I grew up in a home full of action! On the tv, that is. My childhood was actually pretty dull with lots of rules and an abundance of downtime, the extreme opposite of action-packed. However, action was still a staple in the home since my father always watched westerns, kung fu flicks, and spy films. Longing for some form or presence of excitement in my life, I remember watching Clint Eastwood, Bruce Lee, and other action stars alongside my father. The one action star that my father watched regularly and who I found the most captivating though was Bond, James Bond. I recall jotting down the hallway just to hear that infamous catchphrase and then lingering around the living room to catch glimpses of James Bond fighting while sporting designer suits and driving in luxury from one exotic location to another. I never knew how Bond managed to escape the impossible and finally outsmart the bad guy since the violence and intimate scenes were inappropriate for my young eyes and I wasn’t permitted to watch the entire movie. Thus, glimpses and secretive peeks from the hallway facing the tv were the only view into that world and my burning questions remained unanswered. That curiosity never left me and once I became of age to drive myself to the theater and purchase my own movie ticket, I never missed a Bond film and I no longer had to worry about missing out on any of the action.
Fast forward quite a few years (and two Bond actors) later, my family and I were sitting down one day looking for a place to film for our next outing. Working on a budget, Groupon is normally one of the first places we check out. While searching Groupon, we came across Dezerland Auto Museum within Dezerland Park in Orlando, Florida. The description listed a $200 million auto collection with a Batman section comprised of batmobiles, bat vehicles, and other memorabilia as well as a Bond Museum.
The Bond Museum was noted as being the world’s largest collection of James Bond movie cars, aircraft, and memorabilia and is attached to the Bond Lounge, a lounge with its own Bond memorabilia serving Bond-themed food and martinis, of course. I snatched up four Groupons, anxiously anticipating the opportunity to witness Bond beyond the screen.
We made the drive from our home in Jacksonville to Orlando to visit the auto museum within Dezerland Park. We toured the entire auto museum. We walked through the military vehicles, reminisced throughout the section of cars from both the big and small screen, and imagined ourselves assisting Batman to take down Catwoman and Joker in the Batcave. We saved the Bond Museum for last. To enter the Bond Museum, we first had to walk through the Bond Lounge.
Although we hadn’t entered the museum just yet, we were already immersed in the world of Bond. Pictures of the various Bonds throughout the years lined a wall of the lounge, Bond movies were playing on the TV, and there was even a Bond car and a tank from Goldeneye right in the lounge. I was impressed.
So once we entered the actual museum and witnessed the multitude of cars, helicopters, and boats on display as well as a full-sized airplane grounded on the floor of the museum- my mind was blown! Various songs from Bond movies played within the museum inciting a mood of excitement. While walking through this impressive collection, we came across a total of two Aston Martin DB5s. To see just one of these iconic Bond cars would be thrilling, having the chance to lay our eyes on two was just incredible! Seeing the DB5s and all of the cars was remarkable, viewing the boats and helicopters within the museum was unique, but I feel that the airplane parked at the front of the museum commanded the most attention.
During our visit while talking to the manager of the Bond Lounge, I learned that the airplane is painted differently on both sides so it could be used in two different scenes in the movie Goldfinger. The museum included cars and memorabilia from nearly every Bond movie from Dr. No with Sean Connery all the way to Daniel Craig’s Spectre.
With vehicles from 24 Bond movies represented, we had seen a lot already but there was still more- lots more! We had a whole other room to enter that required us to walk under the infamous “The Name’s Bond, James Bond” line that was boldly placed on the bright red wall. The variety of James Bond-themed items in this collection was mind-boggling!
James Bond action figures, James Bond neckties, t-shirts, mugs, shot glasses, and even soda cans all imprinted with the image of James Bond!
Yes, there was still even more but to save me from typing for another hour and causing you- the reader- extreme-level eyestrain, I’ll just stop right there!
After thoroughly examining the phenomenal collection, we headed back to the Bond Lounge to eat. The lounge serves a variety of food, ]even little agents meals for kids. In addition, there are desserts and cocktails. And by cocktails, I’m specifically referring to martinis! Yes, they have cocktails other than martinis at the Bond Lounge, but we’re in the Bond Lounge and of course, I’m ordering a martini! I chose a lemon drop martini while London decided to go with a pineapple martini.
As the kids ate from the Little Agents menu, London and I sipped our martinis and basked in the classiness and ambiance of the Bond Lounge. A happy ending to a remarkable adventure…however the adventure actually didn’t stop there, not for me. After London took the kids to pick up dessert within Dezerland Park, I returned to the Bond Museum to take one last look. I walked around the museum alone this time, in silence, reflecting upon all of the different Bonds and movies throughout the years. I thought back to those days when I could only grasp a sneak peek into this exotic and animated world and then fully appreciated where I stood now, thoroughly immersed in the world of Bond.
To watch our full experience at the Bond Museum and Bond Lounge, just click here