Motor Boat Rentals

[ParentsOf4]

Hi all,

We're planning our next trip at the end of April and we'd like to try the 2-person motor boats we sometimes see on the lagoon. Can someone please provide details? Where are the rentals located? Do I have to be staying on site or at a particular resort to rent them? What's the price? Is there a discount for annual pass members?

Thanks!

 

[mikeymouse]

I know if u go to Downtown Disney ... anyone with a drivers license can rent them. Not sure about the resorts. I know the Polynesian has them, but dunno about who can rent them. Probably anyone. I think they're call Sea Raycers or sometimes called water sprites? I paid like $40 to rent a pontoon boat for a half hour and my entire family fit on it. It was really nice. We sailed around the DTD area and past PI, Old Key West, Port Orleans, Disney Institute, and the Treehouses (whatever they're called, I can't find it).

 

[Nansafan]

The last time we rented them (July 2005 from the Poly) they cost $35 per half hour and you had to be 16 or over to drive with proof of age (driver's license, state ID etc.). This age restriction was not always the case. In 2002 my 13 yr old nephew was able to drive his own water sprite. I don't know if you have to be a resort guest or not, we happened to be at the time. You can also rent them from the GF, Contemporary and WL to zip around Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake.

 

[loriwdunn]

I just got this off Disney's site. Obviously, not all of these locations will put you on the 7 Seas Lagoon (which I think is really cool).
Disney's Beach Club Resort
Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort
Disney's Contemporary Resort
Disney's Port Orleans Resort
Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Disney's Polynesian Resort
Disney's Wilderness Lodge
Disney's Yacht Club Resort
Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground
Disney's Old Key West Resort
Disney's Coronado Springs Resort
Downtown Disney® Marketplace

 

[maelstrom]

You have to be at least 16 years old with a valid driver's license to drive a boat on the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake. I don't believe this is the case with the boats on Crescent Lake, the Sassagoula River, or out by CBR and CSR (never done these).

There is an AP discount. It's 15% or 20%, I forget which.

If you rent a boat at the Contemporary, Poly, GF, Wildy, or Ft. Wildy, you will be able to ride around the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake. This is the most exciting (driving by the abandoned River Country and Discovery Island!) and the boats go faster.

 

[RonAnnArbor]

If you are not staying at a resort, you can also rent them at Downtown Disney, right next to Capt Jack's restaurant. They are 35 dollars a half hour, but have decreasing rates the longer you rent them (i.e. 45 dollars for an hour, 60 dollars for two hours). You need to be 16 with a valid drivers license to rent them. I saw some parents rent one for their two kids (about 13 each). A few minutes later, they water patrol stopped the kids and made them return to the pier. The driver of the boat MUST be 16 or over with a license. You can't just rent them for your kids...I do not know if that is the case at the resorts too, but it is at DD.

 

[PBarton]

You can also rent them from the GF, Contemporary and WL to zip around Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake.

Are you allowed to take the boat over the aquaduct that joins the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake? That would be cool to travel over the road (like the launch from the Wilderness Lodge)

 

[djmatthews]

Are you allowed to take the boat over the aquaduct that joins the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake? That would be cool to travel over the road (like the launch from the Wilderness Lodge)

YES!

Back on our last trip in 2004 we hired a boat. We hired it at the CR and travelled over to the Wilderness Lodge area, River Country around Discovery Island, over to the GF, Poly and MK area. You can cover quite a distance in those little things. They are great fun, make sure to take your camera!

 

[brertigger]

You do not have to stay at the resort you rent at, but usually they require proof that you are staying at A Disney Resort. For example, if you are staying at Pop Century, you can rent a boat at the Grand Floridian, but you will probably have to present your Key to the World card.

The exception is Downtown Disney- anyone with a drivers license can rent there, like several other posters mentioned above.

One thing to keep in mind- the Downtown Disney and Port Orleans boats go much slower than the bay lake ones do. The boats in some of the other smaller waterways are probably also slower.

 

[djmatthews]

You do not have to stay at the resort you rent at, but usually they require proof that you are staying at A Disney Resort. For example, if you are staying at Pop Century, you can rent a boat at the Grand Floridian, but you will probably have to present your Key to the World card.

The exception is Downtown Disney- anyone with a drivers license can rent there, like several other posters mentioned above.

One thing to keep in mind- the Downtown Disney and Port Orleans boats go much slower than the bay lake ones do. The boats in some of the other smaller waterways are probably also slower.

We wern't staying at a Disney resort, yet we rented boats. We did have to show ID though.

 

[tigger1968]

A word of warning to all.....the water sprites are having new engines installed that are lower horsepower than what they had previously. We rented last September at the Contemporary, and were extremely dissapointed at the new motors. With the old ones....it was easy to jump other wakes and zip about. The new ones barely get the front out of the water. I would guess they are about 30% slower than before. It was such a difference that we all swapped boats, because we thought they were malfunctioning. A CM finally explained that they were changing over. Some resorts may still have the old ones, as we were passed constantly by sprites from the Poly. THAT was frustrating!:brick: We actually were so dissapointed we came back after a half hour. If you have never rented them, it can still be worth it just to be able to ride around on the lakes....I LOVE that part. But, don't expect to be zooming around like you might have seen in the past.