Gettysburg Heritage Center — Attraction in Gettysburg

My wife and I made the effort to schedule an extended 4 hour battlefield guide with a licensed guide through The Heritage Center weeks in advance of our arrival. What we were hoping to be a great fall weekend getaway was ruined by the fact that the Center had absolutely no backup plan in case of a guide needing to cancel, which is exactly what happened after our tour was set to begin. While we understand that things happen and guides may need to cancel, there should have been procedures in place to find coverage and ensure that customers who prepared and scheduled well in advance for a premium tour experience recieve what they pay paid for. Worst than this, they told us to try finding a guide elsewhere (everywhere else for the weekend was absolutely booked as well) and then proceeded to hang up on us after we called back to inform them that there was nothing available elsewhere and ask for an them to assist us in finding alternative options. After driving back to the center and learning that there would possibly be a replacement who would be able to provide us a tour in the afternoon, we learned that the said tour guide already had another tour and would not be able to take us. I then spent the rest of the day running around the different tour companies trying to find a similar personalized experience to what we were originally hoping to recieve, but to no avail.

We centered our trip around the tour we scheduled through the Heritage Center and are extremely disappointed with what happened. Customers are required to cancel at least 72 hours in advance to recieve a refund, but I guess these same rules do not apply to the Heritage Center -- rules for thee but not for me, I guess. Additionally, a disclaimer on the email notification for the Center mentions that tours take place "rain or shine" and that the tour will only be canceled in the event of a formal closure of the battlefield....

Went back 2 days after our first visit, because our first foray into Gettysburg was slightly limited and we really didn't know our options. Decided to make an effort to see more of the history surrounding the area. The museum has the typical exhibits, photos, scripts of letters and journals, etc. Used 3d glasses for old photos that helped to add some life to them. The one exhibit I almost skipped I'm so glad we didn't. There was a plain, nondescript door that said "The basement". The exhibit was a replica of a basement in the town. We entered a dark hole, not sure what to expect. A recorded monolog started so we sat down on wooden benches to watch. The voices used to portray the events had us scarcely breathing. Just immersing ourselves into it was surreal. Then, during the dialog talking of the fears, concerns, and dread of what was to happen to the civilians hiding, there was a timed sound to dialog that sounded like soldiers were trying to break down the door to search for hiding enemies. It startled us so much, we almost got up and ran. The whole experience left us with a definite empathy for what the people went through for 3+ days in that "hole". Quite the mental involvement. I highly recommend visiting the...

This museum is very unique in that it has a lot of interactive exhibits that are different from most places. There are the typical museum displays but then they have other exhibits.

There are various “mini” theater experiences as you go through with short videos. They also give you 3d glasses when you enter that can be used all throughout the museum to learn more about what is being interpreted.

Then they have a short film that is supplemented with an interactive display throughout the film. Finally, they have an exhibit called The Cellar which is an interactive experience to allow the visitor to see and feel what it might have been like during a battle in the Civil War. It was really fascinating.

That all being said, as far as accessibility goes it is mostly accessible. I need a scooter to get around and there were some areas where it was a bit of a challenge. First, the parking is in the back of the building. It was quite a distance to get to the door and the sidewalk was uneven and broken and my scooter got stuck on it.

Inside the building is mostly open and the gift shop was a good size. I did have trouble in the theater which was difficult to see where I was going.

Overall it was a nice visit with few...