Jelly Belly Tour

jtm1631 · 08-24-2006

OK, another day another family adventure. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your personal preference) we forgot our camera for this tour so I will paint a picture with words.

We decided to make the 40 minute drive from our house to the Jelly Belly Factory in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. The reason for the drive was to partake in the joy that is the Jelly Belly free factory tours. There are two words in that last sentence that I want you to pay particular attention to and store away for later. FREE and FACTORY.

For anybody in the area, let me save you the time and the money right now, DON'T GO! I know what you're thinking, "Save the money, but jtm1631, you just said it was a free tour!". Free tour my a$$. You'll see what I mean soon enough.

Let's set the stage for the day shall we. We wake up at 3:30 this morning to the sound of a bad thunderstorm. Our 12 year old is at a friends house spending the night so we are pretty confident we will not see or hear from her. It is, unfortunately, only a matter of time before the 8 and 5 year old join myself, my wife, the dog and the cat in the bed. You see peeps, there is the reason we own a king size bed. I tell myself the reason is so the whole family can fit in the bed together and bond. Reality is that we have a king size bed so that my wife can sleep clear on the other side of the room of me without insisting on separate beds. The full bed means I don't sleep well. The rain means I will not be able to go for my bike ride in the morning. The combination of the two means I will be cranky all day!

Rain, wind, thunder lightning. That is what we have for the next 5 hours. The kids are sick of the thunder and the wife and I are sick of the whining about the thunder. I took time off of work for this? Finally around 10:00 we decide to call our daughter. First we call her cell phone. Surprise! The cell phone is in the other room ringing. Seems Hayley forgot her cell phone. Good thing we got it for her so we could get in touch with her when she wasn’t home. Than we call the house she is staying at. No answer. We call the mom’s cell phone of the house she is staying at. No answer. We call her friends cell phone. No answer. At this point do we get pissed or a little bit concerned? We decide on both. We finally get in touch with the mom who is at work, but her husband is home and will be bringing the kids home around 10:30 or 11:00. See this girl used to live a few houses from us but her and her mom moved about 45 minutes away when her mom remarried. So unfortunately, going to pick Hayley up is not an option. Finally around 10:45 we get a call from Hayley that they are just having breakfast and she will be home around 12:00. Fine, let yourself in, we are going to take the little ones bowling.

Fast forward to us getting home from Bowling about 1:30 and still no Hayley. Finally around 2:00 on this grey, wet day Hayley comes home. 2 seconds after walking in the door we hear “what are we going to do all afternoon?” Worry not peeps, the first order of the day was berating Hayley for not taking her cell phone.

After the discussion of why she has a cell phone my wife says “how about the Jelly Belly tour?” I go online, find the web site, get the tour hours and directions and we are off. A free tour of the Jelly Belly factory (notice those two words again?). We pile in the minivan and drive through the rain to the factory. We park the car and stand in line four about 30 seconds before we board the Jelly Belly train for the tour.

The first thing you notice when you board the train is that you are not in a factory. How do we tour the factory when we aren’t in the factory? In fact, this looks just like a warehouse. There is row upon row of palletized boxes of candy all nicely barcoded and ready to be shipped out. The tour as it turns out takes you around the perimeter of the warehouse. Every so often there are TV’s on the wall that show you what actually takes place in the factory. Since we are not actually taking a tour of the factory, we will have to trust that what we saw is actually what takes place in the actually factory. For all we know the factory could be in Timbuktu. What we are in is a warehouse and yes, I’m bitter about it.

As it turns out, you are not allowed to take pictures during the tour. Seems Jelly Belly is very concerned about stealing their trade secrets. You know, the secret about stacking pallets on rows of shelving and using fork lifts to move them around the warehouse. Or how about the one that Jelly Belly came up with to indicate items that should not be counted in the physical inventory by putting a sticker on the item that says “DO NOT COUNT IN INVENTORY”. Wow, those folks at Jelly Belly are really on the cutting edge of warehouse procedures. If only I could have taken some pictures of these things and sold them to their competitors.

So after about 30 minutes of touring the warehouse, they stop the train and give you a free sample of Jelly Belly’s as they dump you into the……………….COMPANY STORE!

