Thinking about adding a little rocket science to your Disney World vacation? While Disney World is packed with magic, fantasy, and a ton of things to do, a visit to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center offers a chance to learn about real-life space exploration. Located just about an hour away from Orlando, Kennedy Space Center is the perfect day trip when you want a break from the parks.
In this post, we’ll share what our day trip to Kennedy Space Center looked like during our Disney vacation. Visiting Kennedy from Disney World isn’t as difficult as you might think! But, there are some important things you need to know before heading out to Port Canaveral.
Skip Ahead:
- What to do before your trip
- Our visit to Kennedy Space Center
- Tips for visiting
- Is it worth your time?
Before Your Trip
You’ll want to do some planning before your visit to Kennedy Space Center. Unfortunately, this shouldn’t be a spur of the moment decision. Here’s what we recommend doing before you leave for vacation to make everything as easy as possible.
- Pick which day you want to visit Kennedy Space Center. Note that launch days are extremely busy and you may not be able to get a ticket.
- We recommend dedicating an entire day for your visit. There’s a lot to see! And, you might as well take your time if you’re going to take the trek out to the coast.
- Buy your tickets and any add-on activities in advance. Don’t wait until the day you want to go. Special activities will fill up quickly.
- Plan how you’re going to get to Port Canaveral and how you’re going to return to Disney World. It takes about an hour and 15 minutes (sometimes longer) to get out to the coast from Disney World. Be aware that Uber and other ride shares may not have many options due to the distance of the trip. We’ll talk more about transportation options below.
Visiting Kennedy Space Center
We chose to visit Kennedy Space Center on the first full day of our Disney World vacation. We thought it’d be easier to do it this way rather than trying to squeeze it into the middle of the week. We like to stay in the Disney bubble once we’re in it.
Transportation
Kennedy Space Center is over an hour away from most areas around Disney World. Because of that, there’s really only 3-4 options to get to Kennedy Space Center from Disney World:
- Drive yourself
- Car service
- Bus tour group
- Ride share
We chose to use a car service to take us out to Kennedy Space Center. We didn’t want to get a rental car just for one day (and all of the annoyances that come with picking it up and dropping it off), and we didn’t want to be confined to the schedule the bus tour group follows. A car service gave us the most flexibility. Ride shares can be unreliable given the distance.
While a car service sounds expensive (it definitely can be), it ended up being about the same price as it would have been to rent a car for the day. That made it a no-brainer. And, we didn’t have to deal with any of the car rental logistics, getting gas, traffic, and all those magic-ruining issues.
How Long Should You Spend at Kennedy Space Center?
You can easily fill a whole day looking at all of the exhibits around Kennedy Space Center. There’s a lot to take in, especially if you take time to read the many plaques. We think there’s plenty to see for guests of all ages.
Some big highlights include the Apollo / Saturn V Center, the Rocket Garden, Space Shuttle Atlantis, and Heroes and Legends. All of these are included in the price of admission, but Kennedy Space Center also offers numerous paid all-on experiences. You can view all of their experiences here. Note that some may only be offered on select dates and times.
The Apollo / Saturn V Center requires a bus ride in order to see the incredible technology that took humans to the Moon. Don’t miss this. You can walk under a massive Saturn V rocket. This is the largest rocket ever flown, and it’s a must-see exhibit.
Eating at Kennedy Space Center
There’s a few dining options at Kennedy Space Center. All of them would fall into the quick service category if we were comparing it to Disney World. There’s stuff like burgers, pizza, sandwiches, and some healthier options like acai bowls.
We actually ate twice during our visit. Don’t judge us too much, it was a long day! We first grabbed lunch at the Moon Rock Cafe located at the Apollo/Saturn V Center. We sat outside to enjoy a view of some of the rocket launch pads in the distance. Be warned – the birds and a nosy squirrel may want to check out your food if you sit outside. Don’t leave your food unattended. As for the food itself, it was passable. The burgers, chicken tenders, and fries aren’t too special.
Later, we grabbed a snack over at the Orbit Cafe located at the main complex. Orbit Cafe also has the usual lineup of burgers, fries, and tenders. We gravitated to the pizza and desserts. The pizza was straight from Little Caesars, so you should know exactly what to expect there.
Overall, the food at Kennedy Space Center isn’t going to be the highlight of your visit. There’s a good variety of options, but the quality of everything we tried was just OK. You’ll probably find the food gets the job done even though it won’t be super memorable.
What Can Kids Do?
If your kids are very young or not that interested in the exhibits, Kennedy Space Center has a play place meant for children ages 2-12. This multi-story play place is pretty awesome, and will be a hit with kids. While adults are required to stay and supervise, there is a coffee, wine, and beer bar for their enjoyment.
Wrapping Up the Day
We had a great visit to Kennedy Space Center! We ended up staying from open to close. During that time, we experienced all of the major exhibits that are included with the normal admission. You might as well check out everything if you’re making the trip. We didn’t do any of the paid extras. Some of those add-ons can take hours, so plan accordingly.
We’d warn that visiting Kennedy Space Center from Walt Disney World is a bit of a commitment. We were picked up from Disney’s Yacht Club at 7:30am and didn’t get back to the hotel until around 6:15pm. Though that’s nothing compared to a open-to-fireworks day at the parks, it was still exhausting. We were glad we did this side quest early in our trip.
Tips for Visiting Kennedy Space Center
We already covered some of our recommendations for what to do before you visit Kennedy Space Center. Now, we’ll walk through some tips for how to get the most out of your visit.
- Visit on a weekday if possible. Unless a launch is scheduled, weekdays are less busy than weekends.
- Arrive early. If you’re only planning one day at Kennedy Space Center, you’ll want to start your day early. There’s a lot to see.
- Do the bus ride to the Apollo/Saturn V Center early. You don’t want to miss these exhibits. The last bus runs 2.5 hours before Kennedy Space Center is scheduled to close. Lines to ride the bus can get pretty long later in the day.
- Sit on the passenger side of the bus both to and from the Apollo/Saturn V Center. The journey behind the gates will take guests near the enormous Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and launch pads. The right side of the bus (when facing forward) generally has a better view. See photo below.
- Don’t skip the Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit. This might have been our favorite exhibit. The reveal of the Space Shuttle Atlantis is a major highlight.
- Take your time. Resist the urge to rush around and only look at the “big” exhibits. We were fascinated by some of the smaller displays.
Final Thoughts / Is It Worth It?
We really enjoyed our visit to Kennedy Space Center! The place is home to some amazing, awe-inspiring history. It’s remarkable to see the actual rockets and technology that took us to the moon and space for the first time. We highly recommend it.
That said, it was a bit of a commitment to leave the Disney bubble, travel over an hour to the coast, and spend an entire day at the complex. Visiting Kennedy Space Center is similar to adding a beach day to your Disney World vacation, but with a bit more planning.
We would suggest visiting Kennedy Space Center as long as it makes sense for your vacation. We don’t think it’d be smart to try and jam in a visit to the Space Coast if you’re already feeling short on Disney days. We’d also recommend doing a visit to Kennedy Space Center first thing, and then staying in the Disney bubble the rest of your vacation. It’ll feel less hectic this way.
Have you made the trip out to Kennedy Space Center from Disney World? What are your tips and tricks? Let us know in the comments section below.
