Adventure-Bound Family

This one goes out to George Taylor of Imaginerding. He is the keeper of the watercraft known as Bob-A-Round Boats, and it has taken me years to find my own piece of the puzzle for these mythical boats.

For those not in the know, Bob-A-Round Boats could be found on the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake during the early days of Walt Disney World. According to George, they were likely retired somewhere around 1978. They were colorful, circular boats with a canopy and an electric outboard motor that you could use to tour Walt Disney World from the water. The rental fee was $4.00 for a half hour and $8.00 for an hour, though I imagine it would have taken half an hour just to figure out how to maneuver these wibbly-wobbly boats. Oh, and did I mention that they each Bob-A-Round also had their own stereo system onboard.

The new piece that this wonderful press photo from the Polynesian Village’s Papeete Bay in 1972 offers us is that the Bob-A-Round Boats were spacious enough for, as they phrased it back then, “a picnic at sea.” Now, and this is just my two cents, the Aqua-Homes and larger motor craft? Sure I can see having lunch on the lagoon with some of those. However, in a boat that is self-proclaimed to bob about, I’m not sure that’s the best place to be trying to eat or hold food down!

No matter the use, the Bob-A-Rounds have an indelible place in the history of Walt Disney World and its recreational opportunities. Even if its taken George’s one man crusade to get them there!