Mercedes-Benz US International Visitor Center/Museum, Alabama, United States

5Vacationlandista 5:00 PM Aug 11, 2011

If you like the show How It's Made, you will enjoy this tour
We started off spending about 15 minutes in the free visitors center which contained a very small gift shop and a small collection of different Mercedes Benz vehicles including the Jurassic Park All Terrain Vehicle. I wasn't sure what to expect with a $5 tour fee, was it going to be a sales pitch? Was it going to be boring since I am not a huge car fan? Was it going to be dirty and smelly inside this enormous car factory? Well it was NONE of the above. The tour was fantastic! The factory is amazingly clean and organized. The tour group size is fairly small (call ahead to reserve your space). Wear comfortable shoes because you need to be able to walk at a good pace for quite a distance. Everyone will be required to wear safety goggles and headphones once you are walking on the factory floor. The designated path is marked and you will need to stay in a single file line. The tour stops at certain points and the guide will tell you about what is taking place in that area, no photo ops on this tour. Cameras are not allowed. My teenage sons and I really enjoyed it. There is a minimum age for a good reason. There is a lot of walking and listening, no hands on opportunities even though it looks like it would be so fun to help build a car. At no time does the tour guide give a sales pitch, they don't have to. After learning how well the employees are treated, seeing how strict the vehicle safety standards are and the quality of work put into these vehicles, we walked away with a new appreciation for the 3 pointed star and all want one.

4Trek-Always 5:00 PM Sep 3, 2013

Interesting Mercedes History and Good Large Scale Production Tour
This is a 3 million square foot assembly facility so it has large scale. Tours are only Tuesday and Thursday in the morning (9-ish) and around noon (12:30-ish). You should call ahead to reserve the time that you want. The website talks about two hours for the tour but the one I went on was about 75 minutes. It is a couple of miles of slow walking with frequent stops so not strenuous. You can see a lot of the production areas which if you like manufacturing spaces is interesting. The Visitor Center is a useful history of Daimler, Benz, Maybach, et al. The display is well done with lots of signage and clear explanations. There is a "film" that is kid oriented for those too young to go on the factory tour. I had my wife and two grown sons with me and we all enjoyed it in varying ways. Worth 1-2 hours to see the visitor center and another 1-2 hours for the tour if you so choose. If you find this review helpful then please click the button below.