Is there anything wrong with tourist traps?

[mmouse37]

Certain places have weird alcohol laws. I used to live in Harrisburg, PA which is super close to Hershey PA. One time I went to Chocolate World and you got a small single serving box of Coco Pops instead of real chocolate. The garbage cans coming off the tour ride going into the gift store were full of untouched boxes of cereal. No one goes to Chocolate World for cereal. They want some kisses or a chocolate bar.

That must be fairly new....we always took our kids to Hershey (and even went when we were kids) and always got some real chocolate on the tour. I know they stopped letting you in the actual factory at some point and built a dedicated "tour" venue but we still got chocolate samples there.

MJ

 

[bcla]

Far cry from the Busch Gardens days in Van Nuys. I went there in the late 1970's, and there were huge pans filled with cans of Bud on ice all over the part, free for the taking. I have also toured the St. Louis Brewery, (and Grants farm). Back there, Bud isn't the big beer, Busch is.

I am familiar with Pliney the Elder. When DW and I went for the weekend trip to the Charles Shultz museum, DS insisted we stop and pick up a case of Pliney the Elder at the brewery in Santa Rosa.
We do a lot of wine tasting in Lodi. About half the wineries have free tasting, half charge about $5, that they wave if you buy a bottle of wine.

No place would even think about that these days. Many would be totally freaked out about the possibility that Alcoholic Beverage Control might be around (or their spies) looking for "lack of controls" if kids managed to get any alcohol.

Free samples are legal in California, but there's nowhere near enough to even get a buzz if the sample sizes are legal.

Right now Russian River Brewing is dealing with scarcity. They're opening up a new production brewery and brewpub in Windsor that I heard adds triple their current production. I think the brewpub in Santa Rosa barely has any production. However, that place is always crowded. And in that neighborhood I think the only "tourist trap" might be Tex Wasabi's, which was one of Guy Fieri's first restaurants. And when I passed by it seemed kind of sad, like it had seen better times. There might have been a time when his name was enough to get people flocking there, but not now.

 

[bcla]

That must be fairly new....we always took our kids to Hershey (and even went when we were kids) and always got some real chocolate on the tour. I know they stopped letting you in the actual factory at some point and built a dedicated "tour" venue but we still got chocolate samples there.

MJ

We had a few chocolate factory tours around here. There's a company called TCHO that used to be on Pier 15 in San Francisco near the Exploratorium. They had factory tours, and even without a tour they had samples. They're still in business but they moved to a location right on the Oakland/Berkeley border.There was also a small specialty chocolate company in Berkeley, California called Scharffen Berger. They had factory tours in their small factory in an old Heinz factory. I think it was where they made ketchup (or was it pickles?). Tours had to be reserved though, and my only tour was on a day they didn't have any production. Then Hershey bought them and after a couple of years they moved all production to the midwest. Oh well.

 

[RedAngie]

No trip is complete until you've stopped at the infamous tourist "trap" known as South of the Border! Who's stopped there?

Several times. The most recent was April 2016, and it was even crappier than ever. Years ago there were well over 100 signs travelling south on I-95 for the place. Now it seems there were fewer than 50.

That must be fairly new....we always took our kids to Hershey (and even went when we were kids) and always got some real chocolate on the tour. I know they stopped letting you in the actual factory at some point and built a dedicated "tour" venue but we still got chocolate samples there.

MJ

The tours of the actual Hershey factory stopped in the early 1970's when Chocolate World opened, I'm not even sure if there is still a production facility in Hershey anymore.

 

[mmouse37]

Several times. The most recent was April 2016, and it was even crappier than ever. Years ago there were well over 100 signs travelling south on I-95 for the place. Now it seems there were fewer than 50.



The tours of the actual Hershey factory stopped in the early 1970's when Chocolate World opened, I'm not even sure if there is still a production facility in Hershey anymore.

Yes, Chocolate World....forgot the name but remember when they stopped the actual factory tour (must have been before my kids' time) LOL Haven't been back in many years.

MJ

 

[MillauFr]

Several times. The most recent was April 2016, and it was even crappier than ever. Years ago there were well over 100 signs travelling south on I-95 for the place. Now it seems there were fewer than 50.



The tours of the actual Hershey factory stopped in the early 1970's when Chocolate World opened, I'm not even sure if there is still a production facility in Hershey anymore.

I remember when I was very young the tour actually went into the real factory. When the chocolate world opened I still liked that too. My mom would always take me and my brother to shows at the Founders Hall. My elementary school took us to see the play Annie there one year.

