Last weekend we headed out on a little microadventure to the Kennedy Space Center. Having lived in Florida almost my whole life, I had never been. And if I have, it was so long ago I don’t even remember it. You don’t hear much talk about Kennedy Space Center, so I was not expecting to be blown away. But guess what? We were BLOWN AWAY. The park exceeded our expectations, and we learned a ton about the past, present and future of our nation’s space program. Which is not that hard considering I realized I knew almost nothing. In case you are considering visiting KSC any time soon, I will share my thoughts and highlights.
Entrance to Shuttle Atlantis exhibit
Theme Park or Museum?
It’s important to note that if you are expecting a theme park like Disney World with rides, lines and characters, you will find KSC completely different. Depending on your love of all things DW, this may or may not be a good thing. For us, it was a great thing. I would say depending on your child’s interest in space, perhaps it would be best suited for kids who are at least 6 years old. I would describe KSC less like a theme park and more as a large museum campus, made up of several museums filled with films, exhibits, experiences and hands-on activities. We were there for 8 hours and still didn’t get to everything.
Park Size:
The size of the main park is actually very small. If you stand in the middle of it, you can pretty much see all of the buildings. If I had to venture to guess, I would say it is about 1/2 the size of Legoland. Again, I think this is to its benefit because it is very well-maintained. The bus tour (which is a MUST), leaves from the park and drives you out to all the launchpad sites and out to the Apollo/Saturn V Center which is out in a different location on the property. But the bus is the only way to get there. If you are like me, you might be inclined to skip over a bus tour. Please do not miss the bus tour. If you do, you are missing about 40% of the attraction.
Main hall of Apollo/Saturn V Center
Saturn V rocket – the last remaining rocket from the Apollo mission
Quality of Exhibits:
The exhibits were PHENOMENAL. We have been to some incredible museums, and the exhibits at KSC were some of the best we’ve seen. The thought and detail that went into preparing you before you entered the exhibits at the Atlantis building and the Apollo/Saturn V Center building were genius. I don’t how many of you have been to museums were you just wander around looking at stuff, most of which you don’t know anything about. The planners of these exhibits were ingenious about setting up what you are about to see and giving you context. Part of starting the tours involved watching incredibly well-produced short films that primed you for what you are about to see. At the Apollo/Saturn V Center, they even replicated a launch from inside Mission Control. I feel that made all the difference. To come face to face with the actual shuttle and the actual Saturn V rocket, after having that understanding and context, was very impactful.
Up close and personal with the shuttle Atlantis
What we did:
If you know me, you might be surprised, but I did zero planning or research before we went. Life has been pretty full lately, and there just wasn’t time. Brian bought the tickets online the day before we went. However, when he was on the website, he found THIS itinerary and we just followed that. It was SPOT-ON perfect. If you go, you will not go wrong with this itinerary.
We used the strategy we use at all the theme parks and attractions we go to. We get there as it opens, or a little before. We have found that most parks don’t start getting crowded until the middle of the day. So getting there early gives you a few hours of enjoying the park with few people and lines. In the case of KSC, this was even more true. In comparison to parking at DW, can I tell you what a pleasure it was to just park and walk a few steps to the entrance? Simply blissful.
We got there as the park opened and headed straight to the Shuttle Atlantis exhibit. There were barely any people there yet, so we got to see the movie and experience the shuttle up close with no crowds. Right by the shuttle was a super knowledgeable and kind KSC docent who will answer questions you didn’t even know you had about the shuttle program. He tipped us off (thank you, Terry) to skip the interactive exhibits for now and head downstairs for the Shuttle Launch experience. The attraction starts at 10am, and nobody would be there yet. So that’s what we did. We headed past 3 floors of interesting and interactive exhibits and did the flight simulator. With no line. Again, blissful 🙂 We then headed back up and slowly worked our way back down again letting the kids engage with the exhibit. I would say we spent 2+ hours here! So glad it was the first stop.
At this point, we were all getting hungry, so we ate at the Rocket Garden Cafe, one of 3 restaurants on-site. The kids enjoyed playing at the playground while we ordered lunch. The food was pretty good, which was surprising. Again, theme park food is another reason I stay away from theme parks.
Ready for the bus tour to the launch pad sites and the Apollo/Saturn V Center
The next stop on the recommended itinerary was the bus tour. You HAVE to get on this bus tour. First of all, they take you out into the NASA property where you are not allowed to go. Second of all, with video screens showing short videos and a super informative bus driver, you learn so much about what you are seeing. Third, you are taken out to the actual launch pads and see them up close. You can see where the Apollo and shuttle missions launched from and how gigantic they are. Context is everything.
But the most important reason you do not want to skip the bus tour is because it drops you off at another incredible exhibit building, the Apollo/Saturn V Center. Here, after watching a fascinating short film about the Space Race and how it correlated with the Cold War, then watch a simulation of a launch from the Launch Control Center, you come out face to face with the last remaining rocket from the Apollo missions. Around the center there are more exhibits all about the Apollo missions. Things like the actual spacesuits, actual pieces of the moon, and shows to help you get a better understanding of what it was like. It was truly amazing and not to be missed.
After the bus tour, we went to the IMAX movie. By the time we got out of the movie, the park was about to close. We shut the place down! Eight hours after we arrived, with no lines and no crowds, it was time to go. We didn’t even get to go to the Journey to Mars or walk around the Rocket Garden. Our brains had reached max capacity with how much we had learned on our visit. Plus, we all agreed it was a reason to come back.
Overall Impression:
Kennedy Space Center was such a happy surprise. A totally worthwhile experience. Made me wonder why no one talks about this hidden gem of an attraction here in Florida. Ben has asked that we go back every year. Everything was clean, modern and well-kept. We’ve found that is not always the case with the non-Disney parks *ahem, Legoland*. Perhaps our experience might have been different if the place was teaming with field trip kids. Thank goodness, it wasn’t. In addition to not having to deal with any lines or crowds, I think part of the reason we all liked it so much was that it is a part of our country’s history that is real and exciting. I cannot recommend Kennedy Space Center enough.
Ebony
Thanks for the review! I used to live in Titusville so we would go to KSC all the time. I still felt like I would see something new every time.
Ale Post author
How fun! I definitely feel like we didn’t capture it all, so I can see how going all the time you would keep learning new things.