A Review of Riding the Ducks in Seattle, Washington

On the corner of Broad St. and 5th Ave., across from the McDonalds and Seattle Center, sits the office of the Ride the Ducks of Seattle tourist attraction. The Ducks are land/sea amphibious vehicles, like those used in WWII to put men on the beaches. In Seattle, the Ducks are for taking tourists over Land/Lake to give them an eyes-on view of Seattle's streets, landmarks, locals and waterfront.

From the beginning, you know this is not going to be a stuffy ride. The drivers with pink, green and purple frizzy wigs, or unusual hats of massive proportion, urge their passengers to board their Duck. The gift shop sells "quackers" (or you can purchase them as part of your ticket) and the driver encourages his riders to blow on them at almost every opportunity. And as a passenger, you are given plenty of opportunities to do so. For instance:

"Do you see this group of business men on the corner in their suits? Well Seattle's business district loves for tourists to wave at them and quack loudly as we pass by them." The whole Duck erupts in quacking and the businessmen (who don't look that amused) look up to see tourists waving at them.

Another golden opportunity was given when passing one of the many StarBucks in Seattle. "Every time we pass a StarBucks, I want you to yell Ca-Ching! and start quacking." There were at least 5 Ca-Chings yelled out of the windows, if I recall correctly.

And then there was the contest. Evidently the two duck drivers of Duck A and Duck B had a contest going on who had the loudest passengers. We were encouraged to make sure our driver won this contest every time we passed another Duck. We weren't sure whether he won or not but it was definitely close.

In addition to the fun silliness, you actually do get a really good tour of Seattle. Little hidden nooks are pointed out, like the troll living under the bridge in the Freemont neighborhood, or where to go to get literally an underground tour of Seattle. The Ducks pass by all of the local landmarks and the driver fills you in. But when you cross the bridge and slip into the water of Lake Union, you know why the Ducks is such an outstanding tour. On the water, you pass by the recreational boats to see one of the boats used in the show, "Dangerous Catch", on to getting a water level's view of the houseboats in Lake Union, including the actual houseboat used in the film, "Sleepless in Seattle".

If you can let your hair down and enjoy a bit of nuttiness, Ride the Ducks is an outstanding tourist activity while you are visiting the Seattle WA area. And if you're a local and haven't taken the opportunity to try it, the next time you have visitors, take them for a ride. You and your guests will have a great time. Ride the Ducks of Seattle is open all year so even winter visitors can enjoy this.

Times:

Ride is 90 minutes long and they want you at the office 30 minutes before the ride.

11am, 1pm and 3pm Monday through Thursday

Every hour from 11am-3pm Friday and weekends

Closed December 24th, 25th, 31st and January 1st

Rates:

Adults $25 ($27 with a quacker)

Kids 12 and under $15 ($27 with a Quacker)

Under 2 years still needs a ticket but...the ticket is Free

Purchasing tickets in advance is preferred

Contact Information:

Ride the Ducks of Seattle - 516 Broad Street - Seattle, WA 98109

1-800-817-1116 or 206-441-DUCK (3825)

http://www.ridetheducksofseattle.com/