Ride the Ducks

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Ride the Ducks
Ripley Entertainment
Baldgya Group (Guam Operations)

Ride the Ducks was a national

amphibious vehicles
, nicknamed "ducks", to provide tours of cities by boat and by land.

Ride the Ducks was purchased by

Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation in 2004.[1] Herschend sold a majority interest in the company to an independent investor in 2012.[1][2] The Branson operation was sold to Ripley Entertainment in December 2017.[3] In 2019 Ripley announced that Ride The Ducks in Branson would be permanently shut down and replaced by another attraction due to the July 2018 accident on Table Rock Lake where 17 people drowned.[4]

Operations

The company used custom-built amphibious vehicles based on the

personal flotation devices.[6] The company has also manufactured vehicles for other duck tour operators.[7]

Locations

Ride the Ducks also formerly operated in a number of additional locations across the United States and one location in Guam:

  • Branson, Missouri (Opened: 1977, Closed: 2018)
  • Boston, Massachusetts
    (Under the name "Boston Duck Tours") (Opened: 1994)
  • Seattle, Washington
    (Under the name "Ride the Ducks of Seattle") (Opened: 1997, Closed: 2020)
  • Baltimore, Maryland
    (Opened: 2002, Closed: 2009)
  • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    (Opened: 2003, Closed: 2016)
  • Stone Mountain, Georgia (Opened: 2003, Closed: 2018)
  • Memphis, Tennessee (Opened: 2005, Closed: 2007)
  • San Francisco, California
    (Opened: 2008, Closed: 2015)
  • Newport, Kentucky (Opened: 2008, Closed: 2018)
  • Tamuning, Guam (Opened: 2014)
  • Mobile, Alabama (Under the name "Gulf Coast Ducks") (Opened: 2016, Closed: 2019)

Incidents

The duck boats operated by Ride the Ducks have been involved in a number of incidents.

July 2010 accident

In July 2010, a Ride the Ducks vehicle stalled on the

involuntary manslaughter.”[8] Six years after the accident, Ride The Ducks ceased operations in Philadelphia.[10][8]

Sept 2015 accident

On September 24, 2015, a Ride the Ducks vehicle operated by an independent firm Ride the Ducks of Seattle broke an axle, crossed the center lane and crashed into a charter bus, killing five people on Seattle's Aurora Bridge. The vehicle had been purchased from the Missouri-based manufacturer, and had not undergone a recommended repair to the front axle. The Missouri firm paid a fine of $1 million.[11] In 2019, a jury in King County found Ride the Ducks International liable for 67% of a $123 million judgment stemming from the accident on the Aurora Bridge.[12]

July 2018 accident

Main article: Table Rock Lake duck boat accident

On July 19, 2018, a Ride the Ducks vehicle capsized and sank while in Table Rock Lake near Branson, Missouri, during high winds from nearby thunderstorms. 31 individuals were on board, and 17 fatalities were confirmed.[13] The day following the accident, Ride the Ducks announced that the Branson operation would be "closed for business" pending an investigation and out of respect for the victims' families.[14] The boat involved was an original from World War II having been built in 1944. In March 2019, Ride The Ducks announced they would be permanently shut down due to the investigation and overwhelming legal issues after the incident.[4] A replacement attraction, Top Ops, opened in June 2019 at the same location.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b "Ride the Ducks | About Us". ridetheducks.com. Archived from the original on November 2, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  2. ^ "Herschend Family Entertainment Sold a Majority Interest in Ride the Ducks > Genesis Capital". www.genesis-capital.com. Genesis Capital. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  3. ^ "Quack Quack! Ripley Entertainment Acquires Ride the Ducks in Branson, Missouri". www.ripleyentertainment.com (Press release). Ripley Entertainment. December 12, 2017. Archived from the original on July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Church, Tim. "Branson Top Ops to replace Ride the Ducks". Branson Tri-Lakes News. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  5. ^ "Our Equipment | About Us | Ride the Ducks". Ride the Ducks. February 26, 2009. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009. Retrieved March 4, 2009.
  6. ^ Phillips, Bianca. "Splashdown | We Recommend". Memphis Flyer. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  7. ^ "About Ride the Ducks". Archived from the original on July 24, 2010. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
  8. ^ a b c Nails, Katherine (July 20, 2018). "The fatal history of Philly's duck boats". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  9. ^ Hoye, Sarah (May 10, 2012). "Families of Philadelphia 'duck boat' victims get $15M settlement". CNN. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  10. ^ Krewson, Chris (October 5, 2016). "Philadelphia's 'Ride the Ducks' tour boats have abruptly shut down". Billy Penn. Philadelphia. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  11. ^ Kamb, Lewis (December 6, 2016). "Maker of Ride the Ducks vehicle in Seattle crash to pay up to $1 million". The Seattle Times.
  12. ^ "Jury finds 'Ride the Ducks' negligent in 2015 crash that killed five people". Q13 FOX. February 7, 2019.
  13. ^ "Branson duck boat tragedy: 17 dead, including 9 from one family". Springfield News-Leader. July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  14. ^ "bransonducks - Ride The Ducks Branson". Ride The Ducks Branson. Ripley Entertainment. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  15. ^ Blair, Crystal. "An Inside Look at Ripley's New "Top Ops" attraction". Ozarks First News. Retrieved July 20, 2021.


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