Fantasy of Flight

Here we are one more blog after this and the class is over. It's been a great time and I'm sad to say that atfar this term I will be moving on to a different university, but that another story.

Here is my museum blog.

I went to the Fantasy of Flight museum, just west of Mouse World. I went with little expectation; thinking it would be just another Florida tourist trap. I found that I could not have been more wrong. It took only half a day to see it all, around five hours total, but it was some of the best time spent in a long time. Not to say that there were no short comings with the exhibit, most with the cost of attendance. So I will start with want I felt was bad about Fantasy of Fly because for me it's a short list.

The price of admission was high, as far as I am concerned. Its $28 and some change, but with the coupon, that is available in most tourist stops, it was just over $25. There are hand held devices, but they where large and bulky, with only a limited use. Only a limited narrative is available for a small number of airplanes and it came with an additional cost of $10. This was for me the biggest short coming of the exhibit, and unfortunately this was the start of my visit.

However, my disappointment was not to last. You enter through what Fantasy of Flight calls realistic immersion attraction. Your first experience are is walk through WW I trenches on the Western Front. It is a realistic immersion; you hear the gun fire and smell the dirt. The next stop you climb aboard an authentic B-17 Flying Fortress and feel the tension of a World War II bombing mission. When you move to the cockpit through the bomb bay you need to look down, unless you suffer from vertigo.

Their dramatic art deco facility is home to over 40 rare and vintage aircraft many of which have been restored to flyable condition. They offer a variety of guided tours including visits to their working restoration and maintenance areas. On the flight deck you can climb inside the cockpit of a Corsair fighter for a battle over the Pacific. This is not a flight simulator, but a sit down video game; these were free. There are flight simulators, only these have an additional cost. There are two other simulators in the kid's area (Fun with Flight) a. One was a hot air balloon and the other a hang glider. On their Web site they call them State-of-the-art simulators, I would not go that far, but they were fun.

Fun with Flight, the kids play area was small. Anyone with kids you might keep them amused for about ten minutes. That is short coming number two. Not enough to keep the little guy happy. Fantasy of Flight's target group is likely 12 and up.

I went with my wife, who is not trill with airplanes, she had a great time.