Time for Kennedy Space Center after cruise?

[wallawallakids]

Hi! I was wondering if I could get an opinion on if it is worth going to KSC after a 4 day cruise or not? I have heard that it takes a full day to see it all (Even two days!), and I don't know if it is a waste of money if you don't have an entire day to go. We will have a rental car and can try to get off the Dream as early as possible. Our flight is out of MCO at 6:20pm, so we would need to leave KSC by 3:30 to make it in time to turn our car in, check in to Delta, check bags etc. There are 6 of us. (Hubby, 4 kids (13,12,8,8) and me). My oldest is really into space, so I thought she might really love this but it is expensive for tickets (more than me just adding another day on to our Disney tickets). Do you think that there would be enough time to see the museum or should I save it for another trip down? My other option is just to go back to Disney for a few hours and hit a few rides or even just to Disney Springs (although DH is less fond of that idea). It isn't so much of a not being able to afford the tickets problem, it is more of, is it a good use of our time and money issue. If that makes sense! Thank you for any help!

 

[OKW Lover]

Yes, its worth it. You will have a very full day to spend at KSC since you'll be off the ship and in your car about 9:00 am (earlier if you want to) and won't need to leave KSC until 4-ish for a 6:20 flight. That should give you plenty of time to explore the exhibits and take one of the bus tours of the launch pads.

 

[wallawallakids]

Yes, its worth it. You will have a very full day to spend at KSC since you'll be off the ship and in your car about 9:00 am (earlier if you want to) and won't need to leave KSC until 4-ish for a 6:20 flight. That should give you plenty of time to explore the exhibits and take one of the bus tours of the launch pads.

Great!! Thank you so much for your help!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

won't need to leave KSC until 4-ish for a 6:20 flight

I wouldn't cut it that close. Yes, it's only about an hour from KSC to MCO (barring any accidents or road work), but OP needs to turn in a rental car, get checked in for the flight, and make it through security (and that alone can be up to 2 hours on occasion).

 

[OKW Lover]

@PrincessShmoo is advising a conservative approach and that's probably a good thing. Just for the record, the drive time from KSC to MCO is listed as 34 minutes by Google Maps. As noted, you do need t allow time to refuel the car, return it to the lot and make your way to security and the gate.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

@PrincessShmoo is advising a conservative approach and that's probably a good thing. Just for the record, the drive time from KSC to MCO is listed as 34 minutes by Google Maps. As noted, you do need t allow time to refuel the car, return it to the lot and make your way to security and the gate.

Hmmm...Street Atlas (what I use for determining distance/time) says it's 48 minutes(straight through, no stops). So I'd allow an hour at least.

 

[bumbershoot]

Going conservative when dealing with MCO is the only way to go, unless you want to miss your flight (or be scared you're going to). MCO is just awful, in terms of security wait times.

 

[Quellman]

Plan out specifically what you want to do at KSC in advance and where to go. You do not want to wander aimlessly and miss the biggest attractions with your short time. There is a lot to do so prioritize. Then allow some time for just wandering.

 

[MagicMe]

It took us about 45 minutes to get from MCO to KSC in the morning when we arrived (we did it the day before our cruise on a Saturday morning). I would definitely give myself plenty of time at MCO. This last cruise we went to Disney Springs to have lunch and some last minute shopping. We filled up just by disney Springs and headed to MCO. We were able to return our car quickly (Budget) and check in fairly quickly but it took close to a 1/2 hour to 45 minutes to get through security.

 

[MagicMe]

It took us about 45 minutes to get from MCO to KSC in the morning when we arrived (we did it the day before our cruise on a Saturday morning). I would definitely give myself plenty of time at MCO. This last cruise we went to Disney Springs to have lunch and some last minute shopping. We filled up just by disney Springs and headed to MCO. We were able to return our car quickly (Budget) and check in fairly quickly but it took close to a 1/2 hour to 45 minutes to get through security.

We did enjoy our time at KSC and saw most everything (although their are exhibits we missed due to time constraints). Course we were five adults so no issues with tired children. We then drove to Cocoa Beach for the night and had dinner at Fishlips.

 

[wallawallakids]

Ok. Thanks for the help. I will make sure to leave by 3:30 at the latest then. That gives us 3 hours to drive there and check the car in. Should be plenty of time, even with traffic and crowds. Thanks again for your help!

 

[nherbert]

We did this on our last cruise. we drove straight there after getting off cruise and were at KSC before it opened. Book your tour for as early in morning as you can, the basic tour is all you need first time and then after that you can explore as much as you want - the tour is great and worth it. You will have done pretty much everything by 2-3pm. Last time we were out of there by 1pm but we had done it before.