Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Ride - Orlando Florida

It's official the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Ride is open at the New Fantasyland at Disney World! There has been a lot of hype around this ride and Disney was trying to keep things about it secret up until they started their soft opening last week. I have to admit that I was a bit surprised at the wait time, when I got there at about eleven in the morning today, it was only an hour wait. I was expecting a much much longer time than than. It's my understanding that fastpasses are gone for at least a couple months, but it can't hurt to double check.

The ride itself is not very long, around two minutes. It's a smooth ride, not a lot of jerks or bumps like some other coasters. The ride is actually really good, the best part is not the coaster part, its the dwarfs part. You get to go through and see the dwarfs mining and the gems, maybe it was just because it was new, and I had never riden it, but  I found myself acting like a little kid the first time I rode it, pointing and going "awww".

This is a great family ride, its not all that scary, tamer than Thunder Mountain and not as jerky Barnstormer. If you are looking for a thrill ride, you might be disappointed. But if you are looking for a mild ride, its really good. I would say that most kids would enjoy it and it would not really scare them. I would tell anyone with or without kids to make sure that they rode this ride. However if you can't get a fastpass you might want to wait until right before the park closes to see if the line thins out or hit it when the park opens.

Just to kinda give you a taste of the ride I have added a video of the ride so you can see what it's like.

T. T. Wentworth Museum - Pensacola Florida

The T. T. Wentworth museum has been around for a quite a while in Pensacola, granted it has gone through many changes through the years, and while the current museum is merely a shell of what the entire museum use to be it's still something that well worth seeing. The original museum was donated to the city by Wentworth, and opened in 1988. It housed Wentworth's collection of odd things shall we say. Things that were included were a mummified cat, things like what was suppose to be a dinosaur bone, and his other non really odd things were on a different floor. Museum is no longer in the building that it used to be housed in and it focuses more on things other Wentworth's collection.

The first floor has what they still have on display of Wentworth's collection, crammed in one or two small rooms, and honestly not very well displayed. It could be a bit more focused on his collection but since you can still see most of it, its worth going to. You can also see a Postal Exhibit that is pretty good on the first floor, and an exhibit about the City of Five Flags itself, Pensacola. The second floor has several rotating exhibits, so its best to check in advance if you're planning to visit.

The third floor use to house a discovery exhibit for kids, an interactive area. It use to feature unique things that educated children. Then it was used as a discovery area to children that was not as good but still fun for the young ones. But now its an open area that is to be used for more traveling exhibits.

Overall its a little disappointing if you ever went to the old T. T. Wentworth museum, but you can still see a lot of his artifacts on the first floor, even if they are poorly displayed and a little cramped. So its worth going to check out. You won't need a full day even if you want to check out all the other exhibits, I would say maybe a couple hours if you want to take your time, and enjoy yourself, and most of your time will more than likely be spent looking the Wentworth's collection. That is only thing that makes this museum worth visiting. So for that I highly recommend it to any visitor in the area.

The museum is free, there is not admission it's closed on all the major holidays. And is open from 10 in the morning to four in the afternoon, on Tuesday through Saturday.

It is located at 330 South Jefferson Street in Downtown Pensacola.
Their phone number is 850-595-5990.

National Naval Aviation Museum - NAS Pensacola Florida

If you find yourself in Pensacola Florida and you are looking for a morning or afternoon adventure you should look into visiting the Naval Museum that is at NAS Pensacola. The first thing that you need to know is that it's on a Naval base. You can still visit it, and it's free, but when you get to the security checkpoint just tell them you want to visit the Naval Museum, they will give you instructions on how to get there. Just remember that you are on a Military base and you need to follow what they say, and don't decide to sightsee, you could end up in some trouble if you do that. That being said, once you get to the museum there is a lot that you can see and that will keep you busy. When I was little I always loved heading out to the museum, it was a fun and free activity that the whole family could do and have a good time.

If you are interested in seeing the cockpit of some of the aircrafts that are used or have been used in the past you are in luck. There are many of these available for you to climb in and sit at the cockpit of. The have moved these throughout the museum during the course of the years I have been going but the last time I visited the museum they were in south wing on the second deck. Be sure to bring your camera!

You will find that the museum has many exhibits such as different aircraft, but also exhibits that are about our space travels. You can also visit some exhibits that pay tribute to World War I, and even Sunken Aircraft. There are many exhibits that you should explore while visiting the museum those are just a few to name. Just remember if you are able to when you visit to go see the aircraft that is outside, weather permitting.

If you time your visit at the right time and the right day then you can catch a Blue Angels practice while visiting the museum. And on some days they hold a meet and greet inside the museum that is free to all museum visitors. This is something that many non locals view as a once in a lifetime event. So be sure to check the schedule of the Blues before you plan your trip if you are interested in this.

The museum itself is free, and it's open to the public. But the extras like the IMAX and simulators are not free and do cost a fee to see. You can visit the museum's website to find out what is playing and what the costs are for these events.

Naval Aviation Museum Website

Open 9 AM- 5 PM Monday-Friday
Open 10 AM- 5 PM Saturday and Sunday
Closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day

Admission is Free

Wildlife Sanctuary of Northwest Florida - Pensacola Florida

When I was a little kid my mom would always take us to places that were local and fun to visit. When I was really little my mom would take us to this sanctuary in Pensacola that housed animals that could not be released back into the wild or that just needed to heal and then be released or be placed in zoos. Some of the many things that we got to see when we went was a bear cub, owls, and a baby deer that someone had tried to keep in their back yard and it got hurt on the fence. When I was a kid the sanctuary would take cans as donations to help them keep running, I remember helping my mom save these cans so that we could go and help out the animals as well. Well now that I'm older I'm very please to say that I have located this sanctuary and to tell others that it's still around. It might have moved and it's a little different but it's great none the less.

The sanctuary still houses animals that can't be released or that need care to heal. And they help animals that people find and have a phone number for you to call if you find an animal that needs help. They allow people to come by and visit their animals that live at the sanctuary, they house over a hundred animals that can't be released. If you plan to visit the sanctuary then you might want to make sure that you know they keep strange hours, as far as I know right now they only allow people to visit their animals on Wednesdays - Saturday from noon to three thirty, but this can change. This might not seem like a long time but it's a great afternoon outing and it's a relaxing visit.

While I love animals and zoos can be fun this place is much better than any zoo I have been to. It's a calm and relaxing atmosphere and all the animals that that are there are being taken care of to help release them back into the wild or find them a more permanent place because they can't be released, or call the sanctuary home because they can't find homes elsewhere. There are a lot of animals that you see on your visit but it won't take you all afternoon to see them all. The last time that I visited I was able to see a wide range of critters including a serval and owls.

If you find that you can't head out on a weekday keep checking their website because sometimes if you find the right Saturday they might do an open house. This is where people can come and see some of their animals and they might even have animal encounters going on. This is a great way to head out there if you find that weekdays aren't the best for you or your family.

The Sanctuary is located at:

105 North "S" Street
Pensacola, FL 32505

Phone Number:  (850) 433-9453

Hours for Visiting:  Wednesday - Saturday: 12 noon to 3:30 p.m.

If you find injured wildlife drop offs are everyday from 8-5

They only ask for a small donation to help keep the sanctuary running, in order for you to visit.