Day trip to Kennedy Space Cente

[zinniadaisy]

We want to break up our Disney trip in August with a side trip to the Space Center. I found a bus tour that includes tickets for $275 for 3 of us, which means $125 for the ride. The ride includes a tour spiel along the way and a drive around the complex as well.

I thought that would be the easiest way to go...until I realized that they pick up at ASMu and I was planning to stay at POP. The pickup time is 8:05am.

So, with that in mind, how do I get us to ASMu from POP at that time of day?

I was thinking we could catch a bus to Epcot since it has EMH that day. Then hop on a bus going to ASMu. Is that feasible at that time of day? I was thinking we would get up early and be on the first bus to Epcot to give us plenty of time.

Thoughts? Would this work or is there some glaring flaw to my plan? Last time we were there was 2003 and so much has changed. I don't really want to rent a taxi or car. I could pay more for a pickup at POP, but they charge $10 a person x3 and this is a very tightwad budget sort of trip. TIA

 

[nacho113]

You're going to have to be on the move pretty early in the morning to get this to work if you use Disney transportation. I think I would just bite the bullet and pay the extra $30. Your already in for $275 + gratuities, the extra $30 would be worth it for the peace of mind (and the extra hour of sleep) ... for us anyway.

 

[philharmagic fan]

We want to break up our Disney trip in August with a side trip to the Space Center. I found a bus tour that includes tickets for $275 for 3 of us, which means $125 for the ride. The ride includes a tour spiel along the way and a drive around the complex as well.

I thought that would be the easiest way to go...until I realized that they pick up at ASMu and I was planning to stay at POP. The pickup time is 8:05am.

So, with that in mind, how do I get us to ASMu from POP at that time of day?

I was thinking we could catch a bus to Epcot since it has EMH that day. Then hop on a bus going to ASMu. Is that feasible at that time of day? I was thinking we would get up early and be on the first bus to Epcot to give us plenty of time.

Thoughts? Would this work or is there some glaring flaw to my plan? Last time we were there was 2003 and so much has changed. I don't really want to rent a taxi or car. I could pay more for a pickup at POP, but they charge $10 a person x3 and this is a very tightwad budget sort of trip. TIA

We were at Kennedy Space Center in January (we had a car and drove ourselves). FYI - the KSC admission ticket ($48) includes a bus ride around the complex, so if your tour company is using that as a selling point, be skeptical. Also, there's not much to see along the way, but maybe the talk on the bus is historical or about the space program. If you can find a cheaper way to get there without the "drive around the complex", I'd take it (unless the price includes KSC tickets, in which case it's probably a good deal).

 

[Alesia]

I was thinking we could catch a bus to Epcot since it has EMH that day. Then hop on a bus going to ASMu. Is that feasible at that time of day? I was thinking we would get up early and be on the first bus to Epcot to give us plenty of time.

Thoughts? Would this work or is there some glaring flaw to my plan? Last time we were there was 2003 and so much has changed. I don't really want to rent a taxi or car. I could pay more for a pickup at POP, but they charge $10 a person x3 and this is a very tightwad budget sort of trip. TIA

There's a glaring flaw: There's a decent chance you won't make it.

You will have to be at the bus stop by 6:25. The first bus will show up sometime between 6:30 and 6:50. Then you're going to have to try to go to ASMu from Epcot, and that can be a real problem that early in the morning. While buses are coming to the park from the resorts, they aren't necessarily going back to those same resorts. You could wait for a very long time and not make it.

 

[zinniadaisy]

Not sure how to get the quote button to work, but thank you for all the replies.

Philharmagic, the price includes tickets to KSC. The tour website gave the list of things we do so I just assumed they gave the tour of the complex also. I had figured the $275-150 for tickets = $125 for 3 to ride the bus. A rental car plus gas was adding up to $100 so it seemed like a better deal to just ride the bus.

