Water Boats at VWL

[LittleMickey]

I'm going to the VWL in late Nov./early Dec. and I remember when I went last year they told me I could get a family pass for the water boats, i.e. the water mice and the pontoons. I guess my first question is how much is it to get the family pass for 1 week and secondly, how many boats can I take out at one time. When I go down with 5 people, can my family take more than 1 boat out at one time, or will they allow me only to take 1 out at a time for the price of the family pass for the week. Is there a limit to the number of boats you can take out at once with your family? Thanks! Dave

 

[Granny]

Dave...they have recently revised the Family Boat & Bike plan, but my understanding is that this is the deal.

- The plan is for one week
- The cost is about $239 per family
- Up to five members of the group can be on the plan
- Unlimited use of bicycles and boats, though they do ask you to check back every hour to make sure there's not a backlog of people waiting for boats. In December, I think you'll be okay.
- To drive a boat, a person must be 16 years old minimum.
- Each member of the family that is 16 or above can take out their own boat at the same time. So if you have a family of four, all over 16 years old, you can have four boats out at the same time. Of course, I'm referring to the water mice...they don't have four pontoon boats!

We used this plan last year at VWL and it was a great deal for my family. We rode bikes in the morning and the boats at other parts of the day. Bay Lake is a wonderful boating "playground" as is Seven Seas lagoon.

And you'll be there when the Christmas decorations are up, so it should be an awesome trip for you.

 

[bobbiwoz]

bump

 

[SSRex]

I just called the 407-WDW-PLAY number and spoke to someone, I asked if the age to rent the SeaRaycers had recently changed. I held while she double checked and she came back on and said no, it was 12. I even asked for the phone number to one of the resort marinas to double check, but she insisted that was not needed and said that they use the same system that she had.

Is anyone there at WDW right now and has rented or tried to rent a Sea Raycer (fka watermouse) for a teenager under 16?
If so, which resort? Please advise. Thank you for any assistance.

 

[SSRex]

See my post on the thread titled "Marina Plans." It appears to depend on where you rent and which boats they have as to if you have to be 16 or only 12. More details to follow next week.

 

[jcanary]

We just got back and had used the boat and bike plan at WLV and they check for drivers licences in order to use the water mites. they even told my daughter that is almost 17 to always bring her license because she looks young and they will probably "card" her each time, & they did a majority of the time. We had 5 signed up on the agreement and we were able to have 5 boats out at a time. The total with tax, etc was 254. Had a good time and there were days when the bays were almost empty.

 

[SSRex]

It's because of all the 12 to 15 year olds that either can't go alone or don't want to go with their parents riding with them.

This is another example of things changing for the worse. After I booked my 2002 WDW trip to stay in a Fort Wilderness Cabin, it was announced that River Country would not be opening again.

After I booked this year's trip, I had to tell our two 14 year old boys that the boats that they drove alone when they were 12 can not be used alone this year even though they are now 14.

I can now fully expect pool hopping to also become a thing of the past before I book our next trip. We better do it this trip quickly.

FYI, these same 2 boys at age 13 and their 10 years old sisters easily could ride circles around most adults on Segways, but are also not allowed to ride those at EPCOT until age 16. Whatever.

Not a great attitude to have before we leave on our trip Friday. If we get put into a smoking, handicapped, lock-off 2 bedroom with a sofa bed instead of the non-smoking, non- HA, dedicated with 2 queens that I requested, I might just be spending the rest of my 50 year DVC membership in a mental instituation. Please send some pixie dust our way for the sake of the kids and my non-believing DVC spouse. This may be my only chance to sell her on the idea. This could be a make it or break trip for all of us.

 

[goofy4dvc]

We rented the SeaRaycers at the Comtemporary marina. Grandaughter and her friend were 13 and 14. They each had to ride with me and DH. They could drive the boats, but had to have adult with them. The sign at the marina window said age 12, but there was another sign posted next to it said that as of whatever date (early spring I think) the age was changed to 16.

 

[debloco]

So the new rule is that you cannot drive a water mouse boat unless you are 16 years old and can prove it? What a disappointment. My DD has driven a water mouse boat twice, once when she was 13 and once when she was 14. All of us zooming around was such a riot and a great way to spend some of our afternoon. Now when we go at Christmas she won't be able to drive her own even though she's 15! What a bummer

CLC Tiger Pom Mom

 

[Granny]

I too am disappointed in the change in rules. But you have to think that Disney will lose a significant amount of revenue with this rule change (based on the ages of kids I saw using the boats last time).

We have to give them credit for putting safety over finances, don't we?

(Okay, maybe their insurance company made them do it, but I like to think that they do care about us!)

 

[rwcmath]

SSRex, Pixie dust for a wonderful trip!

 

[ronw]

Our DS is already bummed about our trip scheduled for next spring. He's been driving the boats for three years and our spring trip is a week before his 16th birthday.

 

[InstImpres]

My dd is to young to know the age thing (thankfully)

Just a quick question, once you pay for the plan, can you get boats anywhere, ie VWL & Cont. & BC or only where you paid for them?

TIA
Sandy

 

[Granny]

Originally posted by InstImpres
My dd is to young to know the age thing (thankfully)

Just a quick question, once you pay for the plan, can you get boats anywhere, ie VWL & Cont. & BC or only where you paid for them?

TIA
Sandy

Only where you paid for them.

 

[trishy]

That's a good question Sandy - not sure.

I just got back and my kids were able to ride the watermouse out of DD - the rule being 12 and older. Yet the WL boats were 16 and older because of the 'bigger, more powerful motor' and the 'amount of traffic on the water' we were told. The BC/BW area uses the 12 and older rule also for their watermice.

 

[Sammie]

You can still drive the boats at other locations if you are 12. It's only the marinas at Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon that the driver must have a license. That includes the Grand Floridian, Polynesian, Contemporary, Wilderness Lodge and Wilderness Campground. The change was due to a recent very serious accident involving 2 drivers under the age of 16 and they had to be air lifted.

I think the change is a good one. Sometimes changes have to be made for the good of the many and not the pleasure of the few.

For those that are 12 I would suggest the Yacht/Beach/Boardwalk area or Downtown Disney.

.

 

[LakeAriel]

I had the family plan last August at VWL. The only thing wrong with it was that we were almost killed by "kids" driving like maniacs and cutting people off. The police boats were overwhelmed, patroling. They also played chicken with the big ferrys. Parents, trust me, you don't want your kids out on Bay Lake unchaperoned. Safety first!