Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Segway tour adds comedy routine
Celebrity voices bring character to journey
Riders of the Segway Fort Lauderdale tour around the downtown area get to hear some, ahem, familiar voices along the way.
As they zoom about on their twowheeled motorized personal vehicles, the tour guide fills in details about different stops along the route but his narration keeps getting interrupted.
“We’re outside the biggest building right here in Broward County. It’s called the Las Olas River House. It’s 42 stories tall and it’s the tallest condominium building between Fort Lauderdale and Atlanta, Ga.,” guide Jonathan Rosen says from his Segway.
“Excuse me, excuse me, it’s the biggest. It’s the best. Believe me. I know about big, and I know about the best, OK ... ” says a voice that sounds a lot like Donald Trump.
Pulling up to Rio Vista, Rosen starts: “This neighborhood is very historical. It’s part of the homes that have been here since the 1920s … You also have brand-new homes that are just being built, such as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins’ … Because of that … we had to hire our own neighborhood celebrity watchman.”
That’s when a Liam Neeson-like voice, sounding like his character from the “Taken” movies, intones: “If you’re thinking of coming into my
neighborhood and looking to steal and possibly do other harm, I have a certain set of skills — skills I have acquired over a long career.”
The celebrity voices are part of a new feature, a “comedy upgrade” to these city tours, says Rosen, who is also the owner of Segway Fort Lauderdale.
As he leads tours, he cues the speaker to play the voices at designated stops, including Huizenga Park, Stranahan House, Smoker Family Park and Rio Vista.
Rosen hired Los Angelesbased impressionist Carl Spitale to do voices for personalities such as former Miami Heat player Shaquille O’Neal and actor/ writer Seth MacFarlane.
“It really makes the experience that much more special,” says Rosen, 26, of Wilton Manors.
Rosen launched the company in 2012 in Deerfield Beach before moving to Hollywood and then Fort Lauderdale. His 5-mile tours last one hour and the 10-mile tours are two hours. They start and end at the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society, 219 SW Second Ave. Tours start at $59.
Riders first get training in how to navigate the motionsensitive Segways for about 20 minutes, then it’s off on the route.
On a recent weekday morning tour, rider Adam Sanchez, of Miramar, marveled at the views.
“I’ve never seen Fort Lauderdale this way,” he said, as yachts glided by along the river. “Those little side streets where all the cool restaurants are, I had never seen any of those places.”
“The comedy is pretty funny, too,” he said.
As soon as the tour got underway, the group was scolded.
“Make sure you do your best not to crash yourself into the river,” a Morgan Freeman-like voice warned.
Everyone laughed ... and it was on to the next stop and impression.