Yes, that’s right, the company store. Stuff isn’t free in the company store. Why look at that, there’s candy, and candy and more candy and stuffed Jelly Belly characters and T-Shirts and little purses with Jelly Belly’s in them. So first they give a tour of a warehouse and then dump me in the company store with three young girls who immediately start giving their daddy those puppy dog eyes that means soon they will be told they can each pick out one or two things to buy. Yes, I’m a chump, but admitting I have a problem is half the battle. Who am I to say no to my little angels (yes even the one who forgot her cell phone).

So after a 30 minute tour of the warehouse and 30 bucks worth of stuffed mascots and candy, we get in the car and make the drive home in the rain.

So learn from my mistakes peeps, avoid the EXPENSIVE tour of the Jelly Belly WAREHOUSE! You'll notice I left out those two words, free and factory.

jflattracker · 08-24-2006

We went to the Jelly Belly factory in California!

We took the tour and got dumped in the store too! The factory was shut down so we got to see everything shut down! It was more fun than going to the wedding we were there for!

PlayadelSoul · 08-24-2006

Doesn't sound to Willy Wonka to me.

pamplemoose77 · 08-24-2006

oh that sucks that you don't get to see the factory! that woulda been cool! i think we toured the Jolly Rancher factory when i was younger... well, maybe we just stopped in the store to buy the reject candy for half off. or maybe we only got to see the warehouse also and that's why i've forgotten

did you see the sport jelly bellies? i think they're marketed mostly to bicyclists and marathoners

jtm1631 · 08-24-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by pamplemoose77

did you see the sport jelly bellies? i think they're marketed mostly to bicyclists and marathoners

I saw them and bought some. Plan to have a pack tomorrow on my 40 mile ride. I usually need something around mile 20 and these will take the place of my usual pick-me up, a packet of Gu.

ryshkus · 08-24-2006

We live about 20 minutes from this same Jelly Belly! I must admit my kids LOVE the train ride. I did find the tour informative in that only jelly bellys are flavored througout vs just the coating. And how long it takes to make a JB.

They have rejects that you can buy for a good price. They also have factory sales a few times a year.

I'm not so much a sucker as you. I don't think we have purchased anything there.

jtm1631 · 08-24-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryshkus

We live about 20 minutes from this same Jelly Belly! I must admit my kids LOVE the train ride. I did find the tour informative in that only jelly bellys are flavored througout vs just the coating. And how long it takes to make a JB.

They have rejects that you can buy for a good price. They also have factory sales a few times a year.

I'm not so much a sucker as you. I don't think we have purchased anything there.

Yeah, the rejects are called Belly Flops.

I was surprised that it takes 6 - 7 days to make a Jelly Belly. I was also surprised that they make something like 10 billion Jelly Bellys a year.

And that's after President Ronald Regan passed away. Imagine how many that was before!

Oh, and my youngest daughter is already asking to go back.

Nerak936 · 08-24-2006

After almost every ride we went on at Islands of Adventure and Universal in Orlando, you have to exit through the souvenir store. What a surprise, huh?!!

I love your style of writing, JT. Makes me feel like I was there, tugging on your pant leg, saying "But I really really NEEEEEEED that pocketbook with the Jelly Bellys!!!! Pleeeeeeeeeeeeez??? Paaaahleeeeeeeeeeeez????"

TAPPY · 08-24-2006

Your (day) trip reports are a hoot to read...I can just see your girls getting all of the loot at the Jelly Belly store !!

I have been on the Tabasco factory tour, it was free to, but it was a lot of fun !

jflattracker · 08-24-2006

Did you pick up any Harry Potter ones? Those are gross! Sarah had to get some for the boy's! Those have snot and ear wax flavors and other assorted flavors!

I refused to try any of those!

**Jesus** · 08-24-2006

Thanks, I was tempted to tour the California one, but now I know better.
I will spend my time and money at REI,

**SunKneeMarie** · 08-24-2006

jtm, this report cracked me up... touring the warehouse... too funny.... apparently you did glean some valuable information re jelly belly production though... you're a good student...

**Mindbender** · 08-24-2006

So they 'take you for a ride' and you have to leave via the gift shop.

