Quick guides
USS Midway Museum with Kids, San Diego
ミッドウェー博物館
We went aboard because the kids wanted real airplanes they could walk around, and the flight deck was the part that worked for every age. I learned to do the narrow decks first, then stay up in the open air.
Photographs for this guide are still being added.
At a glance
Flight deck
Start here with kids
15 min
Film is loud and dark
4 p.m.
Last admission
Watch it in action
What is in the film
Quick facts
| Where | 910 N. Harbor Drive, San Diego, on Navy Pier beside the Embarcadero. |
|---|---|
| Hours | 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Last admission is 4 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. |
| Tickets | Published daytime prices were $39 online and $41 at the door for ages 13 and up, and $29 online and $31 at the door for ages 4 to 12. Age 3 and under is free. Active-duty military, with ID, is free at the ticket booth. Veterans with ID were listed at $26. |
| How long | The museum suggests 4 to 5 hours. Same-day re-entry is allowed at the exit. |
| Best for kids | The flight deck. Real aircraft, open space, and enough room to wander. |
| The film | The Battle of Midway film is about 15 minutes, included with admission, and played in a dark theater with loud explosions. |
| Below deck | Go in the morning. The halls are narrow steel, with little air conditioning, and they get stuffy once the afternoon crowd packs in. |
| Food and parking | Outside food and drinks are not allowed, other than a clear plastic bottle. There is a restaurant on the flight deck. Navy Pier parking was listed around $20 for up to six hours and $25 after that. No RVs, and the lot fills early in summer. |
Prices, hours, and house rules change. Use the official link before you go.
Short instructions
1Buy tickets before you are in the sun
Online prices were a little lower than the door. In summer, park at Navy Pier early. Street meters nearby are often limited to two or three hours, which is shorter than this visit.
2Ask about Junior Pilot wings
The information booth by the entrance can start the Junior Pilot activity. Our kids cared more about the airplanes than the program, but it is an easy stop on the way in.
3Do below deck first
This is where you see bunks, the galley, and the working ship. We saved it for the cool, quiet part of the morning. After lunch the same halls felt hard to breathe in.
4Treat the film as optional for little kids
Teens liked the 15-minute battle film. Toddlers and sound-sensitive kids did better going straight to the flight deck. It is dark, and the dive-bombers are loud.
5Give the flight deck the most time
This was the part every age in our group liked. When the hangar deck stopped holding my attention, the airplanes upstairs were the reason we had come.
6Eat, then use the rest of the waterfront
We ate at the restaurant at the end of the flight deck. Whale-watching boats and the Coronado ferry leave from this same harbor. The 25-foot Unconditional Surrender statue is on the waterfront beside the ship, and it is the photo stop.
Questions parents ask
Where should we start on the USS Midway with kids?
I would start below deck while it is still quiet, then spend the long part of the visit on the flight deck. The airplanes up there were the part that worked for every age in our family.
Is the Battle of Midway film all right for young children?
It is about 15 minutes, included with the ticket, and genuinely loud and dark. I would skip it with toddlers or anyone who startles at explosions, and go to the flight deck instead.
Can we bring a stroller or a wheelchair?
Strollers are allowed onboard, and they are awkward on the narrow stairs below deck. Wheelchairs can use the elevators, including the one down to the second deck. I had thought wheelchairs were turned away entirely. The museum’s access page says otherwise.
Can we bring our own lunch onto the ship?
No. Outside food and drinks are prohibited. A clear plastic bottle is allowed. We ate at the flight-deck restaurant and looked for more food along the waterfront afterward.
How long does a family visit take, and what did tickets cost?
Plan on four or five hours. When I checked, ages 13 and up were $39 online and youth ages 4 to 12 were $29 online, with slightly higher prices at the door. Age 3 and under was free. Recheck the ticket page, because those numbers move.
What else can we do without moving the car?
The statue of the sailor and the nurse is the 25-foot Unconditional Surrender sculpture beside the museum. Harbor cruises and the ferry to Coronado leave from the same waterfront.