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I used to live in San Diego and never got around to visiting The USS Midway Museum despite only living less than 5 miles away from it. When Crystal and I made plans to visit San Diego with our little sister, who was visiting from Japan, we finally put this museum on our itinerary. We’re so glad that we did because we had an awesome time exploring this massive museum.

The USS Midway Museum is on an actual historical naval aircraft and is located in downtown San Diego at the Navy Pier. This museum is huge and their site stated that most visitors spend at least four hours exploring the various decks onboard. Taking the four hours into consideration, we set aside half of our day to explore the USS Midway Museum.

GETTING THERE

Since we were staying at the AC Hotel by Marriott Downtown San Diego Gaslamp Quarter, getting there was super easy. We simply hopped in an Uber and the ride was about 10 minutes. We did notice parking spaces available, but this was on a weekday, so we’re guessing weekends could be a challenge to find parking here.

USS MIDWAY MUSEUM VOLUNTEERS

On every deck, dedicated USS Midway volunteers who have proudly served their country generously shared their invaluable knowledge with us. It was so fun talking to many of the volunteers and we were pleasantly surprised to discover that quite a few of them had a great sense of humor and enjoyed sharing lighthearted jokes.

Volunteer on USS Midway Museum — Veteran Steve was so much fun to talk to

Posing with Peace Signs — Veteran Jerry was a pilot and Spoke some Japanese

Our father served in the Air Force for twenty years, but he rarely shares his past military experience with us, so we were really intrigued and grateful for the stories that the volunteers passed on to us.

HANGAR DECK

We began our morning on the Hangar Deck, exploring the history of the various aircrafts. The highlight was the chance to climb into a genuine aircraft cockpit, adding an interactive element to our visit. These kinds of experiences always create memorable moments and provide fun photo opportunities.

Tomcat Aircraft Cockpit — Fun Photo Opportunities inside Aircrafts

Battle of the Midway Immersive Theater

We got lucky and happened to be walking by the theater when an attendee announced that the next show was about to begin. The theater is a 90-seater and features a 15-minute immersive film called “Voices of Midway.” The three of us snagged a seat in the front and when the lights went out, we were pleasantly surprised to see a hologram of a retired sailor appear on stage.

The Battle is relived through the eyes and voices of the heroes who bravely took part in this historic episode of American history. We all got so teary eyed at the end of the film. You definitely don’t want to miss this (it’s included in the admission). We were really impressed by the entire presentation.

Enlisted Sailor’s Bunks

After the film, we made our way to the extremely tight quarters where the crew slept. There is no way any of us could have slept in these bunks comfortably. The mattress was super thin and there was not enough headspace if you wanted to sit in your bunk.

The lower ranking enlisted personnel had just 6 cubic feet of space and had a little storage space called the “coffin locker” underneath their mattress. They also had a 3 cubic feet standing locker as well. We have so much respect for all the sailors who had to endure this. We were thinking about what belongings we would bring with us with the limited storage space.

Command Information Center (CIC)

This section is the tactical center of the ship and where we imagine all the high level of stress occurred. There are tons of switches and buttons, which all look super complicated. The job in CIC was multifaceted and included operation of radar, detect, plot and track friendly as well as hostile targets, communicate with other vessels and basically provide information.

Command Information Center Board — Clear Boards

The most interesting section in this space was the clear status boards, which provided enormous amount of information about everything that was going on. We learned that the sailor in charge of writing on the status boards would have to write from the back and not the front of the board. This meant that he/she had to be very skilled at writing backwards.

Squadron Ready Rooms

This room is where naval aviators would conduct pre-flight mission planning, briefing, and post-flight debriefing. The comfortable chairs provided a welcoming space for reflection and strategizing. It was particularly intriguing to observe the small ashtrays placed on each chair, serving as relics of a time when smoking indoors in public spaces was normal.

BELOW DECK

Next we headed Below Deck. There were more narrow bunks down here as well as the kitchen, sick bay, engine room, laundry room, and more.

Chow Line / Galley

The kitchen was huge and it’s crazy to think that everyday 13,000 meals were prepped here. 1,000 loaves of bread were baked and 10,500 cups of coffee were consumed every day on this ship. Hearing those numbers really puts into perspective just how massive this aircraft carrier is.

A man washing dishes — Never ending Dishes onboard the USS Midway

Wardroom

This is where Midway’s officers dined and socialized. It was a stark contrast to the enlisted sailors quarters. It was a place that provided rest, relaxation, and recreation. Officers ate formal meals in the wardroom and were often served by a sailor.

Officers Dining Room USS Midway — Dining Room

USS Midway Captains Bedroom — One of the larger bedrooms onboard

Laundry Room

We didn’t think much of the laundry room until we stepped foot in it. The working conditions in here were rough and not pretty. There were various posters showcasing quotes from the hardworking men who toiled in the depths of the underground. They vividly described the intense heat and immense challenges they faced in their daily work below the surface. The ship laundered 43,000 pounds of laundry on a weekly basis.

USS Midway Laundry Machines — Laundry Machines

USS Midway Laundry Press Machine — Laundry Room with three Press machines

FLIGHT DECK

We saved the most exciting deck for last. This is where the aircrafts take off and land at the world’s most compact airport. There are over 20 aircrafts up here and you can walk up and touch some of the fighters, bombers, and helicopters that took naval aviation into the jet age.

This is also where you can take photos inside the cockpit of the famous Tomcat F-14. If you’re a Top Gun fan, then you know that this is Maverick’s iconic Naval fighter that was prominently featured in the movie.

Working on a military aircraft deck — Cindy and Crystal working

Sitting inside a military aircraft — Ready for Take-off in the TOMcat F-14

We met a volunteer veteran named Jerry up here and he stood out as the most amiable and good-looking volunteer we interacted with during our visit. His demeanor exuded "Maverick" vibes. He was once a pilot himself and proudly shared with us the details about the aircraft he typically operated. We were delighted when he agreed to do a snapshot together, capturing a memorable moment.

Veteran Pilot at USS Midway — We had so much fun chatting with Jerry

FOOD AND BEVERAGE

If you are planning on exploring for hours, we recommend either packing snacks or taking a break at the food and beverage area. It’s located on the Hangar Deck and we bought some light snacks to fuel up. There are water stations throughout the museum, so carrying a tumbler is a good idea.

View of San Diego Bay — View of San Diego

FINAL THOUGHTS

Believe it or not, we actually ran out of time despite being there for four hours. We were having so much fun learning and exploring that we couldn’t believe we didn’t get to finish everything we wanted to see. This just means we’ll have to make another visit and pick up where we left off on our adventure. Fingers crossed for another encounter with Jerry during our next visit.

USS Midway Museum (MAP)
Address: 910 N Harbor Dr., San Diego, CA 92101