Kennedy Space Centre with toddlers?

[RedRuby]

My husband *must* go to Kennedy Space Centre while we're in central Florida. I'm just not sure if it would be a great place to bring two active 3yo, or whether we should just arrange for DH to go by himself as a "get away from everything" day. (He's a stay at home dad who also runs a business from home, so we know he'd really appreciate some time away from the girls. And he's not the Disney/amusement park fan in the family. More like a tolerant travelling companion to some Disney fans!)

I've read some descriptions and guidebooks, and while our girls might like it, (or just like being out), having them around might detract from my DH getting the "full experience". It's also easier for DH to jump in the car by himself rather than get the family for ready in the morning. And not buying my admission ($36US I think) saves us some $$ for WDW spending instead.

Any thoughts either way welcomed.

 

[SeattleMark]

Even though KSC has gone out of their way to make things more kid-friendly, It sounds like your husband might like the time to linger amongst the many historical exhibits, etc too, in which case the kids would probably be bored, frankly.

How about while he goes over there, you and the kids do something tailored just to them (which your husband may not enjoy as much) such as a character meal, spending extra time in Mickey's Toontown at MK (which is tailored to younger kids), etc?

 

[golfgal]

I would let him go alone. While there are plenty of places for the kids to run around, most of the attractions are not set up for 3 year olds. It is a lot of sitting/standing and listening. When we were there, we paid extra for the behind the scenes tour (I would highly recommend your DH do the two extra tours) and someone had a toddler and a couple of boys that were 5, 6 years old aboard the bus that talked non-stop and made it difficult to hear the driver and the commentary. Then at every stop we made, one of those kids were crying, whining, what ever through every stop. Most people in the group were pretty annoyed with this particular family since we paid extra for this tour and we couldn't hear half of what was being said. The kids were bored and it showed. Take your kids to one of the parks and send DH on his way (not to mention the car ride over is about 1 hour, they tour the center and another hour car ride back to Disney).

 

[MazdaUK]

Send him on his own! We went with my DH plus DS(11) and DS(5), and met my sister, DBIL and DN(11), DNs(10) DN(8) and DN(6). The dads and two oldest boys loved every minute, the three younger boys spent most of the time jumping in and out of the "lunar module"-shaped photo booths and my DSis, DNs and I were frankly bored for a large part of the time (tho' we liked seeing the eagles, gator and manatee in the swamps around the edge). Its a very long day, and you have to transfer between the three bits of the site in coaches (and leave strollers behind).

I'd take the kids to WDW, take the train straight round to toontown fair and hopefully be the first in Mickey's house. Let them play on Donald's boat to their hearts content, then head through Fantasyland before it gets too busy to do Pooh etc., grab a cake at Main St Bakery then head back to the hotel for naps and pool time.

I wish I'd done that, but DH insisted we would all enjoy it (and to be fair DS(5) did say he wanted to see the rockets).

 

[Debbie Jean]

I would let him go alone. While there are plenty of places for the kids to run around, most of the attractions are not set up for 3 year olds. It is a lot of sitting/standing and listening. When we were there, we paid extra for the behind the scenes tour (I would highly recommend your DH do the two extra tours) and someone had a toddler and a couple of boys that were 5, 6 years old aboard the bus that talked non-stop and made it difficult to hear the driver and the commentary. Then at every stop we made, one of those kids were crying, whining, what ever through every stop. Most people in the group were pretty annoyed with this particular family since we paid extra for this tour and we couldn't hear half of what was being said. The kids were bored and it showed. Take your kids to one of the parks and send DH on his way (not to mention the car ride over is about 1 hour, they tour the center and another hour car ride back to Disney).

We had the same experience except it was with an infant around 6 months old About half way through the tour, the baby starts screaming... I don't know which was worse, the crying or the mom shaking a rattle in the poor kids face going "googoo, weewee" very loudly for the last hour

Neeless to say my DD and I were not happy campers... we had spent the extra money to take the "Then & now" tour so we could go out to all the old launch pads for the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo flights. This was something we had planned for months ahead and were really looking forward to... what were these people thinking?

I definitely think that you should let DH go on his own while you enjoy a "girls" day at the park or the pool

 

[Snoopymom]

Another vote for sending him on his own. For a nice dinner while he's there, have him try

http://www.BERNARDSSURF.COM/

Awesome food, lots of astronaut history, some still dine there. He'll love it!

 

[MazdaUK]

Or he could pay to dine with an astronaut - I think its about $40 (and from what I've heard they need the money - only get basic pension)

 

[diznygirl]

Well, we had a good experience with our kids. We bought annual passes and have been back several time. My DS is 5 and loves space and rockets. My DD will be two in a few weeks - but she did very well on the basic tours (we haven't done any of the extra tours). The trick is planning lunch. If we get there early enough, we can get on the bus and then eat when we get to the Apollo exhibit area. If it's a little later, we eat before getting on the bus.

The kids love the Rocket Garden and the playground area. This is where we hung out while my brother saw the Imax movie.

It can be done with kids - but it depends on your kids. I agree that your hubby might get more out of it if he went alone. And you're right - you'd also save a little money!

 

[RedRuby]

It can be done with kids - but it depends on your kids. I agree that your hubby might get more out of it if he went alone. And you're right - you'd also save a little money!

Thanks everyone for your collective and independent input! We'e decided to send Dh alone. He's a stay at home dad with a busy IT business too so days off are pretty rare. I'll stay at WDW with family, he'll go to KSC to escape both of his "day jobs" (parenting and IT business) and he'll escape the Mouse for a while too (he's humouring my Disney interests rather than sharing them ATM...). In fact, the way our ARs have worked out, he may get two ([part) days "off" if the KSC is still doing "bounce back" tickets He can go to KSC for the attractions and eat breakfast and dinner at WDW on the free dining plan.

 

[RedRuby]

Thanks everyone for your collective and independent input! We'e decided to send Dh alone. He's a stay at home dad with a busy IT business too so days off are pretty rare. I'll stay at WDW with family, he'll go to KSC to escape both of his "day jobs" (parenting and IT business) and he'll escape the Mouse for a while too (he's humouring my Disney interests rather than sharing them ATM...). In fact, the way our ARs have worked out, he may get two ([part) days "off" if the KSC is still doing "bounce back" tickets He can go to KSC for the attractions and eat breakfast and dinner at WDW on the free dining plan.

Just a very belated update as my family is pondering the intersection of WDW & KSC plans once again...

My DH did in fact decide to go by himself the first day. He ended up buying a bounce-back ticket, and insisted on taking the kids (then 2.5yo) the next day. My Dad went along, however, and DH said having an even adult/kid ratio was very helpful. Apparently the kids were engaged and awe-struck with it all, and were well behaved, but it was good to have another set of adult eyes/ears/arms there to help.

We're off to WDW again -- this time, for a shorter trip, with a different group of travelling companions (my mom, her friend, her friend's granddaughter), so we're working on who's going and when and how....The sticking point may be that we wants to avoid taking car seats on this trip (ME doesn't require 'em), but we would want to take the seats if C&J were going in a rental car. Another issue is that we weren't intending on renting a car at all originally - if DH goes by himself, for a single day, he can just take a bus tour which includes admission. (Going two days, it's probably worth renting the car)

Decisions, decisions. If it were me, I'd be taking my charming spouse up on her offer to extend the trip to include a couple of day trips to Cocoa Beach or take an entirely separate trip some other time