Titanic: The #1 Artifact Exhibition in Orlando is a Great Unsinkable Attraction
Over one hundred years ago, the “Ship of Dreams” set sail across the Atlantic. She was record-breaking in her size, speed, and inner beauty. She was the star of the White Star Lines Company – a falling star. Her name was Titanic. Well known for her dazzling passengers and lavish comforts alike, she is still better known for the tragedy of capsizing on her maiden voyage.
Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition in Orlando is a testament to this moment in history, a moment exemplifying both tragedy and the strength of the human spirit. A moment of despair and assurance in one’s faith. A moment where both heroism and barbarism are mingled. Titanic may have been a ship, but her tale is one of the most human stories in all of history. Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition in Orlando brings this story to life so that it will never be forgotten.
Welcome Aboard
No matter what day you visit The Artifact Exhibition, you’ll suddenly find yourself in the springtime of April 1912, in Southampton, England. Not only will you find yourself transported, but you’ll be handed a boarding pass and find yourself transformed into a passenger who really voyaged on the Titanic a century ago. Only at the end of the tour will you find out if you survived. . .
But there’s no time to think about that now – Captain Edward John Smith is here to greet you, and he’s only the first of several talented and knowledgeable character-actors throughout the tour. He is every inch the likeness of Smith’s black and white portrait – from the snowy beard and slightly curled mustache to the unmistakable cap of a ship’s captain. In a deep voice that hails from Britain, this Captain Smith informs you how honored he is to have you as a passenger on this, his last voyage, before a peaceful and happy retirement. But an entire ocean stands between Smith and his dream of retirement, and an entire ocean of history is waiting for you to dive in.
The Largest and Finest Steamship Ever Built
Just as Titanic, measuring in at a whopping 882 feet and 9 inches in length, could boast being “the largest and finest” ship of her time, The Artifact Exhibition in Orlando is a contender for “finest and largest” exhibition of its time with 20,000 square feet, 17 galleries, and more than 400 artifacts available to its “passengers.”1
As you begin your journey, chaperoned by chatty chambermaids and smiling shipbuilders, you catch a small glimpse of what you would have seen waiting for you in the dock. By “small,” I mean a three-ton piece of the ship’s hull and the smallest of Titanic’s three propellers (called a screw) that’s at least twice as tall as a man. The three-ton piece of hull, explains a guide, would be equivalent to a thumbnail if the ship were a human being.2
The iron hull still has a dash of iconic red paint clinging to its surface after decades of waiting beneath the icy Atlantic to be resurfaced. Rivets are still tightly in place, but those that are gone reveal gaping holes, distorted from perfect circles to elongated ovals by the pressure of sinking.
Although this subtle piece of evidence foretells your journey’s end, the chambermaids and shipbuilders assure you this top-of-the-line ship is in no danger of sinking and that you are lucky to be among the 2,224 passengers on this historic voyage.3 No need to do the math of how many people are supposed to fit in the 20 available lifeboats should it sink – because that’s impossible. But you’re not the only one who’s questioning the claim of unsinkability before moving forward. When boarding in Southampton, a Mrs. Sylvia Caldwell is said to have asked one of the deckhands, “Is this ship really nonsinkable?”
“Yes, lady,” the deckhand answered. “God himself could not sink this ship.”4
Confidence boosted by the deck hand’s passionate response, Mrs. Caldwell boarded the Titanic as a second-class passenger with plans to see her family in Illinois. Only a gulf of icy water is between her and her dream of homecoming. It’s time for you to move on, too, so, clutching your boarding pass and trying not to think of that icy water, you step into the “ship.”
A Floating Palace of Luxury
Titanic passengers were either first, second, or third class, but The Artifact Exhibition is first class all the way! Even if your boarding pass has you confined to the cheap, cramped cabins at The Artifact Exhibition, they’ll still let you take a peek inside a stately first-class room, too. In the third class cabin, the bunked beds are squeezed so close together there is hardly room for a table and water basin, but in the first-class cabin. . .“you would think you were at the Ritz,” exclaimed Lady Lucille Duff-Gordon, English fashion designer and first-class passenger.5
In a first-class room, perfectly recreated, there is a fireplace built into the gorgeous wood-paneled wall. Tucked around the hearth is an exquisitely upholstered sofa and armchair, ready for lounging. Plush carpeting would tickle your toes if it were proper to take off your shoes. If you are tired of gazing into the flickering flames in the ornate fireplace, there is an oil painting in a gold frame above the mantle – surely the work of some famous impressionist. It would be easy to feel at home here.
