on Seven Seas Lagoon
The side wheel steamboats, known as Ports-O-Call and Southern Seas, were the original water transport vessels that served Seven Seas Lagoon before the arrival of new ferry boats a couple of years later. These steamboats played a crucial role in connecting the Transportation and Ticket Center with the Magic Kingdom.
Additional Information from Former Imagineer Tom K. Morris
Morris: Take a close look at the upper left corner [in the photo above]. Those two curious structures are mock-ups of the portal entrances to the park, flanking the Train Station. This was done in advance of one of the executive site walks that took place in late 1968, probably just to give them a tangible point of reference on the site.
Morris: Geo-engineers underestimated the density and depth of the root-mat in the area of Seven Seas Lagoon. In some areas, it went down 40 or 50 feet! Caused headaches and delays. The Seven Seas Lagoon might have been designed differently had they known the conditions; Magic Kingdom location was moved a quarter mile east from the early plans to avoid similar conditions.
Morris: Root mat is a network of tree roots that are spread across horizontally, forming a “net” across a parcel of land. Sometimes only a foot or two thick, just below the surface, but sometimes several feet thick and 20 or 30 or more feet below the surface. The roots’ decomposition and resulting cavity are one of the things that can cause sinkholes.
The photo above shows a southward view from the site of the Magic Kingdom, looking toward what will soon become the Seven Seas Lagoon. The island mound of Castaway Cay, seen clearly in this photo, is particularly notable for its unique cypress trees at the left end of the island. Additional “Disney” details about these distinctive trees and the Seven Seas Lagoon islands are below.
Did you know the three islands in Seven Seas Lagoon have names?
Blackbeard Island: This island is the closest to Bay Lake and the water bridge. Interestingly, Blackbeard’s Island was a planned name for the island in Bay Lake until they officially decided on Treasure Island (and then eventually Discovery Island).
Castaway Cay: This name might sound familiar. Does Disney’s private island in the Bahamas ring a bell? This island is located closest to the Magic Kingdom. Whether Disney named this island after the one in the Bahamas (1997) or vice versa is unknown.
Beachcomber Island: This island might be the most interesting to Disney fans. It is located closest to the Polynesian & Grand Floridian and was once home to a wave machine! Dick Nunis, then Vice President of Park Operations, wanted waves and surfing on his new beautiful beaches. Unfortunately, the waves caused beach erosion, and the machine was expensive to maintain, leading to its eventual removal. According to former Walt Disney Imagineer Scott Girard, the Wave Machine was canceled due to significant beach erosion, as well as structural and hydraulic problems with the sub-surface paddles that created the wave motion.
Remnants of the wave machine are still visible within the trees and bushes, and some of the machinery remains under the Seven Seas Lagoon surface. However, this wasn’t the last wave machine at Walt Disney World. A more modern version of the wave machine found a home at Typhoon Lagoon in 1989.
Additional Information from Former Imagineers Tom K. Morris and Scott Girard
Castaway Cay, or the middle island, originally had three tall cypress trees that really stood out during land clearing for the lagoon, and the landscaping crew named them ‘Roy’, ‘Donn’, and ‘Card’ (after Walt Disney Productions’ three top executives at the time). Two of the cypress trees stood at the eastern most tip of island. You can see the ‘Donn’ and ‘Card’ trees very close together in the Seven Seas Lagoon construction photos. ‘Roy’ was further to the west near the heavy vegetation. Sadly, lightning set these trees afire several years later.
Morris: According to an interview with Bill Evans, after they landscaped those islands and before the Seven Seas Lagoon was filled with water for the first time, they did a survey to double-check elevations, and the islands were below water level! They had to pull out all the landscape material, add four feet of soil, and then replant!
Girard: While clearing and de-mucking for the Seven Seas Lagoon the crews worked around areas that had the rough shape of the islands shown on the survey for clearing; the assumption being the areas would be above water level when the lagoon was filled. When the islands had sat for a month or so after the de-mucking and water level draw down, we started planting trees on the islands. I think it was Bill Stockman (Chief Surveyor) who suggested they shoot the islands, and sure enough they had subsided and we had to dismount all of that landscaping, add more dirt, regrade the islands, and re-plant the trees and shrubs.
This very experience is what led us to build the islands in World Showcase Lagoon with concrete seawalls and plant them with ‘draping’ shrubs which cover the concrete walls.
Girard: This very experience is what led us to build the islands in World Showcase Lagoon with concrete seawalls and plant them with ‘draping’ shrubs which cover the concrete walls.
According to former Walt Disney Imagineer Mark Eades, as Bill Evans and his team approached the time to refill the Seven Seas Lagoon after continuous work creating the new lagoon, Bill suddenly realized that the islands might have settled slightly into the porous Florida sand due to the continuous pumping of water that had kept the lagoon dry. He arranged for surveyors to inspect the three islands, and they confirmed that the islands had indeed sunk. Consequently, the team ordered truckloads of sand and cement to restore the islands’ elevation before the pumps turned off, allowing the lagoon to fill with water.
Additional Information from Former WDW Lake Patrol Lifeguard David Green
Green: As a lake patrol lifeguard, we had access to all the islands and used them as landmarks. I almost forgot all the names. Castaway Cay had old fireworks bunkers and a control room with a working phone. You could even make long distance calls! Same for the wedding pavilion dock phone. Beachcomber Island has a small inlet on the east side where you could drive a Boston Whaler into. On Castaway Cay, that’s the control room at the top of the photo. It is on a hill.
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