How Long it takes to tour NASA ?

[Bob67]

We are going to staying in kissimissie and on the last day thinking about visiting NASA. Is it a day trip or you can see it in 4-5 hrs. Got a flight @ 5:00PM so got to be back by 03:00 at the air port. Can we start early morning, see the NASA and be back to MCO air port by 03:00PM ?

 

[foxfire]

You can do that but you won't be able to see everything. We got there at opening and stayed until closing and there were still a few things we didn't get to see. I guess you could just choose the things you were most interested in seeing during 4-5 hours but I would say it really is a day trip...two days if you want to make it to the Astronaut Hall of Fame.

 

[kilee]

You may cut it close w/ having to be to the airport and all. Do you have another day off you could possibly schedule it on? If you chose to not go, there are a lot of great 1/2 day activities right in the Orlando area you could do too.

 

[LukenDC]

I went as part of a guided bus tour and we were there for seven hours. I was ready to leave after five and a half hours, including a half hour lunch.

 

[Mom-to-2-Princesses]

Hi, I just got back and the most time consuming (but not to be missed) thing is the bus tour that takes you into Kennedy and the launch sites. They say it takes 2 to 2 1/2 hours for that tour. It definately took at at least 2 1/2 (although we were reading most of the signs, no kids on this trip).

Kennedy opens at 9:00, and the bus tours start at 10:00.

In addition to the tours there are numerous shows and museums/exhibits to look at. Kennedy offers different price options for what you want to do. For example you would not buy the combo because you wouldn't have time to the Astronaut Museum, IMAX, etc.

I would recomend looking at their web site and coming up with a plan and knowing you won't get to see it all.

It is really a remarkable place and gives you a prideful feeling.

For our part, we were there Saturday - low crowds, arrived at 9:40 left around 5:00 and did not even get to see the IMAX show! However, we had tickets to eat lunch with an Astronuat which was from 12:15 to 1:30. (So we were unable to do the bus tour until after the lunch.)

I hope this helps! Emjoy!

Lee Ann

 

[Poohbeck]

Hi, I just got back and the most time consuming (but not to be missed) thing is the bus tour that takes you into Kennedy and the launch sites. They say it takes 2 to 2 1/2 hours for that tour. It definately took at at least 2 1/2 (although we were reading most of the signs, no kids on this trip).

Kennedy opens at 9:00, and the bus tours start at 10:00.

In addition to the tours there are numerous shows and museums/exhibits to look at. Kennedy offers different price options for what you want to do. For example you would not buy the combo because you wouldn't have time to the Astronaut Museum, IMAX, etc.

I would recomend looking at their web site and coming up with a plan and knowing you won't get to see it all.


It is really a remarkable place and gives you a prideful feeling.

For our part, we were there Saturday - low crowds, arrived at 9:40 left around 5:00 and did not even get to see the IMAX show! However, we had tickets to eat lunch with an Astronuat which was from 12:15 to 1:30. (So we were unable to do the bus tour until after the lunch.)

I hope this helps! Emjoy!

Lee Ann

Mom-to-2-Princesses,
Since you just got back from this trip hopefully you can answer this, are you allowed to skip parts of the bus tour? I haven't been able to tell from what I've read. Do you stay on the bus for the whole time, or do you get off and then look around and wait for the next bus to continue?

We will be touring with our two boys 7 & 9, if they start to get bored, or I do, I'd like to speed it up a bit. Is that possible?
Thanks.

 

[diznygirl]

Get off, look around and wait for the next bus. Busses are coming all the time, so you can spend as little or as much time as you want. We would get off at the launch area, take a quick look around - and then get on the next bus coming. That sped things up a bit. And we would have lunch when we got the Apollo/Saturn V area. But don't skip the movie there - that's one of my favorite parts.

 

[Mom-to-2-Princesses]

On the Kennedy Space Center tour I took there were two stops -

1)International Space Station Center (parts for the International Space Station are prepared here for launch. You can view the actual working environment. There is also a large area (2 levels) with replicas of a habitation unit; a laboratorymodule; and a Multi-Purpose Logistics module

3) The Apollo/Saturn V Center (tour begins with a multimedia review of NASA's history through the Apollo 8 mission and the first launch of a Saturn V rocket. The Firing Room Theater re-creates the sights and sounds of a Saturn V launch. Then you enter the plaza which has numerous exhibits. Inside is another presentation, a recreation of the America's first mannedlunar landing mission)

(The other stop LC 39 Observation Gantry is closed for rehab. The bus driver drove us closer to the Shuttle launch sites since we could not get out.)

So I was on three buses total - we waited about 15 to 20 minutes for the first one. After that we walked out of each of the other tours, a bus was waiting, and we were moving within 5-8 minutes. Each time we were on the bus was at least 10 minutes. (And I think the time between the Space Station and Apollo could have been as much as 20 minutes) The driver would point things out ot us and when he wan't talking a video would be playing.

My suggestion would be to take the bus tour first, so you don't feel the pressure of not being able to get back in time and then looking around the main Kennedy area (the rocket garden, early space exploration, etc)

I hope that helps - we were under no time constraints so I wasn't watching the time closely. And all this is so new to me that even though I came away with clear feelings about my experiences, I have forgotten many of the details. But I do remember we were rather tired at the end of the day and just skipped a lot of the exhibits at the Apollo Center.

Have fun!

Lee Ann