Great tour guide. Highly recommend Zephyr. Very knowledgeable and friendly!!! The grounds are…read morelovely and the castle is impressive.

Henry Mercer was an unusual guy. Very smart and very rich. So, he builds himself a 44 room castle…read morein 1912 in concrete (so it would not burn down). And he is not a trained architect or contractor. And then he sets up a tile manufacturing company about 1/4 mile away (you can visit that too), and he makes thousands of unique tiles to adorn the ceilings, walls, and floors of his castle; his new tiles next to historical tiles from all over the world. To visit Fonthill, you must go on a one hour guided tour. Our tour guide, Lisa, was intelligent and entertaining. Our group was 10 (that is maximum for a group). It can get claustrophobic in some of the rooms and there are lots of steps (so be advised). It is really worth visiting Fonthill Castle. It is far from a luxurious mansion, but rather a peculiar yet intriguing concrete castle. Mercer also built another castle about a mile away in Doylestown to store his "stuff" - this is the Mercer Museum (also worth a visit).

I know we have been to the museum in the past but today we had a chance to visit the gardens…read more Well maintained trails and grounds scattered with sculptures and local greenery. Several separate gardens throughout the 25 acre property. We did happen upon a heron getting some afternoon sun. Although we opted to stay in the shade. A good portion of paved shaded areas to walk to get out of the heat. The museum is about 20 for admission and accompanying planetarium is an extra fee. The gardens however are free to enjoy and are open sunrise to sunset.

This museum has tons to see and is even better because it is more of a local museum (so not super…read moretraffic heavy). Free parking and plenty of interesting things to see. I went for their version of the bodies exhibit and was not disappointed! It may be graphic for younger children, but it's extremely fascinating!!!

WHAT A BLAST. We came here for my birthday kind of ironically because online we saw reels saying it…read morewas the "weirdest museum ever," and thought it would be kind of funny/maybe even creepy. Little did we know it was actually FASCINATING; it was so fun to admire every last piece in the museum. The tram guide was great, the pre-recorded audio is helpful and interesting, and the collection is so varied and extensive that you can't help but love it. The pipe organs - fabulous. The walkable "toy box" collection was great after the tram. Overall, I'd recommend this to anyone - it was soooo fun.

What a fun thing to do! We didn't know what to expect and want to say we all really enjoyed the…read moreexperience! Admission was reasonable and enjoyed the self-guided part while waiting for the next tram departure time. There was everything you could imagine - except one thing! A TELEX MACHINE (which I used to operate). When I asked the staff if they had one none of them even knew what I was talking about (early 20's)! We took the tram tour and really enjoyed it. The tram moved at a nice pace so you could really take in everything. So much to see - everywhere. It was a really fun way to spend a few hours on a rainy day! But I urge you to visit rain or shine!

The Toy Robot Museum might be one of the least known and most underrated museums in eastern…read morePennsylvania. It's located halfway between Reading and Ephrata, in the Stoudtburg Village, which resembles an old European Village. Parking is free on the northside of the complex, and walking in is easy. The Toy Robot Museum's storefront is not really clearly marked, but when you see the fountain, keep walking down and look for a storefront on the left-hand side with a red colored exterior. You enter into the shop area, that houses various robot related merchandise for sale. There is no admission fee for the museum. This museum is a passion project for the owner and it is his personal collection on display. He is very nice and will show you around the displays, giving facts about the robots. There are also small video displays, that when activated will show ads and other information about the robots. Featured robots include but are not limited to Robocop, Forbidden Planet, and Metropolis. Large displays of robots from Japan and Europe are also included. Museum does tend to focus on robots from the 1960's and 1970's. Touring the museum will take about 45 minutes to an hour depending on your level of interest. Make sure to plan some additional time to explore the rest of the Stoudtburg Village. There are also many antique places in the area, both large and small. Overall, Toy Robot Museum is a great stop that many people don't know about, but should.

I love this museum! So many great robot toys from over the years. The owner Joe is also a super…read morenice guy. We go here every time we are in the area.

If you're any kind of aircraft or history enthusiast, you'll love this place. Tons of aircraft from…read moredifferent eras of the industry, and tour guides who are experts (my guide literally flew on and repaired some of the planes!). Don't be put off if you've seen pics of some of the beat up planes on the tarmac--there's a hangar full of pristine models including the work-in-progress Black Widow fighter. Couple of caveats: the hangar is hot in summer and cold in winter, dress and hydrate appropriately. Also, planes are stacked like sardines in the hangar--you'll be ducking and dodging to avoid banging your head on an aileron. Mobility-challenged folks may want to proceed with caution. Younger kids may get bored but I was perfectly happy to let the guide tell me stories for 2 hours and j loved every minute. (Note: for security purposes there is no self-guided tour option here.)

