BuzzsMom
07-09-2003, 11:52 AM
I just thought I would put in a post here in case anyone is interested in this exhibit. My DS is a Titanic fanatic, he loves everything to do with it, so when we knew we were going to Orlando we knew that it was something that we had to do for him.
It is located in the Mercado on International Drive. It cost us $42.00, but our DD got in free because she was 5 (her birthday was 4 days later!). It was a walking tour of the exhibit. You are given a ticket that has your "name" on it; my DS was Master Panula and DH was Mr. Panula, I don't remember who the rest of us were!
Your name is announced by your guide when you enter. The tour starts at the ship yard where they are building the ship and then you move into the boarding area. It really is incredible. We boarded through the 3rd class passengers entrance. They then leave you alone to walk among all the artifacts and when you are ready you head towards the grand staircase.
The staircase was an exact replica of the actual one. It is truly magnificent, the dome was gorgeous and the chandalier was stunning.
You then tour through other areas of the ship, ending at the wheelhouse, where DS was asked to be the captain and stand at the wheel and turn the wheel when he told him to. That was an amazing moment for DS!! Also in this area there was a wall of ice. Our guide asked us to see how long you could keep your hand on the ice. He then told us that the temperature of the ice is 32 degrees, which is 4 degrees warmer than the water the passengers were submerged in. It was really incredible and so moving. You next went out onto the deck and it was frigid out there. He told us some more stories about people from the Titanic, and there weren't many dry eyes at all!
When the tour was finished they brought you into another room that had every passengers name that was on the titanic engraved into the wall. You were then supposed to find your name from your ticket and see if you survived or not. The names that were in solid lettering survived and the names that were hollow in the middle didn't survive. Of the four of us I was the only one to survive. I was first class and the others were 3rd class.
When I think of a lot of the atractions in Florida, they always seem to be over the top, and somewhat in your face. This exhibit was understated and actually quite elegant. It was moving and did justice to this great tragedy without exploiting it at all. The fact that we had an incredible guide may have made a difference to this as well. What I liked about it also was that once the tour was through (Which took about one hour) you were invited to go back and walk through it all again and take as much time as you want. There was no rush to get your money and get you out.
It's not something that you would probably do again and again, but for us, as long as our son is so fanatical about it, we probably would do it again and would enjoy it each time!
Susan
It is located in the Mercado on International Drive. It cost us $42.00, but our DD got in free because she was 5 (her birthday was 4 days later!). It was a walking tour of the exhibit. You are given a ticket that has your "name" on it; my DS was Master Panula and DH was Mr. Panula, I don't remember who the rest of us were!
Your name is announced by your guide when you enter. The tour starts at the ship yard where they are building the ship and then you move into the boarding area. It really is incredible. We boarded through the 3rd class passengers entrance. They then leave you alone to walk among all the artifacts and when you are ready you head towards the grand staircase.
The staircase was an exact replica of the actual one. It is truly magnificent, the dome was gorgeous and the chandalier was stunning.
You then tour through other areas of the ship, ending at the wheelhouse, where DS was asked to be the captain and stand at the wheel and turn the wheel when he told him to. That was an amazing moment for DS!! Also in this area there was a wall of ice. Our guide asked us to see how long you could keep your hand on the ice. He then told us that the temperature of the ice is 32 degrees, which is 4 degrees warmer than the water the passengers were submerged in. It was really incredible and so moving. You next went out onto the deck and it was frigid out there. He told us some more stories about people from the Titanic, and there weren't many dry eyes at all!
When the tour was finished they brought you into another room that had every passengers name that was on the titanic engraved into the wall. You were then supposed to find your name from your ticket and see if you survived or not. The names that were in solid lettering survived and the names that were hollow in the middle didn't survive. Of the four of us I was the only one to survive. I was first class and the others were 3rd class.
When I think of a lot of the atractions in Florida, they always seem to be over the top, and somewhat in your face. This exhibit was understated and actually quite elegant. It was moving and did justice to this great tragedy without exploiting it at all. The fact that we had an incredible guide may have made a difference to this as well. What I liked about it also was that once the tour was through (Which took about one hour) you were invited to go back and walk through it all again and take as much time as you want. There was no rush to get your money and get you out.
It's not something that you would probably do again and again, but for us, as long as our son is so fanatical about it, we probably would do it again and would enjoy it each time!
Susan