Minute Maid Ballpark Tour

Houston, TX - Minute Maid Park, http://houston.astros.mlb.com/hou/ballpark/index.jsp , is home to the Houston Astros professional baseball team. As a native Houstonian living everyday in one of the biggest cities in the country, I don't go to tourist attractions often. I am busy living an everyday life, raising two boys and trying to make ends meet. Tourist attractions are usually over priced for everyday people.

As a volunteer for my son's Cub Scout Pack, I was in charge of obtaining tickets to an Astros game highlighting a Scout Parade. Since I had to go downtown to pay for the tickets, I decided it was time to do the tourist thing and take the Ballpark Tour. I shelled out $9 for one adult and $5 for each child age 3 - 14. The tour was worth the time, travel and money.

They offer public walk-up tours year round, Mon. - Sat., at 10 am, noon and 2 pm. We were there on a Tuesday to take the Noon Tour. Traditionally, they have 50 to 60 people on this walking tour, but on our day, we were the only ones. They didn't cancel. They didn't bump us to 2 pm. They gave us a private tour of the park. For me and my two boys, it was awesome.

Tamara, our tour guide, was a wealth of information about the ballpark, the Astros and baseball history. She even had a few tidbits of information about the history of the railroad. The ball field was added to Union Station which has a long history dating back to the 1800's. The Astros have made an effort to preserve some of the history and have reconstructed Union Station to its original glory.

The tour is a walking tour so be prepared. It took about an hour and 10 minutes, but it did not seem long. We saw the stadium from several points of view where Tamara stopped and gave us tidbits of interesting information. We stood in the upper deck, in box seats, in the VIP lounge, the broadcasters booth and then the best part for us, on the ball field, in the dug outs and in the pitching cages. The 10 year old loved it all. The 5 year old enjoyed the pigeons and running on the field. But don't touch the grass. It was a game day so the grass was off limits. Apparently you have to have a college degree to maintain that grass, and we just weren't qualified.

We recommend the Minute Maid Ballpark Tour.

Trip Stats:

• Who: Mama, one 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy
• What: Minute Maid Park, http://houston.astros.mlb.com/hou/ballpark/index.jsp
• When: Tuesday, Noon Tour
• Where: Downtown Houston
• Why: Indoor/Outdoor Education
• Cost: $9.00 per adult and $5 per child age 3 - 14.
• Parking: When it is not game day, you can park in the Diamond Lot for free (corner of Texas Avenue and Hamilton Street, connected to the ball park). The streets around the ballpark have meters so read the signs carefully. There are also a number of surface parking lots which can get pricey.
• Notes: Purchase tickets in the Team Store in Union Station. There are restrooms in Union Station. There is no time for potty breaks on the tour. If the roof is open, the tour moves inside and outside so it will be hot in the summer months. There are no vending machines or snack shacks open for tours. I had a cooler in the car with snacks and drinks which worked out well to give the kids a snack before going in and a healthy drink when we came out.