We are taking a cruise in April from Port Canaveral to Europe. So we will be arriving late evening two days before to MCO and stay around Orlando for a day before boarding the ship in the morning a day after.
We have been to Disney several times, so that is not in our plan. We will visit the Space Center, what else we can do in a day in addition to the Space Center. How long is the tour of the center, any tips? Will be renting a car. Any idea of hotel selections?
Stay at any of the hotel chains on rt 1. And definitely visit the Ron Jon’s surf shop HQ. The state beach all the way down into Cocoa Beach is really nice. Head towards CB from PC area, it will be the one on the left, all the way down to the very end of CB. Just before heading to the Air Force base. Huge parking lots. You can’t miss it. It’s right in the main rd. Rt 1 I think.
The space center is awesome. Allo the amount of time you would for the Smithsonian or Natural History museum in DC
You do not just “do a tour” of the Kennedy Space Center. You can spend several hours there and not cover everything. We did a day trip from Tampa, where we moved to a few years ago and still found things to do even though we had been there a few times decades ago on vacations from WI. The space shuttle is cool and the ride fun. Movies to see. Check out the website. Think of how you can spend time in interesting museums. Coco Beach is a must. May as well dip your toes in the Atlantic.
Be warned- I 4 traffic is always horrific and Florida drivers are bad. People leave gaps, never (well, occasionally do) signal turns…
You don’t take the I-4 to the space center but the Bee line (toll road). The space center can take the entire day, especially if you are lucky enough to be there on a launch day (or night).
You could drive down the A1A and see the little towns along the way. Cocoa Beach is fun (the old part), then down through the Melbourne Beaches to Sebastian’s inlet. Just below that there are several parks with bird trails and turtle stuff. https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/sebastian-inlet-state-park
Or you could go north to Dayton and see all the race stuff. Or you could go farther north (about an hour) and go to St. Augustine. Lots to do there.
Oops- had to get past Orlando via I 4. That Beeline name rings a bell. However- be aware of rental cars and Florida toll road payments- could be very expensive when the rental company charges you. I would avoid those if possible.
You can just stop at the booths and pay the $2 between MCO and Cape Canaveral. Don’t pay the rental car price on the Sunpass.
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station has an Atlas rocket launch planned for April 2019. They haven’t announced the date yet.
Go on the Bus Tour at KSC, so you can see the restricted areas and historic launch pads. The Shuttle ride is a must.
Breakfast/Brunch/Lunch at “Simply Delicious” on A1A Cocoa Beach!
Good fish tacos, lionfish, and dinner always with Live Music (while you watch the fishing boats come in) go to “Grills” at Port Canaveral. Hole in the wall: “Tiny Turtle” is also good dinner in Cocoa Beach.
Lori Wilson is the beach park @twoinandone wrote about. Hilton Oceanfront Cocoa Beach is right next door.
April is too early to see turtles on the beach.
A great activity too is seeing dolphins and manatees in the lagoon. They have guided motorized trips if you don’t like paddling.
https://www.a1abeachrentals.com/about/
Cocoa Beach Village is nice for an afternoon and lunch. Some nice restaurants, including cafe Margeaux and Murdock’s are two fun places there.
Coconuts on the Beach is fun for dinner, outside dining and live music right on the beach in Cocoa Beach.
We were the first ones in line at the Space Center at the beginning of the day, and then the last ones to leave, literally.
One of our best days, ever.
@wis75 —I beg to differ—the Florida drivers aren’t bad—the tourists are.
Cocoa Beach beach is beautiful. Wide,flat, great sand. World class.
Visit Ron Jon’s surf shop. Big happy tourist spot. There’s a great history behind it. It started TINY. That’s all you need to know to marvel at it. Now it’s a zoo but a fun type zoo. Another fun shop close by but on the 520 causeway is the Dinosaur shop. Pretty unique.
Go on down south A1A to the small downtown area of Cocoa Beach (intersects Minuteman Causeway) and hit the beach there or wander around a bit first in the shops. Hang out at Coconuts on the Beach if you want to chillax and just enjoy your surroundings. It’s been around for 40 years or so. Coconuts is right on the beach so you can park elsewhere and walk the beach down to it. Plenty of other good spots to eat.
To echo some above: and
KSC is all day or more. It’s not a small operation. It was a national directive that brought together some of the greatest minds in the world to achieve a specific goal.
The rockets aren’t models. The movies aren’t CG. Real astronauts go into space in real time and risk their lives. It’s not a theme park (although it feels like one and fascinating)
It’s the celebration of imagination and determination and talent/genius culminating in the reality of sending men to the moon and BACK. EON 64K as the biggest computing power at the time. Less than your pocket calculator.
Another fantastic restaurant in Cocoa Beach that is literally next door to Coconuts is Fat Kahunas. It only seats about 16 people and is easy to miss, but you must have a reservation as it fills up. Rated #2 restaurant, and is deserving of it. It was #1 for years by TripAdvisors.
I was at Kennedy Space Center last month. We were staying near UCF and were able to take another road and avoid tolls to get there. We were there President’s weekend and it was extremely busy - almost an hour wait for the bus. It took us the fully day and we did not see everything. For those that have taken the shuttle bus in the past, they have changed it slightly. Now there is only one stop at the building with the Apollo/Saturn displays. If you have a chance, attend the free astronaut lecture.
The toll between MCO and Cocoa Beach is $2. Not worth avoiding.
The space center is fantastic. You can spend the entire day there. We got there right at opening and were on the second bus for the tour. Well worth it, because you get there before the crowds and are ready for lunch before everyone else. The simulator was great, looking at real rockets unbelievable, movies nice when you want to sit down. We left at closing.
Questions:
TIA
Ok I found the “tour packages”
https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/info/tickets#Packages
Which package is the most worthwhile.
I think if you are at the KSC all day, you might not feel like walking around someplace else like Cocoa Beach Village. I’d drive to Coconuts on the Beach for food and music for something more fun and relaxing.
Launch schedule https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/launches-and-events/events-calendar?pageindex=1
It changes all the time so you have to keep checking. I just saw one scheduled for ‘around April 7’ but it is not on this schedule yet.
If there is one the day before or after you take your tour, you can watch just the launch from the air force base across from the launch pad, right by the cruise ships, and you can see it from almost anywhere on the space coast. I was at my daughter’s game and as the Star Spangled Banner played, the rocket launched and we could see the Rocket’s Red Glare for ourselves (although it was 7 pm so was really a white contrail). It was pretty cool.
There is an excellent National Wildlife Refuge next to the space center. Lots of birds, manatees, and other wildlife.
Post # 9. No, the locals do not drive well- in the Tampa Bay area and who knows in other parts of the state. A workman told me Miami is as bad. People speed (ie more than a 10 mph over on 45 mph streets), do NOT use turn signals et al on a daily basis far from the beaches and tourist areas. They stop 1/2 to more than a car length at signals- difficult when it prevents you from reaching the left turn lane. Oh- and wait until well after your light turns green for the intersection to clear. And these are not the impaired drivers- wrong way on the highway happens too often.