Aerophile vs. Amphicar [poll]

[bsmcneil]

I tried searching but didn't come up with many threads that hit this question. So - have you ever been on one, the other, or both? If so, would you recommend it (and please share your group size/makeup, etc)? Both of these attractions have garnered some interest from my 9yo and 5yo (and I've done neither). From the looks of it, it feels like (for adult me) Aerophile isn't all that special; I mean, you can get pretty cool views as you head to the top of EE. But maybe I'm missing something (and to be fair, we just saw some hot air balloons in town and talked about how cool it seemed). Oh, it just dawned on me - maybe kids can't do the amphicar? Now I have to check that out (page says all ages - but I don't know if we need boosters? Any parents with younger kids try this attraction?)! I've shown the kids videos of both and their responses so far are, "That's so cool!", lol

 

[tobikaye]

Only from adult POV, both were quite fun. Amphicars will not require special seating for kids. It is basically just a boat ride in a car around the lake of DS. Aerophile is a totally different feeling of seeing views than from EE. It is more about the excitement of rising up with a metal rope holding you to the dock and the balloon waving around a bit by the wind.

Of the two, I almost always want to do the Aerophile each time I see it. I want to do the amphicars again, but it is not something I want to do often.

 

[Marthasor]

I wasn’t impressed by either. Aerophile was kind of cool until I saw the view - you see a lot of the surrounding non-Disney area and it kind of took me out of the bubble. Amphicars are essentially a really expensive boat ride. Is it cool that the car drives into the water? Sure, but then your on a boat which are free to ride all over WDW. Maybe consider a fishing excursion, surrey bike rental on the Boardwalk, or canoe/kayak renta/visit the stables/do gem mining at Ft. W?

 

[Upatnoon]

I would take the bus to the Riveria Resort and ride the Skyliner

 

[lindsmom]

We did the amphicar when our son was 6 years old, and he was allowed to ride with a life vest on. The three of us (Me, DH, and DD 14) didn't have to wear life vests. We really enjoyed it, and it is on our list to repeat this trip as our son will be old enough now to remember it and he is really into cars. It is pricey (apparently we were supposed to tip the captain / driver, which we didn't realize oops) but a fun treat. I would like to do the balloon this trip, but DH doesn't like heights like that so maybe just a ride on the skyliner.

 

[gottalovepluto]

When they say 3-4 people for the car is that a weight capacity thing? Or is it a space thing like 3 adults max, 4 people if there is a kid or two in the mix?

 

[bsmcneil]

I wasn’t impressed by either. Aerophile was kind of cool until I saw the view - you see a lot of the surrounding non-Disney area and it kind of took me out of the bubble. Amphicars are essentially a really expensive boat ride. Is it cool that the car drives into the water? Sure, but then your on a boat which are free to ride all over WDW. Maybe consider a fishing excursion, surrey bike rental on the Boardwalk, or canoe/kayak renta/visit the stables/do gem mining at Ft. W?

The canoe/kayaking is on our radar. I thought about the surrey bikes too - maybe I should give them more thought. I have a fear of fish though, lol - fishing's out!

 

[bsmcneil]

We did the amphicar when our son was 6 years old, and he was allowed to ride with a life vest on. The three of us (Me, DH, and DD 14) didn't have to wear life vests. We really enjoyed it, and it is on our list to repeat this trip as our son will be old enough now to remember it and he is really into cars. It is pricey (apparently we were supposed to tip the captain / driver, which we didn't realize oops) but a fun treat. I would like to do the balloon this trip, but DH doesn't like heights like that so maybe just a ride on the skyliner.

Thanks for the head's up; I wouldn't have known that, either!

 

[lindsmom]

When they say 3-4 people for the car is that a weight capacity thing? Or is it a space thing like 3 adults max, 4 people if there is a kid or two in the mix?

I think it depends on who your 4 people are. We were allowed 4 people because the youngest was 6 and our daughter was a slim 14. DH rode in the back with the kids and I rode in the front next to the Captain.

 

[bsmcneil]

I just noticed Amphicar is misspelled in the poll and I can't edit it. D'oh!

 

[Jhondy]

I did both with my the 20 month yr. old daughter. They were both fun but not something I would go out of my way to so again.

the amphicar was cool going in and out of the water but after that it’s a boat Ride. The driver was super nice and talkative. My daughter loved waiving to all the people watching us. The driver said our ride was the most he ever had people wave back…pretty sure it was all cause of DD.

The balloon was also neat but even with a short line it took forever to get on and the group in front of me kept adding more people to their group, which was annoying…in the end we got to skip them cause they had too many people for the spots that were left. My daughter liked looking out but it wasn’t super special.

so each was a unique experience but they were just good and not great. If you do amphicar, if you eat at boathouse first, you can get a discount on the price of the amphicar.

 

[bsmcneil]

Thanks everyone - super helpful feedback!