Pre-Cruise stay in January: Kennedy Space Center and...?

[mama2mickeyfans]

Hi all
Looking for suggestions on our pre-cruise stay for Jan 2018 (7 day on Fantasy). Family of 4 (kids ages 5 and 8) plus Grandma.
Haven't booked flights yet, but contemplating coming down Thursday morning or Thursday evening. I currently have reservations at the Hampton Gateway (MCO area) for 2 nights.
I think we want to do Kennedy Space Center on Friday, and if the weather cooperates, maybe a stop at Cocoa Beach?

Should I rent a car for Thursday and Friday? Is that the easiest/most cost effective method to get to KSC? I know the Hampton has a free shuttle, so we could even cut down on hassle, and shuttle direct with our luggage to the hotel, then just 1 person go get the rental. Avoiding hassle and minimizing travel stress/anxiety is a priority for us... what's Cocoa Beach like? I haven't been there in 23 years... is it crowded?

Any other great ideas for fun pre-cruise, let me know! I think we'll skip the whole WDW parks scene. we did that a couple years ago and it just lead to me trying to cram waaaaay too much into a couple days.

(We're planning to return the rental and take DCL transfers out of MCO saturday morning. We like the theming and will use the onboard check in for returning home.)

 

[Barbydoll8]

I have always wanted to do this there: http://www.explorationtower.com/

Or you could do this: http://www.canaverallighthouse.com/

 

[over50visits]

I have always wanted to do this there: http://www.explorationtower.com/

Or you could do this: http://www.canaverallighthouse.com/

The Exploration Tower is neat, but it doesn't take too long to see it all. I'd combine that with a visit to Jetty Park to watch the ships depart in late afternoon. It's really impressive to sig on the shore and look up at a 10-15 story floating building pass by!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

You definitely would need a car staying at an MCO hotel wanting to do KSC and Cocoa Beach. I would actually advise you to both rent a car AND move your hotel reservation to the Cocoa area. It sounds like that's your area of interest, and doing the haul each way for two days is suboptimal. (Okay, not entirely a haul, but with best possible traffic conditions, 45 minutes each way from MCO with tolls, versus 15 if you stay in the Cocoa area.)

You could then return your car up at Canaveral and use the shuttle from the rental car. Theming aside of the Disney buses, you'll be spending a bunch of time in traffic before the cruise staying near MCO to do it.

 

[mama2mickeyfans]

You definitely would need a car staying at an MCO hotel wanting to do KSC and Cocoa Beach. I would actually advise you to both rent a car AND move your hotel reservation to the Cocoa area. It sounds like that's your area of interest, and doing the haul each way for two days is suboptimal. (Okay, not entirely a haul, but with best possible traffic conditions, 45 minutes each way from MCO with tolls, versus 15 if you stay in the Cocoa area.)

You could then return your car up at Canaveral and use the shuttle from the rental car. Theming aside of the Disney buses, you'll be spending a bunch of time in traffic before the cruise staying near MCO to do it.

You make a great point, and I've definitely considered it. Just gotta weigh options and try to envision minimally stressful transportation options.

 

[phinz]

Minimally stressful is staying as close as possible to what you want to do while you're there. I'd go with what aurora said and rent a car for Thursday and Friday and stay in Cocoa/Canaveral. You could even just drop the car off late on Friday if you need to and then take the shuttle or a taxi van from whatever hotel you choose on the coast. There's a Hertz smack dab in the middle of the closest hotels to the port, right next to the Burger King. That way you don't have to deal with the Beachline for two or three days. It's not a long drive, but it can feel like forever, especially after a long day at KSC, and even moreso if you're traveling with rush hour traffic from Orlando to PC. It's much less stressful to be able to leave KSC, drive 10 minutes to a restaurant, grab some dinner and head back to your hotel without having to drive another 45 minutes back to the hotel.

 

[ILovePixieDust]

We are doing something similar in January too. Arriving on thursday, renting a car and driving to a hotel in Cocoa Beach. We will do Kennedy Space Centre on the friday and drop off car rental at cape canaveral saturday morning and take shuttle to the port. The one way car rental for 2 days was $120 through Alamo. I'd love to take the Disney shuttle from MCO but the one way fare for a party of 4 is already $140 and didn't financially make sense.

 

[mama2mickeyfans]

You guys are making way too much sense for me to not at least compare the pricing. Now i'm off to research Cocoa Beach/ PC Hotel recs