USS Midway Museum

A huge and very interesting place to spend the whole day. Plan a whole day and capacity to walk for 10-4 (easily 10k steps) if you want to cover the whole ship. An ideal place to understand engineering, logistics of a battleship and history of the American Navy since WW-ll. One can access the actual chambers where soldiers and officers used to stay in their day-to-day life on the battleship. The deck is full of war planes and they have self guided as well as real guided tours available. Please be respectful with the veterans and volunteers who invest their time and energy to educate normal people like us. They are incredible. The entry fee is $25 per person and parking is available for a fee. Look for a sunny day as lot of things to cover on the deck.

Wow!! Where to begin. I’ve been here multiple times over 14 years and it never gets old. This is an amazing piece of Naval history and they’ve done such a great job preserving it. You can take guided tours, audio tours or just self tour the ship. The best part is the flight line with all of the Naval jets and helicopters from the past 70 years. They have cockpits you can sit in, full motion flight simulators, extremely knowledgeable docents stationed around the ship to give insight into everything from how a catapult launches a jet from 0-190 mph in 2.5 seconds to how does the radar work. They have a great staff of volunteers and the ship is immaculate. Treat yourself to a great afternoon aboard the United States longest serving aircraft carrier.

If you like US history and military history, this is a great place to go. When you're on the ship and take in the pure power that an aircraft carrier has, it makes you appreciate the sacrifice and hard work our military service men and women endure more than ever. We did the flight simulator, which is a very cool experience. We caught our bogey and shot him down! Lots of fun.

This is a classic piece of history and an epic physical walking tour. Plan for 2 hours or more if you are really into it. Do the “sounds of midway” movie at the entrance. It’s worth it. Get the “headphones” which narrate the areas you are looking at, as you walk around. The “flight simulators” are way cool! Great gift shop and small snack bar. You won’t believe how big this vessel is until you walk the top desk. Overall, a must do if you get to the Harbor area of San Diego ! VictorB

Loved it!!! It was great to see a piece of navy history. Self guided tours throughout the ship using little audio devices at different locations. Lots of aircraft that were used on the ship. The "yellow hats" were great to talk with. Wonderful experience!!

Oh my God.....this was in my opinion a "life changing" visit! First off it's affordable! We could have spent ALL DAY there as there is SO MUCH to see and do! For the price of admission it's a real value.... Second ...the "inside" view of an aircraft carrier is almost beyond words! I don't have the time and space to describe it all! Third....this will be a memory I will take to my grave! We attended with my Mother and Father....and my Father was in the Navy on an older class carrier so to hear his stories....all connected when we were there ...truly amazing..... And last....the crew working on the ship.... most all are vets and served on a carrier....they were super nice and knowledgeable.... The aircraft....the free roaming on the ship....the "period rooms"...the attention to detail....all amazing in my opinion..... PLUS the area around the boat has nice places to visit with some world class landmarks! Parking is SUPER limited....but the train station is a three block walk....so do yourself a favor and train or Uber in! Yes...I mean it when I say "life changing"....and I WILL BE BACK! God bless our Military.....

The best part of the museum is the guys in the Yellow hats who are the people who actually flew and worked on the aircraft carrier. They explained the process and all it takes to have planes be able to take of and land on a ship at see. It's worth it for the stories and knowledge from real people. Plus numerous actual aircraft that with an audio guide that explains something about each plane. Explore the captains quarters really you get to explore most of the ship.

We loved the experience! Hubby loves airplanes and we were so thrilled to go in and stroll around the museum. It was soo tiring because a lot of walking but it was so worth it! we really go in every single part of the ship Love to be i. the deck.. took a lot of pictures and post in social media. love it so much.. well be back !

