| Rating |
Date Attended [v] |
Reviewer |
Gender |
Age |
Where From? |
Group Type? |
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Amish Tour Should Be "Amish"! |
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Mon, Aug 20, 07 2:00 PM |
ArvilDaniels |
Female |
70+ |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| |
Following a family reunion in NJ the previous weekend, my husband's sister attending from CA wanted to see the Amish country. So we made arrangements through Zerve for the three of us to take the Amish tour Monday, August 20, 2007. We drove an hour+ to pick her up at Cherry Hill, NJ and drove two+ hours to the Lancaster area. We wanted this to be a wonderful experience for the sister and were limited to this one day. We loved the countryside and farmlands stopping at an authentic Amish cannery and then a farm with a wonderful gift shop full of Amish-made quilts, food and gift items. It was a rainy, dreary day, so we could hardly see our way through the shop, but that was charming since this is authentically how the Amish live. However, the 3rd stop blew our minds and we were angry and frustrated to find we had been bused to a WINERY which had nothing to do with the Amish....just a purely commercial stop!! When we questioned the stop not having anything to do with the Amish (the grapes aren't even grown in the area!!) and complained about the time, the tour guide back-peddled by saying "Some Amish people buy their wine there"!!!??? This was bad enough, but there seemed to be no rush to leave as we watched the time slip away to be on time for our paid items of both the house tour and movie back at the pickup point. Our sister was on a cane from a recent knee injury which made it even more precarious in that the bus stop was quite a distance from the house we were to tour and we couldn't understand why (being late for the tour and the pouring rain!) we couldn't have been dropped off in front of the house?! Consequently, rain-soaked and cold we missed the house tour. Also, please look at the doorway of your buses since the rain was draining off the bus onto the people's backs as they got off!! The bus driver had a small umbrella
with spines broken which he kept over himself. When I saw how drenched everyone was as they got off, I asked him to please hold it closer to the door of the bus to catch the sheet of water pouring down. He kind of grumbled, but he did hold the umbrella closer over the doorway and consequently I didn't get as drenched as my husband and sister in law and all the others. Again, we loved the farmlands, the cannery, the gift shop and the movie and considered it a good value but for the above mentioned items.
Suggestions:
1.) Keep the Amish tour Amish.....no winery.
2,) Fix the bus doorway with a gutter system to protect people from getting drenched.
3.) Since tourists aren't always equipped w/jackets and umbrellas in August, please provide your drivers with a large golf-style umbrella to assist the people. Or have some complimentary ones available with your logo Zerve on them for people to use getting on/off the bus.
4.) At the end/return of the tour, have two stops: one at the movie and one at the house tour/gift shop/restaurant.
Sincerely, Mary Jane and Arvil Daniels
Ellicott City, MD |
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Very informative |
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Sun, Aug 19, 07 11:30 AM |
MrtAustin |
Female |
50-59 |
Local |
Family With Children |
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It was a worthwhile experience, and the tour guide was very informative. We found it very interesting, and were able to ask as many questions as we liked. The driver and tour guide were also respectful of the Amish customs and people, when we encountered them in the countryside. (The wine tasting stop seemed irrelevant, however, and we stayed on the bus at that stop.) The movie theater and the movie were spectacular, and worth seeing. I would recommend this tour to anyone, and therefore took my daughter two years ago, then my son recently this year. |
 |
Everything Amish in a Nutshell |
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Fri, Aug 17, 07 2:00 PM |
ahf232007 |
Male |
20-29 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| |
My family and I found the tour package to be of excellent value. All three activities contributed greatly to our understanding of the Amish people. With my parents knowing little of the Amish people and their culture, the tour gave them the information needed without burdening them with unnecessary details. The individual events were well organized and seeing all three in one day was not a problem at all. The theater presentation was excellent and the house tour was highly informative and interesting. Overall, the bus tour was excellent, but there were some negatives. While our bus tour guide was very informative, she was not the nicest person and would be quite sharp when telling people to get back onto the bus. When our bus stopped in front of a Amish schoolhouse, we were not able to get off the bus to take a closer look and take pictures. The last stop on the tour, a winery, seemed out of place. While the wine itself was not bad, I wished that the winery had a stronger tie to Amish culture, otherwise, I would recommend that this stop be replaced by another stop more fitting. On the whole, the tour package was an excellent deal and allowed us to gain a through understanding of Amish culture in a short amount of time. |
