Ducks Wisconsin Dells | Amphibious DUKW Vehicles

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Ducks, ducks, ducks everywhere. You cannot go anywhere in the Dells with, at all times during the day time, being able to turn around in a circle and see a Duck somewhere. These must be big moneymakers because they are all over the place. While standing by the new dammed up area that washed out of Lake Delton last year, we saw Duck after Duck after Duck crossing that road about every two minutes. (Why does the duck cross the road? To get to the other side so it can finish the tour it is on and load up for another tour.) They go on Lake Delton and then go into the Wisconsin River. Its a nice enough tour.
One thing that really ticked me off, when we took our Duck Tour, years ago, was that, towards the end of the "tour", they stopped the Duck and told us how they didn't get paid anything for doing this work and then they appreciated any tips that they would get. Same thing happened to us on every other tour that we took at that time. That is probably twenty years ago but I remember it to this day. Don't beg people. Have some pride. Pay workers what they deserve.

"In 1946 a Milwaukee native named Mel Flath brought the first DUKW to the Wisconsin Dells. It was an impulse buy that he had made at a government auction in California; the trip's purpose had been to purchase war surplus trucks. Mel opened the "Dells Amphibian Line", which gave 90-minute tours in the Wisconsin River, exposing tourists to the area's famous sandstone formations. Mel eventually sold his duck fleet to the Associated Boat lines in 1952, which renamed themselves the Wisconsin Ducks, Inc. In 1952 the Wisconsin Ducks, Inc. began offering tours of the river dells and adjacent areas using decommissioned amphibious DUKW vehicles from World War II. Jack B. Olson started the Wisconsin Ducks, Inc.; they remain one of the area's most popular attractions. However, duck competition was far from over after the 1952 sale. Mel Flath opened up a duck ride again briefly from 1964 to 1966. When he was bought out again, the Soma Boat Company opened their own duck ride on Mirror Lake, near Lake Delton, which they called the Aquaducks. In response to the competition, Wisconsin Ducks, Inc. assumed the name "Original Wisconsin Ducks". The Aquaducks existed from 1968 until their sale to the boat lines in 1976. In 1977 yet another duck ride began, this one by Mel Flath's daughter and son-in-law, George and Suzanne Field, named Dells Duck Tours, Inc., operating from the same property as Mel had 30 years earlier. This time sporting a red, white and blue exterior, these ducks, while not the "original" ducks that were first brought to the dells, were still World War II production models. Today, the Dells Duck Tours, Inc. are known as the Dells Army Ducks after a paint scheme change in 2002." (from wikipedia.com)

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Click Here to go back to the main page Ducks, ducks, ducks everywhere. You cannot go anywhere in the Dells with, at all times during the day time, being able to turn around in a circle and see a Duck somewhere. These must be big moneymakers because they are all over the place. While standing by the new dammed up area that washed out of Lake Delton last year, we saw Duck after Duck after Duck crossing that road about every two minutes. (Why does the duck cross the road? To get to the other side so it can finish the tour it is on and load up for another tour.) They go on Lake Delton and then go into the Wisconsin River. Its a nice enough tour. One thing that really ticked me off, when we took our Duck Tour, years ago, was that, towards the end of the "tour", they stopped the Duck and told us how they didn't get paid anything for doing this work and then they appreciated any tips that they would get. Same thing happened to us on every other tour that we took at that time. That is probably twenty years ago but I remember it to this day. Don't beg people. Have some pride. Pay workers what they deserve. "In 1946 a Milwaukee native named Mel Flath brought the first DUKW to the Wisconsin Dells. It was an impulse buy that he had made at a government auction in California; the trip's purpose had been to purchase war surplus trucks. Mel opened the "Dells Amphibian Line", which gave 90-minute tours in the Wisconsin River, exposing tourists to the area's famous sandstone formations. Mel eventually sold his duck fleet to the Associated Boat lines in 1952, which renamed themselves the Wisconsin Ducks, Inc. In 1952 the Wisconsin Ducks, Inc. began offering tours of the river dells and adjacent areas using decommissioned amphibious DUKW vehicles from World War II. Jack B. Olson started the Wisconsin Ducks, Inc.; they remain one of the area's most popular attractions. However, duck competition was far from over after the 1952 sale. Mel Flath opened up a duck ride again briefly from 1964 to 1966. When he was bought out again, the Soma Boat Company opened their own duck ride on Mirror Lake, near Lake Delton, which they called the Aquaducks. In response to the competition, Wisconsin Ducks, Inc. assumed the name "Original Wisconsin Ducks". The Aquaducks existed from 1968 until their sale to the boat lines in 1976. In 1977 yet another duck ride began, this one by Mel Flath's daughter and son-in-law, George and Suzanne Field, named Dells Duck Tours, Inc., operating from the same property as Mel had 30 years earlier. This time sporting a red, white and blue exterior, these ducks, while not the "original" ducks that were first brought to the dells, were still World War II production models. Today, the Dells Duck Tours, Inc. are known as the Dells Army Ducks after a paint scheme change in 2002." (from wikipedia.com)