Pre Disney- Gatorland/Kennedy Space hotel

[shinysparklybubbles]

We are driving down from NJ and moved our Disney days out to take advantage of a better discount. We want to do Gatorland and Kennedy Space Center before Disney. Recommendations of where we should stay? Would be 2 nights and prefer somewhere with a kitchen.

 

[Capt_BJ]

have you looked at a map? Just asking cuz Gatorland is actually pretty close to Disney while KSC Visitor Center is out by the beach .... I don't see any real advantage to getting a room between GL and KSC for those visits. Both are routinely done from a Disney friendly location ..... KSC is an hour away but an easy drive . . . most of the time.

If you've found a friendly place for the Disney days I'd try to extend . . .

 

[Upatnoon]

What is your budget?

If you are trying to save money, I would pick a place with free breakfast, which is even cheaper than having a kitchen.

I would likely look for somewhere near Disney Springs so you could go there in the evening for one or both of the nights.

The Drury Inn near Disney Springs would give you free breakfast and "dinner" plus snacks and drinks. They may charge a bit more than some other chain hotels, but depending on the size of your family and eating habits it might be worth it.

Pretty much every chain hotel in America is nearby. There is also a bunch of hotels on Palm Parkway pretty close to Disney Springs.

 

[leebee]

I'd just stay near Disney. If you are looking for a hotel near KSC, check Titusville, but the two times we stayed there, the hotels weren't impressive (but it's been 15-ish years). Another option would be to stay in Cocoa Beach (Marriott properties, Hilton properties) but it's about a 20 minute drive east from KSC to Cocoa Beach. The Dolphin is about an hour west of KSC. For the extra 20mins added on to the drive, I'd stay in the Disney area and just drive out to KSC.

 

[shinysparklybubbles]

I think our days are getting shifted a little because of my husband’s work. But I’m thinking we will get a hotel by KSC, wake up spend all day there and then head to Disney. I’m torn between adding another night to our current stay at SSR or possibly doing a night at in a cabin at Fort Wilderness and just going from there to Gatorland.

 

[fla4fun]

There are also several hotels (Marriott, Hilton, etc.) in Cape Canaveral, some with an excellent view of the ships coming and going.

I would recommend two nights at either Cape Canaveral for the ships or Cocoa Beach for the beach, doing KSC on the full day in between. Then get an early start for your drive to Orlando, and stop at Gatorland on the way (it’s kind of southeast of WDW). Then go on to your Disney hotel at the end of your Gatorland day.

 

[Pyxie]

We're staying at the Courtyard by Marriott Kennedy Space Center in Titusville the night before our cruise in October. We didn't choose this for budget reasons necessarily (it actually costs more than All Star Movies that we are staying at for 2 nights before), but because it is new and has a cool "space theme" to the rooms plus a bar that you can watch launches from if one happens to be happening during your trip. We also wanted to be closer to Port Canaveral the morning of our cruise, but I also agree that you could easily stay near Disney and just take a day trip to Kennedy Space Center.