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AWESOME TOUR THROUGH THE COUNTRYSIDE! |
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Wed, Aug 15, 07 10:30 AM |
Horace |
Male |
60-69 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| |
My husband and I really enjoyed the tour and learned facts that we would otherwise not have learned without a tour guide. Our questions were answered fully by the guide, who took his time to answer each and every question posed to him. We would highly recommend this tour to anyone, especially first time visitors to Lancaster county such as we were. |
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Great Experience |
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Tue, Aug 14, 07 10:30 AM |
pkk9278 |
Male |
20-29 |
Local |
Family With Children |
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The bus tour, theater, and house were all very informative and is a must for at least a first time experience to Amish country. The guides were very hospitable and were very accessible to answer any question that you had. |
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Ver informative and enjoyable!!! |
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Tue, Aug 14, 07 10:30 AM |
DonDeStepha |
Female |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family With Children |
| |
Very worthwhile choice of activities for our trip with our 12 year old son. We enjoyed seeing the movie first, the house second and then the bus tour. We had a great smorgasbord lunch afterwards. Awesome day! |
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This is such a wonderful opportunity! |
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Wed, Aug 8, 07 2:00 PM |
sheilagaza |
Female |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| |
I highly recommend this tour package as I was able to experience who the amish are and how they actually live. I was able to see the schoolhouses and the homes and farms of the amish community. I was able to see the amish working on their farms and riding their buggies and scooters around town. I was also able to visit some of the amish businesses that are located on their farms. The tour guide on the bus tour really knew a great deal about the amish and their history. It was very educational. |
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Learn About the Amish People |
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Tue, Aug 7, 07 10:30 AM |
rmhollan |
Female |
60-69 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
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I have read about these wonderful people BUT when my husband and I went on the 3 package tour, we learned so much more. The bus tour, the Homestead Tour and the theater presentation were so well done. I thank you for doing such a professional job. We both highly recommend The Amish Country Tours to everyone.
Thank you.
Adelaide and Bob Hollandsworth
Virginia |
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The Tour is Worth the Money |
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Mon, Aug 6, 07 10:30 AM |
waynekel |
Male |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family With Children |
| |
The Tour which included the movie (Excellent), the tour of the Amish House (one again Excellent), and the bus tour of the Amish farm lands(not so good). The bus tour took us to an Organic Grocery store, A farm house that had a wood shop and craft store and bakery, and then took us to Mount Hope Winery for a wine tasting. We saw very little farm land and that portion of the tour was not educational about Amish lifestyle and customs. Our tour guide was very knowldgeable and friendly and would answer any questions that came up. My wife and I Spend at least a week in the Lancaster area every year, so this tour wasn't for us but for our 11 year old granddaughter. We took her out and did some more explaining after the tour to help her understand the ways of the Amish people better. But the film and the house tour are well worth every penny you spend, just cut out the stops on the bus unless they are to be educational. Thank You. |
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Excellent overview of the Amish way of life |
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Mon, Aug 6, 07 10:30 AM |
ShirleyShedd |
Female |
60-69 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Other |
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My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the Amish Farmlands SuperSaver tour. The bus tour with the three stops was very comfortable and informative. However, we are not drinkers, so the stop at the Winery was a waste for us. The multi-media presentation "Jacob's Choice" was well done even if predictable. The tour of the Amish farmhouse was informative and interesting. One thing we would have liked would have been to have a buggy ride included in the package. We did go to another company for a buggy ride.
Suggestion: perhaps there could be some options such as a buggy ride instead of the winery. I know that would create logistics problems, but that would have been more interesting for us. |
