Sure is a great place ! Been there 4 or 5 times,lucky and there when Big was there ! He took the time to talk and sign some stuff for us. Nice pictures,thanks for sharing them.
Ditto!! I was on vacation this past spring back home to FL to visit family and took a day to with my pops to visit the museum....tons of cool stuff and a must see for anybody who hasnt been there!!
Ive been there on the outside during Billetproof. I wasnt paying to get in the museum though. To expensive for my blood.
Don't remember what admission was, but had the chance to visit a few years back. Worth every penny to see his collection. Also, got BIG's autograph and had my picture taken with him at GoodGuys Blue Suede Cruise in Norwalk, OH this past August. Big Daddy even made some "exibition" runs in an old Swamp Rat. Can you imagine, a guy who was a pioneer in drag racing, and they said he couldn't run a full quarter mile, cuz his car wasn't "legal" anymore. What a bunch of crap! The next day I got to meet Paul LeMat (John Milner) at Hot Rod City in New Philadelphia, OH. A great weekend this past summer.
I cant remember exactly. It was around $18 bucks. I had my 2 boys with me so i wasnt paying to go in. The Turkey rod run was $15 a person and thats why i didnt go to that. But i do wish i went now. Gotta go next year.
Worth 15 bucks every day of the week! I go there every time I go through Ocala, I just never get tired of it
Great place to visit, lots to see and Don is there a lot and takes time to talk to you and sign autographs. Worth every penny.
One of his crewmen once told me "the ol' man would save s#!t in a bag if he could figure out how to keep it from stinking..."
I went to the Gator-Nationals one year,of course I had to go to Garlits place.I had my picture taken by his mailbox out front.He was in my area a few years later & I had him sign that picture.He said he had signed alot of things but never a picture of someone standing next to his mailbox.It's hanging above my workbench.Very cool place,lots of hot rod history there. Giz'
I have to agree. I was there two years ago, and it was unbelievable. He's got three buildings, I believe two with race/rod stuff, and one with a bunch of restored cars, mainly early Ford V8's. Worth every penny. If you go, go early and plan to spend the whole day, there's a lot to see. Also, don't take someone along who doesn't appreciate this stuff. they'll be bugging you to leave after a couple of hours and you will not have seen half of it the way you would want to.
Great Place been 3 times myself. 1st time I discovered by accident, missed an exit heading out from Tampa to NJ and damn near drove right off the highway to get there. Took 8 hours to get out of Florida but man was it worth it. This last time over the summer purposely went that way on the way home and my 7 yr old son went nuts, we were the first people thru the door, actually sat in the parking lot waiting for it to open. Haven't been lucky enough to be there when Big Daddy was onsite though. Price of admission 40ish bucks, Gift Shop another 40-$50, 7 year old son sayong "WHOA DAD LOOK AT THIS!!!!" Priceless!!!!!!
I can't imagine someone complaining about the cost. For someone to amass the memories that are collected there is a monumental task and worth every dime. Every chance I get, I stop there to see whats new and support the expenses of the place. No one has done more for the hobby than Don Garlits.
went there years back when his mom was the greeter at the door,,,you could listen too her for hourswas there about 3 hours and had a question,so i went too the counter and asked for don,,,the girl said to go back to the motor room and don would try to get there......we spoke like old friends for at least an hour,,great guy,,and the funny part was there was a farther and son in the same room saying things and asking if he really came around,,don just smiled cause they never turned there head to see him
Considering the amount of cool old shit sitting around in that place, $15 is a bargain. People pay that much to watch movies that suck on PPV without a second thought. I'm just glad Garlits had the presence of mind to start collecting up old out-of-date race cars way back when. Preserving history and all that.
worth every penny adults $15 and kids $6 dollars. under 5 free. you better have 3-4 hours of spare time to get threw it all.
I flew right past on I75 every spring break and the week of Thanksgiving for years. A typical hick from Indiana on vacation, Gotta drive like hell with as few stops as possible. I am sure I probably told my sons "Hell no we can't stop/ We're on vacation we gotta get to Sanibel or Disney (destinations varied) by check in time. Until..... I finally slowed down one trip and stopped and actually "Vacationed" ON our way there. It is amazing all of the stuff there. It is worth every penny. Everybody NEEDS to see this place at least once.
DOTTO! The above should be cast in bronze and placed at the front door of the Museum IMO. I've only been there once and is sure is impressive, just about every milestone Drag Car I remember reading about as a kid was there. I've been to a fair amount of automobile collections and museuns, but this one is unique. If a car was 50% of the original or a clone it was stated on the info card in front of it, I liked that. Went with a family friend that lived down there, what is the town you drive through with the Speed Traps and instant tickets?
10 years ago I went to Disney with the girls, on the way past saw it out of the corner of my eye, spun a u turn about ten miles past it and went back, worth every second that you spend in there looking at real old cool shit. Will go back if I go back to Disney or past Ocala. If you passed on it for the fee I feel bad for you and the boys, this is not some bull shit menagerie of hollywood copy cars and odd junk for sale, these are the real deal by the real deal. Well worth the fee, if you get the chance to go just there make plans for it. I could have stayed there all day but we had to go, ^@ucking mouse.
Well worth the money. Tons of great, historic cars but also, so much memorabilia on the walls and in cabinets. You miss a lot of history if you don't look at that too. You really need, at least, one full day to take it all in. Truly amazing place.
For some reason it really jumped off the page that you used the word hobby instead of sport or business. Don's museum definitely conveys this sort of feeling. Was there maybe twenty years ago and it looks to have been greatly expanded. I need to go back. Good to see that the place still doesn't look too "sterilized" and many of the displays still aren't roped off. As packed as the place is, you can still take decent photos. Big Daddy seems to know what his customers like. Thank God he was a hoarder before it became a disease!
Been there twice and thought it was great both times. It has grown since the first visit in 2005, lots of new cars. Remember thebhot vapor engine Fiero? It is there. My wife always wants to know why "all the racing stories end with someone upside down, backwards, and on fire." Someone here said they learned to stop doing the drive with no stops thing. We did PA to Disney this year. Took 3 days to drive there and 4 to drive home- with a 4 year old. Best vacation ever! The drive was as much fun as Disney.
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