Drone Festival at Exploration Place
Posted on December 8, 2025 by Ching under Things to Do.
We got to do some really fun things this year but the drone festival at Exploration Place was definitely one of the highlights. This is our first time attending because our busy schedules have always prevented us from going in years past. However, when I saw they were using music from Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Superman, and Harry Potter, I knew we absolutely had to go see it this year.
Not having attended before, we really didn’t know what to expect. Even though it was just the two of us going, I purchased a carload pass to guarantee our parking. We also paid for seats so we didn’t have to carry portable chairs. We weren’t sure how that worked exactly but they had a pretty good system. Each seat had an attached lanyard with a plastic pocket. You wrote your name on cards and then slid it in the plastic pocket to claim it (see photos below). So if there’s a card, that means the seat is taken. You just had to look for seats with empty sleeves. We went on Sunday (the final night of the show) and several seats either had missing lanyards or missing plastic sleeves. Brian had this idea to sit behind seats without lanyards or sleeves because, in theory, people couldn’t claim them — because, how would they right? Well that didn’t really work because people figured out quickly, those seats were open because they obviously couldn’t be claimed, and they were sitting on them anyway. LOL.
Oh, funny story. Before claiming our seats, Brian almost got into an altercation in the parking lot. Brian was trying to back into a parking stall. This guy was standing next to a nearby vehicle either vaping or smoking (I couldn’t remember which) but just basically standing there. As Brian is backing the car, he decides to finally walk to the event site. He basically walked into the path of our car as we are backing and then has the audacity to yell, “Watch where you’re going, asshole!” Brian couldn’t just let it be so then he rolls down his window and chirps back at the guy, “I can see you!” So then the guy turns around and comes back like he’s going to do something. They exchange some more works, which I can’t remember now, but I remember Brian saying something like, “Way to ruin a good evening.”
Anyway, we don’t even end up parking in that stall because at this point Brian is paranoid that the guy is going to come back and slash his tires. He just gave us a sort of unhinged vibe so maybe? Anyway, Brian find a parking spot much further away from the original spot he was trying to park in. We get our cards and claim our seats but we also want to leave our stuff while we walk around to see the new Ice Dinosaurs Exhibit inside Exploration Place and see the drones at the staging area. Brian is like, “Hell, no. We are not leaving our stuff here.” He was worried the guy would mess with our water bottles and such. I’m like, “You know, if you didn’t get in fights with people, you wouldn’t have to worry about them jacking with your stuff.” LOL. Sometimes we create our own problems. I did finally convince him to leave the backpack with our beanies and blankets (which we brought in case we got cold later in the evening) but he insisted on carrying his water bottle with him.
I took some pictures of the drones at the staging area. I believe they used over 400 drones in the show this year, which is even more than last year. They also used 80 or so for the test flight. It’s basically a calibration run but also an opportunity for spectators to move to a better viewing area if the original spot they picked wasn’t great, which was actually the case for us. More on this later.
Brian was totally geeking out over the drones and spent several minutes talking to one of the drone pilots. I can never remember if they’re called pilots or engineers. Brian had so many questions and the guy very patiently answered them all.
Here are a couple of pics from the Ice Dinosaurs Exhibit inside Exploration Place. They also had a light show in the dome, which was fun, but of course not quite as cool as the main event.
On the way back to our seats, we perused the abundance of food trucks. We had dinner prior so we weren’t hungry but I got to indulge with some halo-halo from Kusina Ni Cheska for dessert. It was delicious! I don’t get to eat halo-halo often so it’s always a treat.
The Nailbiters, a cover band consisting of high school kids from Derby, performed as people were assembling. It was really impressive watching young kinds play music from before they were even born so brilliantly. They were fantastic.
During the test flight, we realized we did not have the best seats for viewing. I decided I wanted better seats so I went on the hunt, while Brian remained in our original seats. I told him I would text him to come over if I found better seats for us. I wasn’t really paying attention because I never have beef with anyone but, it turns out, the new seats I found were directly in front of the guy that Brian almost got in a fight with in the parking lot. LOL. We didn’t say anything and he didn’t say anything. It was good that everyone had moved on and we all enjoyed the show.
An awesome string quartet performed the accompanying music that was perfectly timed to the magnificent drone formations. It was really well done and we highly recommend this event. Definitely a must-see when they return next year.
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