Kennedy Space Center...Questions for those that have been

[js]

Has anyone taken any tours at Kennedy Space Center?
Will be going to Orlando during Easter week, staying at our timeshare at Orange Lake but will NOT be doing parks (too crowded, only like to go when kids are in school and we take ours out for the week).
NASA Up Close tour will cost our family of 4 $220. We NEVER venture outside of Disney while in Orlando but since we are not doing WDW in April (we were there in October) want to do some things we don't usually do.
If you have any experience with any of the tours, please post your pros/cons.
If you have been there and not taken a tour, were you sorry you didn't?
Below is a description of the tour I am thinking about taking.
Thank you for all your help.
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You’ve seen photos of Kennedy Space Center’s renowned launch pads. Now, you can visit this special site and more in person during the new special interest tour, NASA Up Close.

Each guided NASA Up Close tour is narrated by a space program expert, who shares in-depth and often little-known space facts during the 90-minute “mission” past the following areas:

· Space Shuttle Launch Pads A and B
· The International Space Station Center
· The Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB)
· Expert Tour Guide
· Shuttle Landing Facility
· Crawler Transporter and Crawlerway
· Panoramic view of all launch pads from the NASA Causeway

Discover more about this tour here.

 

[bearzabout]

You don't have to do a guided tour at KSS. Regular admission buys you bus transportation to a few major sites, IMAX movies, a visit to the astronaut hall of fame, etc. It is hard to cover everything in one day. We were glad we did not take the expensive tours but regreted that we did not have enough time in one day to see everything. The general admission tickets are good for two days. Next time, we will spend the night and visit for two full days.

I'm sure the tours are great, but there is a lot to keep you busy without a guided tour.

Make sure to stop off at the legendary Dixie Crossroads for dinner after your visit.

Another great day trip is to the Orlando Science Center. We spent hours at their special exhibit "the body within" (best for older kids and adults). We saw two IMAX films - Journey to Mars and the Living Seas. Combine a visit here with dinner at the cheesecake factory at the Millenium Mall for a great day out.

 

[Freyja]

We didn´t do a tour and kind of missed it. We decided to do one next time. The Up close tour sounds really interesting.

 

[js]

hhhmmm......thank you both. Now I am more confused

freyja, can I ask you why you missed going on a tour? I think we just may end up doing so but would like to know since you did the general admission tour, what you felt you were missing out on.

Was also going to do the lunch with astronaut but decided against it since my dh said he will only do it if it was the astroNUT.

 

[FigmentGuy]

There was three of us on our trip that visited the space center and did the upclose tour. I felt it did have its pro's on cons. Obviously dependant on you personality those pro's and con's will be different the other peoples. With that said..

My experience below is from a first timer's visit and my views/interpertation of KSC.

We drove to KSC and started the day off first thing with the up close tour. They gave us our name badges, booklet guides, took a nice cheezy photo of our family (to be purchased at the end if you would like obviously) and then we hopped onto the bus.

We went into the buildings for breif moments and were able to view the actuall peices to be sent to the space statiion etc. We finished there and boarded the bus and were off again to a few other buildings for the same thing.

From there our bus driver drove us around to areas and our guide gave us many facts and points of interest. We drove up around the building where the shuttles are stored, we drove around the VAB (vehicle assembley building (that large building where they prep the shuttles for launch, very neat)), and then we drove around the "crawler" that takes the shuttle out to the pad. That thing is MASSIVE. Of course the entire time our guide was just spilling tons of great facts, and information.

We then pulled off and unboarded the bus where our guide pointed out all the rocket launching stations for like Lockheed and other various monster companies. That was neat. He pointed out what area's where all the old and current launch pads are (we a couple miles away from the pads at this point). Then we hopped back onto the bus and went out to the pads.

We then were driven out to all the old Apollo shuttle sites and viewed from the bus where some of history was made. Obviously most are just old neglected pads, nothing great. But hey its history! Then we arrived to where the shuttles currently launch from. We drove around the base of one and it was sooooo cool. I mean you see these pads all the time on tv. Watching the shuttles take off from there,, and there they are.. just a short distance from you. The bus then pulled over to a "civillian" area where we are able to unboard the buss and look at the launch pads. This spot is right in between both launch pads, and if you turn around from the launch pads you notice you are RIGHT ON THE OCEAN shore. So it was neat to put everything into perspective. (obviously for security reasons your never right NEXT to the launch pad) IT was crazy to see the pads are actually on eleveated hills and the one side of the size was scorched black from lift of emmissions. It gave me goose bumps. (im a geek I guess).

From there we were bussed to a final building where we were thanked for joining the tour and were giving some nice tour specific pins. We then got off the bus and explored the final building. They had a theater to live through a mock shuttle launch form 'mission control' and stuf.. I thought that was great. They had alot of just facts, displays, and exhibts and other various things. They even had the old van that used to take the astronauts out to the launch pad back in the apollo missions and stuff.

From there we had all day to go view the Imax, and other buildings the tour didn't visit. We also then had a chance to go back to the buildings that the tour breifly visited. So I thought it was nice to know where we wanted to distribute the rest of our day.

We spent the entire day there. No we didn't see everything, but I felt satisified. I got some fun great photos of us too. I was 23, dbf was 25, sister was 18 at the time. I thought the two of them would of been bored and disliked KSC. (especially my sister) But at the end they both said they had a great time. My sister said it was one of the highlights of our trip (this was her first visit to WDW and we spent 2 weeks there).

So I say do the tour early, then you have the rest of the day to decide how to tackle the rest of KSC. We really enjoyed it, and I wouldnt mind visiting again sometime. Hope that helped.