Phil the Administrator - 17 February 2009 05:43 PM
What an excellent question Lt. and my answer is that I have no idea what the difference is. I will however find out.
Folks from our company have taken both tours and we send someone every now and again to sort of ‘secret shop’ them to make sure things are still going well. I know that both tours are indeed endorsed by Paula and they both include lunch at Bubba’s.
Hey Phil!
Have you found anything out about the tour?
You’re still the man Phil!
In that case, I’d pay the extra $10..Bethesda is lovely and Byrds Cookie factory is a great stop. Talk about good cookies and all you can sample! Beautifully decorated cookie tins. The cookie store wasn’t open on Saturday when we went. Polks produce was OK.
A few years ago when we took the tour, there was only one tour. Just shows how popular the Paula Deen tour has become.
I emailed both tour companies, and here is what Old Savannah Tours had to say. I’m still waiting on something from Old Town Tours.
“Thank you for your interest in Old Savannah Tours. Our Paula Deen Tour
is the original. We created it in 2004 and we’ve been voted #1 tour
company for the past 5 years. We are locally owned and operated since
1978. Our Paula Deen Tour covers a lot more ground and has several
stops. We go to Bird Cookie Factory, Polk’s Fresh Market and Bethesda
where Paula was married. The tour is about 3 1/2 hours long with lunch
at Uncle Bubba’s included. You also receive a VIP pass to Lady & Sons.
This pass allows you to call ahead instead of waiting in line for
reservations. You can use it any time. During the busy season this is
a very big perk of the tour. I hope this answers some of your
questions. Old Town Trolley is a national company and they offer no
stops on their Paula Deen Tour. Thanks, Roxie”
Here’s the reply from Old Town. My decision is made.
Thanks so much for your inquiry. Our tour is less expensive, because we felt in designing our tour product that the main focus of the tour should be the beautiful historic district, Ms. Paula’s story and FOOD, and designed a tour to reflect that. Our competitor’s tour covers some very remote areas that are only tangentially connected to Ms. Paula, and requires you to travel for extended periods of time in areas that have nothing to do with her. Our tour is more concise, more current and leaves you with enough time that if you are limited to only a day in Savannah, you can still see some sights, do some shopping and take advantage of your preferred seating at the Lady & Son’s for dinner.
Phil - No problem, after all I was helping myself! LOL! You and Michael do a lot for us around here, glad to help take something off your plate. It was basically what savannablues already told us above!
DedicatedMomof3 - Tenatively the last week of April, if work cooperates.
I took the Ol Savannah tour along with the group I was in town with and we had a ball. We got to stop at many of the places Paula has shown on her Home Cooking show and buy all the goodies we wanted. In addition, our tour guide took us to the beautiful tree lined drive used in the filming of “Forrest Gump” as well as past the homes Paula lived in as she and the boys built the business. We stopped at Bethesda where she and Michael were married and had our group picture made on the steps. Bobby did get on the bus with us and ride around a few blocks - he’s even more handsome in person! and we ended the tour with a fantastic meal at Uncle Bubba’s. I’d say the only down side of it - if there was one - is that the group I was with shared some things we knew about Paula that our tour guide hadnt known. :D It was an afternoon I still treasure.
When you go to print, in the printer dialog box there should be a place to only print in black and white.
There is some red text that warns you that the ticket is invalid until you call and activate it, and it has to be activated within 24 hours. 18005179007
Tell us how the tour goes, you’ll be there a few weeks before me!
