Lance Around Orlando

Fantasy of Flight--Orlando's Best Kept Secret!

Today we introduce a new heading, “Orlando’s Best Kept Secrets.”  These will be posts that focus on places that are relatively unknown but absolutely worth a look-see.

The first one actually won the Orlando Sentinel’s award as the “Best Kept Secret” for the last two years:  Fantasy of Flight.

This small, half day attraction located just a half hour down I-4 from Disney World,  is the vision of Gold Medal World Aerobatic Champion, Kermit Weeks. His fascination with flying and an unexpected inheritance enabled him to acquire the largest collection of vintage aircraft in the world.

The attraction begins with an immersion experience where you walk through several areas that utilize multimedia displays to give you the feel of being in the middle of the action during early flight attempts up to WWII. This culminates with the opportunity to walk through an authentic B-17 Bomber as if you were on an actual WWII flying mission.

After this experience, you enter the airplane hangers where there are over 40 vintage airplanes, most restored to their original flying condition. You can board a Short Sunderland, have a close encounter with the only B-26 Marauder that still flies, get up close to a B-24 Liberator, a Curtiss TP40 and two P51 Mustangs.

I am not very familiar with the field of aviation. But I can tell you that just walking around these aircraft and reading the informational displays was a real thrill.

Ford Tri-motor

Of course, being a movie buff, I gravitated to the Ford Trimotor–The actual plane that was featured in the beginning of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom!

Beyond the hangers are rooms where you can watch genuine craftsmen restoring vintage aircraft.

Flight Simulator

Flight simulation machines, balloon and hang glider simulations, multimedia displays in tribute to aviation pioneers and much more can be found in this one of a kind attraction.

By now, you are ready to take a break in the art deco Compass Rose restaurant glimmering with the bright silver decor and serving food reminicenst of a 30’s diner. But you are not done yet!

There are behind the scenes tram tours, vintage aircraft flights and the opportunity to fly in Waldo Wright’s biplane. (There will be a separate post about this!) You can even schedule an early morning balloon ride.

While the biplane, balloon ride and some simulators have an extra fee, the main attraction is less than $30 for adults and $15 for children.

Landing a balloon is not as easy as you think!

Unlike theme parks that charge “adult” prices for 10 year olds, Fantasy of Flight charges youth rates from 5 to 15 year olds and allows those under 5 to get in for free.

Fantasy of Flight is hands down Orlando’s “Best Kept Secret” but it does not deserve this designation. I hope the well informed readers of my blog will spread the word and give this attraction the recognition (and business) it has earned!

This entry was posted on September 2, 2009 at 1:36 pm and is filed under Off-the-Beaten-Path. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.