OT-anyone gone/going to the King Tut exhibit in Philly?

[Twingle]

There is a King Tut exhibit at The Franklin Institue until the end of September. I would LOVE to take my DS there, but I've never been to Philly. I live in a suburb of Washington, D.C., and grew up in NYC, so big cities don't bother me - just wondering how easy The Franklin Institute is to get to from area hotels.

Any info on the exhibit or Philly in general would be appreciated!

TIA!

 

[JustineMarie]

My mom took my DD8 and DN11 to it on March 4th. They loved it although they did have to wait an hour to actually see the tomb. I've heard it's not that long during the week though. As far as hotel wise, it will probably just as easy and much cheaper for you to stay in New Jersey, in a hotel, and drive there. I don't have much time now but if you want more detailed info I would be glad to give you more later on HTH and sorry this is so short.

 

[pha1226]

There are special King Tut trolleys running around Center City. I'm not sure of the exact routes but since this is a huge tourist draw, I'm sure they are routed near the hotels.

 

[Twingle]

JustineMarie and pha1226, thank you for replying! I didn't know about the trolley, I would think that there would be a link on the website with the routes.

JustineMarie, whenever you have a free minute I'd love to know what your kids thought of the exhibit - Thanks!

 

[3mickeymom]

Try this website for lots of info. If you are used to cities Philadelphia is a very manageable city. I would look to stay at a hotel in center city. We stayed at the Holiday Inn a few years back on a weekend deal. The kids ate for free and they also had parking. We walked to all the historical sights. Have fun

 

[coolmickey]

My DH and I took ou DD5 to the Tut exhibit;it was very interesting;although alot of the artifacts are not from king tut's tomb;such as, the sarcophagus is not his. The IMAX movie about Egypt and King Tut was great;my daughter who learned about King Tut in her kindergarden class loved the flim and remained interested the whole time;but there were a few times walking through the exhibit she got board.Overall, I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in the subject.

 

[JoiseyMom]

We, a group of 8 of us, are going at the end of April. I don't know much about Philly, except for the 2 famous and yummy cheese steak places .

 

[VacationKicks]

We went to Philly to see King Tut in Feb., DS 12, DD 10, DD 8. We spent the extra $7 (ish) for the audio tour. It really helped to explain many of the artifacts and keep up momentum. I would say to buy tickets in advance so you can get a good time. We went just after lunch. Lunch at the Franklin Inst. was crazy. Not enough tables and not great food either. Better to go outside and buy a hotdog.

As for the exhibit, you get your time to show up but then we had to wait about 30 min standing in line seeing nothing. Finally, there was a short intro movie and then you are on your own to see the exhibit which it separated into rooms. The best stuff is in the last room and by then we had been standing/walking for about 2 hours with no breaks. Nothing to drink, in a hot (due to large crowds), dark, exhibit. The exit leads to a gift shop with a lot of great stuff but it was so crowed we just left and went to the main gift shop later which was not as good. I would recommend braving the crowds if you want to get a King Tut souvenior.

I also agree that the IMAX movie was great! In fact, the whole Franklin Inst. was great! We spent the whole day there and the kids would have spent longer but it was closing.

We also took the trolley tour but the duck tour is better. (it was closed in feb.) The liberty bell (free) and liberty hall (pre-buy time slot for 1.50 online) was great. We also saw the mint (self guided and free but no cameras allowed and no lockers). The trolley will pick you up and drop you off at your hotel. It is easy to get around Philly and there was so much to see and do we want to go back when we can spend more time.

Hope this helps!

 

[Debbiebee68]

Don't get me wrong, the exhibit is lovely, but every bit of advertising, including the STEPS to the Franklin Institute are draped with the golden mask. It is the kind of thing you wait your whole life to see- and then when it was not there, boy, what a let down.

The audio tour was great- offered very good additional information, also, it gave the kids something to focus on when the line through the exhibit was slow. There are more artifacts of other minor pharaohs than Tut.

Would I do it again? Probably, but I still feel that the advertising was false. According to an interview in the New York Times the week after I went, said the Egyptian minister of tourism claimed the the mask was too delicate to make the trip. The Times basically said BALDERDASH- it is too big of a tourist draw to let it leave Egypt.

Have fun if you go!!

 

[momtoce&j]

When I found out this exhibit was coming back to the states a year and a half ago I tod DH we HAD to take the kids to see. I still remember seing the Tut exhibit when I was a child in NYC back in the 70's.

I am planning out our trip now (can't come to Philly and not take the kids to see the Historic section) (DD(14 well 15 tomorrow) and I went to Philly just the two of us a few years ago. We had a GREAT time wondering around.)


VacationKicks - what hotel did you stay at?? Did you have a reasonable rate? Did the hotel have a pool for the kids to go in after dinner?


Twingle - hey, if we wind up visiting at the same time we might 'bump' into each other.

 

[Twingle]

Everyone - thank you so much for your tips and sharing your experiences! VacationKicks - wow, I was your first post Thanks We learned in visiting museums in Washington, DC, that we were better off either packing a picnic or getting something outside of the museum. Expensive food, and it tasted like it had been under the heat lamps since Regan was President. Debbiebee68 - thank you for telling me that the golden mask is NOT there, my DS would be questioning that in a big way.

Also, thanks for the advice on the Audio Tour, and about the gift shop. Gotta have our souvies, right?

I'm planning on going during the week over the summer, have to check DH's work schedule since he'll stay at home with our twinadoes. I'm sure the crowds will be heavier in the summer, but hey, we're used to Disney, right?

Thanks again for all the info!