If drinking beer, bowling and eating custard sounds like the quintessential way to explore Brew City, Badger Bus Tours has the experience for you.
"Laverne & Shirley's Milwaukee" is a half-day tour based on the popular sitcom from the '70s and '80s featuring beloved goofballs and BFFs, Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney. The tour is led by Kris Hoff as Laverne and Donna Wilke as Shirley.
"Once we're in character, you can't get us out of character," says Hoff. "The more people we interact with, the more we get into it and the more fun the tour becomes."
The tour, which departs from a variety of different locations in Milwaukee and Madison, makes it first stop at Lakefront Brewery for a tour (Laverne and Shirley worked in the fabled Milwaukee brewery, Shotz Brewery). Beer, hot pretzels, and a "Schlemeil, Schlimazel, Hasenpfeffer Incorporated" sing-a-long are included.
The tour bus also stops to visit the Bronze Fonz (natch), drives by City Hall (which is in the opening credits of the TV show) and then stops at Koz's Mini Bowl for a mini bowling competition and a Pepsi-and-milk sampling. (Pepsi and milk is Laverne's favorite beverage.)
"It sounds disgusting, but it's actually delicious, like a watered-down milkshake," says Hoff.
The final leg of the tour includes a visit to Leon's Custard for a frozen treat. All participants receive little prizes along the way, including miniature Boo-Boo Kitty stuffed animals, Shirley's most prized possession in the show.
"By the end of the tour, everyone says it was the most fun they've had on a tour," says Hoff. "Life is so serious and people really want something humorous."
Badger Bus Tours gives more than 2,000 themed tours a year. Upcoming "Laverne and Shirley's Milwaukee" tours take place March 8, July 11 and July 18. The cost is $69 per person. Go here for more information.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
