A pool at the abandoned Disney World water park, Disney's River Country, in Bay Lake, Florida. The park opened in 1976, ceased operations in 2001 and has been left to deteriorate ever since. (Seph Lawless)

This summer, families will no doubt flock to some of the country's water parks, water slides and swimming holesto enjoy the warm weather. But there's one water park that will definitely stay eerily silent.

In June 1976, Disney's River Country in Bay Lake, Florida, opened as Walt Disney World's first water park. The family vacation destination featured attractions such as the White Water Rapids, a 330-foot long inner tube river;Bay Cove, a half-acre sand-bottom lake which featured a tire swing, boom swing, rope climb, and T-bar drop; and several water slides.

But in 2005, Disney's River Country ceased operations and was abandoned. Today, the park is overgrown with trees, its rides and attractions rotting and crumbling, eerily reclaimed by nature.The water park is adjacent to another abandoned Disney park, Discovery Island. Disney's River Country and Discovery Island are theonly Disney parks to close permanently.

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Photographer Seph Lawless recently visited River Country and captured eerie images of the once-bustling park, now left to rot in the elements. As if straight from a post-apocalyptic movie, the park still houses remnants from a lively past—water slides, picnic tables and benches, shower rooms and bridges.

"Next month, will mark 40 years after the opening day of River Country, and I wanted to capture powerful images that would not only show this eerie abandoned Disney park, but I wanted it to be absolutely beautiful at the same time," said Lawless.

Lawless is no stranger to modern ruins—and even abandoned, deteriorating amusement park. He has previously photographed an abandoned dinosaur-theme park in Irish Hills, Michiganand an abandoned "Wizard of Oz" amusement park in Beech Mountain, North Carolina.

View the slideshow above for a photographic tour of the abandoned Disney's River Country. For more on Lawless' work, visit his website or follow him on Facebook, Instagram and on Twitter.

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Abandoned houses in Picher, Oklahoma. Considered too toxic to be habitable, the once-booming lead- and zinc-mining town was declared a Superfund site in 1981, but most of the residents didn’t leave until 2006. The EPA has called the city, now a ghost town, the "most toxic place in America." (Seph Lawless)