The Wizard of Oz Museum

12/11/2023

Here is another fan visit today, that has a Wizard of Oz tattoo.

12/10/2023

A Wizard of Oz fan from Las Vegas visited us today. She started to collect Wizard of Oz Memorabilia around 1985. You can easily notice that she is a big fan, by having a Tin Man backpack and a Cowardly Lion shirt.

12/08/2023

Yesterday, I took a chance and let 6 men in their 20s into the museum for free. They told me that they did not have money to pay for admission, but they were fans of Oz and would like to skip on the yellow brick road. I was not sure whether to let them in or not based on their appearance. One of the men had a camera and told me that they had 20,000 viewers who followed them in a live session.
I decided to take a chance and guided them through the museum and the Immersive room. They had many questions and had fun in the immersive room. Of course, as expected their behavior is not on par with the visitors we usually have at the museum.
They thanked me and eventually left the museum. I felt that I did my mission to let other 20K viewers, who probably have no real life follow these guys 24/7 to learn that there other interesting things in the world.
A few minutes later, I received a 5-star review from one of the guys with my photo next to him below
"Amazing humans who graciously allowed my friends who were live streaming with 15 thousand viewers to take a small tour without hesitation. Very knowledgeable and friendly with one of the best, if not the best collection of authentic memorabilia from the Wizard Of Oz. The owner even spent 10 minutes after conversing with them about the history and was nothing but happy and friendly. 100 percent would recommend to bring your friends and family or just yourself! 5 stars!!"
What surprised me was that within 30 minutes after they left, I received over 20 Google 5-star reviews from their viewers. One of the reviewers was a dad of the boys, who thanked me for allowing his autistic son to experience the museum.
Below is what he wrote:
"My autistic son Paul is a HUGE fan of the Wizard of Oz and they let him check it out for free! Thanks so much I would highly recommend this place to anyone!"
Later on, I discovered that they additionally placed 3 videos of the museum experience on Tik-Tok which will help with the museum awareness.
Thank you again for your support.

12/06/2023

Noticed a 1-minute video from yesterday's visitors online having fun and dancing in the Immersive room that I would like to share. Watch to the end to see a visitor making words with the song.

12/06/2023

Today, we have a group of kids with parents from the Orlando area visiting the Museum. Kids recently were part of the Wizard of Oz school show and had yellow Wizard of Oz t-shirts. They all had a lot of fun in the Immersive room and with the scavenger animal hunt.

12/01/2023

Is the The Wizard of Oz Museum visit good for Children?

Yesterday, my wife showed me the post from the Space Coast Moms group, where someone asked if the Museum would be a good choice for visiting with 8-year-old girls, with most of them commenting that the museum visit is mostly for adults.
That made me think about it. How is this possible that a top-ranked all-age museum is not good for kids?
I also noticed today on Instagram a video from a visitor with a 4 or 5-year-old boy having fun at the museum with his mom.
I started to wonder why my almost 3 years old boy who visits the museum twice a month loves it.
I try to analyze his movement in the museum and this is what I observed for the past year.
When he enters the museum, he loves to pick up stuff and toys in the gift shop, since they are within his reach, him being approximately 30 inches tall.
When he enters the museum, he checks every cabinet, looking for animals, cars, toys, etc., at the bottom two shelves. Since we have 46 cabinets, this is approximately 92 shelves each being 4 feet wide. He can look almost at 400 feet of various stuff in the cabinets.
Then he goes to the kid's room, where he sometimes watches segments of the movie, but mostly wants to play with toys and hand-puppets, and put on the witch's hat or masks.
His next favorite activity is to pronounce life-size characters' names (he knows well Tinman and Scarecrow) and have the luxury of touching them.
He already recognizes the music in the Immersive room and runs into the room when there is a party inside the Emerald City. He is running from one animal to another and his favorite character is Jack Pumpkinhead dancing. He screams "Jack, Jack, Jack... "
In all other Wizard of Oz scenes he is excited and wants to run all over the room. But when the tornado scene is shown, he starts to make scary faces and jumps.
He likes a little flying through the space scene, but not into Van Gogh scenes at this point.

