Help!! Kennedy Space Center logistic problems/questions...

[Ariel Wanna-be]

DS17 plans to study aerospace engineering when he graduates next year, so we'd like to visit KSC the day we disembark from the Fantasy. Bear with me while I attempt to explain our convoluted plan:

1. After getting off the ship, we will take a shuttle to Budget.
2. From there, we will rent a car and drive to KSC.
3. We will tour KSC until the last possible minute that it will take us to get to the Catholic church in Celebration in time for the 4:30 vigil mass.
4. Mass will take approximately 1 hour.
5. After church, DH will drop DS and I off at the BC (we are touring the parks for a couple of days).
6. DH will drive to MCO to drop off the car and make an 8:05 flight.

Please look this over and let me know if this is feasible. Also, if anyone knows the answer to these questions, I would really appreciate it.

• what time should we get off the ship in order to make it to the opening of KSC at 9:00?
• IF it happens to be a rainy day, is it worth it to visit KSC?
• there are two admission tickets that I'm interested in, but I don't really know which to choose. One is a $80ish ticket that includes a tour, and the other is a $50ish ticket that (from what I can tell) includes everything but the tour. Can anyone make a recommendation as to which ticket to buy?
• what time should we leave KSC for Celebration?
• Providing we can be at the Beach Club for 5:45, should DH have any problems making his flight?

A million thanks in advance.

.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

DS17 plans to study aerospace engineering when he graduates next year, so we'd like to visit KSC the day we disembark from the Fantasy. Bear with me while I attempt to explain our convoluted plan:

1. After getting off the ship, we will take a shuttle to Budget.
2. From there, we will rent a car and drive to KSC.
3. We will tour KSC until the last possible minute that it will take us to get to the Catholic church in Celebration in time for the 4:30 vigil mass.
4. Mass will take approximately 1 hour.
5. After church, DH will drop DS and I off at the BC (we are touring the parks for a couple of days).
6. DH will drive to MCO to drop off the car and make an 8:05 flight.

Please look this over and let me know if this is feasible. Also, if anyone knows the answer to these questions, I would really appreciate it.

• what time should we get off the ship in order to make it to the opening of KSC at 9:00?
• IF it happens to be a rainy day, is it worth it to visit KSC?
• there are two admission tickets that I'm interested in, but I don't really know which to choose. One is a $80ish ticket that includes a tour, and the other is a $50ish ticket that (from what I can tell) includes everything but the tour. Can anyone make a recommendation as to which ticket to buy?
• what time should we leave KSC for Celebration?
• Providing we can be at the Beach Club for 5:45, should DH have any problems making his flight?

A million thanks in advance.

.

With a full schedule and picking up a car you need to be off at 7.45 the KSC tickets behind the scenes is best.

 

[dittymau]

DS17 plans to study aerospace engineering when he graduates next year, so we'd like to visit KSC the day we disembark from the Fantasy. Bear with me while I attempt to explain our convoluted plan:

1. After getting off the ship, we will take a shuttle to Budget.
2. From there, we will rent a car and drive to KSC.
3. We will tour KSC until the last possible minute that it will take us to get to the Catholic church in Celebration in time for the 4:30 vigil mass.
4. Mass will take approximately 1 hour.
5. After church, DH will drop DS and I off at the BC (we are touring the parks for a couple of days).
6. DH will drive to MCO to drop off the car and make an 8:05 flight.

Please look this over and let me know if this is feasible. Also, if anyone knows the answer to these questions, I would really appreciate it.

• what time should we get off the ship in order to make it to the opening of KSC at 9:00?
• IF it happens to be a rainy day, is it worth it to visit KSC?
• there are two admission tickets that I'm interested in, but I don't really know which to choose. One is a $80ish ticket that includes a tour, and the other is a $50ish ticket that (from what I can tell) includes everything but the tour. Can anyone make a recommendation as to which ticket to buy?
• what time should we leave KSC for Celebration?
• Providing we can be at the Beach Club for 5:45, should DH have any problems making his flight?

A million thanks in advance.

.

Wow, without even doing the math I would say pushing it, you have a lot of variables involved... Not a relaxing way to end a cruise... Past experience at least 1:15 from Kennedy to south end of WDW, then you have airport security, etc... If your son is interested I would suggest more time there, as it is a lot to see and I know people who spent multiple days there, I found it fascinating and felt rushed and we stayed till almost 6...

 

[mhconley]

It's doable but the tours at Kennedy Space Center will add a lot of time, and you want to take the tours, especially to see the Saturn V. The Shuttle launch simulator and IMAX films are great, too. You can see a lot in a day but you'll be rushed. You can save the price of admission by contacting your US Representative and asking them for free tickets. We spent all day Friday before our 2013 cruise at KSC.