This room is exactly what would have awaited famous passengers such as Colonel John Jacob Astor and his wife, Madeleine. Astor was involved in hotel real estate and was one of the richest men in America.6 He and his young wife had been honeymooning abroad in Egypt and Paris but were now returning home to America. J. J. Astor’s dog, Kitty, was with them, too. About a week’s voyage stood between them and the undoubted throng of press and reporters anticipating their arrival. However, the Astors were likely more preoccupied with an exciting arrival due in summer – their first child together. The dream they carried onto the ship was one of a starting family.
Just as thoroughly detailed as the first-class room is the reproduction of the Grand Staircase: intricate carvings, golden accents, ticking clock, a glass dome ceiling, and linoleum floors. Yes, linoleum – believe it or not, such flooring was considered classy at the time! Standing here, admiring how much time and thought were put into a staircase, you can really get a sense of the grandeur of the entire ship. No detail unthought-of – no, not even that measly number of lifeboats was an oversight. The design originally called for 64 lifeboats, but that would have cluttered the deck and interfered with the view of first-class passengers.7 20 lifeboats was a conscious choice.
As you continue to wander through The Artifact Exhibition, you’ll see pieces of china (elegantly branded with the red flag of the White Star Lines), shining silverware, and even personal items such as a pocket watch dredged up from the depths. There is even beautifully painted tile retrieved from the Turkish baths which were aboard the ship. One artifact that takes the spotlight is an original deck chair, all in one piece. It looks perfectly ready to accept a passenger into its wooden arms, willing to hold them while they read, chat with the Astors, or perhaps just sunbathe.
If you can’t get enough of first-class, you can book tickets for the Titanic Gala Dinner celebrating Captain Smith’s retirement! Along with first-class character actors, you’ll enjoy a three-course meal, not unlike those served in 1912. It will be a “night to remember!”8
That Glorious Band
From here, you can walk out onto a recreation of Titanic’s Promenade Deck. Music filters in as if emanating from the chilly, artificial sky itself. Although the melodic strains hail from the 1997 movie soundtrack composed by James Horner, having music on the deck is still a reminder of the Titanic musicians themselves. Passenger Kate Buss wrote in her personal journal, “We have three promenade decks. . .and on the one above my cabin, the band plays every afternoon and evening. The Cello Man is a favorite of mine. Every time he finishes a piece, he looks at me, and we smile.”9
These musicians were given copies of the White Star Line’s music book, which listed 352 tunes. They had to know all of them by heart because each first-class passenger was also given a copy of the booklet and could call out any songs to be played on demand.10
The orchestra, employed by an agency in Liverpool, consisted of eight musicians (divided into a quintet and trio) – one pianist, three cellists, three violinists, and one bassist.11 The bandmaster, Wallace Hartley, was also one of the violinists.
Wallace was a talented musician who had been playing on ships for a few years, having already crossed the Atlantic 80 times.12 During one such trip on the Mauretania, Wallace’s friend asked what he would do if he ever found himself on a sinking ship. Wallace, a devout Christian, replied, “I don’t think I could do any better than play Oh God Our Help in Ages Past or Nearer My God to Thee.”13
But Wallace wouldn’t have to worry about sinking ships anymore because this was his last round-trip across the ocean. After this, he was finally going to settle down and marry his fiancé, Maria. Every time he lifted his violin to his shoulder to play one of those 352 songs, the silver plaque affixed to the tailpiece was a reminder of this dream, for engraved upon it were the words: For Wallace, on the occasion of our engagement, from Maria.
In the meantime, he found himself playing Puccini, Wager, and Dvorak, with just enough of a break to write home, “This is a fine ship…We have a fine band, and the boys seem very nice…All love, Wallace.”14
Iceberg Right Ahead
Quite different from the sound of the music is the beeping of the Marconi radio you can operate – one of several interactive exhibits. Next to it is a placard with Morse code so you can practice spelling your name or sending out whatever message you like. There’s even a replica of the Titanic’s “Marconi Room,” where telegraphists Jack Phillips and Harold Bride worked long hours sending and receiving messages, mostly on behalf of passengers bragging about the ship. The most haunting of the messages received were those continuously warning of ice.
“Shut up,” telegraphed Phillips to the Californian after another ice warning got in his way of sending out yet another message from a passenger.15
However, as the air in The Artifact Exhibition grows chillier, the ice warnings don’t seem so frivolous. In fact, off to the side of one room is an iceberg you can touch. The wall of ice is 28 degrees Fahrenheit. How long can you keep your hand on it? Now imagine your body is plunged into water that is cold and surfacing into the even colder air. Hypothermia would claim your life in minutes.
At 11:40 p.m. on April 14, a lookout sent the warning to the bridge: “iceberg right ahead.”
37 seconds later, Titanic collided with the ice, ripping open the side of her hull.16 Phillips and Bride soon found themselves frantically dashing off CDQ, the distress signal of the day, and the newer signal, SOS. The prospect of hypothermia was swiftly nearing reality for over 1,500 passengers. These distress signals were sent out to nearby ships – the nearest being the Californian. Unfortunately, just as Titanic did not heed Californian’s ice warnings, the Californian seemed dismissive of Titanic’s CDQ.
