“quack quack!”
How did the tradition of the ducks in The Peabody fountain begin? Back in 1932 Frank Schutt, General Manager of The Peabody, and a friend, Chip Barwick, returned from a weekend hunting trip to Arkansas. The men had a little too much Jack Daniel's Tennessee sippin' whiskey, and thought it would be funny to place some of their live duck decoys (it was legal then for hunters to use live decoys) in the beautiful Peabody fountain. Three small English call ducks were selected as "guinea pigs," and the reaction was nothing short of enthusiastic. Soon, five North American Mallard ducks would replace the original ducks. In 1940, Bellman Edward Pembroke, a former circus animal trainer, offered to help with delivering the ducks to the fountain each day and taught them the now-famous Peabody Duck March. Mr. Pembroke became the Peabody Duckmaster, serving in that capacity for 50 years until his retirement in 1991. The original ducks have long since gone, but after 75 years, the marble fountain in the hotel lobby is still graced with ducks. The Peabody ducks march at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily.
The Peabody ducks were a must see! A very cute procession of 5 ducks ( 1 male and 4 female) that make the trip from their home on the roof all the way to the elevator and down to the lobby. The hotel is absolutely beautiful.
Warning: get to the Peabody early and if you want to sit, order a drink from the bar, otherwise you have to stand on the outside of the lobby area or from up top on the mezzanine.
The ducks stay at the fountain from 11am- 5 pm.
You get a short, but interesting story about how the ducks came to be.
Highly recommend. From start to finish about 20 minutes.
This place gets PACKED! They let all the little kids sit on the ground closest to the red carpet, but I snuck down there, too... I'm not such a little kid anymore. The ducks are so cute!
For the adults, let your kids crawl up on the floor. You should sit back and have a mint julep- one of the Peabody's signature drinks and it's delicious! The bar snacks that come with it are good, too.
Get there early! 4pm for the 5 o'clock March for sure! And get the Peabody Mint Julep!!
This was great. Definitely get here early.
Such a great presentation of these ducks. It is quirky but so much fun. I have ducks myself and can tell you training them like this is a feat! This is a must see and I recommend you get a spot early or you will not be able to see the show.
We saw the evening March of the ducks from the fountain to the elevator. The emcee was a character and super informative while being amusing. It was really neat to watch all the kids light up when the ducks waffles past them.
If you are a duck fan, this place is for you. If you are a fan of the 1930s, this place is for you. If you have young children who would like to watch the ducks come off the elevator and march to the center fountain in the lobby, this is for them.
Loved the nostalgia at this place. You really do have to get there early in order to get a great spot. Super fun!
Early early arrive with time to spare. Fun kinda, experience is worth it.
So fun! Kids love it!
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Peabody Ducks
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