OT: Is Frankenmuth still a thing in Metro Detroit during the Holidays?
Growing up we loved going multiple times per year. I haven't been in at least a decade, but we took the kids on Sunday and honestly, it was pretty awful. Food was crummy ski lodge tier (at about $25-30 per plate), decor hasn't been refreshed in decades, even the downtown -- Christmas Headquarters! -- put extremely minimal effort into their light displays. Shouldn't their decorations and lights blow you away? I can name a dozen Metro Detroit towns with better holiday exhibits. Have my tastebuds matured or has the town's scene actually gone downhill? Sad to see a unique place slacking, but it could be the economy too. In its current state, not at all worth the drive.
November 27th, 2017 at 4:45 PM ^
My wife certainly thinks so
November 27th, 2017 at 4:46 PM ^
Well of course not...Frankenmuth isn't anywhere CLOSE to metro Detroit... Shessh.
/s
November 27th, 2017 at 4:49 PM ^
I grew up in Flint and now live in Millington. I go there often (not just for Christmas either). Kern's has the best brat sauce I've ever tasted.
November 27th, 2017 at 5:50 PM ^
What Bronners would be like (mayhem?) during the holidays. I'm sure the town is still fun.
November 27th, 2017 at 6:18 PM ^
That's good stuff.
November 27th, 2017 at 4:50 PM ^
I've lived in the Tri Cities (Saginaw, Bay City, Midland), where this was very much a thing.
Since moved to Detroit, and it's not a thing.
November 27th, 2017 at 4:50 PM ^
Frankenmuth is definitely still a thing. It is packed almost every weekend, year-round. Perhaps your tastes have simply changed, or you were expecting more than it is; I make every effort to avoid the place, but unfortunatley am there a few times a year.
November 27th, 2017 at 4:51 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 4:54 PM ^
"Food was crummy ski lodge tier"
are you talking the famous(?) chicken dinners? I haven't been there in a long time, surprising if the quality has fallen.
November 27th, 2017 at 5:12 PM ^
It was really good last time we were there. Don't think it's gone downhill in the last year.
November 27th, 2017 at 5:28 PM ^
Ordered unlimited chicken and $25-35 items off the menu. All of it was bland and awful, certainly nowhere near worth the prices or the drive. And honestly, we may have excused the bad food and the prices if the town was lit up like Clark Griswold's house -- but very low effort, all around. A few local country clubs put more effort into lights.
November 27th, 2017 at 4:57 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 4:57 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 4:58 PM ^
It must be you. Don't know what to tell you. We visited Frankenmuth two years ago for Christmas and earlier this April for my daughter's birthday despite living in Virginia now. Grew up in Flint and went to Frankenmuth almost every fourth of july/Christmas growing up. Maybe the nostalgia blinds me from seeing it differently but it's been just as great in the times we've been there since I've moved. Maybe if downtown is lacking in lights you should have driven through the Bronner's parking lot or something.
November 27th, 2017 at 5:40 PM ^
Yeah, you pass Bronner's coming into town on the righthand side and their decorations and lights were a joke; low effort and embarrassing. The gateway into town should be far more impressive. They need to step their game up. I'll gladly pay for overpriced chicken if the lights and decorations are beautiful.
November 27th, 2017 at 6:19 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 4:59 PM ^
Chicken dinner at Zehnder's is not "ski lodge crummy."
November 27th, 2017 at 5:06 PM ^
Bavarian Inn, though...
November 27th, 2017 at 5:08 PM ^
Zehnders is way better
November 27th, 2017 at 5:13 PM ^
Maybe. I spent some time and money in the Lorelei Lounge during a conference. Seemed alright.
November 27th, 2017 at 5:14 PM ^
My kids really do enjoy the Bavarian Inn and the opportunity to burn through tokens in a vain effort to gather enough tickets to get a prize which is not incredibly cheap. I just end up hanging out in the Rathskeller watching whatever game is on and resisting the urge to hustle people at pool while everyone else plays mini-golf.
November 27th, 2017 at 5:28 PM ^
I mean, the point is that their chicken dinner, while seemingly similar to Zehnder's, is pretty awful.
