Today my friend, Rosemary, and I went to Orlando to Titanic, the Experience. It is a 17 room exhibit of more than 400 memorabilia and 100 artifacts recovered from the wreckage of the Titanic. You have the option of walking through the exhibits on your own or as part of a tour with storytellers in period costume. When you enter you are given a boarding card with the name and information about one of the passengers. Towards the end of the tour you enter a room with very large wall panels, one for first class, one for 2nd class and the third for steerage, each listing every passenger’s name. The names in bold lettering are those who survived. The tour includes full scale room re-creations that include the grand staircase, a first class parlor suite, the boilers, and the promenade deck. As you enter the area depicting the deck there is a dramatic change in temperature. It is not difficult to imagine you are actually on the ship. There is a replica of an ice berg with a sign instructing you to touch it. It was as cold as the water would have been that night when so many wound up there and was extremely cold. There is so much more so if you have not been there I recommend it, especially if you like museums, history, and/or the movie.
We followed the Titanic tour with lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. It was a perfect day with my friend. Bye the way, the passenger listed on my boarding card survived. Rosemary’s did not.
That’s all for tonight …. I pulled out my old VCR tape and am re-watching The Titanic and they have just hit the iceberg.