The “Ship of Dreams” was going down, and the dreams of many passengers were dying in the cold dark night with her.
Sorrow and Honor and Memory Equal
As the Titanic’s time is coming to an end, so is your tour of The Artifact Exhibition. You just have to find out how. There is a wall of names in this last room – thousands of them—every passenger of the Titanic, from first-class to crew. So you check the name on your boarding pass – the name of a once real person – and search for your fate.
The odds of surviving are not in your favor, just as they were not in favor of the passengers that night – only 706 people survived. 1,518 perished. The odds are even worse if you are third class; 61% of the first-class passengers survived while a meager 24% of the third-class found refuge on the lifeboats.17 A lifejacket hangs in a glass container, carefully preserved. Did it preserve someone’s life or merely keep them afloat while the bitter cold slowly took their spirit from this world?
As the “Ship of Dreams” began to slip beneath the surface, Sylvia Caldwell and her family found places aboard lifeboat 13, surviving to make it home to Illinois.18 The Astors resisted getting into the lifeboats for a long time, as they looked so little and vulnerable on the dark waves. However, by 1:45 a.m., Mrs. Astor was helped by Mr. Astor into lifeboat 4; her husband was not allowed to board with her.19 Despite being the richest person on the Titanic, John Jacob Astor went down with the ship along with his pet dog, Kitty. The son who would bear his name, but whom he would never get to meet, was born in August of that year.20
With the deck tilting precariously, Captain Smith addressed his crew for the last time: “Well boys, you’ve done your duty and done it well. I ask no more of you. I release you. You know the rule of the sea. It’s every man for himself now, and God bless you.”21 As was his duty Captain Smith retired to the depths of the sea with his ship, his body never recovered from the wreckage.
As Captain Smith released his crew, Harold Bride and Jack Phillips were separated. Bride managed to reach the last lifeboat, still looking around for his friend. Phillips telegraphed the last message, “Come quick, engine room nearly full,” before a deathly silence took over the radio waves and the frantic messages were no more.22
It must have been apparent to those listening that the end had come. Later, shivering in the lifeboat with two broken feet trampled by other passengers, Bride looked out into the black ocean and caught a glimpse of Phillips, clinging to debris, already perished from the unforgiving exposure.23 Bride called Phillips “a brave man.”24 Indeed, without the telegraphing, there may have been no survivors at all, for Carpathia, having received the signals, was on her way to pick up those left in the bobbing lifeboats.
As it became clear the ship was faltering, the band took it upon themselves to comfort their fellow men. Stewardess and survivor Violet Jessop recalled how violinist Jock Hume told her in passing, “Just going to give them a tune to cheer things up.”25 Many eyewitness survivors reported hearing or seeing the band on the promenade deck. Some even said they could hear them while being rowed away in the lifeboats.
Sarah Stap, a stewardess, said, “We could hear the music of the band all the time…I must say that everything that has been said about them has been perfectly true. They were not asked to play but did it absolutely on their own initiative.”26 Wallace Hartley was true to his word, playing Nearer My God To Thee as the last song of the night, as reported by many interviewed survivors. Unfortunately, all eight band members went down with the ship. Of the eight men, only Wallace’s body was recovered, along with his violin, which he was found to be clutching in a leather case. The musical gift Maria had given was returned to her with a note of condolence.
At 2:20 a.m., the Titanic sank beneath the waves. Just like that, the voyage was over, and just like that, you’ve reached the end of The Artifact Exhibition.
You find yourself blinking in the sunlight, safe and dry, as you exit The Artifact Exhibition. Even if you perished according to your boarding pass, you’re still here, alive to tell the tale. Now that you’ve lived it, it’s one you’ll never forget. And that is what the Exhibition is all about – keeping the Titanic story alive even though its survivors have now passed into memory. You’re part of her story now, part of the Titanic legacy, for, in The Artifact Exhibition, you are a true passenger of the past.
Cover Image
Photo: Branson Convention and Visitors Bureau via Flickr
Recommended Gear for this Adventure
Disclaimer: We earn a commission if you click any of the links above and make a purchase at no additional cost to you.
Resources in Print
Carroll, Yvonne. A Hymn for Eternity: The Story of Wallace Hartley Titanic Bandmaster. The History Press, Stroud, Gloucestershire, 2011. Print.
Lord, Walter. A Night to Remember. Henry Holt and Company, New York, 2005. Print.
Turner, Steve. The Band That Played On: The Extraordinary Story of the 8 Musicians Who Went Down with the Titanic. Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN: 2011. Print.
