Orlando Auto Museum at Dezerland Park

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"Amazing!" "Astounding!" "I can't believe how much is here!"

All of these exclamations, heard during a visit to Dezerland Park's Orlando Auto Museum , the most engaging in the world, don't surprise at all since they're all true statements.



Located not far from the Universal Studios part of town, this complex houses the Auto Museum, the 007 Bond Museum (story coming soon) with its extensive collection, plus fun activities for the entire family including go karts, pinball, movie theaters, bowling alleys, and places to eat or gather for parties.

On a rainy day, a hot day, a cold day, or, really, any day in Orlando, though, come to the Auto Museum to get inside and be impressed.

The Auto Museum is the brainchild of Mr. Michael Dezer. Originally from Israel, he draws visitors in with the movie-related cars lining the extensive lobby area that begins the museum.



Front and center during our visit were the silver car from League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, the "Bugs Mobile" with Bugs Bunny and a carrot standing nearby, one of two Mystery Machines from the Scooby Doo franchise, and cars with eclectic figures of James Dean and Marilyn Monroe. Of course, there must be a flashy Elvis car, too.



Once you enter the actual halls of the museum, you appreciate Mr. Dezer's presence of mind in dividing the original vehicles by decade. While the 1920s are enhanced by their association with original silent stars turned black and white movie comic legends, Laurel & Hardy, the cars are mostly Ford and mostly black, though a regal red accompanies them, as well as a Bonnie and Clyde shot-up car (the one in Las Vegas apparently has more bullet holes). If you're going to make a living robbing banks, I guess you should expect your vehicles to be shot at. And sometimes law enforcement will win.

The 1940s room is packed full of motors … boat motors. Apparently, all of them are new. A few beautiful speedboats adorn the room with models of all types of ships.

The next room returns to favorite movies, from the Hornet with its deep green finish, and a Bugs Bunny car built atop a golf cart the red car Christine from a horror movie in the 1980s. Javier, my tour guide, kindly showed me the Fandango outtake from the movie where Christine repairs herself. The hero of the tale is a boy bullied at school and the love between him and his car is protective.

Exiting this room, you cross a hall to another secure warehouse sized room … prepare to be amazed. This is filled with movie and TV memorabilia that will propel anyone back to the favorite shows of their childhood.



Did you love Knight Rider? KITT is here with a photo of David Hasselhoff front and center.

How about The Munsters? Yup, they're here too, with a funeral-like chariot pulled behind the hearse.

Ghostbusters? The 'mobile is here, complete with a little ghost inside … and if your guide is willing, this is one of the cars you may be able to sit in. It's fun. Even if you don't normally get your picture taken (like me) suck it up and get it done. It's fun, and a memorable keepsake.

If you like watching classic TV, you'll recognize Simon Templar, The Saint, and a figure of his angelic TV image accompanies his gorgeous car. This is Roger Moore, of course, in his television series, who's also represented across the way at the 007 Bond Museum.



There are vehicles from so many shows … Herbie the Love Bug, Speed Racer … "Here he comes, here comes Speed Racer, he's a demon on wheels," my brain sings even 40 years later … but what many people will be drawn to is the car from the second Back to the Future movie. I got to sit in this one, too. The gadgets and gizmos are ridiculously fun.



Inside this spacious room, too, is a large dining table under a crystal chandelier. It's available for parties for any of your car or TV/film aficionados.

You'd think you'd be done at this point – it's already easily a 30-minute tour when you listen to just a few stories per room, but, at this point, you're only about 1/3 done. I kept thinking my tour guide was going to leave me, but Javier said he could stay as long as I wanted for as many stories as he could offer. He's only been with the company since November and already has a surprising depth of wisdom. He did say he's a "car guy," so I'm sure that helps.

From the massive number of cars located in the film area, you enter a section reminiscent of a shopping mall. One filled with vehicles.

Overhead, planes circle, apparently one of the passions of Mr. Dezer's son. Below, limousines and fancy cars line the path as storefronts on either side identify from which country the vehicles included belong.

For example, France contains French cars, the Eiffel Tower, and ephemera from the Tour de France. Israel, admittedly a smaller "store," contains several cars from that country and a lovely rendition of the Wailing Wall. Germany has a large section of increasingly smaller cars, with a focus on BMW after WWII changed the use of their war machine manufacturing to automobile engines.

