Emily M.
Yelp
We took the one hour cave tour. The tour was a great introduction to different owners and lives of the caves, plus stories and information from within them. Our tour guide, Blake, was excellent. He knew his material and the script was well done - so that the tour didn't feel scripted. After a small taste of his character (Parker) for the more role play events, we were pleasantly surprised that it felt genuine. I could see the in-character themed evenings being a blast, and not a cheesy one! (Coming from NYC theatre scene and working in live entertainment myself, that was a concern going in that I am pleased to say was assuaged!)
We learned interesting facts about the time period and the city. The hour went by very quickly as we spent the perfect amount of time in all the different rooms and caves. The story about Dillinger and the story/theory of the fireplace were highlights for us.
Wish we were in town for a swing night (Thursdays) - would LOVE to dress up and swing to a live band in such a historically relevant spot!!! Also, before we chose this tour, we thought about doing the 2 hour bus tour of the city. It just seemed too long and too pricy. However, after taking this tour with Blake, we agreed that while it is expensive, the mob history in St. Paul is clearly substantial enough to fill two hours! If we're back in the city, we'll be back for that!
My two suggestions are that I'd like more history in the tour (more on the mobsters in particular). It makes sense if the owners don't have access to that information, but if they do, they should imbibe the tour with more stories and tidbits on the individual mobsters that patronized the caves. That would be fascinating. Also, there should definitely be a gift shop.