John F. Kennedy Space Center — Attraction in Titusville

This is a place that almost every kid would want to see if they are the least bit interested in science or science fiction. For me, I have been interested in both since about the age of five or six after seeing Invasion of the Saucermen, on television. I don’t know. Maybe kids are no longer interested in being an astronaut and going to space. I finally made it to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on August 29 2022. I went to see the Artemis I rocket launch and to see the space center. (I had been to Johnson Space Center in Houston, Mission Control for NASA, in June 2022.) Now I was going to see where NASA’s rockets are launched. I arrived at Kennedy Space Center before daylight, as did thousands of other people from around the U.S. and around the world. The actual launch was scheduled for 8:33AM. I figured that I would watch the launch and then explore the displays. The actual launch pad is more than five miles from the Kennedy Space Center main complex. From that distance, one would actually see the rocket after it had more than cleared the tree line. There was a live-feed of the rocket on the launch pad and one could watch it on a giant screen. There was limited availability to be closer but those tickets were gone within minutes of the time that they became available. When launch time came, there was a delay and a delay and finally the launched was scrubbed because of a leak. Arghhhhhhhh. The rest of the day was seeing the Kennedy Space Center exhibits. There is a lot to see, most of it is historical at this point. There are some real rockets on display and some mock-ups. There are film presentations to see regarding America’s space programs. There are two things that were of particular interest to me – a pretend astronaut training experience, that I had not researched enough and “Chat with an astronaut”. By chance, Winston Scott was the “Chat with an astronaut” was the astronaut that day and the astronaut doing the “Daily Briefing” that day. Chat with an astronaut and the training experience require a separate reservation and an additional fee. I had planned for the astronaut chat. After exploring most the day, ‘the chat’ is done in the afternoon, with only about 40 to 50 people. You are served hors d’oeuvres, drinks and allowed to ask questions. Winston Scott is interesting in that he said that being an astronaut was not really one of his life goals. He had been a naval aviator for his entire adult career. He said that he had flown every kind of aircraft that the navy has. He said he had also been a test pilot. He said that his commanding officer said that he should apply and eventually he did. He was selected and the rest is history. He actually flew on three shuttle missions (not all selected astronaut actually get to space) as a mission specialist. He walked in space two or three times to help retrieve malfunctioning satellites. He is actually a nice guy and a nice person to talk to. Anyway, unfortunately, the admission to KSC is not inexpensive. A one-day, adult ticket is $75 and child ticket is $65. A two-day adult ticket is $89 and child is $79. The two days does not have to be consecutive but the second day has to be within six months of the first visit. Chat with an Astronaut is an additional $50/$35. Would I do it again? ABSOLUTELY. By the way, rocket launch tickets are mission specific, not date specific. Once you purchase for a particular mission launch, you can keep going back until it happens without an additional admission charge. I did finally see Artemis I launched on November 16 2022 at 1:50 in the morning. I watched from...

We visited the Kennedy Space Center a few years ago when we were living in the Tampa area for a month during the summer of 2020. We had heard rave reviews from other friends who had been so we knew we needed to make a point to take our children while we were in the area. The Kennedy Space Center is a great educational experience for children and adults with a lot of stimulating activities for young and old minds alike.

There is so much to see and do at the Kennedy Space Center, and I'm sure we didn't even scratch the surface when we were there. Some of the major highlights of the space center are: Astronaut Hall of Fame, showing pictures of all the men and women who have been to space, Rocket Garden, showing replicas of different space crafts that have left earth, Planet Play, large indoor space playground for kids, IMAX Theater, Planetarium spin on going to space in a life-like movie, Shuttle Launch Experience, A stimulator ride that replicates going into space.

These are just some of the attractions. We went during the pandemic when a lot of things were closed, so we didn't get to do many of the things just listed, and what's currently listed on their website. I'm sure if we went now, there would be so much more to experience.

Going to the Kennedy Space Center is shockingly expensive. Adults are $75 per person, and children are $65 per person. At those prices, it would have cost our family $280 just for this one attraction. We had a good time there, but not a $280 good time, especially for all that was closed during COVID.

When we visited, we purchased the all-inclusive Go City Orlando pass which got us into Kennedy Space Center, Legoland Florida, and the Lowery Park Zoo all for one low price of $400. It looks like the prices on the Go City Passes have since gone up in price because they're currently listed for $1,006 for a family of four, which I can guarantee we did not spend when we bought our pass. Plus you could visit all three of those locations as a family of 4 for $700, so it's not saving you money.

I would look around at the available passes and see what makes the most sense for your family. If you're not interested in going to the other locations, then spending the regular price at Kennedy Space Center might make sense for you.

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Overall I would love to go back to Kennedy Space Center and see more of the attractions now that all of it is reopened from the pandemic, but we loved the things we were able to see and do while...

Kennedy Space Centre (NASA) - this is a must see attraction in Florida. Located about an hour and a half from Orlando the drive is well worth it. If you plan on only going for one day I recommend being there for right when it opens as there is so much you can do and explore. With our one day outing we weren’t able to see it all. There was ample parking which cost $10. We didn’t buy tickets in advance and didn’t need to as there was no line up at the self serve ticket booths. The entry is expensive but worth it. Upon entry they do search your bags so check the website prior to see what you can and can not bring in. Upon entry you enter into a main court yard full of giant rockets. From there you can branch off to several areas. We started with the building called the Gateway which is an interactive building full of displays and a series of motion rides. Unfortunately kids have to be a certain height to ride them but our 3 year old nephew just made the height requirement to give you an idea. The good thing was if your child is too short they have a parental swap area so one parent can ride while the other waits with the child then after the ride is done the parents switch so the other parent can ride without having to wait in line again. The line took about half an hour to get through and appeared to remain the length for duration. There are four motion rides, recommend you try at least one as it does’t cost you anything but takes time to get through the line. Our next stop was the Atlantis Space Shuttle Exhibit. This was the highlight of our time there and a must see. You walk under the giant rocket boosters and fuel tank to get into the main lobby. Upon entry there was a line up the ramp that again took about half hour to get through. Once at the top you enter into a large video room where there is a 2 stage 12 minute total educational video talking about the shuttle program. Once completed the screen fades and lifts where you see the Atlantis Space Shuttle. You are then ushered into a large interactive viewing platform which is great for photo opportunities. There are several areas for kids and adults to interact with shuttle features including the cockpit, kitchen area, space toilet, and gym. There are flight simulators too but they weren’t in the best condition. There is a Space Launch Simulator Ride. The line was extremely long. The ride itself was ok but just ok. Not really worth the long line up in my opinion. When you exit there’s a gift shop but if you can skip through it because there are many more spread throughout the park. Next we went to the play centre to let the kids run around- inside there is a decent sized plat place for kids as well as IMax Moves playing regularly. That for us was a full day and we didn’t come close to seeing it...