Martin

 

[Quellman]

What do you hope to get out of visiting KSC? If you are trying to get more information about aerospace engineering, why not visit Embry Riddle Aeronautical University or Florida Tech and check out their Engineering programs, go on a campus tour, or sit in on a class?

 

[sharksfinatic17]

We visited KSC two years ago after getting off the Fantasy. We had early dinner, were off the ship after breakfast, went to get the car via shuttle, and got to KSC before it opened. We were not rushed at all. We left early afternoon and saw everything we wanted to see - tours and movies included. We then headed to the airport for at 7:00 PM flight. Very doable except not sure how the mass part will work.

 

[Ariel Wanna-be]

Thanks for the replies...I know it is a lot, and not particularly "relaxing", but that's how we roll.

It sounds like taking the tour is a must-do. I've done a little more research since I've posted, and I think we can make it from KSC to Celebration in about 65 minutes. So we would need to leave KSC around 3:15, which gives us about 6.25 hours there. Is this enough time to "do" everything + the tour?

What do you hope to get out of visiting KSC? If you are trying to get more information about aerospace engineering, why not visit Embry Riddle Aeronautical University or Florida Tech and check out their Engineering programs, go on a campus tour, or sit in on a class?

Well, we're not particularly hoping to "get" anything out of it per se...we just want to visit because he is interested in the subject matter. It's interesting that you bring up Embry Riddle, though...that is one of the schools on his short list. He is planning on making an "official" visit there next fall. (Plus, it's in Daytona, which is a little out of the way for this trip's time constraints, and I want more than a couple of hours to tour the campus.) If he decides to go go there, then my sadness about having him out-of-state will at least be tempered by its proximity to the World.

 

[valgal02]

I doubt you will have time to "do" every thing plus the tour. My hubby and I were there a couple of years ago from open to close and still didn't get to see it all.

It's doable but the tours at Kennedy Space Center will add a lot of time, and you want to take the tours, especially to see the Saturn V. The Shuttle launch simulator and IMAX films are great, too. You can see a lot in a day but you'll be rushed. You can save the price of admission by contacting your US Representative and asking them for free tickets. We spent all day Friday before our 2013 cruise at KSC.

Martin

If i recall correctly the free ticket from your US Representative was discontinued

 

[PrincessShmoo]

If i recall correctly the free ticket from your US Representative was discontinued

Yep, about a year ago.

 

[mom2cgj]

Thanks for the replies...I know it is a lot, and not particularly "relaxing", but that's how we roll.

It sounds like taking the tour is a must-do. I've done a little more research since I've posted, and I think we can make it from KSC to Celebration in about 65 minutes. So we would need to leave KSC around 3:15, which gives us about 6.25 hours there. Is this enough time to "do" everything + the tour?



Well, we're not particularly hoping to "get" anything out of it per se...we just want to visit because he is interested in the subject matter. It's interesting that you bring up Embry Riddle, though...that is one of the schools on his short list. He is planning on making an "official" visit there next fall. (Plus, it's in Daytona, which is a little out of the way for this trip's time constraints, and I want more than a couple of hours to tour the campus.) If he decides to go go there, then my sadness about having him out-of-state will at least be tempered by its proximity to the World.

The admission price to KSC includes the "basic" bus tour that stops at the observation gantry and the Saturn V center. In 6ish hours, you will have time to do a good chunk of what is available with admission, including the tour. Personally, with limited time and it being your first time there, I wouldn't pay extra for a longer, more extensive tour. There is a lot to see at the Saturn V center and the Atlantis exhibit. Plus the rocket garden, memorial, and exhibits. We spent 8 hours there on our last trip and didn't see everything - and that was before the shuttle exhibit opened. If he is that interested in space, he will probably want to look at things in depth, which takes more time then just walking through. I would stick with the $50 admission, but make sure you do the bus tour that is included. And some of the other presentations are interesting too (rocket garden "tour", astronaut briefing, etc.).

 

[bumbershoot]

• After church, DH will drop DS and I off at the BC (we are touring the parks for a couple of days).

• DH will drive to MCO to drop off the car and make an 8:05 flight.

Since you'll be in the general area for some other days, why not spend the night in Cocoa Beach instead of going to BC that night? Doesn't really sound like you'll be hitting the parks that day anyway. So...get off the ship, go to mass at a Cocoa Beach church, go to KSC, tour all day. Now that does involve DH getting to MCO on his own, and you guys having a rental car of your own to get over to BC the following day, but it gives your son's interests a really solid amount of time.

Plus, it's in Daytona, which is a little out of the way for this trip's time constraints, and I want more than a couple of hours to tour the campus.

