USS Midway Aircraft Carrier : A Top Gun Experience in San Diego

I feel the need, the need for speed!

As a child of the 80s I was indoctrinated into the Top Gun fangirl brigade in my early Primary School days. Maverick, Goose and Charlie were names we went on to name the pet sheep, goose (original) and chicken. Iceman was applied to the blonde boy at the back of the bus all the girls crushed on but never actually communicated with on the drive home. Oh yes, Top Gun was a very special movie.

Fast forward a couple of decades and I found myself in San Diego, USA on a family adventure with T and the kids. I soon learned that Top Gun was filmed in San Diego of all places AND there was an aircraft carrier docked alongside Navy Pier. They even had the plane Tom Cruise flew (well, we know he didn’t actually fly it, but he did sit in it) on the deck. We quickly adjusted our itinerary so we could visit the USS Midway – www.midway.org.

Throughout our stay in San Diego we based ourselves out of the Manchester Grand Hyatt. From our window we could see the USS Midway and decided that we could easily walk to the location. Despite it being late December, the sky was blue and the ocean calm – perfect for a tour of the ship.

We’ve been on plenty of boats. We have even enjoyed a visit to the Western Australian Maritime Museum and the National Maritime Museum here in Australia where we explored decommissioned Australian Navy vessels. Not one could prepare us for the magnitude of the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier. It is like a floating city.

Over its life as an aircraft carrier, the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier was home to over 225,000 Midway sailors. Commissioned a week after World War II ended, this aircraft carrier was the largest the world had ever seen until it was outsized in 1955. The Midway served the USA for an impressive 47 years and saw action in the Vietnam War and Desert Storm.

In its heyday, the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier could travel up to 33 knots per hour (60 km/h). Size wise it has a length of 296 metres and a beam that rises 72.5 m at flight deck after modernisation. 4,104 officers and men served on the ship at one time.

While the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier is no longer in active service, it can be enjoyed by civilians who wish to glimpse into the military life onboard a large Navy vessel. Now operating as a museum, the aircraft carrier boasts 60 exhibits with a collection of 29 restored aircraft (including the one flown by Maverick in Top Gun).

Our family enjoyed the self-guided audio tour for kids. The kids went to each audio point to hear the answer to a question they had on their clue sheet. Narrated by Midway sailors, this tour took us all around the vessel and with clues to decipher, it made certain that the kids paid attention and appreciated everything they saw. It took us about 90 minutes for both Master R and Miss N to complete all the answers and explore each section of the ship. They returned their completed sheet to the information desk where a retired sailor presented them with Junior Wings. Oh the excitement! They even had to salute.

You could spend days exploring the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier it is that big. While the kids took 90 minutes to complete their tasks we stayed on for an hour or so more so we could look at each level of the ship and have a light lunch in the onboard cafe. We were in a continued state of amazement throughout the trip. There was just so much to see.

If you are in San Diego make sure you add a trip to the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier to your itinerary. It is open every day except Christmas Day and Thanksgiving Day from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm. Children under 5 are free. Our tickets cost us $60.00US although purchasing online is a little cheaper. Make sure to check the USS Midway Ticket Prices before you head over. Active-duty military personnel (including Reservists) with valid ID receive free entry.