This is an amazing Museum there is lots to see. It is well marked. The highlight of this Museum however is the wonderful staff. The Midway is staffed by volunteers some of which once served on the Midway and they tell their story I thoroughly enjoyed my visit and my heart was touched. Visited on Weekday Wait time Up to 10 min Reservation recommended Yes Price for adult entry $21–30 … More

This would be one of my favorite Naval museums. Highly recommended. Plenty of displays to see, a great assortment of aircraft. The highlight of the trip is the veterans that served on the Midway that are there to tell you their story and to tell you about the midway. It made it an emotional experience. Make sure when you visit to see the Midway battle film. Very emotional and very well done

Well worth the six hours we invested. An amazing piece of history. Liked the self guided audio device you use to scan the displays you want information about. They have a kid's information scavenger hunt that once completed they get wings in an award ceremony. They loved it. Several speakers explained operations on the Midway; very interesting and given by prior Midway servicemen. Learn from their experiences while they are still around, a piece of living history. The Cafe 41 has a good selection of lunch items. A good place to take a break and have a snack or lunch. Don't forget there are several flight simulators you can operate for a fee, but several cockpits that are free to set in and take pictures. Video presentations everywhere you look. A great day of history and the kids won't even know they are learning about history. Win, Win

This is one of the absolute best museum experiences I have ever had. The aircraft carrier was incredibly well maintained and I really got a sense of how the sailors and pilots lived and worked onboard. The annotations and explanations throughout the ship were at exactly the right level of detail and you are allowed fairly generous access to touch and feel things through the ship. I would love to rate this higher than 5 stars but sadly cannot.

A beautiful decommissioned flight carrier now serving as a museum to show you how life was on one of they megastructures in the old days. Many rooms, areas and equipment of this ship can be seen and enjoyed and will keep you interested for at least half a day. A huge selection of different aircrafts are displayed on the main and top decks of the ship and some of these you can even sit in and get the feel of Maverick and Goose. Also make sure you take the tour to the control room and upper deck. Very friendly and helpful former military staff of this flight carrier will share all the ins and outs. Great visit, well worth it!

US Midway has more than 1 million visitors a year and its #1 museum in US so yes its worth to come. Here are 5 tips. #1 It took us more than 4 hrs to explore 80% of the ship so come no later than 1:00 pm. #2 Listening to self guided tour was really interesting, everything comes to life. #3 Visit sound theater movie that plays every 30 minutes. #4 We paid additional $16 for flight stimulator where you get to control flight with joystick. It rotates 360 degrees. (line was 20 min) #5 Be sure to visit flight deck control room. Its most popular area on the ship. Control room is 4 stories higher than airplane runway. PS oh yes there is restaurant coffee and gift shop on main floor. Have fun!

Sometimes I had some hard feelings about war and how many people died from them but other than that, it was amazing. You can get the sound guide for listening to information and even going inside a plane! There is interesting tour explain everything up stairs top room don’t forget to go there. It is huge and if you want see all the parts you should spend at least two hours!

The place is seriously massive, free for active military, yellow hats were there and would guide you and have been enormously helpful and knowledgeable, they seriously go into details as much as you’d like to hear, it shows everything from enlisted cabins, chow halls, captains and admirals, combat centers, radars. They have a show that runs for 15 minutes and explains the battle of Midway, the upper deck has plenty of Navy attack helicopters and Jets, the place has accessible parking that’s for $10 for the whole day. If you’re there and you’re interested about history, military, warships and helicopters. This is definitely your place to be. Hawaii has better ships to explore when it comes to interacting and touching things and seeing torpedoes. However it was still an amazing experience

Great place to learn about the history of the ship and the crew that lives there. Lots of things to see and do. Lots of area to explore and see the recreation of the life out in sea. They also offer free listing devices to hear the stories shared by the soldiers. Nice shops to purchase patches, toys and logo items. Overall had a blast and enjoyed ourselves. I highly recommend you give them a try when you’re in the neighborhood.

Amazing experience with lots to learn. From the carrier itself to ship life to planes and more. You could spend the whole day here and not be bored. Veterans helped make the experience more authentic and were very happy to talk about their time in the service. I’d personally avoid the gift shop as it literally costs an arm and a leg to get a stupid t shirt. Other than that, highly recommend!

What a great tour and highly recommended, loved this tour and all the information that you can get through listening to the device they provide and also how such a huge ship can carry and preform is such an amazing experience. We all loved the tour, I would recommend going to the top deck first and getting the tour to the upper cabin where captain and navigators are before 3:30 pm because they stop I think at 4pm. Then work your way down. You do need around 3.5-4.5 hours to finish the tour.

