Titanic The Experience; Orlando Travel Exhibition

Where is the only place in Florida where you can feel the chill of cold Atlantic air? At Titanic The Experience located on International Drive in Orlando. Not only do you get to relive how the night air felt, but you get to touch (and possibly stick to) an actual iceberg! For those who have never experienced a Chicago winter, evidently that is really exciting.

All kidding aside, the exhibit was actually a lot of fun and the tickets were affordable for a Central Florida attraction. As you enter, you are made to feel like a passenger boarding the Titanic. There are newspaper articles and posters from the maiden voyage, as well as tickets and examples of clothing that would have been worn by the different classes of people. As you walk on to the ship through the “passageway,” you travel room-to-room as though you are roaming the vessel.

Some of the more memorable areas have been recreated in exquisite detail, like a First Class stateroom. Quick Stephanie fact: I had a relative that was a carpenter and worked on the woodwork in the First Class staterooms as well as the infamous Grand Staircase. He was given tickets for he and his family to ride on the maiden voyage, in steerage, and decided to turn it down. For me, looking at the woodwork always makes me wonder what work was done by my family member. Somehow, it makes the simple details slightly more meaningful.

Titanic The Experience has even recreated the Grand Staircase for viewing. It is noticeably missing one thing though; a certain Leonardo DiCaprio waiting on the landing. I even peeked behind corners, no Leo. That was perhaps the only downside of the exhibit.

After searching around corners for “Jack,” who clearly said to meet him at the clock (and is evidently running late), you continue your adventure and get a glimpse of the boiler rooms, the bridge, and the deck where the temperature is set to recreate the cold night air you would have experienced had you been on the actual ship. Brace yourself Floridians, you can see your breath! (Don’t worry, everyone makes it).

After exiting the space with an iceberg like chunk of ice in it, you are in the final area of the exhibit with various Titanic artifacts. As I was part of the Leo & Kate “Titanic” movie era, I am partial to the memorabilia that the exhibit has on display, including a signed script, Kate’s hair clip and note that was left in the safe, and Leo’s costume worn when he boarded the ship.

Overall, Titanic The Experience is a nice change from the theme park attractions in Central Florida. It’s entertaining, educational, and inexpensive. You can choose a guided tour with actors or a self-tour in which you may or may not be able to reenact scenes from the movies on your own (I really hope there weren’t cameras in that room). I highly recommend visiting if you are in the area.

Still waiting for Jack,

Stephanie