The legendary shoe tree, a longtime Bay Lake fixture, has been stripped of its soles as the construction of Lakeshore Lodge progresses.

Bay Lake Cast Member Shoe Tree Stripped

One of the most noticeable recent changes is on a much smaller scale. For decades, retiring Cast Members (primarily watercraft Cast Members who worked on Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon) would hang their shoes in this tree.

However, within the past month, the shoe tree has become just a tree: all the accumulated shoes have been removed from its branches. This change to a longtime Cast Member tradition comes about presumably because of its proximity to Lakeshore Lodge, taking it from a fun waterfront Easter egg to a very visible landmark.

Another Bay Lake Legacy

Lakeshore Lodge is built on the former site of River Country, Disney’s first waterpark, which opened in 1976 and closed in 2001; Disney would not formally announce that the park was permanently closed until 2005. The site sat abandoned and largely untouched until 2018, when the first construction permits for what is now Lakeshore Lodge were filed. Demolition finally began in 2019.

River Country’s legacy lives on not only in a horseshoe-shaped lazy river seen under construction at Lakeshore Lodge, but also in the recently expanded Meadow Swimmin’ Pool at the nearby Fort Wilderness campgrounds.

Are you sad to see the shoe tree sole-less? Let us know on social media.

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