I noticed at Infocentral that you can rent a pontoon for $42 for 1/2 an hour. Doesn't seem like a bad deal at all...but where can I rent one (Fort Wilderness?) And can I drive it around Bay Lake or the Seven Seas Lagoon like the water mice?
Thanks!
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I noticed at Infocentral that you can rent a pontoon for $42 for 1/2 an hour. Doesn't seem like a bad deal at all...but where can I rent one (Fort Wilderness?) And can I drive it around Bay Lake or the Seven Seas Lagoon like the water mice?
Thanks!
Most of the marinas have Pontoon boats. We rented one once at POR and drove it to Downtown Disney along that waterway. It was a very fun time.
There is a Marina at Yacht Club, POR, Downtown Disney, Wilderness Lodge, Ft. Wilderness, Contemporary, Polynesian, and GF resorts.
And yes, you can pretty much drive it around anywhere that the boats are permitted in the waterways. You will be instructed when you rent where you can go and which areas are off limits.
We have rented a pontoon at Fort Wilderness and loved it. You can ride around both the lakes, with several people. We thought it was a pretty good deal for something to do on a down day. We also have rented boats at POR and gone down the river. You can rent pontoons and smaller boats at most or all the resorts on the lakes or river and take them down the river or most anywhere on the lakes.--same as water mice. Some of our best disney memories are on the boats. Have fun!!
This is actually a regular event for us. We really enjoy taking the pontoon (on a nice day!) and relaxing on the lake. We usually grab a snack or sandwich and eat while casually roaming around the lake!
You can rent them from Ft Wilderness, WL, CR, Poly, and GF to enjoy the 2 lakes out there. You can also rent them from POFQ, POR, OKW, and probably Downtown Disney to enjoy the boat around DTD and the canals leading to/from Port Orleans and Old Key West.
We usually head to the CR - it's in the middle of the 2 lakes. Also, they are the one place that tends to offer some discounts, so you might want to check on that. As DVC members, we get a percentage off. The same might be true for AP (not sure). Enjoy!
Excellent! Thanks for the info everyone. Glad to hear there might be a DVC discount! :number1:
We rented a pontoon boat at the Contemporary and had a blast. It was my first time driving one and every time another boat came near me, I turned around and went the other way. Stayed pretty much in Bay Lake. One of the lake patrol boats came up along side of us and told me that I could take the boat out into the Seven Seas Lagoon if I wanted to. After watching me go back and forth in Bay Lake and bailing out whenever another boat came near me, he must have felt sorry for me. Never made it to Seven Seas, but I;m going to go for it on our trip in April.
Wow. I wish I had paid better attention to what boats were available for rent at the Polynesian on my last trip. We rented the water mice, which were a ton of fun. We booked for a half an hour, but the cast members back at the dock were extremely lenient and let us have our fun for almost 50 minutes with no extra charge! Guess it was a slow day. :thumbsup:
As far as the pontoons, I would love to be out on one of those with my family. Ideally, two hours with lunch on the boat would be perfect. How many people are allowed on?
I want to say the Pontoon boats hold 8 people. Maybe 12. Definitely at least 6, though. They are pretty large. There also are larger "speedboats". Montauk Whalers or something. They hold 5 people, I think.Quote:
Originally Posted by ImagiAsh
We have rented the pontoon boats a few times, definitely worth it, and if you are on property, you should also recieve a coupon for a discount as well )
A few things to know that I don't see mentioned above:
We took a boat from POR and went up the river, it was fun, however...the ferrys also run in the river and it can get tricky when approaching a ferry under the bridges. There is one curve especially which is difficult to view if a ferry is approaching.
You are not allowed to dock your boat at any of the other docks, you may only depart and return to your original dock.
I found Bay Lake and the Seven Seas lagoon to be the most enjoyable, you get to see a totally different view of the property from the lakes.
Another boat fan here! Yes, we have rented the pontoon boats and also water mice. I would agree that renting from either the Wilderness Lodge, Contemporary or the Poly or Grand Flo gives you access to the largest water space, and the views of the hotels and MK are very enjoyable from a different perspective.:sail:
As with some of the other areas, you need to be careful when "crossing" between the lakes, just take it slow and you'll be fine through the channel (narrow space, and yes, the ferry boats share that with you). :boat::boat::boat::boat:
Some of our best times have been on the boats, and one of my most fond memories is here too. My Dad was an avid boater his entire life (thus my love of the water), :fish: and I was able to get him to WDW for one day years ago. We didn't head into any of the parks but we did make it out on a pontoon boat on Bay Lake - I have great photos of a very special day!! (Oh, and Dad and Minnie really made the most of their photo op at Chef Mick's!) :heart: