Fun Elevator Finds: Walt Disney Archives Presents Heroes & Villains at South Carolina State Museum

Date of Visit: April 30, 2025

For probably a decade now, I have been meaning to start a series of posts featuring our favorite elevators, but all I have done is occasionally put photos in the "Elevators" album in my photo library. The latest addition to the album was the South Carolina State Museum and I decided it was time to really actually start the series.

While find the elevator was a bit of a challenge as it was kind of hidden down a hallway, once we found the elevator, we liked it because it is a large freight style one. It is not as big as the one at the National Gallery of Art East, but still good size even if not quite big enough for a cartwheel.

What made the elevator at the South Carolina State Museum a favorite, though, is as we were leaving from Level 2, Mik got real excited to see that the door was decorated to promote the "Walt Disney Archives Presents Heroes & Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume" exhibit.

Go to our other Fun Elevator Finds page to check out other favorite elevators we have encountered over the years.

Destination Info:

South Carolina State Museum

301 Gervais Street

Columbia, SC 29201

Related Posts:

• D23 Member Preview: Heroes & Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume Exhibit at South Carolina State Museum
• South Carolina State Museum
• Homewood Suites and Tru by Hilton Columbia Downtown

Homewood Suites and Tru by Hilton Columbia Downtown

Date of Visit: April 30-May 1, 2025

Hilton is usually the last place go to find a hotel when I am booking, especially with Mik, as we've had too many bad experiences and  find their website the least user friendly. For this quick overnight trip to Columbia for the D23 Member preview of the "Heroes & Villains" exhibit, I did end up going with a Hilton hotel, though, as it was right across the street so we could just walk to the South Carolina State Museum, which overall seemed easier than having to park at museum and drive to hotel after the event. In hindsight, it would have just been easier to not stay in Columbia overnight and drive the 3 hours home.

We arrived at the hotel around 2:45pm and tried to check in to our room at Homewood Suites Columbia Downtown. I had checked in on the app and it said the digital key was still pending, but we decided to still check in because it was almost 3pm check in time and we were hoping to put our stuff in room before going to the museum for the 4pm check in for event to spend the most time seeing the rest of the museum.

Right away trying to check in, it was clear things were not going to go smoothly because she said something like the digital key did not work because the payment did not go through, which is bullshit because it was prepaid back in February and card for incidentals was working just fine. Once I said it was prepaid, she seemed to figure that out and then said she would try to find us a room (seemed more that she meant one ready and not that there was not a room available anymore at this point).

When we still did not have a room at 3:30pm, we were told it was being cleaned and would not be ready before we needed to leave for the museum due to a late check out. They let us each get a snack and beverage from the shop for the inconvenience and we headed to the museum thinking we would have the digital key and head straight to our room when we got back from the museum.

By the time we got back to the hotel around 8:30pm, we still did not have a digital key. We headed to the check in desk and at first the lady treated it like we were just checking in for the first time and was like let me see if I can find you a room. Now I was ready to just get a refund and go home because this was turning into the experience at Tru in Charleston. This time, however, the staff was also annoyed at the situation and the one had just come on shift when we had left earlier and did remember that we supposedly were assigned a room and was trying to figure out why the system now had the room type oversold and none available.

Two staff of the front desk spent the next half hour going through their inventory and going in and actually checking that the rooms were occupied. One also got on the phone with Hilton to figure out what was going on and try to resolve the issue. Eventually they were able to get us an accessible room on the Tru side of the hotel and we took it.

The room we ended up with had 2 queen beds. Mik liked that it did not have carpet.

We had actually booked a suite with only an accessible tub bathroom, but this room had a roll in shower, which is always our preference, but was not necessary for this quick overnight trip.

As usual, the toiletries are not conveniently located with them being on opposite wall from the bench and would have been hard to impossible for someone using bench to actually use. I really like the environmentally friendly idea of the refillable toiletries, but they need to figure out how to make it work for accessibility.

The soap and lotion by the sink were also not that convenient to use, but Mik did at least find this sink style he was able to kneel up and use for his teeth brushing himself.

Mik could not get on the toilet himself, though, because of the toilet paper location probably, but also we were not there long enough to care for him to try to hard and just helped him.

The room was just fine for this particular trip, but it still was annoying to waste so much time and end up being charged a $1.14 for the room on top of what I paid for the Homewood Suites room, which was $16 more than the booking price of the Tru room reservation that was emailed to me when they did the move. They did give us some waters, snacks, and cookies, and the staff really did reasonably quickly resolve it in the end, but Mik was already did not want to go on our summer trip at the end of the month and this experience really made him want to figure out a way to not go until I told him that I did not book any Hilton hotels for it (and he found out eegee's flavor of the month is Orange Dream). I certainly would stay at this hotel again if not with Mik, though, as the staff was friendly and it was overall a nice hotel and good location if we decide to visit the museum again.

Destination Info:

Homewood Suites by Hilton Columbia Downtown

Tru by Hilton Columbia Downtown

400 Gervais St

Columbia, SC 29201

Related Posts:

• South Carolina State Museum
• D23 Member Preview: Heroes & Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume Exhibit at South Carolina State Museum

South Carolina State Museum

Date of Visit: April 30, 2025

As part of the D23 Member preview of the "Heroes & Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume" exhibit, we got to access the rest of the South Carolina State Museum. As we only had about 90 minutes before our time to preview "Heroes & Villains," we focused the areas of the museum that seemed most interesting to us and kind of skimmed a lot to see more of the museum.

Since we stayed at a hotel across the street, we walked over to the museum instead of driving. If you drive, they have their accessible parking spots up in front of the museum, but if you walk or have to park in the regular parking lot, there is a ramped sidewalk path to get up to the museum and avoid the steps. You may also be able to go to the right, but the left was more clear a sidewalk path the whole way.

There was a working button to open the door on the far right at the entrance to the museum.

After looking at the map of the museum, we decided to first check out the Space History exhibit on Floor 3. Finding the elevator was a bit of an adventure that included having other people follow us as Dad decided to try to go up the ramp to Floor 2 to get there while I was telling him that it did not make sense because we were off the map. After grabbing the map, we had ended up continuing forward, which leads you out of the State Museum and to the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room & Military Museum, which is a totally different museum and was not on the State Museum map other than an arrow pointing to where it is in relation to the State Museum on Floor 1. While that sounds right up Mik's alley, he actually wanted to explore the exhibits less related to things he already knew a lot about.

Once going back down the ramp to Floor 1 and back into the State Museum, it took a little bit to figure out where the elevator was because it is not clear that you go into the hallway behind the stairs to get to it. Once you go into that hallway, though, there is a clear sign to point out the elevator, which they really should move to the other side of the wall.

Mik loved the elevator as it is a large freight one, which was particularly nice later in the evening when several groups headed straight from the D23 member preview presentation down to the reception and we all easily could fit in one load.

Once on Floor 3, we looked at a few things in the Communications Technology exhibit on our way to Space History. Mom and Dad spent longer there and Mik and I were almost done going through the Space History exhibit by the time Dad texted me to ask where Space History was and I had to go back and direct them over to it telling them that apparently rocket scientists cannot find Space History.

Mik and I enjoyed the Space History area and learning about some of the South Carolina connections to Apollo 16 and aerospace in general. Mom and Dad only joined us for the South Carolina Hall of Heroes before we moved on to explore other areas of the museum.

One of the areas Mik found most interesting was the Robert B. Ariail Collection of Historical Astronomy with the various old telescopes. There is also an observatory here, but we did not visit it.

Mik also liked the H.L. Hunley replica. Be sure to step on the black box in front of the figures to watch them move. Rolling on to it works, too, but it was a little difficult to get Mik on it enough to work.

Of course, Mik also liked the old car. He says he knew it was a 1922 Anderson Touring Car before I read the sign, but do not think he did...

Dad and I found the Secession Ordinance of South Carolina interesting.

To get from Floor 4 to 2, we used the museums's other elevator, which only goes between 2, 3, and 4. It is also much smaller, but it has glass walls so you can get a nice view of some of the exhibits as you go between the floors.

Floor 2 has some exhibits mostly related to nature including South Carolina habitats, dinosaurs, and prehistoric South Carolina. It was also the floor with the changing exhibit space used for the "Heroes & Villains" exhibit and the 4D theater.

Before our time to preview "Heroes & Villains," though, we headed back up to Floor 3 because Mik noticed the train and wanted to check it out. It was kind of disappointing the train dioramas did not have model trains that actually ran, but it was interesting to learn about the Best Friend Train, which was the first American-built freight and passenger steam locomotive.

Mik also found some more old cars in the Transportation exhibit on Floor 3.

Overall we enjoyed the South Carolina State Museum. While we felt like we did see most of the museum in the 90 minutes we had, we certainly could have spent much longer really exploring and reading more of the signage if we visited as a normal museum visit.

Destination Info:

South Carolina State Museum

301 Gervais Street

Columbia, SC 29201

Related Posts:

• D23 Member Preview: Heroes & Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume Exhibit at South Carolina State Museum

D23 Member Preview: Heroes & Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume Exhibit at South Carolina State Museum

Date of Visit: April 30, 2025

I am always checking the D23 events, but it rarely works out to be something we can go to since they are not anywhere near us. Thus, I was pretty excited to see an event that not only worked out at a time we had no other plans, but was also only three hours away.

We “checked in” (post about that adventure to come later…) at our hotel across the street and walked over to the museum getting there around 3:45pm. While the D23 Member Preview of the “Heroes & Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume” exhibit at the South Carolina State Museum event started at 4pm, they were already allowing people to check in and handing out the credentials, so we could go in and enjoy the museum before the after hours exhibit preview.

We were able to explore most of the museum in the time we had before the preview at 5:30pm (post about the museum here), although we definitely did it quick and would have spent much longer reading more of the signs and such if it had been a normal museum visit.

The first part of the exhibit is focused on Cinderella costumes. The different Cinderella costumes included ones from the 2015 movie, Into the Woods, Roger and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, and the Once Upon a Time TV show. There is also a room off of this area showing a short film, which we skipped at first and stopped in to watch before exiting the exhibit.

After the Cinderella area, you enter the main part of the exhibit, which is broken into Heroes on one side and Villains on the other. It was a really nice layout with a pathway of figures on each side leading to the Space Between before breaking off with more Villains to one side and more Heroes to the other.

My favorite in the pathway area was Scott Calvin (Santa Claus from The Santa Clause 3).

Mik’s favorite was Nizam from Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

He also really liked Jafar from Aladdin (2019).

At the end of the pathway, we when to the left to the Villains area. In this area, my favorite was the Sanderson Sisters costumes from Hocus Pocus 2.

The Into the Woods characters being posed as a scene was also interesting.

As we exited the Villains area and headed over to the Heroes, we checked out the costumes in the Space Between, which included characters that were sometimes villains and sometimes heroes. Mik’s favorite here was Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates Of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.

Over on the Heroes side was a somewhat interesting interactive Magic Mirror. For this, you stand on a spot and a costume appears “on” you in the mirror. It sort of worked, but was hard to really see yourself and more was just seeing the various costumes illuminated on the mirror. Certainly did not line up right for Mik sitting, but was not much better for those standing (or at least not if short like me).

My favorite on the Heroes side was Ben Gates from National Treasure. Mik wasn’t impressed as it was just plain street clothes. He would have preferred it to be the costume when Ben Gates was dressed up and stole the Declaration of Independence.

We both liked the scene pose for The Sorcerer’s Apprentice costumes scene.

Of course, I also liked the Mary Poppins Returns costumes.

The most impressive part of the whole is probably the Beast and Gaston.

The sketches on the wall showing the costume design from the original Mary Poppins (and some other movies) was also interesting.

After the exhibit, we had to wait for the presentation at 7pm in the theater. The presentation gave a good overview of the exhibit and the Walt Disney Achrives costume collection and preservation in general. It kind of would have been nice if this had been before the exhibit preview, though, as they talked about things to check out on the detail of some of the costumes that would have been nice to know before hand. We could have gone beak to the exhibit after the presentation if we had wanted, but instead we went down to the reception because we were were hungry and thirsty and Mik was done after having to wait so long between being done seeing the exhibit and the presentation already.

As we headed down to the reception, Mik loved that the elevator doors featured the exhibit poster, which we reminds me I keep saving elevator photos in a folder to do a series of posts on our favorite elevator finds. Maybe this year I'll actually start posting about the elevators.