 

[bcla]

The tours of the actual Hershey factory stopped in the early 1970's when Chocolate World opened, I'm not even sure if there is still a production facility in Hershey anymore.

I heard that was gone. The thing I recall about Hershey's in the news was the controversy over the working conditions of employees of their packaging contractor on J-1 "cultural exchange" visas. They weren't directly employed by Hershey's, but the terms of their visas were supposed to include being able to interact with Americans to hopefully improve their English-language skills and meet people. Some employers would actually send them to housekeeping or (in this case) packaging jobs where they got little interaction with Americans. I'd met many such workers over the years, and they were usually in customer facing jobs where they could interact with Americans and international visitors.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/18/us/18immig.html

PALMYRA, Pa. — Hundreds of foreign students, waving their fists and shouting defiantly in many languages, walked off their jobs on Wednesday at a plant here that packs Hershey’s chocolates, saying a summer program that was supposed to be a cultural exchange had instead turned them into underpaid labor.

The students, from countries including China, Nigeria, Romania and Ukraine, came to the United States through a long-established State Department summer visa program that allows them to work for two months and then travel. They said they were expecting to practice their English, make some money and learn what life is like in the United States.

In a way, they did. About 400 foreign students were put to work lifting heavy boxes and packing Reese’s candies, Kit-Kats and Almond Joys on a fast-moving production line, many of them on a night shift. After paycheck deductions for fees associated with the program and for their rent, students said at a rally in front of the huge packing plant that many of them were not earning nearly enough to recover what they had spent in their home countries to obtain their visas.​

 

[bcla]

I remember when I was very young the tour actually went into the real factory. When the chocolate world opened I still liked that too. My mom would always take me and my brother to shows at the Founders Hall. My elementary school took us to see the play Annie there one year.

Hershey was a real place with a real factory. I think it shut down because the factory was old and too expensive to run. And one of the things I remember (as a Warriors fan) was that the NBA single-game scoring record (Wilt Chamberlain's 100 points) was achieved in Hershey, PA. That was when the Philadelphia Warriors had Hershey as a secondary home court.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196203020NYK.html

 

[Pea-n-Me]

The tours of the actual Hershey factory stopped in the early 1970's when Chocolate World opened, I'm not even sure if there is still a production facility in Hershey anymore.

I am a little confused about this myself. I remember being on a family trip to Hershey in the early 70s. I know we got a free chocolate bar and I remember the street lights were shaped like Kisses. I'm not sure if the amusement park was there yet. Fast forward to 2015 and we visited Hershey Park but never had time to go on the Hershey tour which was in the building next to it. Was I in the same place I was when I was little? Anyone know?

 

[bcla]

I am a little confused about this myself. I remember being on a family trip to Hershey in the early 70s. I know we got a free chocolate bar and I remember the street lights were shaped like Kisses. I'm not sure if the amusement park was there yet. Fast forward to 2015 and we visited Hershey Park but never had time to go on the Hershey tour which was in the building next to it. Was I in the same place I was when I was little? Anyone know?

As a kid in the 70s I remember seeing some "educational film" about Hershey. It was really more of a promotional film lent out to schools. They definitely showed stuff like the factory and about the amusement park with roller coasters ad everything. Their history says that it really started off as a company park for employees (I guess sort of like the original Busch Gardens in Los Angeles) but it was turned into a public theme park in 1970.

 

[RedAngie]

I am a little confused about this myself. I remember being on a family trip to Hershey in the early 70s. I know we got a free chocolate bar and I remember the street lights were shaped like Kisses. I'm not sure if the amusement park was there yet. Fast forward to 2015 and we visited Hershey Park but never had time to go on the Hershey tour which was in the building next to it. Was I in the same place I was when I was little? Anyone know?

Hersheypark (the amusement park) has been in operation since the early 1900's. It expanded over the years and became a "theme park" right about the same time as Chocolate World opened and the factory tours stopped. I'm guessing it was 1972 or 1973. Chocolate World is right outside the gates of Hersheypark. The old factory was close by, but pretty much in the town of Hershey itself.

As far as I know, the street lights downtown are still shaped liked kisses.

I went on the factory tour circa 1969. You got to see some of the machinery mixing milk into the cocoa liquor, machines wrapping the kisses and candy bars, ans a few other things. And yes, you received a free chocolate bar at the end of the tour,

The next time I went back was about 1974 and Chocolate World was already open. I think you still got a free chocolate bar, but can't recall. The theme park expanded a few more times over the years, they opened a small zoo within it, and the park is now fairly large.