Really really cool museum! Went in the morning at opening, small crowd. A lot of old planes and helicopters in the hangar and on the flight deck. Also got to see the mess hall, sleeping quarters, engine room, machine shop, and a bunch of other attractions. $26/adult, $18 12 and under. Well worth the money. Stayed 2 hours but enough to see for half a day. Highly recommend!

A really interesting museum with a lot to see. Definitely go early if you want to explore the whole ship as there is a lot to see and the museum closes a 5pm. The flight deck also has a lot of historic aircraft on display and some you can sit in. The walking tours are broken up into different sections of the ship so you can take breaks in between. There is a gift shop on the Hangar level and Cafe 41 serves food and drinks.

I went to Midway with my two kids. We decided to take the Amtrack from LA to San Diego Santa Fe Station, and then take the short walk to the Midway Museum. There were lots of people there of all ages. We bought the tickets online and the employee scanned my phone at the gate. No waiting in line. Picked up the listening device at the beginning, worn as a necklace, it was to easy to use. It was a very hot day so I recommend a hat and dressing for the weather. It will take several hours to tour the ship. There are plenty of places to sit if you get tired or don't want to walk around, but the main touring of the ship involves walking and stairs. There is food available to buy and was fairly priced, tastes good. There is a gift shop. You can also pay to ride a flight simulator, and sit inside the planes and helicopters for free. My kids really enjoyed it, as well as myself. They did the Jr. Pilot mission and got their wings pin at the end. Find this at the information booth. I highly recommend the Midway Ship and Museum.

Our family had so much fun here! So much history with this warship! A lot of cool fighter aircraft to see. The museum has done a good job of educate audience of various ages about this ship. Be prepared to spend up to four hours with kids since there are so many things to explore. Dress comfortable with sneaker is recommended since there are some narrow staircase to get around this ship.

We had the opportunity to come here for my friends retirement ceremony. This a my first time seeing someone from the navy retire and it was great to see. The ship is huge and we enjoyed visiting the floating museum. If you're tall this is going to be a challenge but it's worth visiting regardless, especially, if you read about the importance of the U.S.S Midway. I loved that this was free for military personnel and retirees. Parking closest to the Midway is $10, and I would highly recommend it. Be sure that you have a good pair of shoes and I would not wear flats, thong toed shoes, or slippers.

Simply put, this was a really great experience! You get several tours of the ship from briefing rooms to living quarters to the sick bay. It pretty much has it all and plenty to read as you walk the grounds. On top, there's a collection of several types of aircraft. Take your time, do the walk through and I think you'll really enjoy it. Bonus, there's paid parking right next door. Park here, see Midway and walk around the city. Especially Seaport Village.

There are three incredible aspects to this visit, all different and all great in their own way. First is the walk inside the guts of this ship. From the cavernous hangar deck as soon as you enter to the many rooms and walkways down below. The engine room, the brig, captains quarters, mess hall, barber shop, mail room, laundry room, the connecting hallways, and so much more - - incredible experience to walk through this massive ship. Second amazing experience would be walking the flight deck. You can best feel how massive this ship is while you walk around and imagine what it was like as state-of-the-art aircraft landed and took off at sea from exactly where you're walking. Thirdly, a walk through the tower, I should say a climb up the tower. This is the only guided tour portion of the experience. Looking out the same window the captain looked out of and sitting in the same chair was an amazing experience. I spent 3 hours touring the whole ship. I'd say that's about average. I saw every aspect of it. Depending on your pace I would say you will spend a minimum 2 hours and maybe up to four or five. Every minute is worth it and every dollar spent is well spent.

We enjoyed our visit to the USS midway museum. A very unique experience to see varieties of planes and helicopters since the WW. All displays are provided with storytelling to know its history. The place also has some fun activities like simulators. It is a must and it's worth visiting.

