QUACK! - Ride The Ducks San Francisco Duck Tours Official Blog: 2008

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Fan Mail...

Tourists don't have all the fun around here. I rode The Ducks yesterday. (They are amphibious vehicles that spend half the tour riding through city streets and half the tour in the bay.) Riders are given lovely yellow "quackers" to blow on throughout the trip. I had no idea I held so much hot air. I reverted back to my inner 8-year-old, and quacked away crazily at pedestrians. I found their reactions very interesting. Some people refused to acknowledge us (there were more crazy quackers on board than just me); others smiled like 8-year-olds; 8-year-olds and under smiled and usually waved, too. But what really amazed me, is that no one--not a single person--gave use the finger! I have no idea what these observations mean, except I had one crazy good time. I've always been envious of San Francisco tourists who are out there enjoying my beloved city while I toil away at real life. I've found the best cure is to join them on occasion, by spending the night in a San Francisco hotel or elbowing in on one of their tours.

Sincerely,

Carole Terwilliger Meyers

http://travelswithcarole.blogspot.com

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Ride The Ducks Makes it's Debut Splash in San Francisco

The ever-popular amphibious tour operator, Ride The Ducks, has just made a big splash into the San Francisco tourism industry.
Ride The Ducks is the nation's largest amphibious tour operator, with a fleet that exceeds 75 vehicles, carrying over 1,200,000 guests each year around the United States. Founded in 1971, the company’s mission is to "create Quack-tastic memories worth repeating" ™ by offering guests an entertainment sightseeing experience that is fun, informative and engaging.

The 90-minute sightseeing tour includes about 60 minutes on land and 30 minutes on the water. Ride The Ducks’ San Francisco sightseeing tour winds through the city’s historic streets and neighborhoods, splashes down into McCovey Cove and “quacks” along the bay with an engaging captain who entertains passengers with captivating stories of San Francisco’s legendary past and tales from the intriguing present.

Meet Splash

As the official mascot for Ride The Ducks, Splash is an animated, ducky caricature that is the face of a company that sells nothing but fun! Standing at 6’0” and weighing in at a whopping 200 pounds, Splash’s sunny disposition exemplifies the personality of Ride The Ducks. Considered “fowl” by some, most children and adults gravitate to this fun-loving mascot upon first sight.
Everywhere he goes, Splash gives a little piece of himself away…even when he’s not available to hop aboard personally to join guests for their “quack-tacular” tour of the City-by-the-Bay. As a special souvenir for Ride The Ducks patrons, Splash has trademarked his fabulously famous “bill” and replicated his own “Wacky Quackers™” which is gifted to each rider so that they too can make a big splash during their journey through San Francisco. View my complete profile here.

About the Duck Vehicle

Ducks were first built by General Motors in 1942 and were basically a truck enclosed in a water-tight shell. You may think they are called ducks because they can splash into the water and out again, but actually DUKW is a military acronym. The letters are codes indicating that it was designed in 1942 (D), for utility/amphibious purposes (U), with front wheel drive (K), and two rear driving axles (W).

The first operational use of the DUKW was in March, 1943, when the U.S. landed Army troops on Noumea, New Caledonia. Later organized into companies, the DUKW displayed its versatility by carrying ammunition directly from anchored ships to shore.

Today Ride The Ducks is the amphibious tour industry leader - with over 75 vehicles in operation on rivers, lakes, bays and other waterways around the USA. The Ride The Ducks vehicle is considered a "state of the art" amphibious vehicle vehicle built from the ground up to maximize a safe and comfortable tour for our guests. US Coast Guard certified Ride The Ducks vehicles are not refurbished WWII vehicles. You can read more about our vehicles here.