Many people never seem to have time to experience anything other than the fantastic Theme Parks but on our recent holiday we had stayed for our first night at one of Disney’s Deluxe Resorts before heading down to the Gulf Coast for a week of pure relaxation.
We had been up really early as you always are on your first morning in the land of magic and we had a wonder around the Hotel resort and we came across the boat and cycle offices. We looked at the prices and they were a very reasonable but they didn’t open until after 9am so we agreed to come back later.
A couple of hours later we were back at the rental offices deciding which type of boat to rent.
The sea mice - only hold two people so that was a none starter for us, the canopy boats hold 6 or one of the larger 21ft pontoon boats which hold up to 10 people. We opted for the 21ft pontoon boat which would provide a more stable ride and was just right for us however I am sure my son would have opted for the sea mice so he could just go out by himself.
We signed our rental agreement and picked up our life jackets and we were off to the jetty.
Only adults are allowed to drive the boats so this task fell to my husband and all of the controls were explained to us, including to watch out for both the smaller faster boats but also the very large boats on Seven Seas Lagoon.
I sat at the front of the boat with the camera at the ready. We first navigated our way out from the natural Bay Lake ( it is about one mile across and approx. 35 feet deep) by way of the water-bridge to the Seven Seas Lagoon. The water-bridge is to the side of the Contemporary Resort and you get a fantastic view of this and even the monorails passes over the top of you!
We then head into the wonderful Seven Seas Lagoon that I am sure all of us at one point or another have crossed whilst on the magnificent Ferry Boats on our way to and from the Ticket and Transportation Centre to the Magic Kingdom. The one really important thing to remember here is that the ferry boats and the boat launches are bigger than you and you really don’t want to get anywhere near them. We first navigated our way close to the entrance of the Magic Kingdom and we could see everyone rushing to get into the theme park I managed to get some wonderful photo’s of Cinderella’s Castle. We then carried on towards the Grand Floridian Resort and the beach and finally the wedding chapel - everything looks so different from on the lake. The round to the Polynesian before heading back over to the Contemporary Resort and entering Bay Lake again.
We headed over towards Fort Wilderness trying to miss one of the boat launches and then we navigated our way to what used to be the fantastic water park of River Country. It is such a shame to see this so overgrown and now abandoned. When our children were younger we used to enjoy going to this water park two or three times every holiday, the characters were always out and we have many photographs of Chip, Dale and Goofy playing on the beach. We then headed back to Wilderness Lodge and moored the boat.
We had spent just over 30 minutes out on the lakes and the cost was $45 + tax, money very well spent in my opinion. If you do want to stop out longer then after 30 minutes rentals are charged every 5 minutes thereafter. You just settle the bill when you get back so if you want to take longer there is no pressure for you to get back.
Michelle
We had been up really early as you always are on your first morning in the land of magic and we had a wonder around the Hotel resort and we came across the boat and cycle offices. We looked at the prices and they were a very reasonable but they didn’t open until after 9am so we agreed to come back later.
A couple of hours later we were back at the rental offices deciding which type of boat to rent.
The sea mice - only hold two people so that was a none starter for us, the canopy boats hold 6 or one of the larger 21ft pontoon boats which hold up to 10 people. We opted for the 21ft pontoon boat which would provide a more stable ride and was just right for us however I am sure my son would have opted for the sea mice so he could just go out by himself.
We signed our rental agreement and picked up our life jackets and we were off to the jetty.
Only adults are allowed to drive the boats so this task fell to my husband and all of the controls were explained to us, including to watch out for both the smaller faster boats but also the very large boats on Seven Seas Lagoon.
I sat at the front of the boat with the camera at the ready. We first navigated our way out from the natural Bay Lake ( it is about one mile across and approx. 35 feet deep) by way of the water-bridge to the Seven Seas Lagoon. The water-bridge is to the side of the Contemporary Resort and you get a fantastic view of this and even the monorails passes over the top of you!
We then head into the wonderful Seven Seas Lagoon that I am sure all of us at one point or another have crossed whilst on the magnificent Ferry Boats on our way to and from the Ticket and Transportation Centre to the Magic Kingdom. The one really important thing to remember here is that the ferry boats and the boat launches are bigger than you and you really don’t want to get anywhere near them. We first navigated our way close to the entrance of the Magic Kingdom and we could see everyone rushing to get into the theme park I managed to get some wonderful photo’s of Cinderella’s Castle. We then carried on towards the Grand Floridian Resort and the beach and finally the wedding chapel - everything looks so different from on the lake. The round to the Polynesian before heading back over to the Contemporary Resort and entering Bay Lake again.
We headed over towards Fort Wilderness trying to miss one of the boat launches and then we navigated our way to what used to be the fantastic water park of River Country. It is such a shame to see this so overgrown and now abandoned. When our children were younger we used to enjoy going to this water park two or three times every holiday, the characters were always out and we have many photographs of Chip, Dale and Goofy playing on the beach. We then headed back to Wilderness Lodge and moored the boat.
We had spent just over 30 minutes out on the lakes and the cost was $45 + tax, money very well spent in my opinion. If you do want to stop out longer then after 30 minutes rentals are charged every 5 minutes thereafter. You just settle the bill when you get back so if you want to take longer there is no pressure for you to get back.
Michelle