Great for families to learn about life aboard an aircraft carrier. Docents are all very knowledgeable and eager to share stories. Ending up spending 4 hours here. We did not do audio tour that is with just walking at average pace and not taking breaks. Parking lot next to ship was $10 for day. (Parked here walked to statues and maritime museum)

Highly recommend! This place is huge; you get to walk around an aircraft carrier, see different planes, watch a short but informative film, and see how it was like to live on such a big carrier for so many weeks. There are so much to see in this museum, and what this place offers also let me think about a lot of things that are related to war. I recommend to purchase the ticket online beforehand to save the time standing in line under the sun.

It is amazing to see a glimpse into the lives of the sailors who lived and worked on this ship many years ago. The museum is quite large and extensive. The volunteers are very knowledgeable and friendly. This is a great experience for almost all ages though the little ones may get tired/bored after a while. If you have an interest in history, aviation or ships I would highly recommend visiting.

This is an amazing piece of history. The information shared spans time. The staff is knowledgeable and friendly. This is my second trip to the museum and I am always learning something new. The ship is massive and well preserved. This trip we were lucky enough to see the USS Nimitz set port across the harbor.

Wonderful visit today! My son wanted to come back here after visiting about 5 years ago. Very helpful and friendly docents willing to answer all the questions you may have while going around on the audio tour. Fantastic prime rib for lunch!! Great day for everyone! Visited on Weekday Wait time No wait Reservation recommended Yes Price for adult entry $21–30 … More

Staff here was very helpful, informative, and knowledgeable about their roles and positions. If they notice you being very inquisitive or interested in a certain piece or diagram, they will generally come up to you and give you a bit extra. Tickets were reasonably priced, plenty of things see with many hours of visible and some interactive pieces. Food and drinks are available on site at the diner they have. Great piece of American Navy history to visit. Also free to military which is another plus.

This museum is fantastic for people at most ages! Such a great experience and absolutely worth the money. Loved the stories being told, videos, dummy pilot cabins/cockpits and permitted to touch all planes, walk almost everywhere, tours...too much to mention and only US$26,- entrance fee! Visited on Weekend Wait time Up to 10 min Reservation recommended Yes Price for adult entry $21–30 … More

This is one of the best place to visit in San Diego. It cost 26$ and it’s definitely worth of it. Knowing about fighter plane and gigantic ship is worth the money. The best part of it is to be a top gun like Tom Cruise. you can take pics inside fighter plane and also they have amazing presentation every x hours about the ship and fighter planes. Can’t believe the ship can be so big.

The USS Midway Museum was amazing to visit! This is currently the largest aircraft carrier museum in the world that you can tour. You can go all the way to the main deck to all the way down to the engine room (which is below sea level). The staff is welcoming and very knowledgeable and the ship was well kept and maintained. I would come back again.

The best museum I have visited. You will see the whole life on water on a huge aircraft carrier. Each and every section is worth visiting. It's so amazing to see how many aircraft is this holding. The history of USS Midway was an emotional one. Overall, a must visit of this unique experience is highly recommended.

Visit this location! So easy to get to! And an amazing collection of aircraft and the aircraft carrier itself! Inside you can sit in cockpits, do a simulator (for an additional fee), young kids can do a search activity for their "flight wings". Start on the top deck and work your way down! Very cool!

What an amazing place. We spend about 5 hours touring the ship and had a great time. We even had a late lunch while there. Was a bit expensive, but was still good. We enjoyed seeing all the different places on the ship. There were even a few places where the staff or maybe volunteers explained how things worked. We really enjoyed listening to them and the different stories they had. I would highly recommend visiting this amazing museum. You won't be disappointed.

Fantastic self-guided tour! The museum includes plenty of interactive experiences, which are fun for all ages. The highlight for me were the small group talks between guests and retired pilots who experienced service aboard the Midway; their stories were fantastic! I'm looking forward to the ongoing restoration of the ship and opening of new areas to explore!

$26 per person was excellent value. Really enjoyed the visit. The ship is huge, I think we saw everything but took over 4 hours. Guides are volunteers with a military background and were very knowlegeable. Not a place to visit for those with mobility issues. Decent cafe and gift shop. Well worth a visit if you like that sort of thing!