This whole experience usually takes over an hour for him at the museum and I feel that it is really up to parents to make the best use of the museum. If 2 1/2 years old visiting twice a month continue to enjoy every visit, I am sure there opportunity for every child to enjoy the museum.
Sometimes, when I work at home at the computer, he comes to me and wants to watch a video of Jack Dancing in the Emerald City and he always asks for more, more more.
We had a 3-year-old girl attend a puppet show last year for 1st anniversary. She was so inspired by the show and the museum, that she begged her mom to watch the movie every day. Guess who she was dressed up for Halloween? Of course, Dorothy.
The moral of the post is not to judge the experience of the museum from an adult's perspective, but to look through the child's eyes. What other avenue is out there that can be better than the museum, that potentially leads to child interest in reading and opening imaginary world of Oz books?
Are you aware of the statistics that Children who visited a museum during kindergarten had higher achievement scores in reading, mathematics, and science in third grade than children who did not? Link below

Watch: The World is Better Because of Museums Museums and the COVID-19 Pandemic The pandemic has inflicted profound damage on US museums, the vast majority of which are 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitab…

11/30/2023

This week we moved by 1 position higher to #4 out of 585 Children's Museum in the USA on TripAdvisor.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g191-Activities-c49-t29-a_sort.TRAVELER__5F__FAVORITE__5F__V2-United_States.html

Also on the website whichmuseum, we are in the #1 position in the USA as an adult museum and being Child-friendly.

https://whichmuseum.com/place/united-states-2682?facility%5B%5D=child

Thank you all for your support in promoting the Museum.

View the complete overview of all 8751+ museums in United States, with exhibitions, discounts, visitor information and more.

11/30/2023

HAPPIEST VISITOR

We had one of the happiest customers visiting today. Her name is Linette, she is from New York and works for the Educational system.
We asked her permission to show this video that was taken by one of the cameras, which she agreed to. It is less than 2 minutes video.

11/27/2023

The new article appears today covering the museum experience by David Reeve from Family Destination Guide.

Explore the wonders of Oz in this Florida family gem

11/26/2023

The Museum tour is getting popular on TripAdvisor and is listed as the Number 3 tour on the Space Coast.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g7249731-Activities-c42-Space_Coast_Brevard_County_Florida.html
We also received a great review on Yelp below
I have to honestly say that is one of the best Museum visits I have enjoyed in quite a while. It ranks right up there with our museum trips in NYC, (my wife is always trying to expand my cultural exposure).
They offer both AARP and US Military Veteran discounts which takes some of the sting out of admission. You enter and exit through the small gift shop...go figure.
On display and for sale is a First Edition Complete set of Frank L Baum's works ($25000.00)
As you enter the museum you can scan the QR codes and listen to guide narrations throughout the exhibition. You very quickly grasp the appreciation of the collection and display of old and new items by categories. Even some of the original artifacts with certification, from the original Wizard of OZ movie, are on display.
There is a visual arts room with projected scenes of Dorothy's journey to and from OZ.
There are some lovely projections of Van Gough's beautiful creations on the walls and floor of this large and comfortable viewing room.
Thank you Julie F for treating me and keeping me culturally motivated!

Top Space Coast Tours: See reviews and photos of tours in Space Coast, Florida on Tripadvisor.

11/16/2023

Google review of the day from Melanie Hill. She was part of the 17 local visitors from The Great Outdoors in Titusville, FL.

Comments that I heard from the group that the experience is better than Disney and another lady mentioned that she visited many museums and this is the best museum she ever visited. We also have a review on TripAdvisor today titled "The Best Museum in the USA".

Fabulous from beginning to end. We didn't want to leave. The owner took our group of 16 Madhatters from The Great Outdoors in Titusville FL for a 90 personal tour giving us the history of the book and author of the museum name. He was factual and entertaining and brought out tons of great information. The last part was the interactive immersion in the room that came alive with color action and the sound was amazing. I definitely want to return.

11/14/2023

The Wizard of Oz Museum moved 1 point up to become #5 out of 585 Children's Museum in USA on TripAdvisor. We continue to be #1 by the travelers ranking.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g191-Activities-c49-t29-a_sort.TRAVELER__5F__FAVORITE__5F__V2-United_States.html

We also moved slightly up as things to do in Florida to #24 out of 27,420 attractions in Florida.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g28930-Activities-oa0-Florida.html

Thank you all for your support.

Things to Do in Florida, United States: See Tripadvisor's 14,663,810 traveler reviews and photos of Florida tourist attractions. Find what to do today or anytime in November. We have reviews of the best places to see in Florida. Visit top-rated & must-see attractions.