Sounds just like Disney.

jtm1631 · 08-25-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jesus

Thanks, I was tempted to tour the California one, but now I know better.
I will spend my time and money at REI,

Ohhh, REI!

I love REI. No doubt a better use of your time Jesus.

**Jesus** · 08-29-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtm1631

Ohhh, REI!

I love REI. No doubt a better use of your time Jesus.

I go crazy at REI, unfortunately those toys are a tad more expensive than Jelly Belly's.

08-24-2006	#1 (permalink)
jtm1631 añejo Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Chicagoland Posts: 2,370	Jelly Belly Tour OK, another day another family adventure. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your personal preference) we forgot our camera for this tour so I will paint a picture with words. We decided to make the 40 minute drive from our house to the Jelly Belly Factory in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. The reason for the drive was to partake in the joy that is the Jelly Belly free factory tours. There are two words in that last sentence that I want you to pay particular attention to and store away for later. FREE and FACTORY. For anybody in the area, let me save you the time and the money right now, DON'T GO! I know what you're thinking, "Save the money, but jtm1631, you just said it was a free tour!". Free tour my a$$. You'll see what I mean soon enough. Let's set the stage for the day shall we. We wake up at 3:30 this morning to the sound of a bad thunderstorm. Our 12 year old is at a friends house spending the night so we are pretty confident we will not see or hear from her. It is, unfortunately, only a matter of time before the 8 and 5 year old join myself, my wife, the dog and the cat in the bed. You see peeps, there is the reason we own a king size bed. I tell myself the reason is so the whole family can fit in the bed together and bond. Reality is that we have a king size bed so that my wife can sleep clear on the other side of the room of me without insisting on separate beds. The full bed means I don't sleep well. The rain means I will not be able to go for my bike ride in the morning. The combination of the two means I will be cranky all day! Rain, wind, thunder lightning. That is what we have for the next 5 hours. The kids are sick of the thunder and the wife and I are sick of the whining about the thunder. I took time off of work for this? Finally around 10:00 we decide to call our daughter. First we call her cell phone. Surprise! The cell phone is in the other room ringing. Seems Hayley forgot her cell phone. Good thing we got it for her so we could get in touch with her when she wasn’t home. Than we call the house she is staying at. No answer. We call the mom’s cell phone of the house she is staying at. No answer. We call her friends cell phone. No answer. At this point do we get pissed or a little bit concerned? We decide on both. We finally get in touch with the mom who is at work, but her husband is home and will be bringing the kids home around 10:30 or 11:00. See this girl used to live a few houses from us but her and her mom moved about 45 minutes away when her mom remarried. So unfortunately, going to pick Hayley up is not an option. Finally around 10:45 we get a call from Hayley that they are just having breakfast and she will be home around 12:00. Fine, let yourself in, we are going to take the little ones bowling. Fast forward to us getting home from Bowling about 1:30 and still no Hayley. Finally around 2:00 on this grey, wet day Hayley comes home. 2 seconds after walking in the door we hear “what are we going to do all afternoon?” Worry not peeps, the first order of the day was berating Hayley for not taking her cell phone. After the discussion of why she has a cell phone my wife says “how about the Jelly Belly tour?” I go online, find the web site, get the tour hours and directions and we are off. A free tour of the Jelly Belly factory (notice those two words again?). We pile in the minivan and drive through the rain to the factory. We park the car and stand in line four about 30 seconds before we board the Jelly Belly train for the tour. The first thing you notice when you board the train is that you are not in a factory. How do we tour the factory when we aren’t in the factory? In fact, this looks just like a warehouse. There is row upon row of palletized boxes of candy all nicely barcoded and ready to be shipped out. The tour as it turns out takes you around the perimeter of the warehouse. Every so often there are TV’s on the wall that show you what actually takes place in the factory. Since we are not actually taking a tour of the factory, we will have to trust that what we saw is actually what takes place in the actually factory. For all we know the factory could be in Timbuktu. What we are in is a warehouse and yes, I’m bitter about it. As it turns out, you are not allowed to take pictures during the tour. Seems Jelly Belly is very concerned about stealing their trade secrets. You know, the secret about stacking pallets on rows of shelving and using fork lifts to move them around the warehouse. Or how about the one that Jelly Belly came up with to indicate items that should not be counted in the physical inventory by putting a sticker on the item that says “DO NOT COUNT IN INVENTORY”. Wow, those folks at Jelly Belly are really on the cutting edge of warehouse procedures. If only I could have taken some pictures of these things and sold them to their competitors. So after about 30 minutes of touring the warehouse, they stop the train and give you a free sample of Jelly Belly’s as they dump you into the……………….COMPANY STORE! Yes, that’s right, the company store. Stuff isn’t free in the company store. Why look at that, there’s candy, and candy and more candy and stuffed Jelly Belly characters and T-Shirts and little purses with Jelly Belly’s in them. So first they give a tour of a warehouse and then dump me in the company store with three young girls who immediately start giving their daddy those puppy dog eyes that means soon they will be told they can each pick out one or two things to buy. Yes, I’m a chump, but admitting I have a problem is half the battle. Who am I to say no to my little angels (yes even the one who forgot her cell phone). So after a 30 minute tour of the warehouse and 30 bucks worth of stuffed mascots and candy, we get in the car and make the drive home in the rain. So learn from my mistakes peeps, avoid the EXPENSIVE tour of the Jelly Belly WAREHOUSE! You'll notice I left out those two words, free and factory. __________________ JT

