About USS Midway Museum
The USS Midway Museum is San Diego's #1 visitor attraction, this real naval aircraft carrier offers a once in a lifetime opportunity for everyone. Guests of all ages can enjoy a self-guided audio tour featuring 60 exhibits highlighting this "city at sea" and 29 restored aircraft. Explore galleys, officer's country and sleeping quarters of a 69,000 ton ship, naturally located in Navy Town USA, a visit to the Midway is uniquely San Diego!
Services
Flight Deck Exhibits Hangar Deck Exhibits Below Deck Exhibits Interactive Exhibits Aircraft Gallery Docent VIP Tours Self-Guided Audio Tours Guided Island Tours Battle Of Midway Immersive Theater Catapult & Trap Talks Flight Simulators Virtual Reality Flight Experience Onboard Activities Junior Pilot Program Overnight Adventure Little Skippers Activities School & Youth Programs Private Events Special Events Café 41 Jet Shop Museum Admission & TicketsReviews
Largest museum aircraft carrier in the world, the USS Midway, first of its class and the only one not to be scrapped is well worth the visit. The sheer size catches one by surprise. Plan for a few hours to cover the ship from stem to stern. An audio guide is provided with the tickets, the adult entry being $41/-, a tad expensive, but then worth the cost of maintaining this historic museum ship. The hangar deck is a bit sparse of aircraft and ordnance, so it is a bit disappointing as the space could have been better utilized, especially with regards to WWII exhibits, even though the carrier was commissioned just after that war. It has WWII naval aircraft aboard, but with a few notable exceptions. One of the shortcomings was the lack of information about the service history of individual aircraft. This is amply made up for by the lineup of aircraft on the flight deck that includes the iconic Panther, Corsair II, Crusader, Vigilante, Phantom II, Intruder and Tomcat. A few helicopters are spotted on the port side. One can climb into the cockpit of nose sections around the flight deck. The visit on the day had to compete with a dining event that took up the middle of the flight deck, so some aircraft were cordoned off, and there was no notification at the entrance. A couple of aircraft were open to walk through. There are screenings of the ship's catapult in action, with detailed explanations by the volunteer veterans, who are a joy to talk to and quite a source of information. They are wonderful hosts. A reasonably stocked gift shop is on the hangar deck. The ship closes at 1700h.