Myself and my family went to the imperial war museum a few months ago I found the whole affair exciting.
The car park charges £4 per car even for disabled badge holders but there is a lot of space.
Entry to the museum itself is free although there is a small charge to go onto the viewing area which goes very high into the sky and you can see all over Manchester staying up there for as long as you want.
Be warned though it does get very windy up there as there is very little protecting you from the weather this view alone is worth the journey to the museum but there is much more.

On arriving to the museum we had our bags searched not sure if they were trying to show us what would happen in war time or if they were scared of terrorists but it made me feel odd about it.

Immediately inside there is a huge shop which I spent a long time looking at all the replicas of old things that were there. When done I was given a photo pass which meant I could take photos in certain areas of the museum. Anyone wanting to take photos will need this.

Inside the museum is fully wheelchair accessible although it did go dark very quickly when one of the many shows were being held. These told the tale of war with large lights pictures and people talking about their memories.

All around there were glass areas filled with interesting things each with a paragraph about them. Usefully for me there were paper copies in a folder near each glass area as I find it hard to see clearly.
This folder told everything that the glass area told but in large writing.

There is a café there for food and drink although I brought a picnic so I cannot comment on that.

All in all I found the day trip fun and interesting ok it could maybe have been better in some areas but for free how can you complain myself and my family enjoyed it and if you go there with an open mind you will too.