Kennedy space centre

[sovietsong]

Hi all , just wondering what's everyone's opinion on the "lesser" attractions mainly the space centre and gatorland we're , are they worth a visit and is there any of the smaller attraction on international drive worth a visit ? Thanks all

 

[dixonsontour]

I've been to KSC twice with DH.

I'm glad I went and it is interesting but if i'm honest I only went as DH wanted to.

Never done gatorland or anything I drive like titanic, ripleys etc.

TBH once you have bought tickets for the main parks you are as well utilising those to the full rather than paying out extra for lesser attractions.

For a change of pace i'd pick shopping or swimming.

 

[bee86]

I have to agree with dixonsontour, if you are utilising your tickets for the parks then really I dont think you will want/need to do gatorland etc. I havent been to gatorland and maybe it is great but between WDW and Universal there is one major amount of entertainment going on!
I would pencil in a trip to KSC though if youve not been before, I think that its one of those places you just have to see once for your own eyes!

Dont forget to add some rest/shopping time into your trip!! Enjoy

 

[davmill]

If you have a spare day, KSC is well worth a side trip.

 

[chmurf]

KSC is nice, but we're not doing it this year, as I think DS who's 4 will have limited interest, we're saving that for next year or the year after that.
I've done KSC 20 years ago, I'm sure lots of things have changed (space shuttle and all) but I'll certainly do it again

Gatorland is a must do, in my opinion.
Well, first of all it's the park that started it all (it predates WDW)
It's lots of fun for the little (and not so little) ones.
There are shows (feeding show and gator wrestling)
You also find a boardwalk trail through the mangrove. It can give you a taste of the everglades without the need to leave the orlando area.
There is a nice zipline too, and a splash zone for kids.

We're not doing it this time, because we stick to a 2 places policy.
In february we did gatorland and WDW, in october we'll do WDW and IoA
But Gatorland definitely has to be on your list if you've never done it.
It's mostly a half day park.
We did Gatorland on our second day in florida after an offsite night, just before checking in at Disney's.
We were at Gatorland around 9am (roughly at opening time), we toured the park, saw 2 shows, walked the mangrove trail, and basically did all there was to do, except for the zipline, made a quick shopping stop at Bealls and still we were at POP for check in around 2:30pm.

So if you've got a few hours to kill and you didn't have enough with the kilimandjaro safaries at AK, you'll probably have a good time there.

PS : oh, and for the ladies of the DIS, on your way out of gatorland, if you head south on the orange blossom trail towards osceola parkway. Look on the left side of the road, about half a mile from gatorland. Here is the Tupperware World Headquarters (nothing much to see, but lots to brag about on your next tupperware meeting )

 

[jackieleanne]

I wouldn't bother with Gatorland/Idrive etc if your utilising your Disney/UOR/Flex tickets etc but Kennedy Space Centre is definitely worth a visit.

Last year I only went to do this for my bf as it was something he really wanted to do and I actually enjoyed it a lot myself as well. I'd thought I'd only manage half a day before I was dragging him to the beach but was actually there the whole day without moaning.

Will be going again next year to see the Shuttle.

 

[queendisney]

I think KSC is a must if you have never been but once you been its ok to go back to once in a while. I went thinking I wasn't going to like it but found it very interesting. We will go this year because they have the assembly building opened up now (extra money to go into) now that the Shuttle program has ended.

Gatorland I hated big time...did not like they way the animals were kept and I am anti animals being used to get cheap shots of you sitting on their backs with there mouths taped shut and being subjected to being wrestled with (why would you want to do that to a wild animal for the fun of others). It felt like a cheap attraction from the 70's to me. The poor albino gator was stuck in a cage that was only as long as it was with absolutely nothing in there except a bit of water..no effort has been made to make their enviroment even remotely nice or natural for it...horrid place for animal lovers!!!

 

[chmurf]

Gatorland I hated big time...

Although I respect your point of view, I felt the need to step in, as I thought some of your statements were unfair or misinformed (with all due respect. I'm not trying to snap at you, I'm just trying to be educational)

now that the disclaimer's been made, let's move on.

The poor albino gator was stuck in a cage that was only as long as it was with absolutely nothing in there except a bit of water..no effort has been made to make their enviroment even remotely nice or natural for it

well, first of all this gator needs to be "in a cage", as it's an albinos and would simply burn under the sun. and his "cage" looks pretty nice to me

I guess they could put a 3D widescreen TV in there, though

it's natural environement ... well ... that's not really relevant, because there is no "natural habitat" for an albino gator.
Life expectancy for an albino gator is around 48 hours in the wild. Not that they have "defects", but they cannot blend in their surroundings like other gators do, so they are preyed upon as soon as they hatched. And even if they managed to survive, gators are cold blooded and need to "sunbathe" a lot to get some energy, albino gator can't stay under the sun, meaning they just wouldn't be able to feed.

Albino gators in gator farms and aquariums were gathered from eggs and would not have survived in the first place.
They're treated pretty humanely actually.
But I wonder if animal lovers would prefer to see a dead gator rather than a caged gator.

I am anti animals being used to get cheap shots of you sitting on their backs with there mouths taped shut and being subjected to being wrestled with (why would you want to do that to a wild animal for the fun of others). It felt like a cheap attraction from the 70's to me.

These are cheap, agreed, but these "stunts" have an big impact on fund-raising, education and conservation

Now define "wild animal", since most of them come from hatcheries. Domestic dogs or cats also are "wild animals" even though they've been domesticated.

