12 yr old on Water-mouse?

[Lorien]

My nephew keeps asking about something called a water-mouse. He says its a small boat but it sounds a lot like a jet ski to me. He will be 12 by the time we go back and that's the minimum age to rent one. Have any of you been on one? Would you let a 12 yr old, with no boating experience, go on one alone?

 

[Kimberle]

It is a small boat, not a jet ski. My dh has ridden them many times. He says they really don't go that fast.

I think it really depends on the child. Some yes, some no.

Could an adult go out with him the first time to see how he handles it?

And yes, CM's do patrol the lakes looking for boaters who need assistance. My dh got stuck once when the boat died. A CM came over to him w/in a few minutes.

 

[zakatak]

Here is my opinion...

No. I think maybe if he is really mature and has gone out with you in the same boat once or twice before... MAYBE. Here is what it is like....

They are little speedboats. You sit IN them, have a steering wheel and a "shifter" which accelerates and decelerates you. You are out on a lake with alot of other boaters who are zipping around, possibly not paying attention. When I was out with my little kids, 90% of the time I was avoiding other people zipping around! A lot of defensive driving!

When I took my dd, who was just 3, out with me, we ran "into" a ferry wake, straight on, and were basically sunk. Water went OVER our heads, as we went through and down into the wake. I held onto her (she had a life vest on of course) and when the water stopped we were soaked, head to feet and the water was in the boat up to the seats (our legs and feet were under water). The boat barely made it back to the dock, lol... There are rescue boats out patrolling so they would have found us fast.

I think it is a bit much for a 12 year old with no boating experience. Take him out with you and see what you think.

Good luck!

Karen

 

[SeaSpray]

My older DS had just turned 13 back in May 2001 when we were staying at the Grand Floridian. We did let him get his own water mouse, BUT I also rented one and was out there at the same time he was. Make sure to stress to him that these are NOT "rides", they could, in the wrong situation, kill someone, if used improperly.

Which resort are you staying at? Supposedly the water mice at the moderates are slower because you can only drive them in the smaller lakes at each resort. We were at the Grand Floridian which is on the large lake that also goes to the Contemporary and the Polynesian resort. In my opinion, these water mice were NOT slow. LOL

As long as you feel that your nephew would be careful and not try to speed or show off, and is mature enough, I think he'd be OK. Like Kimberle said, could an adult also rent a water mouse and be there out on the water at the same time?? This way he's not really out there on his own.

By the way, I have a couple of pictures of the water mice on my web sites. Click below on my "family vacations" link. There are pictures of us in the watermice on the "Grand Floridian" page, then I have a couple of pictures of them on my "CBR February 2002" page.

Have fun!

 

[Sammie]

I think the key word here is no boating experience. These boats while not as fast as a jet ski are fast enough to be dangerous if the driver is not cautious. But even more is the danger of knowing how to stop the boat, they do not have brakes and boats do not stop quickly.

Someone died on these once by getting in the way of the large ferry between TTC and MK.

The safety issue will be is your nephew able to recognize danger and get out of the way safely.

I would recommend trying one in a less congested area than the area of the Magic Kingdom/Bay Lake area. There are alot of boats in that area to avoid.

 

[tiggersmom2]

zakatak, you are not going to believe this but the exact same thing happened to me and my DS!! We ran head on into the wake of a ferry boat, but our boat DID sink!!!! The patrol boats rescued us quickly. Till this day my son will not go near one of those boats (this was three years ago, he is now 10). I know this was my own fault and I should have been more careful, but if a 25 year old woman can be that careless, just imagine what could happen with an unsupervised 12 year old!!

 

[klh999]

Does anyone know how much these water mice are?? My nephews would probably love to use them in our vacation in two weeks.

 

[tiggersmom2]

When we were at the poly in June of 2003, I believe they were about $30.00 per half hour.

 

[Gabrielle]

The watermice are a big part of our vacations at WDW. Both my son and daughter started taking them out at 12. They love the boats.

