USS Midway Museum -San Diego
FamilyIgloo ratings:

Age Range: 6 and up
Fun for kids 3/5
Educational Value 5/5
Price to Quality Ratio 4/5
Stroller Friendliness: 3/5
Safety : 4/5
Parking: 5/5

FamilyIgloo trip to the USS Midway turned to be an unforgettable adventure. It is America’s longest-serving aircraft carrier. Visitors to the USS Midway Museum enter the floating home of 225,000 Midway sailors who served the United States Navy. Here is a sponsored video by the USS Midway museum:


FamilyIgloo Review:
Parking your car in the San Diego downtown can be tricky; the Museum, however, has it own parking space. You can also park your car next to the San Diego information center. We parked at the meter for 3 hours.

The coupons that you may find on the internet can only be redeemed at the USS Midway ticket booth. The adult price of the ticket is around 18$. The kids tickets is around 10$. The entrance stairs leads you to the storage/maintenance deck . It is located directly below the flying deck.

You are given an audio package at the entrance. It is a small blue voice box that feeds you limited information through the headset for each exhibit number. The information is very specific but limited. It is then followed by personal testimonies of the servicemen who served on the aircraft carrier or on similar airplanes and helicopters.

The first level contain several exhibits including
1- World War 2 airplanes
2- Photos exhibit of old aircraft carriers
3- The most common airplane used to train pilots: The SNJ Texan.
4- Flight Simulators . The flight simulator is not free. Entrance fee ...
5- Dismantled Cockpits that you can personally experience.
6- Seat Ejectors
7-The USS Midway gift shop

After visiting level 1 , you can take the stairs or the elevator and move up to the flying deck. The flying deck is surrounded by wired fence; hence it very safe for kids to walk around without any fear of fall or injury. The flying deck has several airplanes and helicopters that have been placed out of service. It is amazing to touch history and experience the might of the US navy. The 26 aircrafts and helicopters include the following:
1-SH2 Seasprite helicopter: It is is a ship-based helicopter with anti-submarine, anti-surface threat capability, including over-the-horizon targeting.
2- UH1 Helicopter: The first combat operation of the UH-1 was in the service of the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. The original designation of HU-1 led to the helicopter's nickname of Huey.
3- HH 46 Sea Knight helicopterHH-46 Sea Knight: It is a medium-lift tandem rotor transport helicopter, used by the United States Marine Corps (USMC) to provide all-weather, day-or-night assault transport of combat troops, supplies and equipment.
4- F8 Crusader: The modified F-8 (RF8) played a crucial role in the Cuban Missile Crisis, providing essential low-level photographs impossible to acquire by other means
5- CA1 Trader:Through out the 1960s and 1970s the C-1 Trader carried mail and supplies to aircraft carriers on station in the Pacific Ocean during the Vietnam War and also served as a trainer for all weather carrier operations.
6- F9F panther:The Grumman F9F Panther was the manufacturer's first jet fighter and one of the U.S. Navy's first successful carrier-based jet fighters.
7- F14 Tomcat:The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, variable-sweep wing aircraft. The F-14 was the United States Navy's primary maritime air superiority fighter, fleet defense interceptor and tactical reconnaissance platform from 1974 to 2006.
8- E2 Hawkeye :The E-2 Hawkeye is an American all-weather, aircraft carrier-capable tactical Airborne Early Warning (AEW) aircraft.
9- A6 Intruder: In service between 1963 and 1997, the Intruder was designed as an all-weather replacement for the piston-engined A-1 Skyraider medium attack aircraft.
10- F/A 18 Hornet: The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18 Hornet is a supersonic, all-weather carrier-capable multirole fighter jet, designed to attack both ground and aerial targets. The F/A-18 was derived from the YF-17 in the 1970s for use by the United States Navy and Marine Corps.
11- EKA 3 Warrior:The Douglas A-3 Skywarrior was a strategic bomber built for the United States Navy and among the longest serving carrier-based jet aircraft.

When done enjoying the airplanes, you can visit the bridge unless you are claustrophobic. It is a very tight space that goes up and up. If you suffer from claustrophobia, physical disability or heart disease, this is not the space to be in. It is however very interesting. People are divided into groups of 10 and are taken up the stairs to the flying control/air traffic control room and then to the command/engineering room.

The USS Midway has 3 levels below the flying deck. You are welcomed to visit level (-2) and witness how the serviceman lived aboard the USS Midway. You will visit sick bay, the barber shop, the cafeteria, and other rooms. These level is however beyond strollers reach while level -1 and the flying deck are accessible through specially built elevators for the babies in strollers and the physically challenged persons in wheelchairs.




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It was really an unforgettable visit. We encourage you to visit and post your comments and reviews.