My last visit was about 9 years ago, There's now a newer arena for the Hershey Bears minor league hockey team. But like bcla said, the factory was torn down because it was outdated and too expensive to operate economically.

 

[ChrisFL]

No trip is complete until you've stopped at the infamous tourist "trap" known as South of the Border! Who's stopped there?

It should have its photo in the dictionary for "Tourist Trap" as it is the biggest in the world. It's a place I both love and hate at the same time!

 

[DawnM]

They are tourist spots for a reason.

I was insistent that we stop in Winslow, Arizona on our recent trip. Complete tourist trap. And I loved it and am so glad I stopped.

 

[tvguy]

Right now Russian River Brewing is dealing with scarcity. They're opening up a new production brewery and brewpub in Windsor that I heard adds triple their current production. I think the brewpub in Santa Rosa barely has any production. However, that place is always crowded. And in that neighborhood I think the only "tourist trap" might be Tex Wasabi's, which was one of Guy Fieri's first restaurants. And when I passed by it seemed kind of sad, like it had seen better times. There might have been a time when his name was enough to get people flocking there, but not now.

Yeah, there was a line out the door and down the street at 10 am on a Sunday when I was at Russian River Brewing.

Tex Wasabi's closed here. I ate there once, great food, very very small portions, very big price. A pancake house moved in.....at least temporarily. The building they WERE in burned down, but allegedly they will move back once it is rebuilt.

 

[bcla]

Yeah, there was a line out the door and down the street at 10 am on a Sunday when I was at Russian River Brewing.

Tex Wasabi's closed here. I ate there once, great food, very very small portions, very big price. A pancake house moved in.....at least temporarily. The building they WERE in burned down, but allegedly they will move back once it is rebuilt.

Guy Fieri divested himself of the Tex Wasabi and Johnny Garlic's restaurants anyways. I think all he operates now are his spots in Vegas and that place in NYC. He does tons of one off events. During Super Bowl 50 he had a $700 per head tailgate in a nearby parking lot. Well, maybe $700 per head is optimistic since it doesn't sound like many people actually paid that since they got admission included with a Super Bowl package. It was more like thrown in if you were looking for tickets and a hotel room.

http://www.sfgate.com/superbowl/article/8-questions-about-Guy-Fieri-Super-Bowl-tailgate-6743765.php
http://www.sfgate.com/superbowl/article/I-went-to-the-700-Guy-Fieri-tailgate-super-bowl-6813884.php

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Far cry from the Busch Gardens days in Van Nuys. I went there in the late 1970's, and there were huge pans filled with cans of Bud on ice all over the part, free for the taking. I have also toured the St. Louis Brewery, (and Grants farm). Back there, Bud isn't the big beer, Busch is.

I am familiar with Pliney the Elder. When DW and I went for the weekend trip to the Charles Shultz museum, DS insisted we stop and pick up a case of Pliney the Elder at the brewery in Santa Rosa.
We do a lot of wine tasting in Lodi. About half the wineries have free tasting, half charge about $5, that they wave if you buy a bottle of wine.

Busch is most definitely NOT the "big" beer in St Louis.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

It should have its photo in the dictionary for "Tourist Trap" as it is the biggest in the world. It's a place I both love and hate at the same time!

How does it compare to Wall Drug?

 

[lovesmurfs]

DH and I are traveling to Scotland in October. We have limited time (6 days), but we're still stopping at Loch Ness, knowing it's a cheesy tourist trap. The reason being that if we got home and hadn't seen Loch Ness that we'd regret it.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

DH and I are traveling to Scotland in October. We have limited time (6 days), but we're still stopping at Loch Ness, knowing it's a cheesy tourist trap. The reason being that if we got home and hadn't seen Loch Ness that we'd regret it.

It's a beautiful part of the country. My sis, BIL, and I took a day trip up there. Our relatives in Dundee kind of scoffed that there was "nothing up there". Truth be told, it was my favorite day of the trip. Almost hit a red stag on the way up, which got our attention LOL

 

[justussix]

In my view, a "tourist trap" puts the emphasis on the "trap" part of the deal. Driving through South Dakota has all these signs for Wall Drug for example. "Free Ice Water" "5 cent coffee", etc. Well, everyone has free ice water with meals, and the five cent coffee turns out to be 5 cent refills on coffee. Most places do free refills.

They give the perception of a great deal, but to have any real fun, you have to spend a lot more money than perhaps you planned. Thus, the trap.

I wouldn't call the Freedom Trail in Boston a "trap". It's a free, informative history lesson.

I think for the most part now with the internet and information readily available, people tend to know what they are getting into and there aren't as many "traps" as once existed.