Try starting him out on the watermice at one of the moderates - these watermice are slower; there's a lot less traffic; and the water is calmer. Or, take one of the boats out of the Wilderness Lodge and don't go past the Contemporary.

After he gets comfortable and proficient - maybe a year later - he'll probably be fine on Bay Lake.

 

[renzdr]

Do these only fit 2? Any way a medium sized mom and 2 kids could use 1 boat?

 

[Disbug]

They are really strict about that... and trust me, when they put those life preservers on they fill up that seat!

We also love the Water Mice. My DD15 had a "thrillilng" experience on one... somehow she got caught in a double-wake while she was turning and the boat turned upside down on top of her. Luckily she was unhurt and by the time she surfaced, a life guard in a Boston Whaler was already there! She is not particularly sure if she would go again. I think inexperience is the key. Most people don't know what to look for and don't understand how to approach a wake when they see one... Perhaps Disney should incorporate a short safety training session before letting inexperienced boaters go out?

 

[DisneyMim]

We've done these for years. Yes I agree with other posters, the key words here are "no experience". I have been around boats all my life and I would not suggest that a 12 year old go alone for the first time. I have seen accidents on these water mice, mostly young kids who thought they were just another Disney ride. They are not. You need to be careful and follow the basic rules of the water. That being said, my kids LOVE these boats and ride them all the time. We didn't let them go alone until they were 13. Before that they went with my husband and then my youngest went with my oldest. Disney does a great job of guarding the waters so you really feel safe. They are really fun, especially for kids. I would only let him go out alone AFTER he has been with an adult first, just for safety reasons.

Have Fun!!!

 

[Terry S]

Wow! I have only used these at the resort we were staying at which is the Yacht and Beach Club. I really don't think there is a way you could turn one of these over at this lake. First off they don't go very fast and 2nd the boats that ferry people on this lake don't go very fast and don't make a big wake. Trust me, we were jumping the wakes trying to get some air and we didn't get much at all. Luckily the rescue boat was having some fun going fast by us and made a few wakes we could jump.

I would say, go with him the first time (let him have his own boat and you have your own boat) and see how he does. You can judge if from there.

renzdr.... The have something called a canopy boat that you can go on if it is just you and 2 kids. My husband didn't feel good one day and my 6 and 7 year old wanted to ride the water mice so we ended up comprimising and taking a canopy boat, i think they can hold 6 or 8 people.

 

[rebbeca]

I used the Family Plan in July while staying at Ft. Wilderness. It was for myself, 16YO DS, and 7YO cousin. Neither my son nor myself have ever used a boat. I was very apprehensive. I don't swim and I was very protective of my cousin.

I let my son go out first. I was talking with the captain and he said "Nothing to worry about. We let 12YO use these." And then he said he didn't think it was a good idea

Anyway, we used them almost every day of our 8-day stay. I was scared to death the first time. I just piddled around the first time because I had my cousin with me. After a while we had a blast, but it is pretty busy out there and some of the wakes are big. I tried to avoid time.

 

[skiwee1]

I think you should at least go with him the first time to see how he does. I remember taking the boat from WL to Ft Wilderness and there was a little boy driving one by himself. He was so much into staring at our boat that he wasn't watching where he was going. He started heading right into the old sunken boat out there on the old Discovery Island. All of us on our boat started yelling for him to look out and pointing to the old boat. He finally turned at the last minute away from the old boat but still ended up running aground on the island itself. The watermouse flipped over and the kid scrambled out. He was terrified! Luckily he didn't look hurt and one of the patrol boats saw him and came to help him. Hopefully they didn't let him rent a mouse again! Those watermice are slow I think for adults but for kids they can be pretty fast if you don't know how to control them. The waterways around MK and WL are VERY busy. You constantly have to be on guard and watch what is going on around you.

 

[2minny]

Everything I've read says you must be 14 to drive the watermice. Do you lie or do they not check or is this a new rule?