| Rating |
Date Attended |
Reviewer |
Gender |
Age |
Where From? [v] |
Group Type? |
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Great Trip
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| Sat, Dec 27, 08 7:00 PM |
dhutchinson |
Female |
20-29 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Other |
| The Brooklyn Lights Tour was excellent! We went the last Saturday of the month and it was a perfect was to celebrate the holiday season. Tony, the tourguide, was wonderful and full of knowledge and enthusiasim, and the lights were fanatastic. We especially loved seeing the clips of old variety shows on our trip home. A great great time...thanks Tony!! |
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Like Tony says, "Rockefeller Center? FUHGETTABOUDI
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| Fri, Dec 26, 08 7:00 PM |
jsalino |
Male |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Individual |
| This tour was fantastic! I’ve taken Tony’s pizza tour, but this time he was joined by Big Rick, another tried and true Brooklynite. Both he and Tony are as Brooklyn as it gets. The bus was a large, comfortable coach bus. As the tour starts, Tony gives a brief overview of the Dyker Heights area that you're about to visit, as well as a short clip from the PBS documentary about the area so you can familiarize yourself with what you're going to see. On the way into Brooklyn, Tony and Rick point things out from the bus as well review the history of the areas. I loved seeing the Brooklyn Bridge lit up at at night! The Christmas music that's played on the bus is awesome. Tony has managed to pick songs from the 1940's, 1950's and on that aren't the usual songs you hear on the radio every year. Songs by Kay Starr, Peggy Lee, the Salsoul Orchestra and even theme songs from Chrsitmas TV shows like Charlie Brown and Rudolph. I and a few others asked Tony if he sells the cds, which he doesn't...but he should. They're that good! We also visited the Bay Ridge section where we saw Sam Maloof's(sp?) house. WOW! I can honestly say it's one of the most spectacularly decorated homes anywhere! The family who owns the house actually came out and greeted us and were so nice. They answered all our questions like how long it took to decorate, how many lights, etc. Whenever we got off the bus, Tony and Rick escorted us around and continued explaning and answering questions. Then it was on to Dyker Heights where we got off the bus once again and walked around for about 45 minutes in an area that can only be described as a true Winter Wonderland. An area made up of incredibly large homes trying to outdo each other in a friendly holiday competition. We had plenty of opportunities in both areas to take lots of photos by the way. We then headed over to Mona Lisa Bakery where we sat down and had pastries and cappuccinos. It was the perfect stop after walking around in the cold weather seeing the lights. After reading some of the other reviews on here before posting mine, I think there must have been some real "Scrooges" who took the tour because I loved Mona Lisa and so did the people all around me. Sure, it took a little while to get served, but we arrived with about 50 people! The staff was friendly and we never felt rushed. The place even had a brick oven, so some people ordered brick oven pizzas which they said were fantastic! On the way back to Manhattan after Mona Lisa, we got to watch parts of old Christmas TV specials from throughout the decades on the monitors like Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and Sonny & Cher. I felt like a little kid again seeing these vintage specials and reminiscing of Christmases past. All in all a magical night and a tour that I will recommend to all my friends and family and quite possibly take again next year. Thanks again Tony and Rick...great job you guys! |
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Christmas Light Extravaganza
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| Fri, Dec 26, 08 7:00 PM |
wmforsyth |
Male |
60-69 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| My wife and I heartly recommend this tour. The lights and home decorations were excellent and the backgroung and history of the more interestingly decorated homes made the tour even more interesting. Bring your camera as you will have a chance to get out and walk around the areas of two of the best examples of Christmas Lights of Brooklyn. |
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A unique, fun, festive experience
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| Fri, Dec 26, 08 7:00 PM |
stephmac |
Female |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| Not as much Brooklyn info on this tour as on the pizza tour, but this more than satisfies the objective of seeing the famous Dyker Heights (and Bay Ridge) lights. It's an easy and relaxing holiday treat. Plenty of time to walk around, take photos. The Mona Lisa Pastry Shop and Cafe is a very nice way to end the evening. The best cannoli I've ever had. And the Italian Hot Toddy will become my new favorite wintertime drink! Driving back to Manhattan after a very satisfying evening, we watched clips from some classic Christmas films and listened to Christmas music. Bing and Frank sang The Christmas Song as I looked out at the Statue of Liberty to my left and the white, green, and red top of the Empire State Building to my right. Priceless. Thank you Tony. |
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A Magical Night
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| Sat, Dec 20, 08 7:00 PM |
RobertDonlan |
Male |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| Oh boy!! It was cold. The night sky was heavy with impending snow. The waiting bus was clean, warm, and welcoming. The hosts were personable, enthusiastic , and overflowing with Christmas spirit. The decorated homes set a tone of over the top cheer and bright, positive feeling. In a phrase- it was a wonderful night. Whoever put in the order for snow to accompany the walking segment should be awarded a holiday award for atmosphere. We loved the trip! |
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A Christmas Lights Tour of Brooklyn
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| Fri, Dec 19, 08 7:00 PM |
marcymckean |
Female |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family With Children |
| The tour guide was not waiting on the street carrying the "A Slice of Brooklyn' clipboard. If you do need to call the emergency contact number, leave a message, then call back because they don't call you. It was unfortunate that it was a rainy evening because the windows of the bus fogged up and didn't clear up right away. Bring some paper towels because they don't have anything for you to wipe the windows. Once you're on the bus the tour is nice. You receive some interesting information about Brooklyn and see some great "stuff." (Stuff = lights) |
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Would do it again
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| Sun, Dec 14, 08 7:00 PM |
Express16 |
Female |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Group of Friends |
| Highly recommeded. Tony was great! |
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great lites tour and evening
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| Sun, Dec 14, 08 7:00 PM |
johnmoore |
Male |
60-69 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| The Brooklyn Lites Tour was very enjoyable. The neigborhood descriptions and personal stories were great and provided a wondeful context for the presentation of the residential lite displays. Would recommend the tour to others who enjoy learning about community and neighborhood leaders and histories. |
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beautiful lights
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| Sun, Dec 14, 08 7:00 PM |
JoanneD |
Female |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family With Children |
| This tour was wonderful, tony was a great tour guide. The homes were decorated so beautifully. It was just amazing and magical. I would recommend this tour to everyone. |
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Fun trip, but overpriced
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| Fri, Dec 12, 08 7:00 PM |
lsiebenhaar |
Female |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Group of Friends |
| Much of your experience will depend on where you call home and what you are used to seeing at Christmastime. We live in Utah where electricity is cheap and there are single-family houses galore. A large majority of the population decorates their houses with Christmas lights. Thus, we felt like this excursion merely showed us the same things we can see by driving around our home, but at a rather costly price.
However, we must say that if you live in a big city such as Manhatten, where there are few homes, this would be quite a scene. There were people on our bus from Australia who loved it and took 10 photos of each house.
One hint for Tony, if you're going to play vintage Christmas music, turn it down a bit. It was obnoxious after a while. |
