Ben & Jerry's

On Saturday we went to the Ben & Jerry's ice cream factory in Waterbury, VT. Zac felt the best part of the trip was the playground!

The drive was approximately 3 hours and 15 minutes. Upon arrival you crowd into a small area to purchase your tour ticket for $3. The tours run every few minutes and while waiting you can crowd into a rather small gift shop.

Once they announce your tour you are directed into a small theatre to watch a 7 minute video about the history of Ben & Jerry's. After that you are directed into a small glassed in area to watch the operations of the factory. Unfortunately the day we went the factory was not making ice cream so we simply had to watch a video about the process. We were told they do not produce ice cream on the weekends; I would encourage you to visit when they are making ice cream as I think it would have been more interesting.

Once you learn about the ice cream making process you are directed to the tasting room where they give you a small sample of a preselected flavor; ours was Boston Cream Pie. The ice cream was yummy but the sample very small.

We finished our tour and headed outside to the small area where they sell ice cream; seating is minimal but the views are awesome! John and Zac stood in line for what seemed to be an eternity and returned to our table with no ice cream. John got frustrated with the line not moving and said, "let's just go to DQ!" LOL

Zac's favorite part of the Ben & Jerry's experience was the playground located out by the parking lot and the Ben & Jerry's flavor graveyard. We were surprised that the facility was so small and lacking the "wow" factor. All and all we're glad we went while in the area but have no need to rush back.