No.10 - Nuttal & Mann's Saloon No. 10
Deadwood, South Dakota
At No. 10, for its numerical namesake, this place is actually interesting. Legendary gun fighter and quasi law man, Wild Bill Hickok was shot in the back in 1872 at Nuttal & Mann's Saloon No. 10. So, obviously this saloon is steeped in lore. Well, except the actual saloon burned down quite some time ago and was in an entirely different location. The Saloon No. 10 you can visit today is just a tourist trap. Although it is the only museum that is also a bar, so it's got that going for it. Plenty of reenactments, stylized artifacts and specialty cocktails make this place worth visiting, but let's be honest: It's a tourist trap through and through.
No.9 - Cheers
Boston, Massachusetts
Many a modern tourist trap has been born of America's nearly insatiable appetite for living vicariously through characters on the small screen. Cheers has to be counted among those tourist traps. Originally called the Bull & Finch Pub, it became famous when the show Cheers used it's now iconic Cheers sign to set the exterior for the fictional bar. The inside of the bar looked nothing like the familiar Cheers, which apparently proved something of a problem since in August 2001, a second location opened in Faneuil Hall; it was built as a replica so local drinkers could hide out from their wives and local postmen could hold trivia classes.
No.8 - Pea Soup Andersen's
Buelton, California
Anyone who has ever taken a drive along California's historic 101 freeway from San Francisco to Los Angeles is at least subconsciously aware that somewhere in that great expanse lies a restaurant serving pea soup. The billboards announcing how far the motorist is away are more ubiquitous than call boxes. It even showed up in the recent movie Sideways, a silent enunciation to anyone who has taken that drive. So, it's no surprise then that this tourist trap serves your bowl of tasty pea soup with a heavy helping of historic gift-shop opportunism. It's easily the most famous tourist trap on the 101.
No.7 - EPCOT
Orlando, Florida
Walt Disney was a dreamer. When he first imagined his Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, or EPCOT, it was to revolutionize the way human beings lived, commuted and interacted with one another. Unfortunately he died, and to a large degree, the innovation died with him. Luckily for the rest of us, the board at Disney "re-imagineered" the concept into a giant tourist trap. They scaled back the ambition, downsized the utility and really went out on a limb to transform Walt's original dream into a money-making theme park. Way to go guys.
No.6 - The Thing?
Tuscon, Arizona
Many roadside tourist traps advertise by billboard almost exclusively. The Thing? is no different, driving motorists mad by demanding they answer the question of exactly what the "Mystery of the Desert" really is. Clearly, we're not going to spoil it for you, but rest assured, you will be disappointed. Luckily, your $1 fee won't be entirely wasted. There are certain other "exhibits" to stretch the value of a dollar, including a shed filled with wood carvings, some painted driftwood and a Rolls Royce that may have been owned by Adolf Hitler. Right...
No.5 - Space Needle
Seattle, Washington
Seattle hasn't yet come up with a reason to bring people there on vacation. It's cold, it's wet, it's dreary, and it's the setting for Fraiser. That's about it. Puget Sound is beautiful, as are the Cascades and Seattle is a world class city. So, why then, did they decide they needed some tourist traps? The Space Needle is a fine example of such trickery. Built to lure tourists to the 1962 World's Fair, the Space Needle is a gigantic piece of architecture that you ride all the way up to the top just to say: "Was that it?" If you happen to catch the view on one of Seattle's nine days when it isn't completely overcast in a given year, the view is probably pretty good. Problem is, so few have ever seen it, accounts are spotty at best. Money well wasted.
No.4 - Cable Cars
San Francisco, California
Ding ding: Those damned cable cars are synonymous with San Francisco and so famous that they constantly garner a line. Forget the fact that they stopped being a practical form of transportation up and down California streets almost immediately after their inception. For some reason this landmark grew legs and became so popular that charging $15 to ride an antiquated form of transportation became acceptable. It'd be like paying for admission to Disneyland and only riding the People Mover. How much sense does that make?
No.3 - Wall Drug
Wall, South Dakota
Capitalizing on a recently completed landmark in Mount Rushmore, Ted Husted purchased the small town drugstore in 1931, and started the ball rolling to gaudy tourist trap history. Wall Drug features restaurants, gift shops, a drugstore, and, naturally, an 80-foot dinosaur. What drugstore is complete without a giant dinosaur? Through shameless self promotion and free ice water, Wall Drug has propelled its glorified shopping mall into the tourist trap stratosphere.
No.2 - Grand Canyon Skywalk
Grand Canyon West, Arizona
The indigenous peoples in the United States have historically gotten a bum deal. Some tribes in California decided to build themselves some casinos, and they're gangbusters, but what about when you're only 120 miles from Vegas? Well, in that case you're going to roll your dice and build yourself a $31 million tourist trap. Take the natural beauty of the Grand Canyon, combine it with an unpaved, 11-mile detour off the main highway, add just a hint of danger, and you've got the Grand Canyon Skywalk. The Skywalk is a horseshoe shaped glass walkway that extends out into the canyon so visitors can look straight down. Be sure to marvel at the view because when you come back from the edge you're going to have that drive to look forward to.
No.1 - Mystery Spot
Santa Cruz, California
The Mystery Spot is famous among tourist traps, and was parodied in several television shows. It's practically a pop culture phenomenon. With a peculiar hippie air about it, the Mystery Spot purports to be a place on the planet where the underlying unifying bonds that hold the universe together don't exist. That's right: The laws of physics don't work at the Mystery Spot. Their website speculates that this has to do with aliens and their spacecraft that is buried below the spot. Clearly, when aliens visit, they come to Santa Cruz. Hippies.
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