Overall we enjoyed our visit to the South Carolina State Museum and the “Heroes & Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume” exhibit. It was fun to see some favorite character costumes up close, learn more about the costume design, and see the details that you otherwise would not see.

Destination Info:

“Heroes & Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume” at South Carolina State Museum

301 Gervais Street

Columbia, SC 29201

Related Posts:

• South Carolina State Museum

Conway Riverwalk and Bonfire A Smokin' Taqueria

Date of Visit: January 3, 2025

We parked at the marina at the south end of the Conway Riverwalk to take a family walk. There are two handicap spots at the far end of the parking lot near the marina building.

The sidewalk at this end of the parking lot is a little uneven, but it is clearly a known issue as it was painted to highlight the trip hazards. The odd thing is that it there isn’t any handicap parking at the other end of the parking lot near the entrance to riverfront park, especially since the restrooms and even the playground there were at least partially accessible.

The Mayor Gregory K. Martin Riverfront Park has a short loop trail out along the Waccamaw River. The trail is mostly a very wide well paved sidewalk.

There is also a boardwalk part right along the river on one side. Mik found it to be a rather smooth boardwalk and not all that bumpy as boardwalks can sometimes be.

The holiday River Lights decor were still up in the Riverfront Park. Throughout the park are deer statues (some with Santa hats). There is also a Christmas tree you can walk through or around.

From the Riverfront Park we followed the Conway Riverwalk towards the main entrance by the train tracks. We planned to continue to the north end, but did not get much further before we found it closed off.

Where it was closed off was right by Bonfire A Smokin’ Taqueria. As Mik only came along because Dad said we would be getting food and it looked intriguing, we ended up going up bumping the wheelchair up the stairs from the Riverwalk to have an early dinner at Bonfire. The restaurant itself does have ramp access to the back and front entrance.

Mik was excited to find the tables very easy to roll up to, which has been a big issue for him at the last couple restaurants he has tried in the Myrtle Beach area. We all enjoyed the generous portions at Bonfire and had leftovers we took home including a to go s’mores pie Mik got to eat later. For appetizers, we got fried pickles and potato skins. Mik had the Smokehouse Burrito with tater tots and onion rings as his sides. I had the Veggie Quesadilla with tater tots. Mom had a Street Corn Taco. Dad had the Nacho Pie appetizer with grilled portobello and zucchini as his meal.

After eating, we went out the front door and through the parking lot to get back on the riverwalk without going down the stairs to the boardwalk. On the way back to the car, Mik was up for taking some photos, which he did not want to do before eating.

Before heading back to the car, we walk the Riverfront Park to the Christmas tree again to take some photos as it was starting to get dark enough to at least somewhat enjoy the River Lights.

Overall the Conway Riverwalk was an enjoyable family outing. I can see us going again sometime and even just to go eat at Bonfire. Seeing the River Lights after dark would also be nice, but Mik says not if it was too cold like it would have been once the sun went down today.

Destination Info:

Conway Riverwalk

Conway, SC

Bonfire A Smokin' Taqueria

951 2nd Ave.

Conway, SC29526

Lincoln Memorial: Temporary Ramp replaces Elevator

Date of Visit: October 6, 2024

I would not normally make a post when we visited without Mik, but one of the reasons he did not visit the Lincoln Memorial with us this day was that we saw the alert on the website saying elevator was out and it did not mention there was still a way to go up to the top. We were not surprised that the elevator was not operating as Dad had mentioned there was renovations going on, but it was odd that the website says nothing about the renovations and instead says the elevator is out since December due to an electrical issue.

When we got to the Lincoln Memorial, we discovered that they had a temporary on the south side that takes you up to the top.

It certainly is not ideal for those with some mobility issues as it is a lot of back and forth, but for us it was helpful as even though we did not have Mik, we did have a stroller this visit. The ramp is also well done with it being ADA slope with resting spots and even benches at each turn. It is kind of an eyesore, but personally I would be all for it becoming permanent so you can have the choice of avoiding the wait for the elevator.

Previous Visit Posts

• 2011
• 2015

Destination Info:
Lincoln Memorial National Memorial
Lincoln Memorial Circle
Washington, DC 20037