Yes, there is more to do in Florida than just Disney!
While enjoying a family vacation this winter, we took our kids (age 10 and 8) to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, located in Cape Canaveral on the eastern coast, and about an hour from Orlando. What a fabulous day we all had, exploring the history of the space program and learning about future exploration plans. Here are our tips if you’re considering a visit with your family.
Do your research. The Space Center’s website was extremely helpful in planning our visit, including these suggested itineraries based on how many days you were visiting and who was in your group.
Take an early bus tour. The bus tour is the perfect way to orient you during your visit and get everyone excited. The tour takes you past launch pads, the rocket assembly building, and also leaves you time to explore the Apollo/Saturn V Center on your own. This was our favorite part of the day and we spent a good bit of time here as the kids enjoyed the videos of rocket launches, photos, and information about the Apollo missions. Tip, there is also a café area here if you wanted to get lunch or a snack.
Beware of the fog. We visited on a slightly foggy morning and because we did the bus tour early, we missed out on seeing a few of the launch pads that were obscured by the weather. Even though that was the case, I still am happy that we did the bus tour first so we weren’t rushed at the end of the day.
See Atlantis. One of my favorite moments of the trip happened in the Space Shuttle Atlantis building. I won’t tell you what it was so I don’t ruin it for you, but you’ll know when you go! This building, which also houses information on the Hubble Telescope, was the last stop on our day. One tip from my kids: skip the shuttle launch simulator if you are running low on time. It was about 30 minutes from the time you walked into the waiting area until completion, and they didn’t think it was worth it. I sat in the watch room since I get queasy and don’t love those types of experiences. I did think it was neat that I could watch them through the experience, though.
Consider a second day. If we had more time in our vacation, we would have done a second day at the visitor complex to finish things like the Heroes & Legends Museum we ran out of time to see, but to also consider one of the specialty tours.
So next time you are heading to Florida, consider adding Kennedy Space Center to your list!