11/13/2023

Today we had our first press release. Within the first 2 hours, it was picked up by 189 websites, including large ones such as Yahoo Finance. This pre-release was aimed at visitors finding the museum by searching for "Things to Do".

/PRNewswire/ -- While Cape Canaveral has a well-established reputation for showing visitors the stars at the Kennedy Space Center, the city also has another...

11/06/2023

Today Google review of the day by Allen Biles.
Although I was not in the museum and never had a chance to talk to Allen, he took the initiative to find my name and thanked me for sharing it with the public.
----------------------------------------------------
WOW!!! What an amazing experience!!!
If You Kinda Like, Like, Love or Absolutely Love “The Wizard of Oz” and Judy Garland… Then You Must Visit This Wonderful, Immersive Museum!
We Loved Our Visit and We Will Return Many Times in the Future!
Thank You to Fred Trust for giving the World the Special Place! ❤️👍🏻🎉

11/05/2023

Today, I discovered a YouTube video of a visitor who visited the museum in the area. Looks like he is trying to promote his channel and cover other attractions that he visited in the area.
He covered The Kennedy Space Center, Cocoa Village, The Wizard of Oz Museum, Ron Jon, Manatee Park, and Port Canaveral.
It does not look like he was hired by someone to promote the area and represent the average person's opinion of attractions.
What was interesting in his video, was how much time he dedicated to each attraction in his 36 minutes video.
The 23 minutes out of 36 minutes video, is dedicated to the Wizard of Oz Museum by someone who is not a super fan.

I escorted a part of a rocket to Blue Origin at Kennedy Space Center. While I was there, I visited many sites in the area. Including Cocoa Village, Wizard of...

11/04/2023

Review of the day on TripAdvisor.

Much more than just a visit to Oz

We've been planning a trip to the Wizard of Oz Museum in Cocoa Beach since we decided to go on a cruise. What we didn't expect was such an enormous and beautiful collection of Wizard of Oz memorabilia and such knowledgeable staff. From one of the spears used by one of the Palace Guards to one of Dorothy's actual dresses to a pair of ruby slippers that were on display at the Wizard Ride at Disney World, this is one amazingly large collection. There are a number of first-edition OZ books that are absolutely amazing. There is also a fantastic immersive room where surrounding you on 5 sides are projected computer-generated scenes and images of Wizard Land, including a few scenes that were in the bookstore but not included in the 1939 film, many of which would have made great additions. The staff is great and very knowledgeable of all things OZ. Have a question? They've got an answer and they don't mind sharing their knowledge and love of L. Frank Baum's world. The Wizard of Oz Museum isn't just a roadside attraction. If you're a fan, or even if you're not (like my wife), this is a fantastic way to spend a couple hours and take a deeper dive into the Land of Oz. It is 100% worth it.

11/02/2023

A couple of times a month we have a group of 30+ visiting the museum. We had groups from kindergartens, summer camps, private schools, homeschools, disabled, seniors, and retirement and assisted living facilities.
For the month of November, we already have 3 groups one of them is local and will be attending the "Wizard of Oz" performance in Titusville Playhouse after the museum experience.
Today, I noticed that the Wizard of Oz Museum is listed on TripAdvisor under the category "Best Big Group Activities in Florida". There are 3,025 recommended activities for the groups, and the museum is listed as Number 25. The only activity listed above in Brevard County is the Kennedy Space Center.
If you are aware of any groups that might be interested in experiencing the museum, now may be a great time to take this opportunity.
I will use this data as ammunition to restart the approaching cruise companies.
Thank you again for your support.

Highly rated activities for big groups in Florida: The top things to do for large groups. See Tripadvisor's 14,667,279 traveler reviews and photos of Florida big group activities

11/02/2023

Google Review of the Day.

That was even more fun than I anticipated. The Immersive Experience was so awesome. There was a 15-month-old baby there and he was totally into the environment and was dancing and even lost his balance a couple of times. So cute. The displays were interesting and we had fun picking our favorite Oz character from the Lennox figures. I enjoyed skipping along the video yellow brick road. A good time with my friends.

10/31/2023

The first Halloween photo from the member of the group.

10/30/2023

Comment by the visitor after their cruise.