Went to a wedding there once, too, and it remains one of the most surreal experiences of my life. Everything about it was weird.
November 27th, 2017 at 5:00 PM ^
Did you got to Bavarian Inn? That place is pretty bad. Zehnders is still very good. Bronners and the shops downtown are very cool also. I used to live nearby there so i kind of miss it now.
November 27th, 2017 at 5:01 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 5:21 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 8:13 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 8:39 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 9:02 PM ^
My only experience with the Brewery was over a decade ago, when we went there for my birthday. The girlfriend and I stopped there for a beer before going to Bavarian Inn for dinner - except we found out that my birthday dinner was free at the Brewery. Free being free, we decided to stay for dinner, and then get two dinners to-go from Bavarian Inn. Three things I remember:
1. The beer and food at the Brewery were very good.
2. The Bavarian to-go dinner was the most bland and tasteless mess I'd had in a long while, and was more insulting when you considered what we paid for it.
3. Three days later, I was in the hospital with a ruptured appendix.
I know the last thing had nothing to do with the second. Even so, I stick to eating at Zehnder's.
November 27th, 2017 at 5:08 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 5:47 PM ^
Frankenmuth was doing the "Disney" version of Germany before Disney.
November 27th, 2017 at 5:13 PM ^
Yes it is. Go during the Ice Fest. Its packed and fun. Usually have RockShow journey tribute band playing one day during.
If you are going to Bavarian and/or Zhenders for food, what do you expect? try some other newer spots.
I do believe one of the horse/carriage businesses folded though. I think only 1 is still going and that was always kind of fun seeing for me and my kids.
November 27th, 2017 at 5:28 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 5:22 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 5:29 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 5:29 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 5:31 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 5:39 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 6:00 PM ^
Bavarian Inn still has the butter noodles and the stollen. That would be enough.
I always enjoy it, but we always go in August, right before back to school for a Birch Run...run.
Sorry your experience was not what you were hoping for.
November 27th, 2017 at 6:05 PM ^
Frankenmuth is what what you make of it. To Salvatore's point, it's the Disney-fied version of Bavaria. Friends of mine from out of town had the real Bavaria in mind when they wanted to visit Frankenmuth, and were bitterly disappointed.
For me, it's always been somewhere to go for a quick day trip. Do a bit of shopping (mostly browsing), walk around the town, and spend time with my family. The quality of the dinner isn't nearly as important to me as the fact that my children are getting older, will be moving away from home in less than a year, and each opportunity I get to be in their company is precious. Frankenmuth is perfectly suited to that purpose.
As they say, your mileage may vary.
November 28th, 2017 at 8:06 AM ^
That's a very fair and valid point. It's something for families to do on a weekend, and it's a very traditional Michigan tourist attraction. That being said, IMO it's definitely seen better days. The food is OK, but hasn't changed much over the years, and you can probably get the same thing at Boston Market for less money. I know the gift shops there have really struggled over the last 15 years - as have many others throughout Michigan. People just aren't buying as much "stuff" as they used to. I love the Christmas holiday, but I think most of the merchandise at Bronners is junky. Although I'd guess most of the people who visit there have never been to Bavaria, I have, and Frankenmuth isn't anything like it. I think if they didn't spend an absolute ton of money on advertising, they'd have a lot less people going through there.
November 27th, 2017 at 6:14 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 10:32 PM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 8:12 AM ^
of business you're talking about. As I said above, many gift stores in Michigan and elsewhere have gone out of business over the last 15 years. Not just because the state has lost population or they were doing a bad job running their businesses. A lot of it is changing buying patterns and demographics. People buy more electronics, food, and experiences instead of "stuff" sitting on a shelf gathering dust.
November 27th, 2017 at 6:22 PM ^
My family always went for the snow sculptures and I make a trip to Bronners ever year for tree ornaments. It seems the same to me!
November 27th, 2017 at 6:35 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 6:52 PM ^
All I know is, last time I went to Frankenmuth, we couldn't get in any damn place for lunch. At 2 o'clock! I figure that means it's still a thing.
November 27th, 2017 at 6:54 PM ^
The best part of going to Frankenmuth is stopping in at "Tony's" diner at the Birch Run exit. The bacon king of Michigan !