So the museum itself is pretty decent, it has a good variety of fairly rare aircraft. Very nice…read moreexamples in the hangar, outside on the ramp is a sad situation. Lots of old aircraft rotting outdoors craving some TLC. I got the impression the owner is a bit of a tyrant. Our tour guide wanted to show us the workshop where they restore the planes, he peaked in and asked the boss and was met with a loud furious "NO" we could all hear. Very odd. My biggest red flag is when I caught our tour guide in a sort of passive aggressive lie at the end of the tour. Perhaps an inadvertent one, but he clearly made it up and it made me reflect on what was true or not from the rest of the tour. They have a rotted out F-86 Sabre on the ramp, decaying in the elements. I told him I had spoken to the pilot of one and watched him take off before me on his way to Oshkosh. The old man looked at me strange, turned to another guest and began saying "there are only two of these left and none fly." Odd and passive aggressive. There are at least 20 airworthy examples and many more survivors in the US alone! Really rubbed me the wrong way as I had seen it with my own eyes just 2 years ago and he felt the need to clarify (really UN-clarify) nonsense to a guest who had overheard. At $10 I can't tell you not to go. It's affordable and worth that money, just maybe tune out regarding the "information" they provide.

In the heart of Abington, and about a hundred yards away from the Roslyn train station, you can…read morefind Briar Bush, a hidden nature preserve tucked away on Edge Hill road. With scenic walking trails, an outdoor classroom, day camps and a small indoor animal habitat, Briar Bush is a great spot for small children, couples on a date, or anyone looking for a brief respite from the urgency of the modern world. With free admission for locals and a small fee for out-of-towners, the preserve is accessible to all patrons provided that they are able to walk down some wooded trails that circle through the admittedly short walking routes. The centerpiece of the trails is a picturesque, secluded pond with benches for sitting and an interactive sign with information on the local fauna and flora. The indoor animal habitat has a small gift shop, pamphlets on upcoming events and information on other parks in the area, and several interesting animals such as a blind possum named Odin, a bearded lizard named Karl, and several other unique turtles and reptiles. All of Briar Bush can be walked through in an hour or so, but the low admission, interactive nature events and scenic walking trails will have you wanting to return again soon.

Staff are very informative when it comes to presentations but the facility is not very well…read moremaintained in some places because multiple trees have poison ivy on them. I know what poison ivy looks like, and when it's in hairy vine form, it can choke a tree and kill it. There was a wildlife sanctuary in the neighborhood that I grew up in as a child, and many of the trees almost died because they were being choked by poison ivy. Hairy vine, no friend of mine. But, on a more positive note, they have some animals that you can pet (when they are being presented by a lecturer), including rabbits, rats, and snakes, plus a turtle. In fact, now, as I am typing this, I remember coming here as a kid with school and Cub Scouts and my family as well, and I remember Boo the Rat (R.I.P!) and I remember a turtle who came to Briar Bush after being fed dog food by its owner. Eww. Bottom line, presentation is everything. One thing that I personally don't mind but that wildlife and some other visitors are probably irritated by is the fact that SEPTA's Warminster Line runs behind Briar Bush with a train going by every so often.

Last night I went to the #HotelofHorror in Saylorsburg PA. I got the combo ticket and it was so…read moreworth it. The lines move fast and the staff here are amazing!! This is the best haunt I've been to this year. The hotel is very creepy, the sets are scary, and the actors really give their all. They are open tonight, halloween night, and next weekend so go get your scare on!!! http://www.hotelofhorror.com

I am an avid Halloween Haunt enthusiat. Every year my Buddy and I select a place to enjoy the sets,…read morethe scares and have a blast. This year we selected Hotel of Horror in PA. The YouTube videos looked great and tickets were purchased. After our pre-haunt meal we arrived. The place was lit up nicely, creepy music playing. The actor who gave the instructions was on point, he was creepy, funny and into the festivities that awaited us. So this is by no means a bad review, however, there was just not enough actors to deliver scares. The sets were fantastic, using all the standard fare that all the great places use. That being said, again, just not enough actors within the haunt. We walked through several scenes without seeing an actor. For the price of the tickets (which are on par with much larger places like Penhurst Asylum and East State Penitentiary) Hotel of Horror just does not stack up with the big boys. Would we return? Probably not, for the money, would most likely return to one of the big boys!!!

My kids loved this place. I was really impressed, too. The museum spreads 3 floors and it's highly…read moreinteractive. We went during the Halloween period and they had exploding pumpkins, witches brew, and all sorts of fun themed Halloween science experiments. This is such a great rainy day activity. My kids just had the best time and didn't want to leave. One negative thing, and I'm not docking a star, but the food is awful. It felt so ironic that we were in the health and living section. Then, checked out their restaurant where the food couldn't have been much more unhealthy. It was also majorly overpriced. But my kids were starving so we let them eat the terribly unhealthy food options. Overall, this is a great spot. Kids will love all the interactive displays and even adults will like it. I'm glad we checked it out!