We have a customer who completed their cruise in Port Canaveral and decided to visit the museum. When she finished the museum experience, she mentioned to Jaqueline Marie Cummings (Manager) that the experience was better than her entire cruise experience.
She suggested we teach the cruise industry how to provide a better experience on the ships.
I thought receiving a comment like this was an honor and decided to share it with the group.
Looks like we are doing something right and thank you again for your support.

10/29/2023

Google Review of the Day.

Beyond what I could imagine! The owner and staff are fun and informative and obviously love Oz and what they do. It is amazing to see they have every integration of Baums' stories represented throughout their history. The immersive experience is really a sight to behold. The gift shop has something for every person and wallet. I highly recommend a trip over the rainbow to this gem!

10/25/2023

What a great way to engage nursing home residents with entertainment at the museum.

10/25/2023

One of our guests today had a tattoo of Ozma from the third Frank Baum Oz book series named Ozma of Oz!

10/24/2023

Today we have six visitors from Massachusetts and Maine on the Royal Caribbean ship. All six dressed up as the Wizard of Oz characters and had a great time at the museum. They gave us 1,500 reviews on Google and the Museum continues to maintain a 4.9-star ranking.

10/21/2023

We had our first group yesterday which is all ready for Halloween. 🎃👠🌪️🌈💚

10/15/2023

The Wizard of Oz Museum within a month moved up from Number 7 to Number 6 out of 583 Children's Museum in the USA on TripAdvisor by traveler's favorite sort. We continue to be #1 by the travelers ranking.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g191-Activities-c49-t29-United_States.html
We continue making small steps in the right direction.
As an attraction in Florida, the museum ranks #24 out of 27,262 on TripAdvisor.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g28930-Activities-oa0-Florida.html
Thank you all for your support.

Things to Do in Florida, United States: See Tripadvisor's 14,675,081 traveler reviews and photos of Florida tourist attractions. Find what to do today or anytime in October. We have reviews of the best places to see in Florida. Visit top-rated & must-see attractions.

10/12/2023

There was another mention of the Wizard of Oz museum for cruisers yesterday. The attraction is listed in no specific order, based on The Kennedy Space Center mentioned as Number 15 and The Wizard of Oz as number 8.

Crammed onto the narrow neck of Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach is a world-famous beach city. With the ocean on one side and the Banana River lagoon on the other, it’s ... Read more

10/09/2023

Review of the day on Google from Mark Frances

We had an absolutely enchanting experience at the Wizard of Oz Museum in Florida! This place truly transports you to the magical world of Oz. The attention to detail in recreating scenes from the movie is astonishing. From Dorothy's ruby slippers to the Emerald City, everything is beautifully displayed.

The museum's staff is incredibly friendly and knowledgeable, making the visit even more enjoyable. They were eager to share interesting facts and stories about the making of the movie.

One of our favorite parts was exploring the history and memorabilia section, which gave me a deeper appreciation for the film's cultural impact. The gift shop also offers a fantastic selection of Wizard of Oz merchandise.

Overall, this museum is a must-visit for any Wizard of Oz fan or anyone looking for a whimsical adventure. I give it 5 stars without hesitation!

10/04/2023

I was excited today when I learned that in some schools in the country, they are reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the fourth grade and actually giving a test to the kids. Knowing that the book contains 24 chapters and 263 pages of reading, I feel it is a challenge to read for 10-year-olds.
What a great way to introduce students to the first American Fairy tale.

10/03/2023

Review of the day from James DiPietro on Google.

The two of us as lifelong Wizard of Oz fans were so lucky to find this place while stopped on our cruise. It deserves more advertisement and attention! Impressive variety of items including screen used pieces and merchandise that I still have in my family. The Wizard of Oz is cemented in culture forever and this place shows why

10/01/2023

Another mention of the Museum in What Happening Florida website.

The Wizard of Oz Museum provides a detailed glimpse into the timeless tale that has been captivating audiences for generations. You'll find everything from Dorothy's famous ruby slippers to life-size statues of the book's cherished characters. The museum is brimming with exhibits that beautifully na...

09/30/2023

Getting ready for the Halloween.
Jack Pumpkinhead greeting visitors to the museum starting tomorrow.

09/26/2023

Looks like the museum made a list as one of the Children's Museum in Florida on the TriptoDiscover website. This website looks like is informing tourists about various VRBOs to rent rooms next to attractions. Looks like The Kennedy Space Center is geared toward the Titusville area and the Wizard of Oz Museum toward Cape Canaveral.