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08-24-2006	#2 (permalink)
jflattracker añejo Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Loveland,Co Posts: 11,358	We went to the Jelly Belly factory in California! We took the tour and got dumped in the store too! The factory was shut down so we got to see everything shut down! It was more fun than going to the wedding we were there for!

08-24-2006	#3 (permalink)
PlayadelSoul Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Location: We'll know when we get there, We'll find mercy Posts: 8,965	Doesn't sound to Willy Wonka to me.

08-24-2006	#4 (permalink)
pamplemoose77 añejo Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: dallas - kinda, tx Posts: 9,535	oh that sucks that you don't get to see the factory! that woulda been cool! i think we toured the Jolly Rancher factory when i was younger... well, maybe we just stopped in the store to buy the reject candy for half off. or maybe we only got to see the warehouse also and that's why i've forgotten did you see the sport jelly bellies? i think they're marketed mostly to bicyclists and marathoners

08-24-2006	#6 (permalink)
ryshkus beachaholic Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 313	We live about 20 minutes from this same Jelly Belly! I must admit my kids LOVE the train ride. I did find the tour informative in that only jelly bellys are flavored througout vs just the coating. And how long it takes to make a JB. They have rejects that you can buy for a good price. They also have factory sales a few times a year. I'm not so much a sucker as you. I don't think we have purchased anything there.

08-24-2006	#8 (permalink)
Nerak936 =^. " .^= Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 18,511	After almost every ride we went on at Islands of Adventure and Universal in Orlando, you have to exit through the souvenir store. What a surprise, huh?!! I love your style of writing, JT. Makes me feel like I was there, tugging on your pant leg, saying "But I really really NEEEEEEED that pocketbook with the Jelly Bellys!!!! Pleeeeeeeeeeeeez??? Paaaahleeeeeeeeeeeez????"

08-24-2006	#9 (permalink)
TAPPY añejo Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Louisiana Posts: 14,945	Your (day) trip reports are a hoot to read...I can just see your girls getting all of the loot at the Jelly Belly store !! I have been on the Tabasco factory tour, it was free to, but it was a lot of fun !

08-24-2006	#10 (permalink)
jflattracker añejo Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Loveland,Co Posts: 11,358	Did you pick up any Harry Potter ones? Those are gross! Sarah had to get some for the boy's! Those have snot and ear wax flavors and other assorted flavors! I refused to try any of those!

08-24-2006	#11 (permalink)
Jesus Nutty Peep Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Mexico City, Mexico Posts: 4,625	Thanks, I was tempted to tour the California one, but now I know better. I will spend my time and money at REI,

08-24-2006	#12 (permalink)
SunKneeMarie character encapsulator Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Texas Posts: 26,332	jtm, this report cracked me up... touring the warehouse... too funny.... apparently you did glean some valuable information re jelly belly production though... you're a good student...

08-24-2006	#13 (permalink)
Mindbender Moderator Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Playa del Carmen Posts: 3,096	So they 'take you for a ride' and you have to leave via the gift shop. Sounds just like Disney.

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