Whilst Florida is best known for its world class theme parks in Orlando, on our most recent trip we were keen to explore what else the sunshine state has to offer families away from the Orlando bubble.
The space coast is just an hours drive from Disney, yet it offered us such a different experience in Florida and is home to one of Florida’s top attractions, Kennedy Space Centre.
Ever since our visit to the Houston Space Centre, we have always wanted to visit Kennedy Space Centre so we were fascinated to see how it compared and it didn’t disappoint. This was one of the most incredible experiences that we have had in Florida, and even if you are not a space enthusiast, you will be hard pressed after a visit here to say ‘wow’ that was impressive. This is our review of the KSC.
What was so incredible about visiting Kennedy Space Centre was that everything we had seen or read about space travel basically had left Earth from this iconic location – from NASA’s Apollo to the Space Shuttle program.
It’s now home to many of the commercial space companies, looking to continue space exploration and during our visit, there was an Artemis and SpaceX rocket on their respective launch pads in readiness for their next space mission. At the entrance to the attraction is a mission countdown clock which counts down second by second until the next space launch.
Tip – I would highly recommend downloading the Kennedy Space Centre mobile app, which was really helpful, especially if it is your first visit here like us. It was also needed to easily make our free reservations for the Hyperdeck VR: Mission Moon experience – more on this later.
We started our experience, walking through the Rocket Garden which is filled with huge authentic rockets from the past. We were lucky to catch one of the talks which was taking place here so we learnt about the history of the rockets from NASA’s Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs and the latest rocket added to the garden, a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket which came here in 2021.
It was such a surreal experience to be so close to these incredible sights and the sheer size and scale of them was breathtaking.
The vast complex is split into mission zones and our first port of call was one of the latest additions to KSC – Gateway: The Deep Space Launch Complex, a huge new building devoted to the present and future of space travel.
Across this multi level attraction set inside a 50,000 sq ft building we were able to see modern day space craft including a Boeing Starliner Capsule, Lockheed Martin Space Habitat, Boeing and SpaceX spacesuits and a huge SpaceX Falcon 9 booster suspended from the ceiling.
What we liked about Gateway were the amount of interactive exhibits here . The Blue Origin virtual reality experience was recommended to us before our visit and its definitely worth visiting. We started off on a pre flight briefing before boarding a replica of the Blue Origin’s New Shepard crew capsule.
This VR experience was so realistic and we did feel as though we were on a space journey through its clever use of actual data and imagery to mimic an astronauts journey as our rocket soars above the Karman Line, the internationally-recognised boundary of space.
There is so much to see and do here, at other visitor attractions this building alone has enough going on to keep you occupied for the entire day. Also worth checking out here is Spaceport KSC on the first floor, designed to replicate a spaceport of the future there are four different journeys here to choose from and explore in your spacecraft.
We decided on uncharted world, which was an action packed adventure exploring seven alien worlds orbiting a red dwarf star. From our lift off to landing, the incredible environment and visuals provided us with a thrilling four minute trip – set in a two-storey 4D theatre, providing an experience similar to Soarin at Disney.
The Hyperdeck VR: Mission Moon is also worth booking onto when you first arrive at Kennedy Space Centre and is one of the latest interactive experiences here.
On this seven minute virtual reality experience, the four of us took our spots and mounted our VR headsets before embarking on our high speed moon mission trying to destroy obstacles using our handheld devices. This was difficult enough for me, but when it was mixed with wind, heat and a moving platform to correspond with the action it brought out our competitive sides as we tried to outscore each other.
Also included in your ticket is the 45 minute Kennedy Space Center Bus Tour, which like everything during our visit was just mesmerizing. First stop is the 52 storey high NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building or VAB – one of the largest buildings in the world by internal volume, where space rockets are assembled.
We also get close to Pad39A, which was home to the Apollo and Space Shuttle launches – passing by the gigantic transporter that to this day still moves the rockets from the VAB to the pad ready for lift off. We didn’t really know what to expect and although you can’t leave the bus during this part of the tour our knowledgeable tour guide was excellent and we were able to take photos through the windows of the coach.
Tip – On the Bus Tour sit on the right (when seated looking forward) for the best views.
