After meeting at a small vintage looking home, the GoRetro Landmarks tour is conducted on a small temperature controlled bus which drives you around the city with just one stop half way through at the Visitor Center.
The actual tour is actually just a video playing on a screen in the front of the bus. This was awkward because the video did not exactly link up with the timing of where we were in the city. Plus, there was no-one to really point out where the things were described outside the windows. I went with my mom and we had to switch seats half way through the tour because only one of us could actually see the screen at a time. Plus, it was hard to divide attention between looking out the windows and looking at the video that was playing.
Additionally, the video was awkward. The guy they recorded was incredibly hokey (saying "Hallelujah!" after almost every antidote). Plus, he told a story about the H & O Cafe which seemed sort of racist and had no actual point. It made us uncomfortable.
In general, most of the video didn't actually talk to us about the stories of Pensacola. Most of it just told us to take different versions of the tour if we want to hear stories. It would have been nice to have at least gotten a base level information rather than just being fed an ad for another tour we were not on.
Additionally, being on the bus meant you could only see around you via the windows. The windows were low so it was difficult to see some things and we had to crane our necks to look around.
As for the actual landmarks that were visited, I'd say about 50% were interesting/informative and about 50% were absurd. Some highlights include the veterans memorial, the last remaining ice store, and a tiny old timey replica village we drove through. We were not impressed with visiting a parking lot or a Krispy Kreme sign.
In future, I think this tour would be better with a more interactive tour guide/tour format.
Response from Host
Jun 2018
I'm sorry you did not have a positive experience. The Landmarks Tour is one of Go Retro's most popular tours. Over 2000 probably have toured with us. Most love our approach because a photo is worth a thousand words and some individual tour guides make up stories rather than tell the real ones. People can look outside the window and see and old house, for example, and then look at the monitor and see what it looked like long ago.
There's nothing "hokey" about Dr. Bill who serves as narrator for the Landmarks. He is very genuine, beloved in the community and full of the Holy Spirit. I'm sorry you objected to him praising the Almighty after a bizarre story. Some of us do that down South!
I find it surprising that you objected to our highlighting Pensacola's African American heritage. Go Retro could not do an adequate job if we did not mention their contributions. The H&O Cafe was a Pensacola landmark for over 50 years, visited by Rosa Parks, Michael Jackson, politicians, etc. Many African Americans have toured with us, and none have complained about this; in fact, they have appreciated our discussing the H&O and the home of Chappie James, the first man of color to become a four star general.
And yes, for Pensacolians, the Krispy Kreme is a landmark.
When you come again--and I hope you do--I hope you better see how a richly, diverse, relevant (not absurd) a community this is.