Now we have all ordered one thing from Amazon at one level. Two-day (or in a single day) Prime delivery has saved us as dad and mom a number of occasions when our children uncared for to inform us what they wanted for varsity till the night time earlier than. However have you ever ever questioned how Amazon can get our stuff to us so quick? Nicely, tour one of many Amazon success facilities to search out out for your self! Amazon affords in-person excursions of its services throughout 19 completely different states, and three of them are positioned in Texas — Grapevine, Houston, and San Marcos! That’s proper. A brief one-hour drive north, you may go to one of many Amazon warehouses to see the various kinds of robots at work, and find out how they make the success course of extra environment friendly. Oh, and did I point out — the tour is totally FREE?
Make Your Reservation First
Amazon excursions are open to the general public, however advance reservation is required. No walk-ins can be accepted. Excursions are sometimes accessible twice each day from Tuesday to Friday, and new tour availability is launched mid-month. Every tour accommodates as much as 25 individuals and can be guided by an precise Amazon worker. You will need to notice that kids should be six years of age or older to attend the tour. It’s a strolling tour, and guests could not carry younger kids on the tour. Meaning you gotta stroll by yourself, youngsters!
E-book a tour on the San Marcos Amazon Success Middle right here:
What to Carry
When you’ve booked your tour, there are a few issues to recollect earlier than heading out:
Put on flat, closed-toed, and closed-heel sneakers. This implies no sandals or excessive heels. And if you’re carrying Crocs-like sneakers, they should be put in sports activities mode with the backstrap on. That is necessary as they WILL NOT allow you to take the tour except you may have the correct sneakers on.
Solely clear bottles are allowed in the course of the tour, which can be necessary if you happen to’re taking youngsters and their water bottles. Others can be saved of their safety closet earlier than the tour. You will need to notice that there are water stations all through the tour, you might request to cease for a fast sip if wanted.
Keep in mind your photograph IDs. You want them to move safety and get your badges.
Telephones are allowed in the course of the tour, however images is prohibited except you’re on the designated photograph spots.
Schedule? Language? Accessibility
You will need to arrive quarter-hour earlier than your scheduled tour time. It will give the tour information time to examine attendance, hand out the badges, and guarantee everybody has the correct apparel. Every tour is roughly 60-90 minutes lengthy. This generally is a little prolonged for some youthful kids, so we wouldn’t need to delay the beginning time as a result of late friends.
This can be a strolling tour, and you’ll climb a number of stairs. If you happen to want accessibility lodging, contact the Amazon Excursions Assist Middle earlier than registration. Excursions are in English, however signal language assist is on the market with at the very least two weeks’ superior discover.
What’s going to I see in the course of the tour?
On the San Marcos success middle, you will notice how merchandise in our buying cart get from Amazon to you. You will note how Amazon types/shops the stock, what occurs after a buyer pushes the “buy” button, and the way an merchandise will get packed, labeled, and sorted to its vacation spot. After getting previous the safety check-in, your tour will begin with a short presentation about completely different levels of the Amazon success course of and a few security reminders for the tour. Throughout this presentation, additionally, you will obtain headphones and audio system to guard your ears AND channel your questions on to the group. After the presentation, the remainder of the tour flows like a daily order course of. It’ll begin with the stock part — see how robots assist staff type, arrange, and course of orders. Then, onto the packaging, weighing, and labeling of the containers. Your tour will conclude on the stage the place the sealed & labeled containers get put into the supply truck and are able to be delivered to their vacation spot!
Earlier than our tour, I imagined an entire warehouse being operated by robots solely — it’s really a captivating symphony of individuals and expertise working collectively to ensure they will ship orders rapidly and effectively. Additionally, you will study a few of the security and high quality measurements they put in place and discuss to precise workers who work there.
Is that this Appropriate for Children?
Completely, so long as they’re at the very least 6 years outdated. Our tour ended up being barely longer than anticipated, particularly since we had a delayed begin. However with some strolling breaks, my seven-year-old nonetheless loved a lot of the tour. My youngsters loved seeing the robots work and the way the conveyor belt can filter out the “unhealthy” objects.
This was a enjoyable and completely different expertise for my youngsters. If you need one thing completely different to do as a household, attempt it and study one thing new! The very best half is that it’s fully free and indoors: good for the recent days we nonetheless get to “get pleasure from” this 12 months. And while you’re in San Marcos, you may as well try another actions within the space. Take a look at Kathy’s journey to the Meadows Middle and her expertise with the glass-bottom boat journey. The Youngsters’s Park additionally has a fantastic playground to shake out the children’ wiggles.