This place was absolutely awesome! It has dummies instead if people all around the ship as you walk through (see pictures). It has beds, kitchens, bathroom, everything! It has a place where the planes land and the best part is l, you get a free audio tour thingy. There is also a little movie you can watch about the Midway battle and about the soldiers. Everything is so realistic and it has cool props and all. Keep in mind, this used to be an operating ship! As you walk through, the history of the ship is slowly uncovered and you start to get a glance at the life of those soldiers that lived on the ship, away from their families. This place is really cool and you should definitely visit!

Very fun and educational experience. This made every action movie I’ve ever seen come to life. Great for all ages. The flight deck tour was the best part but the stairs aren’t plus side friendly. Great family activity. $10 parking for 12 hours so afterwards you can explore the nearby scene Visited on Weekend Wait time No wait Reservation recommended No Price for adult entry $21–30 … More

Amazing experience and really interesting. Tons of history. We spent 3hours exploring this ship. Please wait in line for the bridge tour. Beyond beautiful and wild views from the bridge. The whole crew is super informative and nice. Will be back with my father to relive his days in the military. Get a museum pass!

This was an unexpected stop, but we drove by the pier and the massive carrier can't be missed from a distance. Visiting a carrier wasn't something that crossed my mind, but seeing it up close and personal was quite an experience, so I was glad when everyone wanted to get tickets and go explore it. The only downside is parking was hard to find, we ended up doing valet parking at nearby restaurant since it wasn't that much more than normal parking costs and didn't have to find a spot. The carrier is surrounded by the pier so you can get great shots of it from all around. The left side of the carrier (facing out from the pier) has nice spots to get wide angle shots of the carrier along with the water views. You can see quite a lot of sailboats here and the occasional pirate ship. But the best experience is to buy tickets and get on the carrier itself. We headed straight up to the flight deck where you can sit in the cockpits of some of the aircraft and helicopters. Some were open to explore the insides as well. Plenty of different aircraft to admire and the flight deck itself had great views of the surrounding city and waterways. We also headed down to the below decks and the front loop, those were more interesting than I expected and had some neat history and interesting facts. I was a bit disappointed that large portions of the ship were off limits but I guess that made sense to keep people seeing the most interesting parts of the ship. They also have a Cafe inside, gift shop, 3d flight simulator (didn't try this but looked fun), and retired navy officers that gave historic stories or details about the ship. Hard to imagine such a giant ship was all diesel powered. All in all, it was a great experience and many good photo opportunities throughout the ship.

USS Midway Museum is a very cool self guided tour. They give you a audio box to listen to on your tour. It’s great to learn about the history of the ship and the planes. There is a lot to look at. So you can go through the museum as fast or as slow as you would like. With Covid you do have to wear a mask on the tour.

Amazing. This is a must visit if your in town. You get up close and personal with life on a aircraft carrier. It's a great taste of how our soldiers live and serve at sea defending us. If it is something your interested in plan for a half day visit at least. We had 3 hours and it left us wanting more, so much we ended up upgrading our tickets to a season pass.

Wonderful time spent despite the rainy/cold day of December. They offer free guided tour (on cute devices), which really makes each exhibit come alive. This is a museum for all. I had my own Ex Navy pilot with me, so I felt like I really got a better understanding of the planes I’ve seen. The movie show played every 30 min is a must! If I’m San Diego don’t miss the opportunity to go to this Museum, but plan accordingly because you need at least half-day to visit it, if not the whole day!

Its worth every penny spent on the ticket. I would recommend keeping aside anywhere from 3 to 4 hours to be able to view the entire ship. I thought it would take maybe an hour or max 2 and boy was i wrong, the ship is massive and there is so much to see and read. At no point did i feel when is this going to end, the more i went through the tour the more i wanted to learn. The volunteers were also very nice and helpful in providing information. The museum not only provides a visual but also an awesome auditory experience. It is a must to visit USS midway if you are in San Diego.

This is a must see if you're in the San Diego area! Truly amazing piece of our history! This ship is much bigger than I realized the staff are veterans and other folks who are so knowledgeable and dedicated! I spent 3 hours but I could have used an extra hour so give yourself enough time!One helpful hint is to park in the lot next to the Midway.. $10 for 12hours