This place has been on my radar for a while, and I'm genuinely kicking myself for not coming…read moresooner. We visited on a Friday afternoon during the school year and it was the perfect day for it, not crowded at all, staff was warm and attentive everywhere you turned, and there was just so much to explore across two floors. As a homeschool mom, I am always on the lookout for places where kids are learning without even realizing it and this delivered completely. My little ones were engaged the entire time, bouncing between exhibits and coming back to do things on repeat. The water table on the second floor was a huge hit (dam building = instant obsession), the crawl-through body exhibit had them giggling the whole way through, and the immersive hall with the giant projector and the orchestra activity where they put their faces into the performers? They talked about that the whole ride home. We timed our visit to catch the 3 o'clock otter feeding and training, definitely worth planning around. Maybe 30 people gathered and it was totally manageable and really sweet to watch. What surprised me most was how engaged I was as an adult. I was genuinely learning things alongside my kids, which is not always the case at these types of places. It felt appropriate and interesting for every age in our group. A few things to know before you go: follow the directions on their website for the specific parking garage , it's about a 5-minute walk and was only $5 for us. Strollers and wagons are totally doable with elevators throughout. They also have a café if you want to make a full day of it, and rotating special exhibits (always check the website ahead of time so you know what's on and whether it fits your crew). We stayed about two and a half hours and left happy. Already thinking about when we're coming back.

Every once in a while you drive past a place so many times that it almost becomes part of the…read morescenery. That was the Turkey Hill Experience for me. I'd driven past it countless times over the last few years but either didn't have enough time to stop or couldn't convince anyone else to stop with me. During my Lancaster Adventure Day, though, all of that changed. I purchased a Single Scoop ticket online ahead of time for $16.75 and reserved the very first time slot of the day at 10am. I figured a late-summer Thursday morning would be the sweet spot, and it turned out to be a great decision. It was busy enough that the place felt lively but not so crowded that I had to wait for every exhibit. Parking was plentiful, and I somehow managed to snag a spot right in front of the GIANT cow out front. Honestly, my day was already off to a fantastic start! The only hiccup of the visit came during check-in. Even though I'd already purchased my ticket online, I still had to wait in the same line as everyone buying gift shop items, purchasing admission and asking questions. Since there were only a two employees working both the registers and admissions, the line moved a little slower than I expected. If I could change one thing, it would be creating a separate express check-in line for folks who already have tickets. Once I finally made it inside, though, everything became easy peasy! The exhibits are completely self-guided, so you can wander at your own pace learning how Turkey Hill makes its ice cream and iced tea while playing with interactive displays along the way. One of my favorite parts was creating my own virtual ice cream flavor, complete with custom packaging. I also wanted to film my own Turkey Hill commercial, but those stations stayed busy the entire time I was there, so that'll have to wait until another visit. Naturally, I made a beeline for the tea sampling station. As someone who appreciates sugar-free options, I was thrilled to find both Zero Sugar Sweet Tea and Zero Sugar Fruit Punch available to sample. Both were fantastic! Then it was time for the part we'd all been waiting for...unlimited ice cream samples. One thing I really appreciated is that they weren't tiny little "blink and it's gone" samples. You picked two flavors, and they served actual scoops in a bowl. For an attraction centered around ice cream, that felt exactly right. My only tiny complaint? Wooden popsicle sticks instead of spoons. They definitely got the job done, but they made eating melting ice cream a little more awkward than it needed to be. Still...free and unlimited ice cream? I'm not about to complain too loudly! I spent about an hour wandering through the exhibits, playing with the interactive displays and enjoying the air conditioning on a hot August morning before making one final stop in the gift shop. Prices there were about what you'd expect for a tourist attraction, but there were plenty of fun souvenirs if you're looking to bring a little Turkey Hill home with you. Overall, I'd absolutely recommend visiting the Turkey Hill Experience at least once. I don't know that it's somewhere I'd return over and over again, but it was a fun, interactive way to spend an hour learning something new, eating entirely acceptable quantities of free ice cream and escaping the August heat. That sounds like a pretty successful adventure day to me!

Turkey Hill Experience was a fun stop for our family! We visited with three kids, and everyone…read morefound something to enjoy. The interactive exhibits were engaging, and the kids loved learning how ice cream is made and creating their own virtual flavors. The highlight was definitely sampling the different ice cream flavors and making our own ice cream creations.

A pleasure as always on our trips to see family in the area. A well maintained collection and only…read moregetting better. We scored a tour including a look at the repair work they are spot to an engine. The gift shop had a good selection of items and came home with some swag.

You can actually walk onto the trains, which makes the experience even more unique! The conductor…read moreshares so much fascinating information about the trains, their history, and what life was like during that time. The entire exhibit is designed to feel like you're stepping into an old train station, complete with the shops and details that would have surrounded travelers back then. It truly feels like stepping back in time. A one-of-a-kind experience and a beautiful walk through history!