Some of those animals are actually better off there than they would have been in the wild.
Now it's true that it's a bit cheap to see a boozed up redneck ride a gator, but I'd rather see that than seeing some poachers in the marshes gator hunting with a pump action shotgun.

horrid place for animal lovers!!!

well, it's thanks to places like this, and seaworld and clearwater marine aquarium (and many other places throughout the country) that animal lovers get to enjoy animals at all, be it in zoos or in the wild.
Also remember that the US don't take animal rights lightly.

Well, even DAK was subject to animal lovers' hate before it opened.

In the end, it remains the best way for little Billy to see animals for himself. That poor average kid who thinks a fish is square and comes with breading, and that the nugget is actually a part of a chicken's body.

sorry for my rant

 

[queendisney]

Although I respect your point of view, I felt the need to step in, as I thought some of your statements were unfair or misinformed (with all due respect. I'm not trying to snap at you, I'm just trying to be educational)

now that the disclaimer's been made, let's move on.



well, first of all this gator needs to be "in a cage", as it's an albinos and would simply burn under the sun. and his "cage" looks pretty nice to me

I guess they could put a 3D widescreen TV in there, though

it's natural environement ... well ... that's not really relevant, because there is no "natural habitat" for an albino gator.
Life expectancy for an albino gator is around 48 hours in the wild. Not that they have "defects", but they cannot blend in their surroundings like other gators do, so they are preyed upon as soon as they hatched. And even if they managed to survive, gators are cold blooded and need to "sunbathe" a lot to get some energy, albino gator can't stay under the sun, meaning they just wouldn't be able to feed.

Albino gators in gator farms and aquariums were gathered from eggs and would not have survived in the first place.
They're treated pretty humanely actually.
But I wonder if animal lovers would prefer to see a dead gator rather than a caged gator.



These are cheap, agreed, but these "stunts" have an big impact on fund-raising, education and conservation

Now define "wild animal", since most of them come from hatcheries. Domestic dogs or cats also are "wild animals" even though they've been domesticated.

Some of those animals are actually better off there than they would have been in the wild.
Now it's true that it's a bit cheap to see a boozed up redneck ride a gator, but I'd rather see that than seeing some poachers in the marshes gator hunting with a pump action shotgun.


well, it's thanks to places like this, and seaworld and clearwater marine aquarium (and many other places throughout the country) that animal lovers get to enjoy animals at all, be it in zoos or in the wild.
Also remember that the US don't take animal rights lightly.

Well, even DAK was subject to animal lovers' hate before it opened.

In the end, it remains the best way for little Billy to see animals for himself. That poor average kid who thinks a fish is square and comes with breading, and that the nugget is actually a part of a chicken's body.

sorry for my rant

as you say 'its an opinion' and I still stand by exactly what I say..its not a good place to be a gator! That enclosure is far too small and just because it looks ok to you surely you can see its not good for the gator! The place may go under the heading of educational to you but its certainly not under that heading to me!! Sitting on a taped up gator and wrestling with it is not educational! What about that other gator, the dog eating one that was from the wild, Surely it deserves better then bing subjected to a life of torture in a tiny cage?!! Its all so sterile looking no attempt has been made for the animals its only been made for the people looking into the cages..

This is the actually size of its enclosure with a some water about the same size as the earth..it far too small!

Animal welfare law in Florida is virtually non existant compared to UK and it shows!

 

[Fantasia Sam]

Yeah I don't know how I really feel about the whole Gators v Animal Welfare rights .... I feel for any living being in an enclosed space that's really small but a lot of them were NOT in cages like that picture of the Killer Dog Gator above... they were out in the swamp area I got lots of pics of them.

I then struggle with what is right and what is wrong but then I think about the fact that these are killers and then I don't struggle with it so much.

I actually loved Gatorland, I trust the fact that this establishment has been in business for years and I pretty much wouldn't be arguing with a Floridian on how to keep Gators at all and that is how I got over my struggle with the whole thing.

I did think it kinda funny though at first that you could buy Gator bites at the park that seemed a little wrong but then again I eat poultry and meat at Animal Kingdom and heck I've even eaten Ostrich at Animal Kingdom Lodge down the road soooo it is what it is.

Totally though if you have issues with any cooped up animal then maybe Gatorland isn't for you but if don't have those issues and you want an enjoy half day of an insight in to the world of Gators then this is a pretty cool place to go in my humble opinion.

 

[chmurf]

Yeah I don't know how I really feel about the whole Gators v Animal Welfare rights .... I feel for any living being in an enclosed space that's really small but a lot of them were NOT in cages like that picture of the Killer Dog Gator above... they were out in the swamp area I got lots of pics of them.

right.
There are dozens of enclosure, past the railroad tracks, that are pretty well equipped, large and welcoming for gators. And there is the large swamp left of the entrance where gators have plenty of room.

Why stop at the 3 or 4 gators in small cages and crying about animal cruelty ? ... well it's just a way not to ask the real question : why are they in those cages at all when there are hundreds (or even thousands) of gators who are much better off at that park ?

The answer is simple : those caged up gators are dangerous, and I mean dangerous. Those are known killers, wether they attacked and killed pets, or even attacked human beings. These gators cannot be put with the others.
It's either cage them up, or kill them off.

It's either caged or dead, simple as that.
I do not doubt some will say they love animal so much that they'd rather euthanize an animal than seeing it caged for life ... now that train of thought is dangerous if you consider that the human being is an animal too.