The Wizard of OZ Museum — Attraction in Cape Canaveral

We were in Cape Canaveral for a long weekend of sightseeing. I first became aware of the Central Florida's Wizard of Oz Museum from a May 2024 article in The Villages Daily Sun newspaper. Knowing we would be visiting in December; I saved the article. I'm glad I did. Do not miss this gem of a museum.

We entered the museum from the 'Yellow Brick Road' entrance way and were warmly greeted by Ms. Jackie, the manager, who welcomed us, gave us an overview of the collection and suggested we download the QR codes for a more engaging and immersive self-guided experience. Of you are an Oz fan, the narration will mean a lot to you.

There are hundreds of the 1939 movie props, first edition books, souvenir-type collector items: toys, masks, plates, figurines and a host of other eye-catching pieces and structures. You cannot miss a "Winkie Guard" spear, a Dorothy dress and stole worn by Judy Garland, and a pair of ruby red slippers formerly displayed in the queue for Disney's Great Movie Ride.

We learned more about Frank L. Baum's work which began in the 1900's. He wrote the first 14 novels; after his death, Ruth Plumly Thompson and other authors continued Baum's work ultimately resulting in 40 books. These rare books are on display in the museum, the passion of its founder and creator, Mr. Fred Trust who envisioned a museum after collecting enough Oz pieces from the early 1990s.

Fun fact: Dorothy's slippers were originally silver. Why were they changed to ruby? It was determined that the color would show up better on the Technicolor Yellow Brick Road.

How did Mr. Trust become enamored with Oz? He is originally from the Soviet Union and an elementary school teacher read his class a long book throughout the school year. He started collecting and ultimately opened the museum in Cape Canaveral in 2022. It is the former location of a visitor information center.

Children will also enjoy the museum with a separate area with games, books, and the Oz movie on the projector.

But the museum isn't all there is to see. After losing yourself in Oz, continue your adventure into a separate room at the back of the museum with more than 30 projectors illuminating scenes onto the walls and floor of original scenes from the Oz books integrated with an immersive Van Gogh exhibit. The experience is not recommended for those with motion-sickness or who have seizure disorders. Plenty of benches are placed in the room to rest, reflect and absorb this stimulating visual and audible experience. You can even skip down "The Yellow Brick Road." We did not want to leave even after the 30-minute loop.

Be sure to visit the gift shop before you leave. There is certain to be a coffee mug, bookmarks, stickers and other delights to commemorate your visit to this wonderful world of Oz.

If you go: the museum is open daily from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tickets are $29.99 for adults and $14.99 for children. Plenty of free parking on...

During our vacation at Cocoa Beach, Florida, my husband and I happened on this delightful museum on the main drag in the town of Cape Canaveral.

It looked less than imposing as we drove up, but the giant sparkling ruby slipper painted on the side of the building as well as the poppy flowers that spelled OZ hinted that this was a special place.

When you step in, you are greeted by friendly employees and an impressive array of Oz-related gifts and books.

The museum itself includes some 46 glass cabinets packed with Oz memorabilia and arranged in chronological order. It was mind-boggling to see the figurines, toys, board games, marionettes, masks and countless trinkets spawned by “The Wizard of Oz” movie since its release in 1939. It was further mind-boggling to see the many books in addition to The Wizard of Oz that L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) wrote, including others in the Oz series as well as those under various pseudonyms. Who knew? (Well I sure didn’t until now!)

And there’s so much more to relish in the museum, including a throne for a photo opportunity with Dorothy, Toto, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, and Scarecrow. Nearby is the Wicked Witch, her bicycle, and some of the flying monkeys. Photograph her at your own risk; she’s been known to scare the dickens out of generations of movie goers. And those monkeys! The stuff of nightmares, wouldn’t you say?

But wait, there’s more. Inside a small “munchkin room,” you can sit down and watch a video movie based on the Oz lore. We watched “Oz the Great and Powerful” starring James Franco, Mila Kunis, and Michelle Williams and had to remind ourselves that the museum closed at 5 pm!

Another treasure in the museum: a documentary playing on a TV about the (at times perilous) making of the original movie.

But wait, there’s even more! In the back corner of the museum, you enter a huge room offering an immersive experience (all four walls plus floor and ceiling) of a story about the Tin Man and a munchkin lady he loved. Then there is an immersive segment showing views from the James Webb telescope, of all things! Those breath-taking views are followed by the art of Vincent Van Gogh spreading out in all sorts of lovely patterns. Familiar music – pop and classical -- plays throughout the experience, and you can literally walk down and/or dance on the yellow brick road.

Before leaving, we had a wonderful conversation with employee and artist, Vincent Myrand. Vincent has been fascinated by “The Wizard of Oz” all his life, has researched it deeply, and paints pictures of scenes from the movie. He has also known some key people in various ways related to the film. Be sure to converse with Vincent if possible. You’ll be glad you did.

As Vincent told us, “This is more than a museum. It’s a magical place and even a healing place.”

We felt those...

If you're a fan of Oz then you will enjoy your time here. If not, then do your research on this place first. In short, we genuinely enjoyed ourselves and while it seemed a bit pricey, the immersive experience is where you get your money's worth.

For starters, it's just two rooms. One full of bookcases with books and memorabilia. There are also some statues for photo ops. The other is the immersive room.

If you're one of those people who just walks and looks, you'll be done with this place in 30 to 40 minutes. If you scan the QR codes and listen to what each section contains then you'll need 1.5 to 2 hours. This place is for people who love the movie and/or appreciate history. Speaking of which, a good idea is to bring some headphones to listen to each section. If not, no worries, everyone was playing it on their phones.

The immersive room is really cool. It's around a 30 minute loop that runs continuously and you can stay in there as long as you like. Each segment is about 15 minutes. One segment is Oz the other is Van Gogh. The Oz portion is based on the books not the movie. For copyright issues they can't use it. They make this known before you buy your entrance. I will say the Oz portions animation could be better. It's a little choppy and animation is dated. We still enjoyed it. The Van Gogh segment was really nice.

One thing I also liked is that you're allowed to take as many pics and videos as you like. Many places like this don't allow that.

I gave 4 stars because while we enjoyed ourselves it wasn't anything mind blowing, but we did thoroughly enjoy it. Again, loving the movie alone will not allow you to enjoy this place. You need to want to see, listen and learn more about the items in the first room. It's not like a museum of Natural History that's so big you can just casually walk around and spend hours just looking at what's around you. I'm not saying this to deter anyone from going, I'm saying this to deter people from going and giving a bad review because they expected something different.

Lastly, the lady in the front (didn't catch her name) was super sweet, informative...