Post by DotAndBuzz on Oct 28, 2018 10:57:14 GMT -5
Anyone been?
We're planning a visit in February, with one 11 year old, one 8 year old. 11 year old is NUTS about anything space related, wants to work at NASA, etc. 8 year old is take it or leave it, but likes it enough. How many days should we plan for Kennedy Space Center? H says one full day tops, I'm thinking maybe 2. I think I'd like to do lunch with the astronaut, but didn't know if there's a lot of other hands-on stuff that kids can do (like a typical science museum), or if it's a lot of just looking/reading. I saw the half day astronaut "camp" type things, but don't think those will be something we do this trip, especially since 11 year old gets motion sick.
Post by UMaineTeach on Oct 28, 2018 13:56:29 GMT -5
H and I went on an unplanned excursion. We aren’t super into NASA, but it was interesting. We only toured the museum, outside monuments, maybe one movie, and did the launch ride, which was not as “super serious” as the signage and announcements made it out to be. It was more tame than most rides at universal.
We took about half to three quarters of a day, with no kids. I think, unless your son needs to read every display and do everything or this is the focus of your trip, one day is plenty.
Post by wineandcheese on Oct 28, 2018 14:22:47 GMT -5
We just went last Friday. We don’t have kids but like to spend a full day there. I think one full day is enough. It’s a lot but can be done. The movies can be a little long and boring if your not into space stuff, DH actually fell asleep during one lol.
One day. I can’t imagine what you’d do with a second day. Are you planning on staying in Cocoa Beach or driving back to Orlando?
Staying with friends parents in Cocoa Beach. They have a condo there.
We fly to Orlando on a Saturday afternoon, and are going to do 2 days at Universal, some time at Kennedy, and then finish up with Disney. We've been to Disney a lot, so are good with planning there, but are unsure about Universal and Kennedy.
Neither kid likes thrill rides, so Universal will be interesting. We're mostly going for the Harry Potter, as both girls are totally obsessed. And my oldest DD is turning 11, and that's when you officially get to go to Hogwarts, so....
Post by CrazyLucky on Oct 29, 2018 10:20:14 GMT -5
We went last year. Kids were 7 and 5. The 7 year old was super into NASA and the 5 year old was kind of meh, but she ended up loving it. They really liked the bus tour and getting to see where the rockets launch. They also loved the rocket garden and getting to go inside a couple to see how small the capsules were. We didn't do lunch with an astronaut, but we did go to a presentation by one, and afterwards you got to meet him and get your picture taken. That was very exciting for DS. For us, one full day was plenty. There is some kind of astronaut training you can do though, that might make the second day worth it. I don't remember many details, because there's an age requirement, so we wouldn't have been able to do it.
One day. I can’t imagine what you’d do with a second day. Are you planning on staying in Cocoa Beach or driving back to Orlando?
Staying with friends parents in Cocoa Beach. They have a condo there.
We fly to Orlando on a Saturday afternoon, and are going to do 2 days at Universal, some time at Kennedy, and then finish up with Disney. We've been to Disney a lot, so are good with planning there, but are unsure about Universal and Kennedy.
Neither kid likes thrill rides, so Universal will be interesting. We're mostly going for the Harry Potter, as both girls are totally obsessed. And my oldest DD is turning 11, and that's when you officially get to go to Hogwarts, so....
If you're staying, you could leave half a day in case there's stuff left over at Kennedy that you still want to do. If not, you can just hang out in Cocoa Beach instead. I haven't been in ages (like, two decades?), so I'm not really sure what all there is to do there anymore.
We did it this past spring break. One full day is fine. Check the schedule to see if there is a rocket launch. We did see a Space X rocket launch. This made for extra crowds and a lot of traffic after it launched. We did not go sit on the bleacher areas available because we would have had to sit there all day and not see the museum parts. I think the Space Shuttle exhibit was amazing -- it acutally brought tears to my eyes!
We went with a 5 and 7 year old this past spring. Really enjoyed it, but the line to get the shuttle to Apollo/Saturn V Center was nearly an hour and a half....we got to the bus with two hungry, tired kids and decided that if we had to wait in the same line to get back we didn't want any part of it, so that killed the day. The people who paid more and did a more personal tour were loaded up pretty quick and it was a better use of time.
The Space Shuttle building was amazing and where we spent most of our time. We actually saw maybe 1/4 of the exhibits before a major storm rolled in and we joined the hordes in leaving. It's probably a full day with some older kids.