The Americana section draws me in. The '50s car remind me of Happy Days and American Graffiti, … you're just waiting for a waitress to approach on roller skates with your tray of burger and fries to complete the picture. There's an old-fashioned gas pump, pinball, and jukebox. Delightful.



The Art Deco space is elegantly decorated right down to the dinner guests lining the walls with the angular cuts popular in the era and cars to match.

There's an entire warehouse size "store" of tiny cars. I've always been a little afraid of them, concerned that there's just not enough metal between me and the next car in case of an accident, but learned, firsthand, that a normal-sized adult can fit comfortably in a car whose front comes off so you can sit behind the steering wheel. There's no storage to speak of, with just a little section behind the driver for a bag, since the engine is in the trunk, but it gets the job done and parking must be easier than a full-size car. I think the entire car was shorter than the hood of my sedan.

But wait, there's more! More movie and TV specialty cars and then… the big KABLOOM!



It's a Batman room, filled with Batmobiles, BatCycles (only two are here and only one was ever used in production, the others all went on tour). One Batmobile looked like a child's toy, but Javier convinced me by sitting in it that it really does fit an adult human. There are several motorcycles including the long-covered one that protects Batman from bullets as it speeds through Gotham City. The special effects and backdrops are thoughtful here and throughout the Museum to add to the mystery. It's the Bat Cave that welcomes you and you can return … same Bat Cave, same Bat Station.



The displays of cars, motorcycles, tiny cars, and collections from time past, continue to amaze and impress as you reach the central display, the longest limousine in the world as evidenced by the Guinness World Record Plaque attached. At over 100 feet 1.5 inches, it had 5 then 4 then 3 wheels on each side to maintain the weight. Javier tells me there are two more wheels in the middle of the car between the sections of 4. That makes 26 wheels on this car. There's a hot tub in the back but on the true back of the car is a helicopter landing pad. Utterly ridiculous! I thought it must be a joke, but Javier showed me the video of a helicopter landing on this very same pad.

Javier tells me it takes three miles to make a turn and it has been out on the road, but with a police escort. I counted the windows and checked out the interior and could see a club chair on the back with bench seating on either side. It's pretty dark in there, so I may have missed something else. There's only the one door to enter the back of the car on the right passenger side and then two doors for the driver and co-pilot up front. It's a brilliant feat of engineering and one way to keep a Guinness Book of World Record spot.

Surely, we must be done, right?

Wrong.



Beyond this is one of the most poignant collections of Military Machinery in the Military Museum. Representing several US armed forces, life-sized soldiers are scattered amongst the tanks, jeeps, cars, and trucks. I really appreciate how much literature there is all around us and wish I had time to read each section. Someone spent a lot of time and care writing these descriptions for us.



Javier confirmed that Mr. Dezer not only found and curated many of these vehicles himself but has a large team of people scouring the earth for rare or unique items. Mr. Dezer is a real estate developer and created his wealth through that enterprise which allowed him to fuel his passion for vehicles. Sounds like he's found the American Dream.

As you leave the Orlando Auto Museum, you're overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the collection, understand how many people could spend 10 hours there and still not feel as though they've "seen it all" (no, this is not the entire collection, but less than half of it with items rotated out periodically). It's a place for car aficionados and people that appreciate film and those that wonder at the tenacity that it takes to amass a collection this grand.

Even as I write this a couple days later, my favorite experiences were sitting in the Back to the Future car, the Batmobile, that tiny car, seeing KITT and Speed Racer, and wondering at the enormity of that limousine. I'm so humbled by the military machinery and all that was sacrificed for us to have the freedoms that we do.

I'm excited to recommend the Orlando Auto Museum to friends, family, and anyone who visits the area and already have confirmation that all my friends with sons that love cars plan to visit the museum soon! And maybe stay for bowling, a movie, or arcade games. But definitely the Go Karts.

Thank you to Dezerland Park for hosting me for the trip. All the opinions contained herein are my own. Any factual errors should be attributed to my misunderstanding, not any mistake on the part of my guide.

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#motorsports
#museums
#pop_culture
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