Alesia, that is what I wondered about...if there would even be a bus that would be going to a resort.

Nacho, you're probably right about the $30. Would a taxi over to ASMu be cheaper? Probably not? If I have to add $30 on to my $125, would it just be better to rent a car?

Another thought I had...is there an easy way to get to the Swan from being dropped off at Epcot? They pick up at Swan too.

 

[Alesia]

Not sure how to get the quote button to work, but thank you for all the replies.

After selecting the posts you wantto quote, click in the reply box an a button thay says "inset quotes" will appear under it.

Nacho, you're probably right about the $30. Would a taxi over to ASMu be cheaper? Probably not? If I have to add $30 on to my $125, would it just be better to rent a car?

A taxi will be $25ish. I would rent a car.

Another thought I had...is there an easy way to get to the Swan from being dropped off at Epcot? They pick up at Swan too.

No, but you could take the bus to DHS and then walk or take the boat (if it runs that early) to the Swan. I would allow 75 minutes or so.

 

[zinniadaisy]

If I wanted to rent a car, how would I get to that from POP?

Or...Would I just be better off staying at ASMu instead? It would be cheaper for the room, although not by much, which was why I picked POP. We are not going to be at the room for more than sleeping & showering, but this is likely to be our only trip while both kids are still school aged so I let them pick.

Here, I had thought it would be so easy to just ride a bus over to KSC.

Maybe I should ask if anyone knows of a better way to get there?

 

[zinniadaisy]

Did a little more searching and Undercover Tourist sells a KSC tour from Orlando area for $240 for 3 and includes admission....so that leaves the transportation portion at $80. I couldn't rent a car with gas, tolls, and parking for that. But I could spring for the taxi with what I save.

The other thing I found was Mears Shuttle runs Mon, Wed, Fri for $36 a person...but I can't figure out how to book that. All it wants to bring up are town cars, which are considerable more than the $36pp on the chart I found.

 

[nacho113]

If I wanted to rent a car, how would I get to that from POP?

Or...Would I just be better off staying at ASMu instead? It would be cheaper for the room, although not by much, which was why I picked POP. We are not going to be at the room for more than sleeping & showering, but this is likely to be our only trip while both kids are still school aged so I let them pick.

Here, I had thought it would be so easy to just ride a bus over to KSC.

Maybe I should ask if anyone knows of a better way to get there?

There is an Alamo location at The Swan and a National at The Dolphin and also at the Car Care Center, they will shuttle you to pick up the rental car if you call ahead. There are also AVIS, Budget and Dollar locations at 3 of the hotels near Downtown Disney.
If you are thinking of going the car rental route, you may want to think about picking up the evening before you want it so you are ready to leave first thing in the morning. The added bonus here is that you will have a vehicle incase you need a grocery/bevie run or just want to pop off site for a meal or something.

Typically car rentals are for a 24 hour period so renting at, say, 9PM on a Wednesday evening and returning it when you return from your day at KSC at 9PM on Thursday would typically cost the same as running around getting the rental car at 8AM on Thursday and returning it that evening when you return from KSC

 

[zinniadaisy]

I have not been able to find a rental car for under $52....plus tax and insurance, which put it at $75. Add $20 for gas, $10 for parking, and not sure how much for the toll, but we're to $105 already.

Any ideas how to get the car for less? Or is that it? I used priceline to figure it.

 

[Jimsig]

Check out the pinned thread up the top of the forum. It's for a hertz discount http://www.disboards.com/threads/di...e-hertz-gold-plus-rewards-membership.3253734/
You can also type in "Alamo" discounts "Avis" discounts in to google and see what those bring up. A lot of times retailmenot has discounts.

 

[zinniadaisy]

I've decided life would just be easier to book at All Star Music instead of POP, so my problem is solved and my stay is cheaper. After much photo studying, I think ASMu looks nicer than POP, plus they have the brand new food court that looks really nice too.

Thanks for all the help!