It's an hour away from Cocoa to Daytona, then about an hour along 4 to Orlando. Might be worth doing on this trip, too. While I didn't tour ANY universities and therefore it's all a bit strange to me (to have to see a place to find out if their classes are appropriate), the friends whose kids do tour do so in their junior-ish year. So it seems that this would be perfect timing.


I know it's totally different than what you're planning, but...you're already there, right?

 

[mrsclark]

DH and I went to KSC on our honeymoon in 2007 and did the KSC Close-Up: Then and Now tour which covered the Mecury and Gemini programs. DH LOVED the tour as he is really interested in space travel and space travel history. That being said the tour took up most of our day there - we had an ADR for dinner at Boma so we had to get on the road without doing much else other than seeing the rocket garden and doing the tour. We didn't get to see a lot of the exhibits in the main area. For that reason, you might want to consider just doing the main tour on this visit and if your son wants to see more, come back and go on an in-depth tour when you visit the college mentioned in other posts.

 

[mrsclark]

Also forgot to mention, I would suggest going even if it is raining - plenty to do inside including the bus tour!

 

[Ariel Wanna-be]

Y'all rock. Thanks so much for the replies - they are so helpful. I think I'm going to take many of the suggestions here...We will get the "tour-less" tickets this go-round and enjoy KSC for about 6 hours. Then when we come back to visit ER in the fall, we can take a little more time.

Since you'll be in the general area for some other days, why not spend the night in Cocoa Beach instead of going to BC that night? Doesn't really sound like you'll be hitting the parks that day anyway. So...get off the ship, go to mass at a Cocoa Beach church, go to KSC, tour all day. Now that does involve DH getting to MCO on his own, and you guys having a rental car of your own to get over to BC the following day, but it gives your son's interests a really solid amount of time.?

This really does sound appealing (and far less rushed), but we are meeting friends at the BC and then heading over to Illuminations. (Remember...that's how we roll. ) However, you did inspire me to start checking around, and instead of going back to Celebration for mass, I found one a mere 20 minutes away from KSC. Yay! That gives us an extra hour at the Space Center. Then DS and I will drop off DH at MCO and head over to DW (so many acronyms!) - we'll drop the car off at the Budget place and get a shuttle back to BC, hopefully around 7:30ish. Crazy and convoluted, but remember...

.

 

[mhconley]

If i recall correctly the free ticket from your US Representative was discontinued

Yep, about a year ago.

That's too bad. Worth the price of admission though...

Martin

 

[Kenny1113]

That's too bad. Worth the price of admission though...

Martin

To each their own I guess. We just went there 2 weeks ago and did not think it was worth the cost. And we love all of that kind of stuff. That being said I would not discourage any one from going. DS11 loved meeting an astronaut and we enjoyed seeing the launch pad.


Off topic:
I am so glad I stumbled upon this thread. DS11 says he wants to be an engineer and/or astronaut. I just learned about 2 schools in state for him in a few years!

 

[princesscate]

I'm so glad to have read this thread. DH and I have been debating doing KSC next time we are in FL. This is all very helpful info. I do wish the Space Shuttles still were in the program, I would have loved to see one launch! And to OP, I wish I could roll like you! But I'm such a worry wart!

 

[mhconley]

I'm so glad to have read this thread. DH and I have been debating doing KSC next time we are in FL. This is all very helpful info. I do wish the Space Shuttles still were in the program, I would have loved to see one launch! And to OP, I wish I could roll like you! But I'm such a worry wart!

I was lucky enough to be in Florida for two launches. One, a pre-dawn launch I watched from the waterfront in Titusville while in Orlando on business. It was amazing! The second in October 2002 I saw from KSC while on a trip with my wife to WDW. You won't see a launch but they do have the shuttle Atlantis on display and a very cool launch simulator. This photo is from our 2013 trip prior to our first cruise:



Martin

 

[EskiLvr]

My DS16 (almost 17) is still howling that we didn't go visit KSC again when we were at WDW last year with friends who wouldn't have geeked out as much as he would have (he's currently trying to decide between majoring in Engineering, Physics, or some combination of the two, with a goal to achieve a doctorate in astrophysics. Sheesh.).

You will have *plenty* to do, both inside and out. Just be aware that the trams that take you to some of the exhibits run on a set schedule. I would plan a bit of a cushion into the end of your day if getting to Mass is a must do for your family (I grew up Catholic - completely understand). The last thing you want to do is be rushing to find the church in an unfamiliar location.

The timing of your husband getting you to BC, getting himself and the rental car to MCO, and making his flight would be the more worrisome piece for me. Have you considered renting from Alamo or National, and then arranging for you to return the rental car at the TTC at WDW? If nothing else, your DH could catch a shuttle or cab to the airport and not have the delay of checking the car in...

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[phinz]

I cried when the Atlantis was revealed. It was one of the most emotional things this Houston-raised boy of the '80s has experienced in a long, long time.