Fishing Excursions at Walt Disney World

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Did you know that you can take a fishing charter out at Walt Disney World? There’s plenty of bank and dockside fishing available at a lot of the resorts, but if you want to explore the lakes, Take Me Fishing offers charters! Fishing excursions are available at the following marinas:

• Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground
• Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort
• Disney's Contemporary Resort
• Disney's Old Key West Resort
• Disney's Polynesian Village Resort
• Disney's Port Orleans Resort - Riverside
• Disney's Wilderness Lodge
• Disney's Yacht Club Resort

Call (407) 939-BASS or (407) 939-2277 to make a reservation at any of the above spots! You can go for two or four hours. We opted for a two hour excursion at 7 a.m. (the other time option is 10) and it’s worth noting that discounts are available for annual passholders - if you’re a Disney Vacation Club owner or a cast member, I’d check if you also can!

My husband Anthony and I have been dying to go on an excursion - with the parks having been closed for a few months, he explained to me that the fish haven’t been under fishing pressure for a while, so we’d likely have a lot of luck. 

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I’ve taken a fishing charter out of Yacht Club a few years back, and we fished in the World Showcase Lagoon and then headed to the waterways between the Swan & Dolphin and Hollywood Studios. We didn’t catch a ton, but still had a blast and got a few catches - but our experience fishing at Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake was vastly different!  

This was taken before I started my weight loss journey, if you can't tell from the pics we took from our recent trip!

We launched from the Contemporary Resort, but you can choose to go from the other Magic Kingdom Resorts listed above if you so desire or are staying at one of those locations. The marina at the Contemporary is easy to find — it’s right behind the lobby. 
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The beauty of these excursions in my opinion is that the guide will do basically everything for you if you want. They also come fully prepared! You don’t need to bring anything with you. The boat has plenty of drinks so you can stay hydrated, the poles (you can bring your own), and bait. Our guide had artificial with him and Anthony cast two poles out, one with a live shiner (which I used and was recommended for the day) and one with a Gary Yamamoto senko. 

I hate touching live fish (I know, I know, call me a girly wimp all you want), and the guide will default to baiting your hooks for you. But you can do everything yourself if you want! They also help you bring your catches in with a net (this is because some of the larger fish will break your line, so the likelihood of losing one drops). 

We launched off from the Contemporary and went to a spot in Bay Lake that the guide said had a hole where fish liked to hang out. We caught the bulk of our catches here, especially since it was earlier in the morning. Our guide clearly knew the best spot to go!

Once it got a little warmer, we fished under the docks (where fish like to hang out in the morning once the sun comes up) at the Polynesian first, and then the Contemporary before we left. Anthony caught 11 fish total, and I caught 6!

The views were beautiful, and on your way to the Polynesian, you had views of the Magic Kingdom and Grand Floridian! 

All in all, it was a fantastic experience. Anthony is an ex-tournament fisher and I’m just along for the ride to enjoy nature, and we both felt like it was really fun and like we both learned some cool tips for the guide. 

To see more of the fish we caught (and a big one that I lost), plus some of the tips from the guide, check out Anthony’s video of our trip!

*Disclaimer: We did this on July 12, 2020 right after the parks reopened after being closed due to COVID-19. We were on a pontoon so we had plenty of room to spread out with our guide, and all three of us wore masks. I currently don’t recommend traveling to Florida, but hope this can serve as a helpful guide to either

1. locals and/or cast members looking for something outdoors to do while following CDC guidelines, or 
   
2. for your future Disney vacations.
   

I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy right now!