By: Bridget Gross
Discover something you might not know…about a local place or face you might just love!
Colorful Character: Fantasy Carriage Company, Inc. (The White Carriages)
Location: Frankenmuth, in front of Zehnders Restaurant 989-777-4757 or 989-245-1891, https://www.facebook.com/FantasyCarriageCompany/timeline
If you’ve ever traveled to Frankenmuth, you’ve quite likely seen the Fantasy Carriage Company, Inc. or the ‘White Carriages’ as townsfolk refer to them. Established in 1992, the company has been helping to bring fantasy carriage rides to life offering 15 or 30-minute rides for up to six guests. Carriage rides are available Saturdays and Sundays in the winter months, and seven days a week in the spring and summer months. Fantasy Carriage Company Inc. does take ‘walk ups’ for rides but reservations are always preferred, especially during the busy summer season.
Tasty Tidbits – Did You Know…?
- Talk of the Town
During the spring, summer and fall months, the carriage rides are narrated while on a tour of the city. Drivers are very knowledgeable about Frankenmuth, and are able to give fun facts about different locations. For example, did you know that Zehnder’s restaurant has nine dining rooms with a total seating capacity of 1,500 guests? Or that, Bronner’s electrical bill averages $900 dollars a day, and all the lights sold in a year would stretch 530 miles! During the winter months, the sides of the carriage are on. There isn’t narration of the tour, but there is holiday music that is played for the guests’ enjoyment.
- Pampered Horses
The company has anywhere between 13-17 Percheron horses that rotate through different shifts. Each horse works, on average, three days a week, and there are two shifts of horses in the busier months. The horses are each bathed and pampered in a heated barn before they start work. It’s about a 90-minute process with ‘spa like’ treatment and they even get their hooves painted!
- As You Wish
The Fantasy Carriage Company Inc. loves helping out their customers. They have packages available for wedding proposals, including special horseshoes with ‘Will you marry me?’ written on them. They work with budgets for birthday parties as well as other special occasions. The carriage, horses and staff are all part of the celebration, and are decorated to match.
“The ambiance of Frankenmuth,” says Sandy Bailer, owner of Fantasy Carriage Company, Inc., “is like stepping back in time. You get the feel of being a prince/princess with our company, and we take great pride in that.”
