Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, Orlando, December 2024

Recently, Evan has become interested in all things Titanic. Building models of the ship, making it out of Lego, drawing it and fact finding about it. No interest in the film though. We found out there was a Titanic exhibition over on International Drive, featuring items recovered from the wreck, so we knew he’d love to see it.

So, after visiting WonderWorks, a short trip on the I-Ride trolley and platefuls of pizza from Cici’s, we crossed the road and headed into Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition.

We’d picked up flyers from the I-Ride stop that had discount vouchers to bring the price down – it’s not cheap in there – but on entry, it worked out cheaper to buy a family ticket than using the vouchers on individual tickets. Adults are priced from $34 and children at $28 (ages 4 & under are free). The family ticket was $99, and other concessions were available.

The exhibition describes itself as ‘A chronological journey’ though the life of the Titanic, with over 300 items and artefacts from the ship itself, its sister ships and collections related to the shipyards, along with recreations of rooms onboard and areas associated with the Titanic. The exhibit also features the 2nd largest section of Titanic ever recovered, and you can even touch a piece of the ship!

Before entering, it’s worth mentioning that at the entrance they have a replica of the bow of the Titanic’s deck with railings, set against a greenscreen, so if you want to replicate that classic DiCaprio/Winslet pose and get a picture, you can.

We paid our fees and collected our replica tickets and headed onboard.

The first room we entered was a projection room, with walls showing an ocean scene with the ship heading towards you, with a narrator telling you about the history of the ship and it’s owners White Star Lines, whilst showing graphics of inside and out of the ships rooms and decks and what happened on that fateful night of 12th April 1912.

The next room was themed as a port area and offices, with replica crates dotted around, pictures lining the walls showing black and white photos from the original offices, replica ship posters, pictures of people associated with the ships building, artworks and information boards.

Around the room were display cases holding items either retrieved from Titanic or other White Star Lines ships, plus items from the offices of its creators. All were marked so you can see where each came from. Hooks, rivets from Titanic’s hull, cables and fittings, bricks from the Harland and Wolff offices, along with documents and information. There’s also a giant replica propeller so you can see how massive they were.

Enter the ticket office – a room with more artefacts, designed to look like the boarding area, complete with shipping crates and suitcase, plus a ticket booth. The kids loved getting in here and pretending to take our passes to board. Once we’d had our ticket checked, we followed a corridor of pictures and newspaper cuttings and headed though a replica ship door, and we were into the next area.

This display room contained several cabinets, full of artefacts, many of which were recovered from the wreckage, included suitcases, musical instruments, floor tiles, bottles, chamber pots, cooking pans, taps, coins, playing cards and toys. The walls were lined with information and pictures relating to some of the passengers. There was even an original deck chair prop from the 1997 James Cameron movie.

The room also contained a replica crew member office and a full replica of one of the First Class accommodations, complete with wooden finishings and decorated with luxurious seats and mannequins showing the clothing a First Class passenger in 1912 may have had.

The next area was styled like ‘The Verandah Café’, with a European country house design. This was the hangout for some of the younger First Class passengers to enjoy. With white and green latticed walls and plants, it had a bright conservatory feel about it. The room displayed some of the recovered plates, bottles and cutlery from the First and Second Class guests would have used onboard, along with the basic ‘White Star Line’ branded dishware that was afforded to Third Class.

It was here we saw some of the character actors. A lady dressed in 1912 first class regalia was walking around greeting us with that classic posh British accent, along with someone dressed as one of the crew.

Leaving the café, you pass more images, artefacts and displays concerning the different classes onboard the Titanic and how they were treated, before heading into one of the most opulent and iconic areas of the ship.

We entered the Grand Staircase room. Here you can’t take any photos, except of the artefacts on display at the back, but the staircase itself is off limits except for official, paid photographs. It is a full, magnificent replica of Titanic’s Grand Staircase, created from the same wood, using the same techniques and designed using archive pictures to ensure accuracy.

The room is also topped by a replica skylight, glowing down upon the staircase, which certainly adds to the dramatic effect of the room. It did look amazing with incredible detailing. Bit pricey for the picture (which I think was around $20) and not something we were interested in doing. If it was a bit cheaper, we might have.

You next head down a replica corridor into a cargo room, with open crates displaying some of the recovered cargo items, replica manifests and even the back end of a car. No steamy handprints in the window on this one.

From cargo to the noisy boiler room, with a large replica boiler and recovered pipes, coals and items along with images and diagrams.

We were on deck now, where there were recovered fuse boards and warning gongs, replica displays of the ships electrical system with control of the ships watertight door indicator panel, along with one of the recovered telegraphs from the Titanic’s bridge, which would have been used to relay messages from the Crows Nest to the Bridge about the iceberg. Plus, a replica of the captain’s steering wheel for photos.

Outside now and we were on the recreation of the Promenade Deck, – and it felt cold, but we were out on deck in the middle of the Atlantic in 1912. The room had a projected display of a night time ocean view.

The next room was dedicated to the passengers and crew who perished on that fateful night. There were lists on the walls of all of the First, Second and Third Class passengers, and all of the crew members who died. Displays in here were of some of the recovered passenger effects. Shoes, towels, letters & more were shown alongside pictures and newspapers.

Also, in here they had a computer where you could scan your ticket. Each ticket you were given was unique and you were assigned the identity of one of the many passengers aboard. Scanning the pass showed the details of your assigned passenger, including photos and details, explaining if the sadly passed, or of the survivors and what happened to them later.

We thought it was getting even colder, and we were about to find out why.

Having said “I wonder if they’ve got an iceberg” it turns out they have an iceberg! There was a good 15-foot-wide slab of ice propped against a display of a starlit night with information about the temperatures those onboard would have endured during the disaster. This last room featured a few final displays of artefacts, pictures, letters, postcards and newspapers from the time… and also the restrooms – I was bursting by this point and the cold wasn’t helping.

The highlight of the room though was the 2-ton section of Titanic’s hull, referred to as the ‘Little Big Piece’, it was recovered as part of a much bigger piece (known as the ‘Big Piece’) which broke off during the ship’s sinking. This piece was removed from the larger section to ensure the safety of both sections.

The final part of the exhibit, and probably the bit that Evan was most pleased with was a large display case with a hole in the top, containing a small corner section of the hull that you could actually reach in and touch. Not everyday you get to say you’ve touched the Titanic!

And, as always, exit via the gift shop. Couldn’t leave without a fridge magnet, could we? They had models, clothing, books, posters, pins/badges, mugs, bags, Christmas ornaments, and hundreds of Titanic and White Star Lines items to choose from. If you were feeling flush, you could even pick up a small piece of coal recovered from the ship. The gift shop also had a few additional costume displays.

Oh, and if like us you didn’t want to pay for a photo in the Grand Staircase, there’s a wall covered picture of the staircase near the exit, so just stand by that and take a picture. It’s as close as you’re going to get without paying for the real one.

All in all, we enjoyed our journey around Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition. Lots of cool things to see from such a famous piece of history with lots of information, and great timing for us to feed Evan’s new found love of all things RMS Titanic. If you’re a history buff or interested in the Titanic, it’s definitely worth a visit. Glad we came, but not something you’d need to visit twice.

Here’s a gallery of just some of the many artefacts on display at the Titanic Exhibition.

For more info on the exhibition, visit the official Titanic Orlando website