The best part of the tour was still to come which was our visit to the Apollo/Saturn V Center, home to the gigantic Saturn V rocket – the largest rocket ever flown.
We started in the exact control room which was used for the first moon mission, where we got to experience what it would have been like sitting here and counting down for launch of Apollo 8, which was brilliantly detailed and realistic, before the doors open to the main attraction here to reveal the breathtaking Saturn V rocket.
Words or pictures can’t really prepare you for the scale and size of the Saturn V rocket – at 363ft-long – the = rocket’s three stages are suspended above end-to-end, surrounded by a wealth of other artefacts and displays here including moon rock to seeing a lunar lander left unused by the cancelled Apollo 18 mission.
Being able to walk underneath the huge rocket boosters and the rocket itself provided us with incredible photo opportunities and being able to find out more about the different stages of launch was just fascinating.
Tip – It can get really busy here at the start of the tour, so if you are looking to get pictures with less people, I would recommend waiting 5-10 minutes for the crowds on the tour to disperse as they explore the rest of the exhibit.
After purchasing a NASA t-shirt for Holly from the gift shop, we boarded the bus for our return back to the main space centre and for our next stop – The Space Shuttle Atlantis experience, which was my personal favourite.
Outside the building are its iconic boosters and orange fuel tank and once inside a series of short films set the scene about the history of the shuttle ending in a final room where a huge multimedia screen at the end of the show became opaque and lifted revealing the incredible sight the Atlantis space shuttle – the last space shuttle to fly a mission, in 2011.
Nothing can really prepare you when see a space shuttle for the first time, and displayed from the ceiling with its cargo doors open at a rotation of 43.21 degrees, we got to see the shuttle as the astronauts would have seen it in space as if it just undocked from the International Space Station (ISS).
We were able to get so close to the shuttle from the observation deck to bring able to walk underneath and seeing its individual heat tiles. There are over 60 interactive exhibits here, from being able to sit in a replica cockpit of the shuttle or learning how to fly in the simulators to one of the kids favourites – whizzing down the re-entry slide to the first floor of Space Shuttle Atlantis.
Younger kids will also enjoy being able to climb through the modules of the International Space Station and the life-size replica of the Hubble Space Telescope is also worth stopping by as was the area to the Challenger and Columbia disasters of 1986 and 2003, which was an incredibly moving tribute.
Another adrenaline fix came from the Space shuttle launch experience, where we took an eight-and-a-half-minute ascent into orbit as if we were onboard the shuttle at simulated speeds of 17,500 miles per hour. – I didn’t think I would like it but it was so much fun.
There is so much to see and do here, you really need two days to experience everything – some other areas not to miss are the Heroes and Legends exhibition and is US Astronaut Hall of Fame and Red Planet which takes you on a journey to Mars – but that’s for another visit. Before you leave visit the largest space shop in the world, where there is every kind of NASA and space merch that you could imagine.
Getting here
We had a rental car and the drive across from Orlando took just under an hour and one of my favourite parts of the journey was crossing some of the intercoastal bridges that connect the space coast.
Much like the theme parks, parking here is at a cost although it’s a lot cheaper than the likes of Disney and Universal at $15.00. If you don’t want to drive, you can book organised trips through companies such as attractiontickets.com that include your ticket and return coach travel or an Uber or Lyft would be approximately $70 each way from Disney.
Overall
Kennedy Space Center is truly a must-stop destination on any Florida adventure, it will be one of the most memorable and enjoyable attractions that you will visit anywhere in the world.
It was a totally different experience to Space Center Houston with lots more interactive exhibits here and even if you don’t have an interest in space you can’t help but be impressed by what you are able to see and experience here.
With it being less than an hour from Orlando, this really impressive complex is definitely worth adding onto your Florida itinerary, we are so glad that we made time for a visit here as it offered a totally different experience away from the hustle and bustle of the theme parks.
Ready to Book
Ready to BookFor UK customers one of the best places to get tickets is from Attractiontickets.com with prices currently at £54 for adults and £47 for children .
For more information on Discovery Cove and the range of experiences on offer it’s well worth visiting the official Kennedy Space Center website