Capture the attention of even the littlest sightseer.

09/25/2023

DineStayDiscover website published an article "29 Best things to do in Cocoa Beach". Behind the beach, the Wizard of Oz Museum was selected as Number 2 activities.

https://dinestaydiscover.com/attractions/united-states/florida/cocoa-beach-fl/

Cocoa Beach is a place of endless excitement and adventure.

09/22/2023

Around a year ago, we noticed many visitors to the museum in the area due to the Kennedy Space Center. Since most of them have an interest in Space, we decided to add a 3-minute segment flying through the Universe using the James Webb telescope images. We tight this scene to the Witches castle where the witch looking through the telescope.
It has been running almost for a year now and, I received a facebook notification today that there is a new exhibit in Washington DC that shows images from the James Webb telescope. Based on my research it was running in New York a few months ago and now running in Washington DC.
While the majority of visitors enjoyed all these new exhibits, the complexity of the Wizard of Oz scenes is beyond the complexity of flying through the universe or the Van Gogh exhibits. I am hoping one day a technical journalist will discover our museum, and understanding the effort takes to create the Wizard of Oz scenes, will push the museum awareness to a new level.
Meantime here is the link to Beyond the Light Immersive show

A new immersive space exhibit in Washington, D.C. showcases images taken by the James Webb Space Telescope and the Hubble. Here’s what to know about the ARTECHOUSE exhibit that wowed a NASA scientist.

09/21/2023

The TripAdvisor released latest Seasonal Travel Index for the fall of 2023 on September 6.

According to the article people want to explore the destinations in more depth, evidenced by the fact that "culture and sightseeing" is the number one trip type for Americans this fall, and interest in museums and cultural sites is on the rise.
For the United States
For those staying stateside, the ever-popular Las Vegas, New York City, and Orlando round out the top three most popular destinations Americans will visit, respectively. As U.S. travelers attempt to stretch out their summers, enjoying warmth and sunshine past Labor Day, smaller Sun Belt destinations are seeing increased interest.
Below are the top trending domestic destinations for Americans this fall on Tripadvisor, based on places with the greatest year-over-year growth.
Little Torch Key, Florida
Indian Rocks Beach, Florida
Miami Springs, Florida
Hawley, Pennsylvania
Carefree, Arizona
Reno, Nevada
7. CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA
8. Holmes Beach, Florida
9. Rutherford, California
10. Indio, California

Maybe the Wizard of Oz Museum made a contribution for the Cape Canaveral to be listed? Just found this to be interesting, since there is no other major attraction outside of the Kennedy Space Center in the area. ( It was listed last time in the 2016 article in the city of Titusville).

Tripadvisor's Seasonal Travel Index Outlines Traveler Sentiment and Insights for Australia, Japan, Singapore, United Kingdom and United States This Autumn NEEDHAM, Mass., Sept. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --

09/19/2023

Sports and Museums

When someone competes in sports, they usually start at the high school level, then city, county, state, national, and Olympics. Looks like the same goes for the museums that compete at the same levels.
To show the difficulties of competing at various levels, let's look at some numbers.
At the city level ( Cocoa Beach), where the Wizard of Oz Museums ranks on TripAdvisor there are 156 attractions and Museums ranks as #1.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g34145-Activities-oa0-Cocoa_Beach_Brevard_County_Florida.html
At the County level ( Brevard County) the museum ranks #6 out of 900 attractions and #2 as the museum behind the Kennedy Space Center.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g7659357-Activities-oa0-Brevard_County_Florida.html
At the state level in Florida, the museum is listed as #27 out of 27,116 attractions. This made the museum be best out of 1000 various attractions. It is a great accomplishment since Florida is the capital of tourism and attractions.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g28930-Activities-oa0-Florida.html
At the national level, the museum in the children category ranks #7 out of 580, but as a museum, it is listed as #153 out of 19797 museums in the USA, which puts the Wizard of Oz Museum in the top 1% of the museum in the USA.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g28930-Activities-oa0-Florida.html
This is where the museum has been positioned since its official opening in February of 2022.
I feel this accomplishment belongs to every member and I am thankful for your support.

Things to Do in Florida, United States: See Tripadvisor's 14,676,094 traveler reviews and photos of Florida tourist attractions. Find what to do today or anytime in September. We have reviews of the best places to see in Florida. Visit top-rated & must-see attractions.